To anyone considering a Superchip (and to those who are not) I highly recommend it! I know this is just adding to the long line of people who have sung its praises put the Superchip does everything it says it does. Just got it in last night and my truck idles better, shifts better, and just plain runs better.

For those of you who are wondering if you can feel the power let me tell you my experience. After I installed the chip I took the truck for a drive. You know the lumbar support on the drivers side? Well when I got on it I could feel the lumbar support compressing quit a bit. There's definately more power there!

The installation was a little tricker than I thought. The instructions said that you didn't have to remove the battery but I couldn't see how you could get off without removing the battery but overall it was pretty easy and WELL worth it.

Thanks to Mike T. and Performance Products, they are a class act.

Now I can't wait to get my Flowmaster 40 installed!

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1999 F150 XLT Extended Cab Short Bed 4x4 Deep Wedgewood Clearcoat, 5.4L, Off-Road Package, Towing Package, 3.73 Limited Slip, Carpet Delete, Sliding Rear Window.

Modifications:
K&N FIPK
Superchips
Uniden Beartracker Scanner
Maxon CB
DeeZee Toolbox
Hi-Lift Jack
2 Bed mounted 12V Outlets
Dixie Air-horn
Lund Bug Deflector

 

Congrats Kentucky,
The Chip is well worth the money, welcome to or club. It will help alot when you free up that exhaust too. Good luck. Maybe I'll see Ya on the road over here in Lex and we can run'em out. Now you need an F150 online sticker, they say that's worth an extra 10-15 hp.

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My 2000 F-150

It's A KC Thing, You Wouldn't Understand.

 

I know this is kinda off the subject, but I'm interested to see how you did those bed mounted 12V outlets. Can you send any pics?

 

Hi Kentucky F150 4X4,

Great post!

There is a certain option combination that adds a pair of solenoids on the firewall just above that wiring harness, and if you have them, you sure do need to remove the battery and it's tray to access the bolt on the harness.

I see that you have the Offroad package listed in your signature line, that *is* one of the options that is required to get those solenoids, so I'm not surprised that you had to remove the battery in your vehicle.

As a matter of fact, in our 4-page tips sheet that we include with every Superchip we ship for these vehicles, it mentions this specifically at the beginning of the section that tells you where to find and how to remove the computer:

"For the vast majority of F-150's, you do not need to actually remove the battery. Battery removal is only required in a few F-150's that have solenoids mounted on the firewall that block access to the wiring harness."

We have also had a few guys with big hands not be able to get in there behind the battery even without those solenoids like you have, so that too can be a possible cause to need to remove the battery. Usually you can get behind the battery with either a 1/4" or a 3/8" rachet & 10mm socket, but in your case that obviously wasn't going to work for you.

So there will be some people that do need to remove the battery, that is very true!

I'm glad you got your installation done easily, and are enjoying the Superchip. And of course thank very much for your kind words.

Have fun,

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Info:https://www.f150online.com/rally2000/index.html

 

Hey Kentucky,
The shop were I had mine done at in Winchester did a great job. My family owns the land and building their working out of so I know them pretty well and their like family. He uses all aluminized pipe and your usual type of pipe bender. Let me know what you what you want and I'll shoot you a email with a price quote. The only thing he won't have is the Flowmaster, but he has one similar(sp) and plenty of 3" & 2.5" pipe. let me know and I'll send you a quote.

Here's a link to some pics of mine. https://www.f150online.com/f150board...ML/000444.html

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My 2000 F-150

It's A KC Thing, You Wouldn't Understand.


[This message has been edited by Spargo2 (edited 07-20-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Spargo2 (edited 07-20-2000).]

 

I've ordered the muffler and the chrome tips from truckperformance.com so I'm just waiting for those to come in (maybe next week). Truckperformance really sucks about customer service and deliveries but you can't beat their prices.

Here's what I want. I ordered the single 3" in/dual 2.25" out Flowmaster 40 series delta flow muffler. After the cats I want to run the stock 2.5" pipe to the muffler and then use a 2.5" to 3" "couple coverter" into the muffler (Flowmaster doesn't make a 2.5" to 2.25" like I wanted). I want to mount the muffler as far back as possible to reduce cab noise. Than I want to run the pipes out the back under the bumper. The tips I got are 3.5" x 18" that will fit on 2.25" pipe. I don't want them to stick out very far from under the bumper (no more than an inch). I'd like everything welded together and I want to make sure that I can still get the spare off.

Thanks for your help. My email is: tbtayl0@pop.uky.edu (thats an "L" not a "1" after the "y")

I saw you're an electronics engineer. I'm a civil engineer (in grad school) here at UK.

 

No problem,
I'll stop by the shop and get him to figure everything up and send you a price later this evening or first thing in the morning.

Do you want the muffler under the bed? That should be quite enough in the cab.

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My 2000 F-150

It's A KC Thing, You Wouldn't Understand.

 

Spargo2,

Do you know a good muffler shop in the Lexington, Winchester, Georgetown area? Right now I'm probably going to go to Northern Kentucky to get it done (I know someone who works at Midas).

