chip
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 8
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From: vancouver
chip
I was thinking of getting a chip for my f150 4.6 and am worried that it may be bad for the engine. I asked a mechanic and he told me that the chip can result in pinging. Is the chip in any way, bad for a stock 4.6 engine? I really don't wanna wear my truck out too quick as i can't afford it. The mechanic also told me to take it easy on the new Ford motors as they can't take a beating like the old Mistang 5.0 motor. Also, I showed him my k&n intake and he said that it may result in more dust in the engine. Any truth to this?
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Sunny,
Your engine has a knock sensor, and when it "hears" detonation, it signals the PCM to *instantly* retard timing on the fly, many times per second. That's how it works, so in order to have audible detonation so bad that the PCM could not pull out enough timing to quell it (a function that stays fully intact with the Superchip installed), you'd have to have some pretty bad conditions going on - like heavy deposits in the combustion chamber as a result of buying gas based on price, poor quality fuel currently in the tank, clogged fuel filter, etc., in addition to the potential for too much timing in a chip. Now once in a while you might get a little bit of pinging with the Superchip right after you first put it in, during a full-throttle upshift - that can happen once in a while, and that clears up pretty quickly as the PCM adapts to it's new program, within a few hundred miles.
But overall, detonation certainly isn't a "normal" result from installing a Superchip, as you will see from just taking the time to read these message boards right here in this section - you'll see hundreds of people using the Superchips tuning with no problems.
The things that are going to cause detonation with a Superchip are the things you generally already know about up front - you can't run low quality fuel or run it on a poorly maintained vehicle - you know, one where the owner doesn't even know how old the fuel filter is, etc. As long as you have a healthy motor, a properly maintained vehicle and are feeding it good quality fuel of the required octane, you're generally not going to have problems of detonation with the Superchip.
You might want to spend some time reading what others who own these same vehicles and who are actually using the Superchips tuning have to say about it, as I think you'll find that their results are quite different from what your mechanic has relayed to you.
We do have to understand that mechanics see it all - so they *do* sometimes see people with a "bad" chip, or one that is not being used properly - they *do* see people who don't maintain their vehicles & still try to hot-rod them - they see the best parts, they see the worst parts - they see it *all*, and to a mechanic - if he has a problem with one performance part, he's generally going to condemn all performance parts of a similar nature - not due to direct experience with them all, but because he had 1 or 2 bad experiences that were indeed valid.
Mechanics generally do not have the experience with all the various automotive performance manufacturers & parts that a performance specialist like we have (there are always exceptions, but this is generally true more often than not), as that is not what mechanics generally do - mechanics repair vehicles, whereas we modify them for more performance - and those are 2 different things. There are many *fine* mechanics who know next to nothing about performance modifications in these vehicles - especially in computer controlled vehicles. Same goes for us - we can make them go like stink, but I would not call myself a top-notch diagnostician, as I'm not.
However, I do not agree that the modular motors aren't as reliable or durable as the older 5.0's, I don't agree with that at all.
Last, as long as your K&N air filter is properly cleaned & oiled and sealed within it's compartment, it properly filters the air going into your motor. The tiny bit more small particles it will allow as compared to a paper filter element generally make no measurable impact on it's service life. We use gauze & oil type filters on all our vehicles, and have for many years - they do not cause us any such concern.
You might also want to drop by our web site and read up on some of these modifications, etc. drop by www.TroyerPerformance.com - click on "Shop" once the home page loads, & then you;ll see a page with all the various individual sections - Intake, Exhaust, Superchips, etc.
Spend some time reading up on all this info & the experiences of others here using the Superchips tuning, & feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over any of this in more detail.
Good luck with your truck!
Your engine has a knock sensor, and when it "hears" detonation, it signals the PCM to *instantly* retard timing on the fly, many times per second. That's how it works, so in order to have audible detonation so bad that the PCM could not pull out enough timing to quell it (a function that stays fully intact with the Superchip installed), you'd have to have some pretty bad conditions going on - like heavy deposits in the combustion chamber as a result of buying gas based on price, poor quality fuel currently in the tank, clogged fuel filter, etc., in addition to the potential for too much timing in a chip. Now once in a while you might get a little bit of pinging with the Superchip right after you first put it in, during a full-throttle upshift - that can happen once in a while, and that clears up pretty quickly as the PCM adapts to it's new program, within a few hundred miles.
But overall, detonation certainly isn't a "normal" result from installing a Superchip, as you will see from just taking the time to read these message boards right here in this section - you'll see hundreds of people using the Superchips tuning with no problems.
The things that are going to cause detonation with a Superchip are the things you generally already know about up front - you can't run low quality fuel or run it on a poorly maintained vehicle - you know, one where the owner doesn't even know how old the fuel filter is, etc. As long as you have a healthy motor, a properly maintained vehicle and are feeding it good quality fuel of the required octane, you're generally not going to have problems of detonation with the Superchip.
You might want to spend some time reading what others who own these same vehicles and who are actually using the Superchips tuning have to say about it, as I think you'll find that their results are quite different from what your mechanic has relayed to you.
We do have to understand that mechanics see it all - so they *do* sometimes see people with a "bad" chip, or one that is not being used properly - they *do* see people who don't maintain their vehicles & still try to hot-rod them - they see the best parts, they see the worst parts - they see it *all*, and to a mechanic - if he has a problem with one performance part, he's generally going to condemn all performance parts of a similar nature - not due to direct experience with them all, but because he had 1 or 2 bad experiences that were indeed valid.
