So, I'm 2/3 of the way there. The AF1 is on and the tuner has been run. The Magnaflow just arrived and I will be gone for the weekend, so it looks like it will be another week before everything is completed.

My original plan was to be all scientific and add one thing at a time, and do test runs with each. Then run each for a 1/2 tank of gas to get mileage comparison, etc. But I saw that chrome and electronics and just went to town.

Thus far, even without the new exhaust , I can say the truck sounds better with one big exception. There is a hum from the end of the AF1 at idle is really annoying to me. It immediately got a "what IS that noise?" from the wife as I pulled into the drive. I guess I will get used to it or if anyone has any tips on making it go away that is appreciated.

As for new power, it's hard to say. The truck is generally my wife's daily driver so I can't give a great comparison of before and after. (and my daily driver is an Audi S4, so I am way spoiled in the power dept). The real test will be when we take the trailer up in the mountains later in the year as I do know well how the weak the truck has felt in the past under load.

 

Got my micro tuner thursday.

Hope to install it this weekend.

trucks all fueled up with premium.

 

4Xpy4, glad to see yet another person from Flower Mound!!

I don't hang around here much but when I first started, I almost couldn't stop! You should be really pleased with what you're doing so far. I also tow (pretty heavy boat, you may have actually seen me around town ) And mine does great.

The O2 sensor thing is interesting. Mike, I've got 58k already (seem's like yesterday when my chip 'n filter were delivered ) and I haven't touched the O2's. Maybe I better trade for that Super Duty now. Wonder if the wife would fall for that.

 

Got my micro tuner install done this morning. Was ten minutes like everybody says. Truck seems to run stronger. I do have some pre-ignition when accelerating at WOT onto the freeway and the autotrans is shifting. Guess I have some maintenance items to try next. New fuel filter and new upstream O2 sensors and clean the ERG ports. Maybe seafoam and new spark plugs? I got 54,700 Miles.

 

Hi Family Ride,

Good to see you again!

Yes, we've always advised replacing the O2's at 30K mile intervals, which is just as Bosch & most other O2 makers suggest. Yes, they want to sell O2's of course, and you can usually stretch it to maybe 50K miles, but I don't. At not more than 50K miles, the factory upstream O2's should be replaced on OBD-II vehicles, and on the pre-1996 (non-OBD-II) vehicles this holds the same, replace the O2 sensor at 30K to not more than 50K intervals.

We're not concerned with the downstream O2's on OBD-II vehicles until they actually fail or cause inappropriate SES lights, as they have nothing to do with A/F ratio feedback, the downstream units are there primarily to look for a voltage difference from the upstream O2, to indicate catalytic converter presence & function.

Hmm, trading in for the SuperDuty because it's time to replace the O2's............sounds good to me! If you can make that fly, let me know how you did it. I've been contemplating trading in one of our F-150's (a 2001) for a PSD SuperDuty to have a tow vehicle to haul the Lightning around in a trailer, and if that weren't enough, right now I'm also contemplating letting the Lightning go for the blower '03 Cobra. It's just so much cheaper & easier to get the Cobra into the 9's as compared to a Lightning with it's 5000+ lb. bulk & aero profile. For me, the roll cage is one of the issues being considered, as doing it right for a 10 second Lightning is about a $2500 job, whereas it's maybe $600 for a Cobra. Decisions, decisions...........

Let us know how your's works out, & great to see you again, as always, it does seem like just last week you were doing the earlier few (of many) mods to that nice Expy of yours!

 

Hi hazy,

Yes, I do think it's a good idea at this point to go ahead and do the entire 60K mile maintenance on that vehicle, and replace the upstream O2's as well, you won't find them listed anywhere on the maint. schedule, unfortunately. It's also past time to take care of the ignition as well, if that vehicle still has the original plugs, plug wires & coil packs. The spark plugs, spark plug wires & the coil packs are ready for replacement at 40K miles or 3 years, whichever comes first on those 97-99 4.6's with the non-COP ignitions. We have an ignition upgrade package that is worth a solid 14 HP over stock factory components, and even more over worn factory ignition components, and gets some mpg gain as well.

