I was wondering if someone knowledgable on chips could look at this Ebay listing and tell me if this is a good buy. It sounds cheap so I am hesitant, and I don't want to mess up my engine if it is too good to be true.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2425836023
Thanks,

Al
1999 F150 5.4L/Lariat

 

hi there
a few of my buddys has gotten that chip for there rice burners and one of my buddys got it for his ranger he said he did not notice that big of a difference but we all did. but on the rice burners nothing at all happend.
so i say if no one really knows how much of a differnce it makes take the chance its only 10 bucks.
i doubt it will harm any thing they say it wont. just read the directions if u get it.
hope this can help you.

az lbryder

 

Thanks, I guess I'll give it a try and see what happens.

Al

 

There is an old saying that goes something like "You get what you pay for." In the case of performance tuning, it is definitely true. There is no substitute for the research and development that goes into a good performance chip, and the ones like you linked to on Ebay are NOT the good ones. I can guarantee that you will not be satisfied with the performance if you actually try the good ones. Give Mike Troyer a call and he will fill you in on the details of the Superchips performance chip or Microtuner. Information is good and he has a lot to share.

Will the Ebay chip mess up your engine? I have no idea, but I personally wouldn't risk that. What would you do if it did? There is no warranty from the manufacturer listed on the Ebay listing. At least you know that Superchips (for instance) has put countless hours of time testing their product to ensure that it actually works with NO damage to your engine, with real people that answer the phone when you call if you have questions.

I am in Clackamas...give me a call at 503-866-2940 if you are in the area and I can demo the Microtuner for you.

 

Ed,
I want to thank you because your answer was exactly what I was looking for. I kind of thought the same thing you wrote but was looking for someone else to tell me it too. Thanks for the reply and I will definately give you a call if I'm in your area, It would be cool to see your truck with the chip and it's performance.
Thanks again.

Al

 

I traded the truck in on my PSD F350 but I still have the Microtuner...looking to sell it (its in the classifieds) but would be happy to load it on yours so you can test it out. Just make sure you have premium fuel in the tank...

 

Hi Al,

That's a rather deceptive ad, IMHO. Nobody except the seller would call it a "performance chip."

That product is NOT reprogramming the vehicle's PCM (powertrain control module).

What they're doing has been done many times before by other manufacturers over the past decade or so, simply altering incoming sensor data to "trick" the PCM into trying to force changes to the A/F ratio (according to their claim they're changing A/F, I can't really say if they change anything), and/or timing by not letting the PCM see the unaltered data stream, is usually how that works. By skewing the data a bit, in other words. Some use a method to force a bit more fuel, some do just the opposite and reduce fuel, while others trick the IAT (inlet air temperature) sensor's output to force more spark advance, etc. I'd *never* recommend something like that regardless of cost.

A properly designed performance chip actually provides an alternate powertrain program, with different operating instructions (tuning parameters, adjusting delays, limiters, transmission shift characteristics in automatics, top speed limiters, etc.) designed to provide better vehicle performance and allowing all systems to do their job as designed, with straight unaltered data from the sensors to the PCM. Which, as you can imagine, takes far more time, work, money, talent, knowledge, engineering, etc., and yields better, safer & more consistent results.

In short, there is no such thing as a $10 performance chip.

Sounds like you might be close enough to Ed for you 2 guys to maybe get together - that would be a very convenient way for you to see just what a good performance program does for these trucks, & that's very nice of Ed to offer. Hope that works out for you!