Fuel Requirements
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Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 8
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Fuel Requirements
I have a 2000 EB Expedition 4X4. I am considering some performance upgrades to include a SuperChip. With the advent of higher fuel prices I am wondering if it is required to use premium fuel with the addition of a Super Chip module. Also, are there any other chip considerations if I add a set of JBA headers, Gibson exhaust, and K&N FIPK. My goal is add a few ponies without increasing operating cost (maybe I'm dreaming). I also understand that the replacement of the stock thermostat may be necessary. Any information would be greatly appreaciated.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
From: Tacoma, WA, USA
The addition of a Superchip DOES REQUIRE the use of premium blend fuel. That is where the added performance comes from. You can expect some fuel mileage increase (I saw 1-2mpg improvement) that will help offset the higher fuel costs. The addition of headers, intake and cat-back systems are perfect compliments to the Superchip. There is no need to change the thermostat when installing the Superchip.
Tom in Tacoma
------------------
1998 F150 XLT S/C 4.6L Auto, 3.55LS, 4X2, Moonlight Blue, all the factory bells & whistles except for leather seats.
Tom in Tacoma
(Washington not Toyota)
Go check out http://communities.msn.com/SS97FordsPics for the second best website for F150's
Tom in Tacoma
------------------
1998 F150 XLT S/C 4.6L Auto, 3.55LS, 4X2, Moonlight Blue, all the factory bells & whistles except for leather seats.
- Lund Deflector
- Lund Premier Tonneau Cover
- K&N Filter
- Body-color painted Throttle Cover
- Blue wire-looms
- Pentaliner S/R
- Window tint
- Ford side-steps
- Infiniti component speakers - front
- Polk Audio speakers - back
- Superchip (OH YEAH!!)
- Flowmaster 50 Series 'Delta-Flow' w/ 3" pipe
- Clear turn signal lenses
- Next up - billet grill.
Tom in Tacoma
(Washington not Toyota)
Go check out http://communities.msn.com/SS97FordsPics for the second best website for F150's
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Dear EB4X4,
Welcome to F150online!
As Tom mentioned above, any performance chip requires the use of premium gasoline, that is how the raw engine power is increased primarily.
The mods you mentioned are usually fine with the Superchip. Every so often, about 15% of the time, if a vehicle has the Superchip, an opened intake, opened exhaust, and then headers are added, that will sometimes require a custom program adjustment to compensate for the headers. Very easily done.
One of the benefits of the Superchip is a bit better gas mileage, and it makes your actual fuel costs increase by very little, when you actually calculate gas mileage before & after, etc. For those driving an average of 15,000 miles a year, if you see *no* improvement in gas mileage from the Superchip, your increased annual fuel costs are maybe $150 or so. Anytime you are not using heavy throttle, you'll see a little bit better gas mileage, it's a by-product of the tuning process for more power; the increased spark advance on part-throttle is the exact mechanism that provides the mileage improvement. On average, most people see about 1.5 - 2.0 more mpg, unless they're towing very heavy loads, or otherwise putting the engine under a heavy load.
One thing you might want to think about is trying our Superchip Flip Chip, which is a Superchip that can store 2 programs, and allows you to select which program you're running on by literally flipping the attached switch. They can be set up with one program for regular gas, along with all our other normal mods, and then on the other side you'll have the performance program for premium gas. This will allow you maximum flexibility, and maximum power when you want to burn premium gas. You'll still get a bit quicker acceleration even on the regualr gas program due to the removal of the transitional spark retards & improved automatic transmission programming; then when you want maximum power, just fill it up with premium and flip the switch.
The nice thing about the Flip Chip is that it *includes* any custom programming fees for modifications, so it's a great way to solve a couple of needs in the most cost-effective manner.
The mods you've selected, the Gibson exhaust & the K&N FIPK kit, are # 2 & # 3 on the best bang-for-the-buck mods list for these vehicles. The best is the Superchip, and #4 is the JBA headers, they make an excellent product. So you're on the right track, and have made excellent choices so far. Just to give you an idea, the Superchip will add as much as the FIPK kit and the Gibson exhaust combined. It will improve performance overall more than both of them combined, thanks to it's much improved transmission programming in addition to the engine power gain. The top speed limiter is removed, shift delays removed, transitional spark retards removed, etc., etc.
Please feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over all of this, and the standard single-program Superchip versus going with the Flip Chip so you can use any gas, etc., we're happy to explain all your options, so you can think about what might be the best for your needs.
Sounds like you're going to have a very nice and surprisingly quick Expedition by the time you're through!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html
Welcome to F150online!
As Tom mentioned above, any performance chip requires the use of premium gasoline, that is how the raw engine power is increased primarily.
The mods you mentioned are usually fine with the Superchip. Every so often, about 15% of the time, if a vehicle has the Superchip, an opened intake, opened exhaust, and then headers are added, that will sometimes require a custom program adjustment to compensate for the headers. Very easily done.
One of the benefits of the Superchip is a bit better gas mileage, and it makes your actual fuel costs increase by very little, when you actually calculate gas mileage before & after, etc. For those driving an average of 15,000 miles a year, if you see *no* improvement in gas mileage from the Superchip, your increased annual fuel costs are maybe $150 or so. Anytime you are not using heavy throttle, you'll see a little bit better gas mileage, it's a by-product of the tuning process for more power; the increased spark advance on part-throttle is the exact mechanism that provides the mileage improvement. On average, most people see about 1.5 - 2.0 more mpg, unless they're towing very heavy loads, or otherwise putting the engine under a heavy load.