However, the very *first* thing to look at when you have a symptom of "pinging" (the pre-ignition form of detonation) after installing any kind of performance chip or tuner is making sure you are using the absolute best quality premium gasoline available in your area. Since you are out there in AZ, it's probably going to be Chevron, as you usually only have access to 91 octane premiums out there. At any rate, just make sure you're using the best premium gas available, as sometimes it's just an issue of fuel quality, there is always the issue of the actual energy content, the # of BTU's per gallon of fuel. This is generally lower (meaning a lower energy content, less BTU's per gallon) less with fuels that are reformulated year-round like Exxon is, and all the off-brands, no-names, etc. This can be an issue even with a number of the so-called "name brand" fuels, there's a lot of sharing of base gas stocks.

Once you're sure you have the best quality premium gas available in the tank, then if it's only pinging on heavy throttle, drive it for a bit, say, 50-100 miles, with frequent stops to shut off the ignition for a few minutes and then re-start the vehicle and drive it again. Drive it for about 8-10 miles each time, until you've got 100 or so miles on it, and 6-10 drive cycles, and see if this has improved. Each time you do this, it's another "drive cycle," and this allows adaptive strategy to make the normal adjustments it must begin again from scratch anytime you change the PCM's program and/or clear the PCM by disconnecting the battery. Just using good quality premium gas and letting it get some drive cycles on it may clear this up just that simply for you.

Don't let any "prolonged" pinging to continue, use your judgment on that & feel free to give us a call to go over this in more detail, as we don't ever want to leave detonation unchecked. Having detonation with the Micro Tuner is not normal even there out West where the premium fuels are 91 octane, just to let you know. When detonation occurs, it's virtually always either a fuel quality problem or a maint/service issue with the vehicle, and we don't want this to continue.

Good luck, & please don't hesitate to call us to go over this, OK?

 

FYI
That Microtuner POS caused a friends 02 Lightning to ping also! It would ping at the top of the gear, and that was with 94 octane fuel.

 

I can tell the ping problem is going away after a few cycles now. Seems to be getting better.

I do want to do that ignition upgrade. Should I put some seafoam thru my brake boost vacuum line just before I do the upgrade plus the new upstream O2 sensors?

I'm liking the way my truck is driving with the micro tuner.

 

Hi hapy,

OK, glad to hear the pinging seems to be clearing up with more miles & drive cycles. With regard to doing a treatment to remove combustion chamber deposits, I'm most familiar with the cracked walnut method that the dealerships use. If the pinging goes away completely as it should on it's own, just as you accumulate more miles & drive cycles as discussed in my last post, then I wouldn't worry about that treatment, but of course that's up to you. I'd say let's see what happens with regard to the pinging as adaptive strategy does it's adjustments.

Now if you have some reason to feel that you may have abnormally large amount of combustion chamber deposits, and/or if the detonation were to have continued unabated, then sure, you can go ahead and spend the money for the treatment.

I'm not familiar with the "seafoam" treatment you're referring to.

I would just do as discussed in my previous post, make sure all the maintenance is up to snuff, and replace the 2 upstream O2's. Then if you haven't had a heart attack from the 60K maint. bill, I'd say to get the ignition taken care of next. There you don't want to use factory parts, as they're pricey & are not nearly as good as some of the aftermarket parts, meaning you can do a nice upgrade and it doesn't cost you any more (usually less!) than using factory parts.

The main thing is making sure the detonation is taken care of as well as the 60K mile maint. & replacing the upstream O2's. Then whenever you're ready, the ignition can be done whenever you like. I'd make sure the pinging & the maint. items are done first, *then* you'll be ready (if you desire) for more performance upgrades.

I hope that answers your questions, & don't hesitate to give us a call to go over any of this in more detail.

 

what does the pinging sound like? High pitched or low? Where does it come from? The engine? Just curious. I don't have any abnorman sounds, but once I get the money for a microtuner I want to know what to listen for.

 

On my engine it's a rapid engine knock. It only happens at high rpm right before the gear shifts at wide open throttle.

I've got about 100 miles on her now so it's gotten way better. Just a little bit now and if I hear it I ease off the pedal, heh.

I'm still going to do some maintenance items here soon.

 

Ok, so where your at WOT, and you have the windows down, and your hearing the truck get up into the RPM's you'll hear a quick "KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK" until you let off the gas? I've never heard this, so if it does happen, I want to know what to look for ya know

 

I've been busy but wanted to let you know Im really enjoying my super tuner and the how my truck is running now.