computer chips and 87 octane
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2004
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computer chips and 87 octane
Are there any computer chips that you can run 87 octane gas with, that will work to improve fuel economy. I'm not concerned with the power gains. I drive lots of highway, so am just looking for fuel economy and gas savings. The savings of 1-2 mpg are eroed away if you have to run 91 octane. If you have any other suggestions to improve economy. I have '98 f150 5.4L.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 243
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From: Virginia Beach VA
save gas
Spend the $44 for the K&N air filter that fits the stock air box. it made me about 1-2MPG on the freeway.
Superchips makes the micro tuner for 87, 91 towing and 91 performance, heard that the 87 was slight increase in power and BETTER shifting, don't know about MPG. I use the tuner set to 91 tow.
A cat back system with the filter added about 10hp for me. Increased hp means having to not push down as hard if you can. Truck breaths better, more efficient= better MPG.
Superchips makes the micro tuner for 87, 91 towing and 91 performance, heard that the 87 was slight increase in power and BETTER shifting, don't know about MPG. I use the tuner set to 91 tow.
A cat back system with the filter added about 10hp for me. Increased hp means having to not push down as hard if you can. Truck breaths better, more efficient= better MPG.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi mcewenw,
Well, what you'll want to know is that they are performance chips - so it's a *performance* part, not a "fuel mileage" part. And the most basic aspect of improving performance is retuning the engine specifically for the use of premium gas, as that is how the power gains are made - by tuning for good fuel.
Now it is true that we can make a custom program for use on 87 octane that will be able to tolerate more spark in many of these F-150's codes - and thus it may very well allow you to see some improvement in mpg, many people do get that kind of result with our 87 octane custom tunes. But it can't be absolutely guaranteed, that needs to be understood, as many factors are beyond our control.
For those who are looking for a way to maybe save a bit of money on gas via more fuel mileage and who will also be happy with some performance gain while still being able to run 87 octane, we can usually do that for you. And all else being equal, when you keep your foot out of the throttle (so to speak), you *should* see better mpg thanks specifically to the increased spark advance used in closed loop (on part-throttle, in other words) - that usually does bring the cruising mpg up, as it lowers load on the motor.
In fact, not once in any vehicle of ours over the past decade+ using a Superchip ever failed to have it's fuel mileage increased. But then, we also drive our vehicles pretty conservatively, for the most part, we're not nailing the throttle every time we get behind the wheel. Now it won't go up 3 mpg, you can't expect that. But more along the lines of maybe 1.0-2.0 mpg overall or so in terms of the cruising mpg is usually attainable with our custom 87 octane tune. In these trucks where 13-15 mpg is the norm for many owners, another 1.5 mpg (roughly about a 10% improvement) sure helps.
To find out what things will improve mileage, use the search feature to retrieve posts of that topic, as it's all been gone over many times, with factual material - so rather than retype it all out each time someone else asks the same question (and virtually anything you can imagine gets repeated here hundreds of times), we refer you to use use the search feature here - that's actually what it's here for, & the icon to access it is in the upper right portion of your screen here. You'll love it once you start using it's search filters, it's your key to instantly unlocking everything here.
Briefly.............
The 2 best things you can do for fuel mileage in the way of so-called "performance" parts would be installing a set of electric fans and a set of underdrive pulleys, as both of those mods will reduce parasitic losses nicely, resulting in more power getting to the rear wheels at the same time the engine burns a little less fuel. Those 2 mods are what we call "win-win" types of mods, as you get both power and mpg. You can find both on our web site at www.TroyerPerformance.com - click on "shop" once the home page loads, and then look in the Pulleys & Fans sections for info on the kits for your truck.
With that combination of electric fans & underdrive pulleys, you can realistically expect to see anywhere from 1.5 - 3.0 mpg improvement overall in these heavy trucks.
Feel free to give us a call at our number listed below if you'd like to go over what we can do with regards to a chip for 87 octane for you, the results, costs, etc., we'll be happy to spend some time with you going over everything.
Good luck with your truck,
Well, what you'll want to know is that they are performance chips - so it's a *performance* part, not a "fuel mileage" part. And the most basic aspect of improving performance is retuning the engine specifically for the use of premium gas, as that is how the power gains are made - by tuning for good fuel.
Now it is true that we can make a custom program for use on 87 octane that will be able to tolerate more spark in many of these F-150's codes - and thus it may very well allow you to see some improvement in mpg, many people do get that kind of result with our 87 octane custom tunes. But it can't be absolutely guaranteed, that needs to be understood, as many factors are beyond our control.
For those who are looking for a way to maybe save a bit of money on gas via more fuel mileage and who will also be happy with some performance gain while still being able to run 87 octane, we can usually do that for you. And all else being equal, when you keep your foot out of the throttle (so to speak), you *should* see better mpg thanks specifically to the increased spark advance used in closed loop (on part-throttle, in other words) - that usually does bring the cruising mpg up, as it lowers load on the motor.
In fact, not once in any vehicle of ours over the past decade+ using a Superchip ever failed to have it's fuel mileage increased. But then, we also drive our vehicles pretty conservatively, for the most part, we're not nailing the throttle every time we get behind the wheel. Now it won't go up 3 mpg, you can't expect that. But more along the lines of maybe 1.0-2.0 mpg overall or so in terms of the cruising mpg is usually attainable with our custom 87 octane tune. In these trucks where 13-15 mpg is the norm for many owners, another 1.5 mpg (roughly about a 10% improvement) sure helps.
To find out what things will improve mileage, use the search feature to retrieve posts of that topic, as it's all been gone over many times, with factual material - so rather than retype it all out each time someone else asks the same question (and virtually anything you can imagine gets repeated here hundreds of times), we refer you to use use the search feature here - that's actually what it's here for, & the icon to access it is in the upper right portion of your screen here. You'll love it once you start using it's search filters, it's your key to instantly unlocking everything here.
Briefly.............
The 2 best things you can do for fuel mileage in the way of so-called "performance" parts would be installing a set of electric fans and a set of underdrive pulleys, as both of those mods will reduce parasitic losses nicely, resulting in more power getting to the rear wheels at the same time the engine burns a little less fuel. Those 2 mods are what we call "win-win" types of mods, as you get both power and mpg. You can find both on our web site at www.TroyerPerformance.com - click on "shop" once the home page loads, and then look in the Pulleys & Fans sections for info on the kits for your truck.
With that combination of electric fans & underdrive pulleys, you can realistically expect to see anywhere from 1.5 - 3.0 mpg improvement overall in these heavy trucks.
Feel free to give us a call at our number listed below if you'd like to go over what we can do with regards to a chip for 87 octane for you, the results, costs, etc., we'll be happy to spend some time with you going over everything.
Good luck with your truck,