Hi folks, I'm new here but I just wanted to share my thoughts.
Downloaded my new tuner Friday. RED 01 S/C, 5.4. 4x4, ORP, Cobra style hood, 3.55 L/S, Flow Master di/do r/exit and K&N drop-in.
Shifts are MUCH crisper..1-2 really snaps hehe! The power is certainly noticable but won't snap your neck (6000 lbs. is a lot of mass).
One of the best options that is not in the instructions or menu is the "REMOVE LUMPY IDLE" mode. This truck has 23k on it and NOW idles as smooth as a sewing machine. Thats a first! Fords answer to the crappy idle is "thats normal" I guess nobody told SuperChips that..hehe.
Bottom line is this was my best mod. for the money to date!!
Everybody out there, have a GREAT FORD YEAR. This is an awesome site and last but definately not least, Mike Troyer is a great guy and extremely knowledgeble man.
Thanks Mike!

 

Hi edmilk,

Thanks for your post!

Many people comment on how much the idle smoothness is improved with the Superchips tuning in these modular motors. Funny how something that doesn't affect power can be so greatly appreciated, and I have to confess to being an idle quality *nut* myself. Unless there's a big camshaft(s) being used, I can't stand rough idle quality, and Ford has basically sent out all of these modular motors (especially the 5.4's) with plenty of idle shake to get rid of.

It's sometimes hard for us laymen to accept that the automakers in fact just aren't the best tuners (by far), and sometimes they aren't even particularly good. In addition to the natural compromises that the automakers have to make to meet their viusion of market forces, etc., there are always nice improvements that can be made in virtually any computer controlled vehicle's pwoertrain program, correcting tuning problems & other various areas of deficit, etc.

Sounds like your '01 is virtually identical to one of our F-150's we have here, which is similarly a 2001 5.4 ORP 6000 lb. monster, so we know the feeling. They need all the help in the power department they can get, and while there are times I'd like our ORP to be lighter, it's also nice to be cruising at 85-90 mph in complete comfort with plenty of vehicle around you, too. After my wife's accident some years ago (she got caught in a bad ice and wind storm that flipped her Explorer on the Interstate a few times), I'll only put her in a big heavy truck with plenty of shetmetal around her!

Glad to see you're enjoying your new Micro tuner, have fun!

 

Hey Mike,
I've been reading about these Micro Tuners, and was wondering if it would be good for my truck. That is performance wise ! I heard that you had to run 93 octane once reprogramed ? Anyway the only mods I have made is the Air Box cut away and exhaust dumped after the cab with a Flow Master. My truck is a 01' Sup. Crew with 5.4L and Auto and 355's. Let me know what you think is best !

 

Hi Markus,

Sure, the Micro Tuner will work fine for your 2001 F-150 and any other 1997 & up F-150 V8 as long as there aren't any engine modifications that require custom engine tuning to compensate for, like aftermarket MAF's, larger fuel injectors, superchargers, nitrous oxide, ported heads, etc.

The Micro Tuner will work fine with your intake & exhaust mods, things like an intake kit, a cat-back exhaust system, electric fans & underdrive puilleys will all be fine with the Micro Tuner.

The Micro Tuner requires a good quality 91 octane or higher premium gasoline, so here in the East that basically means 93 octane as that is what our pump premiums are. Out West, most of them have premium fuesl that are 91 to maybe 92 octane, so that is what they use out there.

Having your powertrain program optimized with the Micro Tuner is the single best bang for the buck modification you can make, as nothing else will do more to improve the performance and reduce the acceleration times as much as the Superchips tuning will for the same or less cost. Optimizing your powertrain program is the easiest & cheapest way to get a 10%-12% power gain, remove the top speed limiter, clean up the shifting in the automatics and drop your 0-60 & 1/4 mile times by anywhere from a half-second to a full second. And of course, it has all the other features too, like it's built in OBD-II code scanner, the ability to correct your own speedoemter error should you ever change tires sizes or gear ratios ('99 & up models), and the ability to set your own full-throttle upshift points for each gear change (1-2, 2-3 & 3-4) if you want, along with being able to alter the shift firmness level for each upshift as well. You don't *have* to do all of that, when you plug in the Micro Tuner you can (and should for at least the first month or so) just take all the defaults and drive it like that for at least a full month before playing around with shift points, etc. You'll have that capability with the Micro Tuner should you want to alter those areas.

