is a chip worth it??
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Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 12
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From: San Rafael, CA
is a chip worth it??
Hey all, I did many searches, and read alot of different posts... But i gotta sk anyway... Is a chip worth it?? can you really feel the difference? is it worth the money? what are the cons of having one, besides having to put the higher octane fuel in? I have a 2003 f150 5.4 Xlt 4x4, and a 2003 Explorer V6 4x4... thinking about chiping both....
the f150 has a k&n filter with the snorkel removed and a bassani catback exhuast dual 3" tip out the right side (friend has a mufller shop)
the exploder has a k&n fipk with a slowmaster cat back...
thanks
the f150 has a k&n filter with the snorkel removed and a bassani catback exhuast dual 3" tip out the right side (friend has a mufller shop)
the exploder has a k&n fipk with a slowmaster cat back...
thanks
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Dec 1997
Posts: 9,417
Likes: 11
From: Windsor,Ontario,Canada
Venice,
So far the best bank for the buck is a chip. If you have an automatic you will certainly feed the difference in the shifting.
Weather you can feel the increased power in a 5000 lbs truck is debatable. It is there and your ¼ mile times will prove it. I play off road and I can see the difference in the dunes. My first chip made it a whole lot easier to climb.
Regards
Jean Marc Chartier
So far the best bank for the buck is a chip. If you have an automatic you will certainly feed the difference in the shifting.
Weather you can feel the increased power in a 5000 lbs truck is debatable. It is there and your ¼ mile times will prove it. I play off road and I can see the difference in the dunes. My first chip made it a whole lot easier to climb.
Regards
Jean Marc Chartier
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: San Diego, CA
I have a '97 with a 5.4 liter and installed a Superchips on my ECU and I can feel it! True, the adjusted shifting makes a difference, but the remapping and the adjusted timing make a large difference. The tranny not only shifts later but is much firmer when it does. And the new fuel curves (along with the timing) make it much more torquey. I'd gotten so used to it that I forgot how much of a difference it really makes. I took it out for my smog check and it felt like I was driving a 4.2 liter.
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: irwin,pa
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Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
Hi Venicex,
Yes, a properly optimized powertrain program is the single best performance enhancement yo can make to these vehicles, it's the single best bang for the buck.
Now that does not mean it's going to make a 5000 lb. truck feel like a Corvette, that would take a supercharger, of course - it's just that a correct performance tune is the best bang for the buck, and is where most people start with their mods in these trucks.
Now with regard to the dyno results posted by openclasspro (a very nice fellow I spoke to again just today for a while about this very issue & some other things), his 32 HP gain is a bit of an anomaly, and cannot be expected in all of these trucks - the deal is, the only reason his truck made that much of a power gain from his chip is simply due to the severe limitations in his particular 2003 truck's LGA2 computer code - that is one code that has *terrible* open loop delays and load parameter requirements to even go into open loop, so bad that it basically *never* allowed his truck to even go into open loop on the stock factory program, as evidenced by his low 188 HP "before" reading, which should have been more like 195+ HP in bone-stock trim at the rear wheels in the 1999 & up 5.4 F-150's.
There are a few other codes in these F-150's where you see that same kind of thing (like in JMC's PCM2 code, for example, where he had a 9 second open loop delay, ouch!), as in general, Ford tries to give fuel mileage as opposed to power in these vehicles. And the way they do that is using a load requirement of 1.89 (meaning 189% ve, which is not remotely achievable even in the factory-supercharged Lightnings or any normally-aspirated motor, nor in most supercharged applications, either!) - so openclasspro saw an abnormally large gain due to the fact that his particular factory code was not allowing it to go open loop - hence the bigger than normal gain just from allowing it to go open loop properly. Doing that will reduce fuel mileage at heavier throttle (say, about 60% throttle or more), but increases power.
Now when a given vehicle happens to have a code with terrible delays & load parameters to go open loop like his did, sure, we can get bigger gains than normal - but by and large, in general, you'll usually see about a 10% increase in HP & about 13%-15% more torque from our tuning in these F-150's - and for the cost, that's an excellent result.
One thing you need to know is to *NEVER* attempt to judge *ANY* performance modification in any vehicle weighing more than about 3800 lbs. by the seat of the pants - there are very few people that can feel a 20 HP gain in a 2-3 ton truck, most people can't even feel another 20 HP in such a heavy vehicle. Now if it were a 3400 lb. Mustang, sure you can feel a 20 HP gain in that vehicle, but not in a 2-3 ton pickup truck - so just be aware of this & keep in mind not to try judging performance mods by the seat of the pants - do controlled before & after timed acceleration runs, that's the only way to properly evaluate performance changes in heavy vehicles - just a tip.
