Just to put my $.02 in on this topic. I'd like to make a comment on whether or not a superchip improves fuel economy. In my opinion its a matter of efficiency. Any performance upgrade, without actually altering fuel flow/quantity (in most cases), is going to improve fuel economy due to the fact that the h.p./torque is increased, and in turn will decrease the strain on the engine to achieve the movement of weight. If the desired fuel economy increase is not seen, than other circumstances should be taken into account, like the "lead foot" problem (which I definitely have), or atmospheric/environmental changes. Is this an accurate assumption?
P.S. - Does anybody know where I can find a Ford Racing logo with a jpg format.

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'98 F-150 XLT Reg. Cab Flareside 4x4, Black, 5.4l, 3.55LS, tow package, K&N, GTS headlight covers, Alpine changer w/FM mod, Clifford alarm system w/keyless entry & starter disable // Future considerations: 285/75/r16 Mud Terrain BFG's, bed mat, tonneau cover, suspension lift.

 

Shad
I have 3.55 gears. That may have alot to do with it. I bet the 99 5.4 with 3.73s accelerates alot better than mine though. Just being curious, how many rpms do you run at 70 mph? Mine runs about 1900 or 1950 rpms at 70. This is an example of the conditions where I get 18.5 mpg. Over the summer I consistently got 18.5 mpg going back and forth to work. The trip included going 35 mph down my 2.2 mile drive way, 45-60 mph on 2 backroads for about 24 miles about 6 miles on a highway, (some stop and go driving) through a city 2 or 3 miles, 75 mph on an interstate for 3 miles then about 8 miles on a highway at 60 mph for a total trip of 46 miles. I just transferred to this college and I have taken my truck home twice, the first time I did not check the gas mileage but the second time I did get 18.5 mpg(250 miles one way). I belief that you can get better gas mileage on back country roads cruising at 55 rather than 70 on the interstate I usually average between 17 and 18 doing the normal driving at home on backroads.

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1997 4x4 5.4 ORP XLT extended cab Dark Toreador red Westin nerf bars tint HARDER THAN A ROCK AND FASTER THAN A HEART BEAT

 

Mike, you answered it perfect. Is there any way I can obtain a horsepower and torque curve for my application with the super chip. I saw the one on the superchip page but it was for the 4.6. I know they would probally look pretty close in the horsepower but the 5.4 makes more torque at lower rpms. I would like to know this but don't go to any great trouble to find it, I just thought if you knew off the top of your head where to get it, others as well as my self would like to see it. (Now thats a run-on) BTW I'm sold on the superchip, but I am waiting on my birthday to get here. I have been hinting that I want a superchip.

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1997 4x4 5.4 ORP XLT extended cab Dark Toreador red Westin nerf bars tint HARDER THAN A ROCK AND FASTER THAN A HEART BEAT

 

Ford-tough 1

I writing this from memory, but I think I am between 2000 and 2100 RPM at 70mph. I agree with you one hundred % about the lower speeds. I proved it this past weekend in our Grand Prix, we were making a 365 mile trip from my folks place, all 4 lane highway. I set the cruise at 3 different speeds for approximately 50 miles each. I saw a 5.2 mpg difference between 65 mph and 78 mph. That difference can amount to quite a bit when you are paying $1.52 per gallon for premium!!!

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99 XLT,4x4, S/C, 5.4, 3.73LS, Black, 6 Disc Changer, Gibson Dual Cat-Back Exhaust

 

To all, information only, I picked up a solid 3 mpg with the Superchip before the blower and is hard to tell now since I have made some other mods and seem to drive it even harder now. I will tell you that I made a 2070 mile trip to Colorado and Wyoming driving at 65-80mph with air on about 50% of the time and avg. 18.4mpg and then took my chip out to have it tweeked again and dropped to 15.7mpg so I beleive it still makes a significant difference.

Mike T.
Mike I have heard you many times discourage the use of octane boosters and in this thread detect a possibility of you considering it's use in a blown engine. I recently sent my chip in to be tweeked because of the pinging and I wanted firmer shifts. Well it came back and has less ping(by the way I am using the correct size pulley not the smaller to make more boost, I chickened out and It did not make that much difference because of extra ping) but still pings some at 5200-5800rpm so I got a can of NOS octane booster(7 pt.) and it stopped the pinging. Is this okay or am I going to shorten my plug life, damage a o2 sensor or what? Also the shifts are not any firmer(I have put several miles on to make sure of learning curve)than they were before. Can I send it back to get better shifts, I think that with this stall converter it should hammer pretty good. Sorry for the long post but I needed a fix since I have refused to join the help group since I don't have a real problemmmm!!!!! Thanks for your help Mike!!!
Later and GOD BLESS!!!!!!