Since you asked, there is something I would change on that truck as soon as I could if I were you, and that is, I would re-think your current exhaust setup. What you have done there by installing that Flowmaster has actually caused your low-end torque to drop below what you had with the stock factory exhaust below 3000 rpm. Flowmaster (and any other low-end exhaust/muffler, not just Flowmaster) will reduce torque below about 3000 rpm at virtually any throttle position in these trucks, as they cause the exhaust velocity to drop significantly, especially on part-throttle where torque is key to driveability, performance and fuel mileage. You will gain a few HP at full throttle above 2800-3000 rpm (darn few), but it's not worth the loss of torque down low. So as soon as you can afford to, I would recommend getting that Flowmaster off of there & putting a Magnaflow on it, you'll be much happier with the results. This is of course up to you, this is just FYI in general.

Give us a call if you'd like to go over any of this in more detail, what should be changed in your exhaust, which Magnaflow muffler to use, or any questions about the Micro Tuner etc., we'll be happy to help!

Good luck with your truck,

 

Why would you change the muffler ?

 

Mike,

You said with the micro tuner, you can set how firm the shifts are. What is the stock setting and how firm can it go? And is it true that a harder/snappier shift is actually better for the trans?

Thanks

 

Hi Markus,

Simply put, because Flowmaster & virtually all other lower cost mufflers & exhaust systems don't do very much positive for the power in these late-model F-150's, most notably due to the loss of low end torque. Driveability and even fuel mileage can take a hit as well, depending on how the vehicle is operated. Flowmaster and other lower-end (and some higher-end units, too!) exhausts & mufflers cause a loss of torque below 2800-3000 rpm due to a lack of proper flow engineering (opening up the flow without maintaining sufficient exhaust velocity), and thus result in minimal power gains even at higher rpms as compared to better products, along with a loss of torque on the low end, especially on part-throttle right where it's needed. I'm not picking on Flowmaster, as they're generally a great company and it's not just their products that produce that kind of result in these heavy vehicles, not by a long shot. It's virtually *all* of the lower-end products and many of the higher-end products as well; though this is in part a price issue, on the low end it's not possible to provide quality materials & real flow engineering too and do it cheaply, this isn't just a price issue, as we've seen higher dollar products not do any better. It's an issue of who is and is not doing a good job of providing a muffler or a cat-back exhaust system that provides the proper flow engineering required specifically for these heavy trucks & SUV's to be able to avoid the loss of low-end torque. And what these trucks need in terms of their exhaust design is far different from what works just fine on a 3400 lb. Mustang. Read these message boards & you'll find hundred of posts from people installing exhaust mods who complain of the loss of low-end torque.

Now the only thing that *really* matters here is whatever makes you happy as the vehicle owner, not what Mike says, not what anyone else thinks. I originally mentioned this because you asked for my opinion, not to offend you in any way, just to try to help maximize your results. If you are happy with your Flowmaster, then leave it right there my friend, and continue to enjoy it!

Have fun,

 

Hi Mike
Sorry to be the uninfomred about the Micro-Tuner.

The Micro-Tuner is ahand held unit similar to....errrr (sorry)...a Hypertech system?

Also, I noticed something in your post above. You said drive the truck around with the default settings for awhile. What does that mean? Is there a "pre-programmed" program (that's wordy) already in the unit when you receive it? And then from there you can make any adjustments you want?

Also, is the "default" programming similar to what your chip would be if I ordered that program?

Any info is appreciated. Thanks

 

Hi 03,

Well, in the Micro Tuner, the correlation of the firmness setting to the firmness of the shifts either stock or with the traditional Superchip module varies based on the computer code. For most of them, the centerpoint is the factory stock firmness level, and for a few of them, the centerline is what you would normally get in the Superchip module. The owner of each vehicle gets a feel for that by playing with it, though most should probably leave it alone & just go with the defaults.

Yes, a firmer shift is better for any automatic transmission as there is less slippage thus less heat is generated, and heat is the #1 enemy of any automatic transmission. That does not mean, however, that it's a good idea to go in and crank those shifts up as hard as it will make them. If you keep cranking up line pressure electronically to extreme levels, you reach a point where you're in essence trying to drain a swimming pool thru a straw, the straw being the orifice sizing in the valve body that the installation of aTransgo shift kit would enlarge.

