which is better
which is better
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 148
Likes: 0
From: central BC, Canada
Microtuners are obvioulsy more flexible on what you want for your truck since you can change the programming. Chips are "burnt" to one setting, and must be re-burnt if you want a change. Plus, with a chip you need to pull out your PCM, clean the terminals it plugs on to, reinstall. The tuner is a simple plug in, pull the fuel pump fuse (if you're using a Superchip tuner. Hypertech doesn't require pulling the fuse), and follow the options the tuner provides.
Much easier with the tuner, I'd say go with the tuner.
Much easier with the tuner, I'd say go with the tuner.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi DHutch,
You need this answered by someone who has the detailed knowledge required of both the products and the vehicle itself, as the choice involves additional factors not even touched on here, so we'll by happy to help you out.......
It's not a simple question of "which is better" - it's a matter of which is *appropriate*, and I'll explain more below........
What *does* need to be considered in that choice are primarily the types of modifications you have now (if any), and any other mods you may be wishing for or thinking about doing sometime in the future - and to a lesser extent, how the vehicle will be used.
For example, with the Micro Tuner, you cannot do mods that require custom engine tuning to compensate for - in that case you have to use the traditional Superchip module instead, as the 1715 Micro Tuners (and all the other Superchips "MAX" series Micro Tuners) cannot accommodate custom engine tuning for such modifications. So it primarily gets down to a matter of whether or not this vehicle is going to see significant modifications - meaning modifications that are of a type & nature that are going to require custom engine tuning to compensate for.
To give you an idea of what kinds of mods you can do and still use the tuning in the Micro Tuner in these vehicles, you can do the following types of modifications and still use the 1715 Micro Tuner: an intake kit, a cat-back exhaust system, a larger throttle body, convert to electric fans, and underdrive pulleys - in some cases, you can even get away with shorty headers too, but we have to judge that on a case-by-case basis with each individual vehicle's configuration. For most people, that's plenty of choices for modifications, and the sum total of all those mods will get you *very* nice power gains and a big boost to performance. So for those situations, the Micro Tuner is definitely the way to go - it gives you 3 different performance programs - 87 octane tow-safe, premium gas tow-safe, and then finally, the "MAX" performance tune (which we helped develop here at Troyer Performance) for premium gas that you can't do any towing with. It takes only 8-10 minutes to change programs with the Micro Tuner, via a simple connection to your vehicle's OBD-II port to flash the PCM, and of course all it's other features.
Any modifications that are more involved, like a supercharger, ported heads, or even changing the MAF (mass airflow meter) or fuel injector size, and in many cases with headers, too - in those situations you will have to have custom engine tuning, and that's when you have to use the Superchip module instead of the Micro Tuner.
There is no *inherent* difference in the tuning between those 2 products - you can get the "standard" Superchips performance tuning in either of them, but you can get custom engine tuning for major modifications only in the traditional Superchip modules. In the future, there will be vehicle-specific Micro Tuners available for custom tuning, but you won't have the features of the current "MAX" Micro Tuners, so for now that is a mute point.
So primarily, it's a matter of whether you are going to do mods that require custom tuning - if your situation is such that you are not going to be doing more involved mods, then you can use *either* the traditional Superchip module (which is available in either single or dual-program versions) or the Micro Tuner, whichever you prefer - and in *that* case, we recommend the Micro Tuner due to it's overall combination of features & multiple programs.
The best thing to do would be to give us a call when you get a chance, so we can spend some time going over this with you in proper detail - talk about your truck's configuration & how you're using it, what kinds of mods you're thinking about, your geographic location, etc., so that no mistakes are made & you know all the facts & considerations. We'll be happy to answer any questions, give you pricing, power gains & details on anything performance-related about your vehicle as we do it all - we have specialized in improving the performance of this Ford platform for many years, and we are America's oldest Superchips distributor.
You can read up on the 3 different Superchips products that can be used on these vehicles over on our web site by clicking on the link below:
http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...chips%3BFoMoCo
Once there, read up on our Part#'s 1100, 1300 & 1715, which are the single program Superchip, the 2-program Superchip Flip Chip, and then the Micro Tuner, respectively. Make sure to click thru to get to the full details page on each one, as we're pretty thorough there.