One thing you might want to think about is trying our Superchip Flip Chip, which is a Superchip that can store 2 programs, and allows you to select which program you're running on by literally flipping the attached switch. They can be set up with one program for regular gas, along with all our other normal mods, and then on the other side you'll have the performance program for premium gas. This will allow you maximum flexibility, and maximum power when you want to burn premium gas. You'll still get a bit quicker acceleration even on the regualr gas program due to the removal of the transitional spark retards & improved automatic transmission programming; then when you want maximum power, just fill it up with premium and flip the switch.
The nice thing about the Flip Chip is that it *includes* any custom programming fees for modifications, so it's a great way to solve a couple of needs in the most cost-effective manner.
The mods you've selected, the Gibson exhaust & the K&N FIPK kit, are # 2 & # 3 on the best bang-for-the-buck mods list for these vehicles. The best is the Superchip, and #4 is the JBA headers, they make an excellent product. So you're on the right track, and have made excellent choices so far. Just to give you an idea, the Superchip will add as much as the FIPK kit and the Gibson exhaust combined. It will improve performance overall more than both of them combined, thanks to it's much improved transmission programming in addition to the engine power gain. The top speed limiter is removed, shift delays removed, transitional spark retards removed, etc., etc.
Please feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over all of this, and the standard single-program Superchip versus going with the Flip Chip so you can use any gas, etc., we're happy to explain all your options, so you can think about what might be the best for your needs.
Sounds like you're going to have a very nice and surprisingly quick Expedition by the time you're through!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
From: Tacoma, WA, USA
...hey, no problem Mike - I told you many times that I'm watching your "6".
Tom in Tacoma
------------------
1998 F150 XLT S/C 4.6L Auto, 3.55LS, 4X2, Moonlight Blue, all the factory bells & whistles except for leather seats.
Tom in Tacoma
(Washington not Toyota)
Go check out http://communities.msn.com/SS97FordsPics for the second best website for F150's
Tom in Tacoma
------------------
1998 F150 XLT S/C 4.6L Auto, 3.55LS, 4X2, Moonlight Blue, all the factory bells & whistles except for leather seats.
- Lund Deflector
- Lund Premier Tonneau Cover
- K&N Filter
- Body-color painted Throttle Cover
- Blue wire-looms
- Pentaliner S/R
- Window tint
- Ford side-steps
- Infiniti component speakers - front
- Polk Audio speakers - back
- Superchip (OH YEAH!!)
- Flowmaster 50 Series 'Delta-Flow' w/ 3" pipe
- Clear turn signal lenses
- Next up - billet grill.
Tom in Tacoma
(Washington not Toyota)
Go check out http://communities.msn.com/SS97FordsPics for the second best website for F150's
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Dear EB4X4,
We're happy to help, anytime.
Nice to see some more Expy owners here on the boards, we've been getting more of you guys lately! We all know how much F150 owners like to modify & enhance their vehicles, but here lately, you Expedition owners have been doing some really nice mods. There is another gentleman who recently joined us here, and has a beautiful navagation/stereo setup in his Expy's dash, and other Expy owners are getting into the act too, very nice!
I completely forgot about your question regarding the use of a non-stock thermostat, oops! We do not recommend changing your thermostat, and the Superchip does not require this. This is something that is required with most other chips on the market, and it's a technique to keep the cylinder heads abnormally cool in an attempt to keep detonation at bay, so they can dump in more spark advance at WOT (wide-open throttle). Unfortunately, this is a terrible thing to do to street-driven vehicle, as it can and does affect heater function in the winter, but more importantly, this contributes to increased combustion chamber deposits over time. That sets up a cycle whereby the engine's appetite for octane increases, due to the increase in the effective compression ratio. That's not a good idea on a street-driven vehicle.
Your factory thermostat is 190-194 degrees, most of them are 194 these days. You can go to a 180 degree thermostat if you really want to, but no lower, please. The Superchip is designed to work with the factory thermostat. Using abnormally cold thermostats causes the engine's appetite for octane to increase over it's lifespan, as these combustion chamber deposits accumulate. You do not need to change the factory thermostat to use the Superchip. (Thanks for catching that, Tom!)
All the best,
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 04-10-2000).]
We're happy to help, anytime.
Nice to see some more Expy owners here on the boards, we've been getting more of you guys lately! We all know how much F150 owners like to modify & enhance their vehicles, but here lately, you Expedition owners have been doing some really nice mods. There is another gentleman who recently joined us here, and has a beautiful navagation/stereo setup in his Expy's dash, and other Expy owners are getting into the act too, very nice!
I completely forgot about your question regarding the use of a non-stock thermostat, oops! We do not recommend changing your thermostat, and the Superchip does not require this. This is something that is required with most other chips on the market, and it's a technique to keep the cylinder heads abnormally cool in an attempt to keep detonation at bay, so they can dump in more spark advance at WOT (wide-open throttle). Unfortunately, this is a terrible thing to do to street-driven vehicle, as it can and does affect heater function in the winter, but more importantly, this contributes to increased combustion chamber deposits over time. That sets up a cycle whereby the engine's appetite for octane increases, due to the increase in the effective compression ratio. That's not a good idea on a street-driven vehicle.
Your factory thermostat is 190-194 degrees, most of them are 194 these days. You can go to a 180 degree thermostat if you really want to, but no lower, please. The Superchip is designed to work with the factory thermostat. Using abnormally cold thermostats causes the engine's appetite for octane to increase over it's lifespan, as these combustion chamber deposits accumulate. You do not need to change the factory thermostat to use the Superchip. (Thanks for catching that, Tom!)
All the best,
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 04-10-2000).]