Drop by our web site and take a look at the 3 different Superchips products available for your vehicle, here is a direct link, and look at Part#'s 1100, 1300 & 1715 when you get here: http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...chips%3BFoMoCo
I suggest using the 1715 Micro Tuner as it's the easiest to install & has 3 different performance tunes and many additional features & controls.
One last point - when you're ready to order or get pricing, for Superchips products *ONLY*, you'll need to call us for the best price, as on our web site we have to abide by the manufacturer's MAP (minimum advertised price) guidelines - but we actually sell the Superchips products for much less than the price you'll see for them on our web site. That does not apply to any of our combo or Stage kit deals, or to any other parts, only the Superchips products purchased by themselves, just to let you know.
If you'd like to go over any of this in more detail, or discuss anything else performance-related about your truck, please give us a call at our number listed below & we'll be happy to answer any questions, etc.
Good luck with your truck!
Yes, a properly optimized powertrain program is the single best performance enhancement yo can make to these vehicles, it's the single best bang for the buck.
Now that does not mean it's going to make a 5000 lb. truck feel like a Corvette, that would take a supercharger, of course - it's just that a correct performance tune is the best bang for the buck, and is where most people start with their mods in these trucks.
Now with regard to the dyno results posted by openclasspro (a very nice fellow I spoke to again just today for a while about this very issue & some other things), his 32 HP gain is a bit of an anomaly, and cannot be expected in all of these trucks - the deal is, the only reason his truck made that much of a power gain from his chip is simply due to the severe limitations in his particular 2003 truck's LGA2 computer code - that is one code that has *terrible* open loop delays and load parameter requirements to even go into open loop, so bad that it basically *never* allowed his truck to even go into open loop on the stock factory program, as evidenced by his low 188 HP "before" reading, which should have been more like 195+ HP in bone-stock trim at the rear wheels in the 1999 & up 5.4 F-150's.
There are a few other codes in these F-150's where you see that same kind of thing (like in JMC's PCM2 code, for example, where he had a 9 second open loop delay, ouch!), as in general, Ford tries to give fuel mileage as opposed to power in these vehicles. And the way they do that is using a load requirement of 1.89 (meaning 189% ve, which is not remotely achievable even in the factory-supercharged Lightnings or any normally-aspirated motor, nor in most supercharged applications, either!) - so openclasspro saw an abnormally large gain due to the fact that his particular factory code was not allowing it to go open loop - hence the bigger than normal gain just from allowing it to go open loop properly. Doing that will reduce fuel mileage at heavier throttle (say, about 60% throttle or more), but increases power.
Now when a given vehicle happens to have a code with terrible delays & load parameters to go open loop like his did, sure, we can get bigger gains than normal - but by and large, in general, you'll usually see about a 10% increase in HP & about 13%-15% more torque from our tuning in these F-150's - and for the cost, that's an excellent result.
One thing you need to know is to *NEVER* attempt to judge *ANY* performance modification in any vehicle weighing more than about 3800 lbs. by the seat of the pants - there are very few people that can feel a 20 HP gain in a 2-3 ton truck, most people can't even feel another 20 HP in such a heavy vehicle. Now if it were a 3400 lb. Mustang, sure you can feel a 20 HP gain in that vehicle, but not in a 2-3 ton pickup truck - so just be aware of this & keep in mind not to try judging performance mods by the seat of the pants - do controlled before & after timed acceleration runs, that's the only way to properly evaluate performance changes in heavy vehicles - just a tip.
Drop by our web site and take a look at the 3 different Superchips products available for your vehicle, here is a direct link, and look at Part#'s 1100, 1300 & 1715 when you get here: http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...chips%3BFoMoCo
I suggest using the 1715 Micro Tuner as it's the easiest to install & has 3 different performance tunes and many additional features & controls.
One last point - when you're ready to order or get pricing, for Superchips products *ONLY*, you'll need to call us for the best price, as on our web site we have to abide by the manufacturer's MAP (minimum advertised price) guidelines - but we actually sell the Superchips products for much less than the price you'll see for them on our web site. That does not apply to any of our combo or Stage kit deals, or to any other parts, only the Superchips products purchased by themselves, just to let you know.
If you'd like to go over any of this in more detail, or discuss anything else performance-related about your truck, please give us a call at our number listed below & we'll be happy to answer any questions, etc.
Good luck with your truck!