Yeah, I'll be on the lookout for ya, hard to miss a red truck with those four KC lights on the grill gaurd! If you hear the Dixie horn it's probably me.

No room for the f150online sticker. I've already got two NRA stickers on the back window. They don't add horsepower but I think they're a pretty good theft deterent system. . .

wemjr,

I'll try to take some pics and send them to you. I guess my signature's kind of misleading, they're mounted on the side of my toolbox. I've got the over-the-rail box and there's a gap inbetween the side of the tool box (the part that hangs down) and the bed. I mounted the outlets there (one on top of the other). I ran the wires over the bed (where the bed and the cab meet), under the cab (along the emergency brake line) and then through the groment (sp?) into the cab from the engine bay into my fuse box (I have a second fuse box). Pretty handy for blowing up my air matress or my inflatable boat when camping or fishing. I got the idea from the new SportTrac. Now if I could only get my rear window to roll down. . .

I think the outlets were $13 a peice. They're designed to be mounted outside, they have a "hatch cover" similiar to the one that covers the trailer connection that comes with the towing package. I ordered mine from JC Whitney (along with the wire and fuse box) but one of my friends said you can get them at Wal-Mart for the same price.

Another good place to mount them is under the front or rear bumper.

 

Got my chip today. I decided it was best to take the computer apart to be sure the connectors were good and clean, after scotch brite on the connectors I installed it. After I saw it would start I went down the street and filled up with super (wasnt going to waste a tank of super if chip didnt work with my truck) I took it for about a 6 mile drive and does the shifting ever feel better especially the shift from second to 3rd at about 75mph. It no longer has that dull feeling when it shifts. I have yet to feel any power difference but Im taking a 200 mile trip tomorrow so hopefully it will learn. Im going to also test to see if my speed govener is gone or raised or whatever is done to it. Ill check back tomorrow after the trip and let everyone know.

 

Hi Darn,

Just to give you a bit more info, as long as your vehicle starts with the Superchip, it's working and doing everything it's supposed to, as it's an "all-or-nothing" type of device as long as the battery is disconnected properly. So it can't just firm shifts and not add power, for example, and you'll get the feel for this as you accumulate more miles. However, because you did not have premium in the tank when you first started it up, but added it after that, you should do another battery disconnect right away as soon as you have premium in the tank, so it can get a proper "start". Right now, it's had to instantly throttle back the spark advance because the knock sensor picked up not having premium in the tank, and this is *very* important in your short-term results, thanks to the computer's accumulated memory.

Not doing another battery disconnect right away will cause the power gain to come in very gradually, as you accumulate miles of varied types of driving, even though the shifts will feel firmer very quickly. What we suggest is to disconnect the battery, pull the headlamps on for 5 minutes to drain residual voltage from the IC's & caps, then turn the headlamps back off & re-connect the battery, so the Superchip can get a good fresh start on premium.

An interesting point about all this battery disconnect stuff is that it won't make any difference in how that truck runs a month or a couple thousand miles down the road, but it can make all the difference in the world in your *immediate*, or short-term results, due to the power gain coming in so gradually without the disconnect once premium is in the tank, because of accumulated memory.

Just remember that the Superchip is roughly about a 10%-12% increase in peak horsepower, and that is basically about what to expect. Meaning, it should feel like you have 10%-12% more *peak* power. The heavier the vehicle the less difference the same power gain makes, of course. Which is why some guys will come on here and scream WOW! when they install their Superchip, and others will feel it a bit less just due to how heavy their particular vehicle is, your basic power-to-weight ratio effects. 4X4, tow package, offroad, and other options make an F-150 much heavier than say, a 5.4 2WD short-cab. From the lightest F-150 to the heaviest, there is now as much as close to 3000 lbs. of potential weight difference with the new Super Crews included into the mix.

The point being, in round numbers, a 10%-12% power gain is not going to make a night and day difference in the seat of your pants, but the power gain is in fact there as long as you "feed it" properly, so you should be able to feel it. To get the rated power gain requires the use of 92 octane at sea level altitude, just to give you an idea of the exact specs on the Superchip. Again, disconnecting the battery now that you have premium in the tank is critical to your immediate results.

With those firmer shifts by the way, you are also getting, for not quite a full second at WOT, well over a 50 hp gain during the upshift thanks to us pulling out that spark retard they use to reduce engine power, so you're already seeing the benefit of it.

Also, in second gear, from about 3200-3600 rpm on up, you will also notice a larger than normal power gain because we have eliminated the premature lockup of the torque conveter. On all these 1997 & newer F-150 V-8 automatics, they lock up the torque converter prematurely, and when that happens, you can see it clearly on the chassis dyno, they lose about 100 lbs./ft. of torque when that happens. So for the second half of 2nd gear, when you're at full-throttle, you should notice that it pulls noticeably harder, as this happens on all those vehicles. So you get not only the torque gain in the engine from the Superchip in that situation, you also get back the torque that the factory program "robs" at full-throttle in 2nd gear at higher rpms.

