I have a 97 F-150 5.4L 4wd ext. cab.
I am pondering putting a Superchip in this truck. I would like to hear from someone that has chipped their truck.

I use this truck to storm chase in, so I am interested in gas mileage almost as much as a little extra "umph" to get in and GET OUT when I need to.

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97 F-150 5.4L 4wd. Tow pack, steps, had a bug deflector (hail took care of that) Enough electronics to make Luke Skywalker feel at home

 

If you are a storm chaser..then CHIP IT! I am glad that I did!

After 2-2,500 miles of use (and limited heavy throttle)...you should see an improvement in fuel economy on the highway...possibly in the neighborhood of 1.5-2 mpg. As for power...you will notice a difference and the auto transmission will shift much better than stock.

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Superchip, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55 rear, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, factory leather wrapped steering wheel, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, rubberized undercoating, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II, 5W-30 Mobil 1, engine build 10/4/99

 

Just Superchipped my 99 and I do mean just chipped it today 5/1/00. One word to describe it is DAMM!! Superchip works! You'll notice the difference! Shift points, umph, all the stuff it says it will do! It does!Get one you won't be sorry!!

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99 Ford F150 Flairside Lariat 4x4 (BLACK),SnugTop tonneau (black), 4"Trailmaster Lift, 3" Body Lift, Lift Lips, 35x14" Superswamper TSL radials, 16.5x12 Weld Wheels, Air Raid Intake, Flowmaster Dual Exhaust, Superchip (HNE4), Pioneer FHP8000 (2-DIN), 2 crucnch amps, DEI 5.25 Neodyne components front and rear, MTX thunderform with 2 MTX subs, Carbine plus 5000 security system,225lb. Mastiff and one S&W 40 cal when all else fails.

 

Buy the chip. The firm shifts alone are worth it. Get the flip-chip if you don't want to run 93oct. all the time.

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1997 F150 XLT
Debut sport truck
Ext. cab short bed
4.6l 3.55 tow pack *leather *K&N filter *Gibson swept side
*power rear slider
*soft tonneau
*full running boards
*timbren rubber springs *tekonsha brake control.
*bugflector II
*superchip http://community.webtv.net/rexor29/F150













[This message has been edited by ALLFORD (edited 05-02-2000).]

 

CHIP IT! I get about 1.5-2mpg better mileage as a result of the chip. The transmission shifts as if it were a completely different transmission - much much better.

You will have to run premium fuel though. But even with the higher fuel prices I would never consider running without my Superchip.

Tom in Tacoma

 

What is a flip-chip? I notice alot of people refer to the difference in the transmission shifts. What about engine differences?

 

Dear okstormchaser,

Most of the responses here also mention the additional engine power as well. Just to give you the specifics, the pre-1999 5.4's gain anywhere from 26-28 horsepower, and 42-46 lbs./ft. of torque.

The increased fuel mileage is simply a by-product of the increased spark advance used on part-throttle, just so you'll know the exact mechnanism that does this.

People with automatics *love* what the Superchip's programming does for the shift characteristics of these automatics. The hardware of the transmission is fine, it's just programming. Ford uses a shift delay to elongate and soften the upshift, and they also reduce engine power rather noticeably with a stiff spark retard during and just after the upshift. The improvement there is very noticeable, and so people comment about it quite a bit as a result. Ford programs them the way they do as part of their "soft-shift strategy", to accommodate the female buyer. The automakers figured out about a decade or so ago that females are buying over 50% of all new vehicles sold in this country, so they do some funny things sometiems to do what they think will make teh vehicle more acceptable to females. Silly, but true.

We can talk about specific horsepower & torque numbers all day, but to equate that to how the truck should actually *feel* with the Superchip installed from an engine standpoint, it's best to look at in in terms of percentages. With the Superchip, your truck is going to have about 10%-12% more power available. From 1000 rpm on up, regardless of throttle position, you will have more power available. In terms of the performance gains, most people see about a half-second off their 0-60 & 1/4 mile times on average. Part of that improvement comes from not just the raw engine power gain, but also the improved automatic transmission tuning, and the removal of transitional spark retards.

Since you chase storms, I wanted to elaborate a bit on the gas mileage issue. Your results will depend on how you drive that vehicle, so anytime you're using a lot of heavy throttle, I wouldn't expect to see an improvement there, of course. Basically, anytime you're not using heavy throttle, you should see a bit of an improvement. Most people average about 1.5 - 2.0 more mpg, just to give you an idea of what others are seeing.

Please feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over all of this in more detail.

Good luck chasing storms!

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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