I hope this brief info helps for now, & please feel free to call us to go over this more thoroughly, we'll be happy to spend the time with you so you get all the info you need - thanks for dropping by & best of luck with your truck!
You need this answered by someone who has the detailed knowledge required of both the products and the vehicle itself, as the choice involves additional factors not even touched on here, so we'll by happy to help you out.......
It's not a simple question of "which is better" - it's a matter of which is *appropriate*, and I'll explain more below........
What *does* need to be considered in that choice are primarily the types of modifications you have now (if any), and any other mods you may be wishing for or thinking about doing sometime in the future - and to a lesser extent, how the vehicle will be used.
For example, with the Micro Tuner, you cannot do mods that require custom engine tuning to compensate for - in that case you have to use the traditional Superchip module instead, as the 1715 Micro Tuners (and all the other Superchips "MAX" series Micro Tuners) cannot accommodate custom engine tuning for such modifications. So it primarily gets down to a matter of whether or not this vehicle is going to see significant modifications - meaning modifications that are of a type & nature that are going to require custom engine tuning to compensate for.
To give you an idea of what kinds of mods you can do and still use the tuning in the Micro Tuner in these vehicles, you can do the following types of modifications and still use the 1715 Micro Tuner: an intake kit, a cat-back exhaust system, a larger throttle body, convert to electric fans, and underdrive pulleys - in some cases, you can even get away with shorty headers too, but we have to judge that on a case-by-case basis with each individual vehicle's configuration. For most people, that's plenty of choices for modifications, and the sum total of all those mods will get you *very* nice power gains and a big boost to performance. So for those situations, the Micro Tuner is definitely the way to go - it gives you 3 different performance programs - 87 octane tow-safe, premium gas tow-safe, and then finally, the "MAX" performance tune (which we helped develop here at Troyer Performance) for premium gas that you can't do any towing with. It takes only 8-10 minutes to change programs with the Micro Tuner, via a simple connection to your vehicle's OBD-II port to flash the PCM, and of course all it's other features.
Any modifications that are more involved, like a supercharger, ported heads, or even changing the MAF (mass airflow meter) or fuel injector size, and in many cases with headers, too - in those situations you will have to have custom engine tuning, and that's when you have to use the Superchip module instead of the Micro Tuner.
There is no *inherent* difference in the tuning between those 2 products - you can get the "standard" Superchips performance tuning in either of them, but you can get custom engine tuning for major modifications only in the traditional Superchip modules. In the future, there will be vehicle-specific Micro Tuners available for custom tuning, but you won't have the features of the current "MAX" Micro Tuners, so for now that is a mute point.
So primarily, it's a matter of whether you are going to do mods that require custom tuning - if your situation is such that you are not going to be doing more involved mods, then you can use *either* the traditional Superchip module (which is available in either single or dual-program versions) or the Micro Tuner, whichever you prefer - and in *that* case, we recommend the Micro Tuner due to it's overall combination of features & multiple programs.
The best thing to do would be to give us a call when you get a chance, so we can spend some time going over this with you in proper detail - talk about your truck's configuration & how you're using it, what kinds of mods you're thinking about, your geographic location, etc., so that no mistakes are made & you know all the facts & considerations. We'll be happy to answer any questions, give you pricing, power gains & details on anything performance-related about your vehicle as we do it all - we have specialized in improving the performance of this Ford platform for many years, and we are America's oldest Superchips distributor.
You can read up on the 3 different Superchips products that can be used on these vehicles over on our web site by clicking on the link below:
http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...chips%3BFoMoCo
Once there, read up on our Part#'s 1100, 1300 & 1715, which are the single program Superchip, the 2-program Superchip Flip Chip, and then the Micro Tuner, respectively. Make sure to click thru to get to the full details page on each one, as we're pretty thorough there.
I hope this brief info helps for now, & please feel free to call us to go over this more thoroughly, we'll be happy to spend the time with you so you get all the info you need - thanks for dropping by & best of luck with your truck!