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Jim<><
Bright Red, 97 f-150 SC flareside,4x2,4.6,auto tranny, Mobil-1, Superchipped,Supercharged(Powerdyne), Autometer boost gauge and A-pillar single pod,.999 tuned TPS, 2 chamber Flowmaster 40 series with custom dual outlets at bumper, JBA headers, Hellwig swaybar, steel cowl induction hood(non-functional), Magnecor 8mm wires, Plat-4 plugs, , A.R.E. hard bedlid, Laverne nerf bars, American Racing 8x16 with 315-55-R16 B.F. Goodrich Sportruck TAs, 4.10:1 Precision Gears, ,Monro-Matic Plus shocks,custom cold air scoop in the airdam to feed supercharger, ProTorque 2500 stall convertor, Accel Blaster 4 tower coil packs.

 

ford-tough 1

I checked the tach last night on the way home from class. At 70MPH I was just below 2000RPM, (1975RPM?) I don't know what the accuracy the tachs have, 1% would be 20 rpm, so who is to say what exactly what I am running.


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99 XLT,4x4, S/C, 5.4, 3.73LS, Black, 6 Disc Changer, Gibson Dual Cat-Back Exhaust

 

Dear ford-tough1,

Hmm, my best suggestion is to give Superchips a call directly, as they keep all the dyno plots there. 888-227-2447, M-F, 8:30am-5pm, Eastern. Anyone there can help you if they have one available for you.

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

Dear fordification,

Sounds right on the money to me! It is in fact the increased volumetric efficiency caused by (in this case) the Superchip's use of increased spark advance on part-throttle (and full-throttle) that yields increased gas mileage, by lowering the brake specific fuel consumption. Same thing could be said of any performance or other modification that achieves increased volumetric efficiency, like headers, for example. You won't see much of a gain there fromheaders, but you will see some, and it's increased efficiency that does it.

Great post!

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

Dear Jim,

Those are some great gas mileage gains from the Superchip! And, that's what we're seeing here as well.

With regards to any aspect of the custom program you asked Superchips to do, I suggest you contact whoever you have been dealing with on this, as its not appropriate for me to be involved. Because we had nothing to do with supplying you with that program, it is not appropriate for me to be involved or to even comment on it, so I won't.

I will tell you that in my humble opinion, you need to pull the tranny and have it built to be capable of what you are asking it to do, because I can just about guarantee that with your current configuration, you are going to have transmission failure *much* earlier than normal. That transmission needs a *lot* more friction material (bands and clutches) than it has now, and it also needs to be modified to be capable of producing much more line pressure than it is right now, if you want to restore shift quality and firmness. That high stall speed torque converter is only making the upshifts looser, as all high stall speed torque converters do. In my experience, anytime I have used a torque converter with more than 1800-2000 rpm stall speed, I had to at a minimum install a very serious "shift kit", more properly described as an upgrade, usually with an entirely different valve body assembly, upgraded solenoids, etc. Most cases I had to run a manual valve body to get upshifts even beginning to approach firm. The torque converter is a viscous coupling, and the condition of that coupling is primarily controlled by the pitch of the vanes in the torque converter, lockup notwithstanding. Kenne-Bell made their initial claim to fame many years ago back in the 70's by introducing their "switch-pitch" torque converter, which allowed the driver to controll the stall speed via flipping a switch, which altered the pitch of the vanes. Very innovative. Just FYI, most supercharged vehicles use a *lower* than normal stall speed torque converter, to avoid going up in smoke off the line. I understand how you have tried to configure your vehicle, but IMHO, your transmission is a very weak link at this point. It's being asked to withstand much more power than it was designed for, and in addition, it's now got a lot of additional induced slippage from the torque converter to contend with. This is a formula for trouble. It certainly cannot deliver firm upshifts without modification, not with that torque converter. I would put that first on my list of things to upgrade. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding someone locally to do the upgrading to the transmission that needs to be done, for it to last and so you can restore shift quality and firmness.

Good luck,

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

Thanks Mike!!!
I have already started talking to my tranny man.
Later and GOD BLESS!!!!

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Jim<><
Bright Red, 97 f-150 SC flareside,4x2,4.6,auto tranny, Mobil-1, Superchipped,Supercharged(Powerdyne), Autometer boost gauge and A-pillar single pod,.999 tuned TPS, 2 chamber Flowmaster 40 series with custom dual outlets at bumper, JBA headers, Hellwig swaybar, steel cowl induction hood(non-functional), Magnecor 8mm wires, Plat-4 plugs, , A.R.E. hard bedlid, Laverne nerf bars, American Racing 8x16 with 315-55-R16 B.F. Goodrich Sportruck TAs, 4.10:1 Precision Gears, ,Monro-Matic Plus shocks,custom cold air scoop in the airdam to feed supercharger, ProTorque 2500 stall convertor, Accel Blaster 4 tower coil packs. Picture can be seen at fast46triton's web page http://members.aol.com/polokid54/fseries.html