There are a few areas where the power gains are considerably larger than the "rated" peak engine power gains, like I described above, in what we call "transitional" areas of gain. But that aside, your truck should feel like you just picked up 10%-12% more peak power, as that is what you now have. So just remember that at say, 2000 rpm, your power gain may be only 8 more horsepower, and then as the rpms rise and the engine makes it's peak power output, at that point you have 10%-12% more peak power, so you'll know what to really expect from it.

We can talk about the specific hp & torque gains forever, but to try to translate that to what the vehicle should actually *feel* like with the Superchip, I think it's best to express it in terms of percentages, as there is no way you can tell in the seat of their pants exactly what 28 more peak horsepower in the 5.4 motor for example is actually going to feel like. So turning that into a percentage is a better way to express that, I think.

Have fun,

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Info:https://www.f150online.com/rally2000/index.html

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 07-22-2000).]

 

K hows this. I let my new chip learn on the trip down to the lake (only about 200 miles). I definatelty can feel the power difference and the driveavbility is much better. For the trip back I refueled to do a strickly hwy mpg test. For the 220 miles back with a/c on and cruise set between 75-85 mph I averaged 19.1 mpg. I never got this before. Im hoping to see even better due to my truck not even having 2000 miles on it. I can honestly say the chip was everything advertised it would be. Now to find some place to do a top speed test.

2000 F150 XLT SC 5.4L 3.55LS Class III towing

 

Hi Darn,

Welcome back from your trip, & thanks for your post!

With regards to gas mileage, just to give you an idea, on most of the 1999 & newer Fords we usually see about half the mileage gains from the Superchip right away, and then the rest of it tends to come in more slowly, as you accumulate the next 1500 to as much as 2000 miles.

It used to be on older Fords that you got most of that mileage gain right away, but we have seen that change in the last couple of model years, so that it now takes longer, as the fuel curves go thru their adjustment, as Ford's adaptive strategy does it's thing.

Sounds like everything is doing just fine so far. Glad to hear you got better mileage than normal, that's always a good sign, of course.

Have fun,

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Info:https://www.f150online.com/rally2000/index.html

 

Well, I still feel like a sucker. But your advice definitely works inline with what my problem is. That little "lag" before and after shifts is exactly what i'm talking about. Is that why the shifts slam (but not quick at all), and over and under rev? If I can convince someone else to take my chip off my hands for cheap, I'll start saving up for a Superchip. Thanks a million.

 

quote:
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With those firmer shifts by the way, you are also getting, for not quite a full second at WOT, well over a 50 hp gain during the upshift thanks to us pulling out that spark retard they use to reduce engine power, so you're already seeing the benefit of it.
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Mike, I'm considering the chip, but have a question.

Is there a danger of shortening the life of the transmission by having the engine at full power during shifts? I've heard that during hard acceleration, it's better for the transmission to let up on the gas during the upshift.

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Model: '99 F150 Lariat Supercab 4x4 SS Mechs: 5.4L, 3.73 Diff (9.75" LSD Rear, 8.8" Front)
ORP: Skid Plates, LT265/70R17 GY Wrang. AT/S
Group III towing: HD Electrical/Cooling, GVWR 6500# (Extra leaf spring).
Stuff: Step Bars, 4W Disc ABS, K&N filter, 0W-30 Series 2k Amsoil @ 8200 miles
Stock Items That Differ Across F150s: Steel Driveshaft, Oil filter bolted to engine w/ drip guard, 4R70W transmission.

 

"Also, in second gear, from about 3200-3600 rpm on up, you will also notice a larger than normal power gain because we have eliminated the premature lockup of the torque converter."

Is this only at WOT? Could you go into more detail about the torque converter lock-up? Both Ford's settings and yours. I pull a boat in drive (3rd) on the highway, at 70 mph I'm turning 2500 rpm. What's going on with the converter after the chip. It's locked now 99% of the time, and that's good as far as heat generation goes. I wouldn't want that to change.

What about the O/D turning on and off? Can you default it to off when the truck starts? Can you control the speed when O/D kicks in? If I leave O/D on, my truck shifts into O/D waaay too early.

What can you do for the crappy 94 Cobra computer? I have a Ford extender which I bought mainly for the removal of the shift retard and top end "limiter", but it needs a A/F setting for WOT and I don't have a meter to set the mixture. I don't want to run it lean and nuke a piston, but I don't want it to slow me down with a rich setting.

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2000 F150 XLT 4x4 Short Bed. Amazon Green, 5.4L, SuperCab, ORP, Tow Package, Sliding Rear Window, Electronic Shift, Keyless Entry, LT265-70-17 Tires, Clarion Pro Audio, Herculiner Bedliner, Air Silencer Removed.

1994 SVT Mustang Cobra. #1032 of 6009. Black coupe with black leather int., 3.73 rear, Bassani Exhaust, Aluminum D/S, Bridgestone RE-71 255-45-ZR17

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