Mechanics generally do not have the experience with all the various automotive performance manufacturers & parts that a performance specialist like we have (there are always exceptions, but this is generally true more often than not), as that is not what mechanics generally do - mechanics repair vehicles, whereas we modify them for more performance - and those are 2 different things. There are many *fine* mechanics who know next to nothing about performance modifications in these vehicles - especially in computer controlled vehicles. Same goes for us - we can make them go like stink, but I would not call myself a top-notch diagnostician, as I'm not.
However, I do not agree that the modular motors aren't as reliable or durable as the older 5.0's, I don't agree with that at all.
Last, as long as your K&N air filter is properly cleaned & oiled and sealed within it's compartment, it properly filters the air going into your motor. The tiny bit more small particles it will allow as compared to a paper filter element generally make no measurable impact on it's service life. We use gauze & oil type filters on all our vehicles, and have for many years - they do not cause us any such concern.
You might also want to drop by our web site and read up on some of these modifications, etc. drop by www.TroyerPerformance.com - click on "Shop" once the home page loads, & then you;ll see a page with all the various individual sections - Intake, Exhaust, Superchips, etc.
Spend some time reading up on all this info & the experiences of others here using the Superchips tuning, & feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over any of this in more detail.
Good luck with your truck!
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: vancouver
Whoa, thanx for the info. Holy smokes, you sure went into detail like you were writing a college essay. Thanks alot and I appreciate it. I am new to the superchip game and I should read up on it a bit more but from what you said, it sounds like a good way to go. Just one last question, by "bad fuel" are you referring to 87 octane? If times get tuff occasionally and I have to resort back to 87 octane, can I switch the program back to how the compuetr was configured originally? Once again, thanx for your help.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 883
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta, GA
sunny,
Not speaking for Mike here but I have talked with him just as you have regarding similar concerns. I have chosen to go with the Superchips 1715 MicroTuner because it has three performance settings as well as allowing you to return the program to stock (waranty reasons for me). Now I am sure Mike will correct me if I am wrong but it plugs into the OBDII port so there is no real install to it other than pulling and replacing a fuse or two, plugging it in and mashing a few buttons. The three settings it has that I gathered from Mike's other posts are a mild performance for 87 octane, a towing performance for 91+ octane, and an all out performance (no towing allowed with this one) also for 91+ octane. So you can see from this that it seems to me to be the most flexible and fits my needs best out of all the offerings. Maybe ask Mike more about others available because I really only researched what I felt would work best for me. Oh the 1715 also allows you to pull the diagnostic codes, change speedo calibration to match larger/smaller tires and rear end gear changes. As far as the cheap gas I think he is referring to 87 octane from less than average gas stations such as mom & pop's stop and shop that is out in the middle of nowhere and the fuel in their tanks is probably months old as well as a worn out or non-existant filter system on their pumps. Anyway, hope this helps answer your questions. Again, correct me if I am wrong on any of this Mike or anyone else.
Not speaking for Mike here but I have talked with him just as you have regarding similar concerns. I have chosen to go with the Superchips 1715 MicroTuner because it has three performance settings as well as allowing you to return the program to stock (waranty reasons for me). Now I am sure Mike will correct me if I am wrong but it plugs into the OBDII port so there is no real install to it other than pulling and replacing a fuse or two, plugging it in and mashing a few buttons. The three settings it has that I gathered from Mike's other posts are a mild performance for 87 octane, a towing performance for 91+ octane, and an all out performance (no towing allowed with this one) also for 91+ octane. So you can see from this that it seems to me to be the most flexible and fits my needs best out of all the offerings. Maybe ask Mike more about others available because I really only researched what I felt would work best for me. Oh the 1715 also allows you to pull the diagnostic codes, change speedo calibration to match larger/smaller tires and rear end gear changes. As far as the cheap gas I think he is referring to 87 octane from less than average gas stations such as mom & pop's stop and shop that is out in the middle of nowhere and the fuel in their tanks is probably months old as well as a worn out or non-existant filter system on their pumps. Anyway, hope this helps answer your questions. Again, correct me if I am wrong on any of this Mike or anyone else.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Sunny,
By "bad" gas, I wasn't referring just to octane, I was referring to the overall "fuel quality" which includes not only octane, but important factors such as the actual energy content (# of BTU's per gallon) and the quality of the detergent additives.
There's nothing wrong with needing to save some money and use 87 octane gas if you want to- that's perfectly fine as long as it's a good quality fuel. You can just remove the Superchip to use 87 octane, or if you decide to use the Micro Tuner (which is what I would suggest), then just reprogram to it's 87 octane mode.
Yes, with either the traditional Superchip module or the Superchips Micro Tuner, you have the ability to go back to stock whenever you want to - with the chip you just remove it in about 30-60 seconds and you're back to the factory program, and with the Micro Tuner it's a 10 minute program upload - very simple!
Feel free to give us a call to go over any details, or drop by our web site, etc.
Good luck & talk to you soon!
By "bad" gas, I wasn't referring just to octane, I was referring to the overall "fuel quality" which includes not only octane, but important factors such as the actual energy content (# of BTU's per gallon) and the quality of the detergent additives.
There's nothing wrong with needing to save some money and use 87 octane gas if you want to- that's perfectly fine as long as it's a good quality fuel. You can just remove the Superchip to use 87 octane, or if you decide to use the Micro Tuner (which is what I would suggest), then just reprogram to it's 87 octane mode.
Yes, with either the traditional Superchip module or the Superchips Micro Tuner, you have the ability to go back to stock whenever you want to - with the chip you just remove it in about 30-60 seconds and you're back to the factory program, and with the Micro Tuner it's a 10 minute program upload - very simple!
Feel free to give us a call to go over any details, or drop by our web site, etc.
Good luck & talk to you soon!