My first time on this forum…

Mike: I talked with you a few weeks back-- appreciate your help. I definitely plan on ordering some things from Performance Products, but my wife tells me I have to hold off until after taxes are paid. In the mean time, I have some questions. I can tell you are a busy man, so I thought this approach might be best because you can respond as time permits. Others, please chime in with your thoughts too. Thanks.

I have a 2000 F150, Supercab, 5.4, 3.55LS, w/tow/offroad & 17" tires. We just brought home our travel trailer-- a 2000 Sunline Solaris T-2753, and will be taking it HIGH into the Rockies and thru the HOT Southwest. I'm looking for upgrades to ensure everything runs cool and smooth, and perhaps even a *few* MPH faster up those long, steep grades. We hooked up our TT and had it weighed yesterday. Our truck weight should not go up, but I've estimated in (to the figures below) an additional 500lbs of TT weight for when we go on vacation. Here are the stats (note that tongue wt is included in both GVW's). Truck: GVW=6320, GVWR=6500. Sunline: GVW=5700, GVWR=7000, truck max tow=7500. Both: GCW=11300, GCWR=12500. As you can see, we are pushing the limits on the truck, but the TT seems fine.

Question #1: Can a flip chip be tailored so that one setting maximizes towing efficiency, and another setting maximizes fuel economy, or is it all just the same issue? In other words, a "93" setting for good MPG (90% of the time), a "91" setting for towing/power (10% of the time) and just pull the chip if we can't get at least 91 octane fuel? I used "91" because out west that's the most you can get, and that's where we'd be towing, but we can always get 93 around here.

Question #2: What is the time involved to install a flip chip, the time involved to perform the flip operation, and the time involved in removing the chip if for some reason we wanted to temporarily go back to the factory settings?

Question #3: When we talked, you mentioned HD tranny coolers with a fan, and self regulating (thermostatic control). After looking at your website I believe you deal with Perma-cool units? I went to their site and noticed they have quite a variety of models. I noticed one that was a combo unit which cooled BOTH engine oil and tranny oil. I definitely plan on going to synthetic tranny/gear oil, but am a bit hesitant about synth engine oil. Perhaps this combo unit might compensate somewhat for staying with regular engine oil? Can a fan and thermostat be used with the combo unit? Do you think the combo unit is sufficient for my application? Or is their a reason you'd steer me to a different model? If so, what would you suggest? Would the rule: "The more the better" apply in THIS case so long as I had the thermostatic control? Would it HURT anything to get the BIGGEST cooler?

Question #4: I think you mentioned disconnecting the auxiliary cooler which came with the tow package because of cold weather (and it gets very cold at times here in northern Illinois). But would this be necessary if the Perma-Cool is self regulating (i.e. if it only goes on at a temperature which is sufficiently warm)?

Question #5: For peace of mind, we would like to get a tranny gauge, but would like it to look… nice, especially my wife. J Suggestions? We bought our truck used, and the previous owner left a screw hole in the middle of the plastic panel to the right of the steering column-we were thinking of mounting gauge(s) there as long as there's already a hole.

Question #6: What other types of gauges might we want to invest in to monitor our truck while towing? What other things might we want to keep an eye on? We'd just as soon do it all at once. Are there combination gauges that you might suggest?

Question #7: If YOU were in our shoes, and were primarily interested in vehicle longevity and towing performance, and were willing to spend a *reasonable* amount of money, what other types of investments would you consider putting into YOUR F150 before heading out to Colorado or Arizona?

Thanks,
Paul.

 

Hello Paul,

Well, I'm happy to help, but for pages of numerous detailed questions it takes far too long to even read them, let alone type out all the detailed answers, so we'll need to do this by phone.

Every day we get hundreds of emails, phone calls & posts, so it's not physically possible for me to personally provide detailed answers to every question like that, thus we do most of this over the phone. We can cover more in a 10 minute phone call than by sitting here typing for 2 hours, so for anything detailed, or numerous questions, etc., all of that has to be done by phone, please. If I'm out when you call, I'll be happy to return the call just as soon as I can.

Thanks in advance for your understanding Paul, our contact info is below & we look forward to hearing from you!