The basic guideline is, if you want the tranny to shift hard enough to chirp the tires on a full-throttle 1-2 upshift, then that is best accomplished by the combination of the program changes in the Superchip to raise power and remove retards & delays and give a small increase in line pressure, combined with the Transgo shift kit to eliminate physical obstacles to flowing enough fluid *volume* inside the transmission's valve body.

 

Hi Keith,

No, the Micro Tuner is not going to allow anyone to change any individual engine tuning parameters directly, that would only result in a huge quantity of blown engines from people without a clue using it to crank in timing, lean out the A/F, etc.

The Micro Tuner contains the complete finished engine tuning, what it allows you to alter are the WOT upshift points and shift firmness levels, as well as correct the speedometer for changes to gear ratio & tire sizes in the '99 & up models.

We advise that people use all the defaults for at least a month (and for most people, forever), otherwise they don't have the first clue or point of reference with which to try and make any such an adjustment to what is already going to be contained in the defaults. Basic common sense dictates that the vehcle owner learn what they get in the defaults before deciding they can improve on the Superchips shift points without ever even knowing what they are. That aside, we've already optimized those for each code for teh typical intake & exhaust mods, so that feature is there primarily for those who either make no other changes whatsoever and need to lower the WOT upshift point maybe 100 or so rpm on the 2-3, or for those who have actually made other changes where it actually requires a change to the full-throttle shift point to correct a problem, something beyond the typical intake & exhaust mods.

Aside from our special Performance Products programs, there is no difference between the standard Superchips tuning in either the Superchip module or the Micro Tuner.

Give us a call to go over any of this in more detail, our contact info is listed just below.

 

Thanks Mike for the detailed reply.

One more question specifically related to my 2002.
Compared to my 1999 5.4 Offroad, my 2002 5.4 Offroad seems much much much more responsive through the gas pedal. Meaning, I truely believe that the truck makes the downshifts with "LESS" gas pedal. Meaning it seems like the "throttle angle position" (if that is appropriate term for a F-150) seems like it takes less push on the pedal for the downshift to occur when cruising or even between the 4-3 and 3-2 downshift.


I REALLY LIKE this feature over my 1999 with the same motor. If I ordered your Micro-Tuner or Superchip will that "value" be manipulated at all in my 2002? I don't want it to since I like the feeling of the 2002 downshifts much better than my 1999. Any info is appreciated. I hope this all made sense. Thanks.

 

Hi Keith,

That makes *perfect* sense, and not to worry, you won't lose your downshift characteristics, as each Superchips performance program is made to precisely match each individual different factory software revision in these PCM's, so whatever you've got there now will only be improved, not worsened.

There are other things that can affect this too by the way, aside from PCM calibration, and they are differences in gear ratio & tire size from one vehicle to the next, along with vehicle configuration, etc. But assuming the change you're perceiving is actually in the PCM's programming, no, you won't lose that.

 

Thank you Mike for all your time.

 

So you could actually tune the speedo so you hardly ever put miles on your truck?? Is that legal? lol

- Rick -

 

The Micro Tuner does not allow anyone to alter their odometer reading, the miles on the vehicle are going to *stay* on the vehicle. Recalibrating the speedometer to correct it for a gear ratio change or tire size change is one thing, and that is what the Micro Tuner allows. Rolling back miles on an odometer is a completely different matter, is highly illegal and is obviously something that only a thief would ever have any interest in doing. In fact, I love to watch on 60 Minutes when they expose the odometer "busters," over the years they've done a number of shows about that.

The Micro Tuner is not for turning back miles on the odometer, it allows the vehicle owner to recalibrate their speedometer to restore accuracy when a gear ratio or tire size change has been made. Period. Somebody would have to be pretty stupid to want to throw their speedometer so far off that they actually reduce by any significant amount how many miles are being put on a vehicle, which would also cause shifting problems in automatics.

The Micro Tuner allows the *legal* restoration of speedometer accuracy when mechanical changes have been made to the vehicle (gear ratio or tire size changes) that thow off the speedo's accuracy.