Ordered a 1715 Superchips "MAX" Micro Tuner for my F 150 lets just hope im not dissapointed with it

 

Hi STX,

Congratulations!

Only *you* can really answer that - but it is important to have realistic expectations of *any* performance part.

For example, some guys install the Micro Tuner on these 2-3 ton trucks expecting to feel some big "seat of the pants" bang! - well, that won't happen. It would take a supercharger to give that kind of result.

What you *can* expect on the premium gas tunes is about a 10% raw power gain - in the V8's, we usually see about 16-18 HP on the premium gas towing program, and another 8-10 more HP on the "MAX" performance tunes.

In terms of the actual improvement in acceleration times, the average is about a half-second off the 0-60 & 1/4 mile times, with some trucks seeing as much as slightly over a full second - but on average, expect it to get thru the 1/4 mile about 5 truck lengths "sooner" than it did before, just to give you a rough idea.

Those are excellent gains in such a heavy vehicle for the expense - just don't expect the Micro Tuner or any other bolt-on part to give you a big "seat of the pants" burst in these trucks, simply because of the obvious - it's not a 3400 lb. Mustang - it's a 2-3 ton truck with a huge aero profile, so what a 20 HP gain feels like in a Mustang feels like a lot less when you add another ton or so of weight.

The bottom line in all this is, you can feel comfortable knowing that optimizing the powertrain program *is* the single best bang for the buck performance enhancement you can make to these trucks, and most other computer-controlled vehicles as well - just don't expect it to turn a 2-3 ton truck into a tire-shredding monster, as that probably won't happen.

I hope that gives you just a little bit of quick perspective, & hope you enjoy your new Micro Tuner!

 

v8silverstx - What year of truck are you putting this on?

Mike - is the one you have for the 04's available now? is it a chip or a tuner I'm kinda confused on that.... also will the tuner work better when other mods are made like if the catback exhaust and few other bolt-ons (as more are released)... I'm suppose to be on ya'lls mailing list, but don't know if I made it on it yet (I'm interested in prices etc...)

Thanks
Chris

 

Its a 03 STX with a 4.6


The reason I said this "Ordered a 1715 Superchips "MAX" Micro Tuner for my F 150 lets just hope im not dissapointed with it."
Is because i got a JET chip for my 97, and to me it was nothing more than a high dollar paper weight. I understand it is two totally different companies, and from all the reviews I have seen, I made the right choice going with the superchips tuner.

Also what are the long term damages, if any?

 

Superchips_Distributor


I ordered the Micro Tuner online monday night and I called today to see if it went through and I noticed yall cloased at 3, till Mon the 28th will this delay my chip of did I make it in time

 

Got it in today but wont try it out till after christmas

 

Hi Chris,

For the 2004's, we have to flash the PCM here, so it's no wonder there's confusion about this, don't feel bad!

For 2004, the F-150 has a completely different type of PCM that cannot use a traditional chip or Micro Tuner, as they use an onboard network now. They require what's known as a "CAN Flasher," and that won't be available for 4-6 months or so. So for right now, the only way anyone can get performance tuning for their 2004 F-150 is thru us here at Troyer Performance, by us flashing the PCM for them. You'll need to call us for details on this.

As always, the tuning is aided by other mods, like an open exhaust, and there Magnaflow is doing the best job, we're already shipping a lot of them out to 2004 F-150 owners.

Tight now only Airaid claims to be shipping an intake kit for the 2004 F-150, yet they cannot supply us with any units, very interestingly. Depending on who you get on the phone you get many different stories there, ranging from no backlog to a big backlog, but it all boils down to we can't even get any units for testing their claims. We are doing the R&D for Air Force One's intake kit for the 2004 5.4 F-150, and we can tell you that *any* change to the intake tract (we've tried every prototype that anyone with a "name" has made) will result in throwing off the MAF's transfer function and the motor going way lean - dangerously so. We are R&D'ing this right now. For right now, we are advising *ALL* 2004 F-150 5.4 owners to NOT use any aftermarket intake setup regardless of name - for right now, only use a drop-in element, as nobody right now has an intake kit that does not alter the MAF transfer function - this is because there is no longer a separate MAF used in the 3-valve 5.4 motor (the 2004 4.6 still does, this is only a concern for the 5.4 in 2004), but instead, they use a MAF sensor installed in a calibrated air handling assembly - so any change made to that assembly automatically causes a big change in the MAF's transfer function.

The best thing to do with regard to knowing what is available & what can be done to the 2004 5.4 F-150's is to give us a call when you get a chance, Chris, and I can go over all of this with you to let you know what you can safely do today, what to watch out for, costs, gains, benefits, etc.

Good luck with your 2004 & talk to you soon!

 

Hi STX,

Glad your Micro Tuner got there on time!

To answer your question, there are no "long term damages" that will result from using that unit, so you don't have to worry about that - you will have a normal service life from your vehicle as long as you drive and maintain it properly.

Have fun!