I'm not worried about power - fuel economy is the name of the game here. A slight drop in power in favor of better fuel economy would be acceptable.

I'd like your opinions - should I chip, and, if so, exactly how - that is, what sort of chip or perhaps microtuner.

I have a 1997 E150 with the 5.4L engine (the same as the F150 5.4L engine).

Thanks,

William

 

Are you sure that the 5.4 in the van is the same as the one in the pick-up? I drive a '99 E250 for work and it has a 235hp version of the 5.4. I agree that they get terrible gas milage. In this cold weather I get between 10 and 11 mpg. In better weather it's more like 14 to 15mpg. I don't know about your van but the one that I drive is loaded. I think that it's all the weight that is the biggest factor in the poor gas mileage.

I think that you will find that a chip or tuner is designed to increase performance. If we see an improvement in gas mileage, we are lucky. I don't think that it should be expected. I did see a slight improvement in gas mileage when I put the single program Superchip in my F150. Now with the Superchip flip chip I see a slight decline. I also installed a supercharger at the same time as the flip chip, which I think is the cause of the decline.

I think that if you get a performance chip with the expectation that you will get better gas mileage, there is a good chance that you will be dissapointed. Then again, if you drive conservitively the performance enhancements may allow for better gas mileage.

Mike Troyer/Performance Products is the one that you want to hear from. He can give you the information you need to make an educated decision.

Good luck!

 

Troyer Performance MIGHT be able to custom-program a SuperChip to decrease power and increase the fuel mileage, but I doubt they would guarantee anything. Another problem is, decreasing the power output would make you get on the gas harder at launch and might actually DECREASE mileage.

Magnum

 

Hi WIlliam,

Performance tuning is going to require the use of premium gasoline of at least 91 octane, which means you will be spending *more* for gas, not less. You may spend as much as $100 per each 10,000 miles driven more for gas with the Superchips tuning.

The 5.4 you have in that van does not make as much power as the 5.4 in that same model year of F-150, what you have is the van version of the 235 hp 5.4 that was used in the 1997-1998 F-150 and the 1997-1999 Ford Expedition (a few 1999 Expy's got the PI 5.4, but not many). Better than the 4.6, as you've got a longer stroke & thus more low-end torque & better fuel mileage.
In the vans you have a more restrictive intake and exhaust setup due to engine packaging constraints, so you generally make, in the real world, about 10-15 hp less than the F-150 does.

If you want to use performance parts to improve fuel mielage, try things like our electric fan kit, or underdrive pulley set, both of which will give more power to the rear wheels and comsume less fuel than before, thanks to reducing parasitic losses. Give us a call & we can go over that with you if you like.

And don't forget, since that is soon to be a 7 year old vehicle, it probably needs to have all it's service work done, all the belts, hoses, filters & fluids (tranny and differential, too) need to be replaced, as well as things like new spark plugs and a good 4-wheel alignment, which will help fuel mileage also.

 

Thanks for the advice.

I already knew about my upcoming service requirements - I'll probably do my 100,000 mile service a bit early before I take off for a 6,000 mile trip.

I did not know about electric fans or underdrive pulley kits, they both sound interesting. The underdrive pulley sounds a bit risky whwen we talk about making the water pump and alternator slow down, except that replacing the drive shaft pulley with a lighter weght one might be a good move.

The electric fan option really sounds good - the one I looked at for a sample was ove $500, a bit steep for the gain in mpgs, I think. About $200 or so is probably worth it.

Anyway - good ideas, thanks. I may call to discuss options - you know more about my engine than I do.

 

Hi William,

Actually, our underdrive pulleys take all of that and more into consideration, which is why the crankshaft pulley is smaller, but the water pump pulley is actually *larger* than stock. We have to take things like cooling capacity, power steering assist, alternator output & other factors into consideration when designing such a part, and the *last* thing we're going to do is compromise the engine's cooling, you won't see that with our parts.

The amount of R&D and testing that goes into the parts we use is tremendous, we have everything from daily drivers to tow vehicles to our professional racers to support & who depend on us for our expertise, so there's never a dull moment (or a spare minute, it seems) around here.

Give us a call sometime & we can go over all the details with you, especially regarding the pulleys & our electric fan kit, since fuel mileage is your primary concern those 2 mods will help mileage the most.

Have fun & talk to you soon,