SUPERCHIP...... Just start reading all the posts, do a search on Jet and Hypertech. Most of the stuff on this board is pro-superchip, for good reason. Or save yourself some time and order the Superchip from Mike.

------------------
98 Nascar Edition, Superchip, Airaid, Flowmaster 70 series, bedliner, in bed tool box, Profile bug deflector and window vents, Class III receiver hitch.

 

Looking at a new chip for my truck. Does anybody have any opinions on the different brands?


------------------
Mike Kimbro
1999 F-150 Lariat, 4x4, SC, Flareside, 5.4

 

mkimbro,

Do you have an email? I've got a JET chip I'm trying to sell. You can't talk about that stuff here. I've got the same vehicle though. 1999 F150 XLT, 4x4, X-Cab, 5.4L. It makes it a lot more comfortable since we live in the same state as well. Mine is jhc3549@labs.tamu.edu or Jclarke727@aol.com

 

The Superchip box says, "The one that works." I like it most because it cleans up the "soft shifts" that Ford likes to program into its trannys. To me, the extra HP is an extra bonus, but wasn't at the top of my list.

I was getting tired of having to wait a second and a half for the transmission to downshift. That's real fun when you're trying to go from a slow lane to a fast lane on the freeway. Now the response is instant. Mash the pedal and GO!

I can't say anything about the other chips, they're kinda underrepresented here...

 

Hi mimbro,

The vast majority of people here are using the Superchip, simply because it works better. It's the only chip on the market that is programmed for each individual vehicle, and it's also the only one that adds more power at any throttle position, instead of tuning only at WOT (wide-open throttle), which is primarily due to the actual structure of tehemissions laws in this country.

With the other brands, you get a completely "generic" program, one that has been compromised to run on all similar vehicles, for example, one program for all 1998 4.6 autoamtic F-150's. With the Superchip, there are over 50 different programs for the 4.6 automatic F-150 alone for each model year, as we program each vehicle according to the exact software revision that was loaded into it's computer from the factory.

So with the Superchip you get a program that was made specifically for *your* individual vehicle, and one that adds power at any throttle position, and that is why most people prefer to use the Superchip.

Just to give you a little background information, Superchips is the company that invented the power chip concept, and the entire aftermarket programming industry, and is the only chipmaker to be hired directly by the world's major automakers, due to their expertise.

The programs we supply are much more thorough in their changes, not only increasing power, but also improving overall driveability, and even safety issues, such as removing the downshift delays, etc.

By all means, take some time and read through the various posts here in the Computer Chips section, so see what others say about their Superchips.

And please feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over all of this in greater detail, we're happy to help.

Best of luck with your truck, & welcome to F-150 Online!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Hi Mike,

Thanks for calling, we enjoyed speaking with you today.

When I clicked back over to your line, you were already gone, so please accept my apologies for missing you!

Sounds like you're on the right track with the mods you're already doing to the intake & exhaust. When you add the Superchip it will top off those other mods very nicely. One of the nice thigns about changes in those 3 areas, meaning powertrain programming, and then reducing restriction on both the intake & the exhaust, you can do them in any order you like, and it won't affect the outcome.

Have a great weekend, and give us a call anytime you like,

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

I don't want to start a flame war, but my experience with Superchip was not pleasant, to say the least.

I had a '94 Lincoln Mk8 with 280HP DOHC 4.6 and a 4R70W transmision.

Within 10K miles of installing the Superchip, I had to have a $1500 full rebuild of the tranny. Those hard shifts ruined my second gear intermediate clutch.

The tranny shop said (and they are very reputable in my area) that the only way one should mess with the tranny is with a real shift kit, like TransGo or it's cousins.

Then you can have a Superchip without the trans programming. Superchip reprogrammed my chip (for free) after I ruined the tranny.

I know that 4R70W trannies built after 1997 are a little better, and those for the 5.4 truck are much beefier, but if all you want is better shifts, and still run on regular gas, try a shift kit first, the if you want to add mor perceived HP, get a chip without the tranny programming.

As always, these opinions are mine, and yours may differ.

------------------
Greg
'96 Triumph Thunderbird
'99 Ford F150 XLT SC 5.4
'00 Lincoln LS8
Wichita

 

mkimbro,

I did some extensive research on my own to see what was available and spoke to several friends who are heavy into performance improvements. I also wanted reliable and noticeable performance improvements and I did not want to make major modifications. The Superchip won hands down..and I am completely satisfied. The other brands ONLY provide performance gains at wide open throttle (although JET has a new chip out now that works all the time...but with laughable performance gains (half the superchip)..recalibrates every 500 rpm - in a recent brochure - $265). Who wants to drive their truck at WOT all of the time? Not me....even in moderate power demand...I have noticed nice throttle responses and MUCH better shifting.

I have used a Superchip in two of my 5.4L F-150s without a single problem. I don't see how the Superchip could ever cause any problems unless I tried to dig trenches with the tires or drove it wide open all the time. I have not experienced any hard shifts (slams)..just nice immediate shifts with my F-150s.

There are now quite a few members on here that are using the Superchip..almost no complaints.

Also...where can you get such outstanding technical support on a chip product like Mike Troyer provides??


------------------
2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, LEV, Superchip, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55 rear, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, Heavy duty shocks, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, factory leather wrapped steering wheel, FORD bedliner, K&N air filter, mar-hyde rubberized undercoating, Modine climate filtration system, Bugflector II, Mobil 1 oil and filter, Build date 7/00



[This message has been edited by Dustoff (edited 08-18-2000).]

