Have 5.4L 4x4 Supercrew on order. My main goal is to increase gas mileage, secondary is power increase. My plans are: a functional ram-air hood going straight into a K&N filter, a throttle-body spacer, 16" wheels with 285 BFG's, and reprogramming the computer with Hypertech's computer reprogrammer. I would also like to use 87 octane gas. Has anyone done any of these type of mods?
I watched a tv show, I think Crank & Chrome, where a Superchip salesman programmed a new chip according to K&N filter versus none, tire size etc., he said to fill out all that info when you order a chip, yet when I looked at their website, it only asked for engine size. I want my speedometer, etc. to be accurate from the tires, (too many speed traps) and the computer needs to be set for all of the extra air that's going to come in the engine.
From reading all the posts, the Superchip requires 92 octane gas, which would defeat the whole purpose of better mileage, since 92 octane is 30 cents more per gallon and only two pumps at each gas station in my small town pump it.
My jet-ski used less gas with carb tweaking and a better air filter, I only had to use 92 octane gas in it after I had the whole engine bored out and modified. Is 92 octane necessary with any mods. to this truck?
I'm not looking for a miracle, but 2 more mpg's would be nice. (Currently drive 5.2L V-8 Dakota Extended cab, mild leadfoot.)
Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks

[This message has been edited by Femseadoo (edited 08-26-2000).]

 

I hear them little toy o toe trucks get good gas mileage. Maybe you bought the wrong truck? :-)

 

Hi Femseadoo,

Glad to see you caught that episode!

You may have become a little bit confused (it was easy to do, as I saw it too!) when you watched that episode of Crank & Chrome, as Steve Madole, the Chief Engineer of Superchips demonstrated the Superchip for the Fords, which he programmed on the spot based on that vehicle's computer code (software revision in it's computer from the factory) and then the hand-held programmer, which is our Micro Tuner 2001 which he demonstrated on the GM truck they had there for the show. The Fords do not require the much more expensive hand-held programmer, so we don't use them on the Fords, just the 1996 & newer GM vehicles.

Second, just so you'll know, things like K&N air filters, cat-back exhaust systems, etc. do not need to be compensated for in these F-150's, we only need to do that generally when you have made major mechanical modifications to the engine. So things like superchargers, nitrous oxide, ported cylinder heads, camshaft changes, etc., as a loose & rough general rule, are the types of things we have to compensate for. Some things, like headers for example, we can do a custom program for and get a few more horsepower out of, but usually even headers for the most part do not *require* any custom programming, thanks to the mass airflow system & O2 sensors. Of course any custom programming that may be needed can easily be done. This is why you saw they only asked for engine size on the manufacturer's web site, along with the computer code of the vehicle.

All performance chips require the use of premium gasoline, that is how the additional power is made primarily, by tuning specifically for the increased anti-knock properties of premium gasoline. If you can't use premium, you are not going to be able to use any programming product of any kind that actually increases power, as they all require the use of premium gas.

Just to give you an idea of the differences between Hypertech, Jet, and us, (Superchips), the Superchip is the only one that is programmed for your specific vehicle, all others are programmed generically, meaning for example, only one program for all 1998 4.,6 automatic F-150's. The Superchip is programmed for the exact software revision that was loaded into your vehicle's computer from the factory, and this makes all the difference in the world in how thoroughly you can change the program. Even the exact same year of vehicle in the same identical configuration can have many different software revisions from the factory over the course of just one model year, to say nothing of all the different configurations you can get these F-150's in which causes them to have different software revisions too, so it's very important to get a program that was made specifically for *your* vehicle, instead of one that was compromised to run on all similar vehicles.

Also, the Superchip is the only one that increases power at *any* throttle position in these F-150's (and most other vehicles as well), instead of tuning only at full-throttle, and this is due to the structure of the emissions laws in this country. For even a brand new vehicle, during full-throttle operation there are no emissions standards that have to be met, so if you only tune on full-throttle, you don't have to go thru all the expense & complexity of certifying for emissions compliance, etc.

Just to give you an idea of what Superhcip owners report back here, most of the V-8 F-150 Owners get about 1.5 - 2.0 more mpg overall, and very few people have to pay as much as 30 cents more per gallon for premium over regular in this country, so you're in a very rare and isolated situation, we've never seen that kind of price differential. Here in our area, it's 10-12 cents more per gallon, and in most areas of the country, it's not more than 20 cents a gallon (22-25 in a few places), and the Superchip can help offset a good bit of that. However, if the only place you can get gas is charging 30 cents a gallon more for premium, the Superchip can only "make up for" with better mileage perhaps about half that amount, or about 15 cents per gallon on average, under cruising conditions.

If you'd like to give us a call, we'll be happy to go over all the details with you, and go over exactly what you want to accomplsh, to see if the Superchip is going to make sense in your situation. We'll also be happy to help point you in the right direction if our product doesn't work for you, we're happy to help.

Best of luck with your new Ford truck on order!

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