 

Hi Wichita_Greg,

Interesting post!

I've personally owned 3 Mark 8's, a 93 & a 94 purchased new, and now a 95 purchased used, all Superchipped.

I have never had any problem as a result of the Superchip on any of those vehicles, the current one is at 73K miles.

You might be interested to know that those 4R70W transmissions in the MN-12 platform are renowned for failures due to overheating the fluid, bad solenoids, warping valve bodies (which Ford internally calls "the potato chip effect", by the way), and numerous other issues, and having by now 8 different revisions of the shift solenoids, and 4 revisions to the valve body alone. And there are now factory TSBs for this! The MN12 platform (all 94 & newer Thunderbirds & all Lincoln Mark 8's) vehicles have poor shift solenoids, just for openers, that cause failures in themselves and in many other areas of the transmission; and, these vehicles do not cool the transmission fluid properly in any driving situation other than constantly moving, such as any kind of city traffic. Ford knows all about this, and has a TSB just to install an auxilliary cooler on those transmissions in the MN12 platform!

I went thru 2 years of searching everywhere, from the Livonia transmission plant to Alldata aftermarket TSB's before I finally found what the *real* problems are, and it was in fact Superchips that was first able to put their finger on it. There is a web site, www.mn12performance.com, that has an *excellent* article that explains about the 4R70W automatics used in this platform, it's problems, and how to fix them. I haven't been there in over a year, but that article should still be there, it's quite extensive, and even lists all the Sonex replacement parts to use!

I don't doubt that you had tranmission problems, not in the least, they're well known in that vehicle, but between my personal 3 Mark 8's, and the many others that we have personally supplied Superchips to, for every model year from 1993 thru the Mark 8's demise in 1998, not one has had any type of transmission failure even remotely related to the Superchip.

There are many known problems in that transmission, and when I first started having problems in my 95 model (prior to it being Superchipped, by the way), 4 different dealers swore they couldn't find any solution, though they could re-create the symptoms at will. It took 2 years of searching to find people that really knew what the problems were, what caused them, etc. And once that info hit the Internet, Ford issued TSB's, which you can find at Alldata. There are planetary gearset problems, valve body problems, shift solenoid problems, intermediate sprag problems, etc. Even the rear drums can be literally shattered from those problems with the shift solenoids alone.

The 4R70W had, at that point in time, (the introduction of the MN12 platform) never been used in anything approaching the demands put on it by the Lincoln Mark 8's 4.6 DOHC motor, 280 hp stock and with WOT upshifts at 6000 rpm from the factory. The transmission wasn't even close to being up to par at that time, and wasn't starting to be until the 1997 model year, as you alluded to in your own post. That being said, it can easily be built to withstand even higher rpms and much more power, but the 4R70W's that you & I have had in our respective Mark 8's are an excellent example of rushed R&D, and poor quality components coming in the front door. We've even talked directly with the members of the design team on that transmission, and they too are of course well aware of the problems, some of which they felt could have been avoided, and they're right. Ford did install the 4.6 DOHC/4R70W powertrain in 100-200 Lincoln Town Cars, which they used to test in many different conditions, but that was not the MN12 platform.

Now obviously I have no idea what actually happened to your transmission, and I'm very sorry to hear you had a problem, but I have to say that with all the Mark 8's among our customer base alone here at Performance, the fact that not one has had a Superchip-related problem speaks volumes. Superchips is well aware of many of the problems in the 4R70W in the MN12 platform (this does not affect other 4R70W's in other platforms, by the way), and that was where we were first able to discover anyone who had knowledge of the *real* problems of the 4R70W in that platform, and I have personally worked at length with Steve Madole, the Chief Engineer of Superchips, on this issue. If it weren't for Steve, we may not have found the real problem for another 2 years, or at least until Ford issued their own TSB's.

Given the history of the transmission, and our personal experience with it, hands-on, I seriously doubt that the Superchip had anything to do with the failure, but of course people will think I'm saying that to be a "Superchips apologist", I suppose. I just happen to be a Mark 8 "fanatic" (pure chance that we happened upon each other, so to speak), and thus have a lot of knowledge from personal experience with that vehicle, having owned 3 of them, and especially the 1994 model year. I have used every version of the program for the 1994 Mark 8 personally, as I searched high and low for the "perfect" 1994 Mark 8 before giving up and ordering it, and personally used every different program for every different software revision from the factory in that same model year of that vehicle. The Mark 8 doesn't have many different computer codes each model year like other FoMoCO vehicles available in many different configurations do, and their aspects are extremely well known, from both as hardware and a programming standpoint.

If you would like to contact us at our number below, at your convenience, we'd love to discuss this with you at length.

I'm sorry to hear you had a problem with your 4R70W in the MN12 platform, but you're not alone, not by a *long* shot, as those transmissions are well known for their problems, in that specific vehicle, it just was not ready for it when it was introduced, and it took years to make any serious improvements from the factory.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 08-21-2000).]

 

GO WITH THE SUPERCHIP!! It is all that and a bag of CHIPS!!

------------------
97 F-150.5.4,Auto,2wd,xlt,Blue/Silver ,K&N filter,FMS Velocity Tube,Superchips-chip,40 series Flowmaster Delta Flow(3" inlet/dual 2.5" outlet side exit w/dual 3"chrome tips(looks better than stock Lightning).LEADFOOT!!