I question how much they improve a non-super/turbo-charged truck acceleration and whether they are worth the cost? I'm used to seeing the large gains in supercharged/turbocharged vehicles with automatic transmissions where the boost is higher and longer and the shift pattern is changed. For those vehicles Superchips are excellent.

For example, take a v6 producing 205 hp and 255 ft-lb torque. Adding a Superchip gives an extra 25 hp and 31 ft-lb at the flywheel or a 12% hp and torque gain. When you drive 0-60, how much time do you shave off? 1/10 of a second???

Has anyone dyno run before chipping and after chipping then measured their 0-60 or 1/4 mile times. It would be interesting to see someone post actual times on how much the Superchip, airbox mod and low restriction exhaust help to reduce the time as each are added?

 

So... put a blower and a chip.

 

do a search on time or times...

------------------
98 SC/XL/4.2/5 speed/3.08/MoonLight Blue Metalic/Mobil One Synthetic/235.70S.16 Michelin XC LT4/AR-136 Wheels/Chrome Nerf Bars/Bug Shield/Aluminum Tool Box/K&N/Superchip/NOS maybe.

DAMN FLEXING DOOR CRACK!

Ford Engineering, reinforce the curve in the door! The cracks will stop.

 

Thanks Bill, no blower for the v6.

Took your search advice and saw HotRodSix shaved 23/100 of a second off with mods. Cannot tell if the 4.30 rearend gave most of the gain. Looks like he saw 11hp gain on an automatic at the rear wheels from a dyno graph he posted.

I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that the Superchip gives you the most return on a Lightning or PSD.

 

welcome to the boards-The chip does add power but its not gonna turn a v-6 into a fire breathing monster.Most everbody that has them does not regret buying them.They actually produce the most hp/torque per dollar.The only reason I don't have one is that I have too save the money for it.

------------------
-----------------------
2000 f150 4x4 sport,black, 3.55 5spd ,4.2 liters of fury ------mods----pioneer cd,alpine sub,cadence ultradrive amps,alpine mids&tweets,Delta tool box,class III reciever hitch,herculiner bed liner,taz floor mats,profile bug guard,custom painted tail light covers,headlight covers,cranked torsion bars,pirelli scorpion at(265/75 16), modified air box(crash1 style),JET air filter


www.lightningcrashz@hotmail.com

 

HI Drubbi,

Questioning or guessing doesn't tell you much, and only using will tell you what it's goig todo, and what it's going to feel like.

The Superchip is, whether it's a Lightning, a PSD, or a V-6 F-150, the single best bang-for-the-buck power gainer and performance improver available for these vehicles, in terms of actual power gained per dollar spent.

Superchips uses very sophisticated chassis dynos (no Dynojets or other cheap "inertia" dynos) to determine exactly what the power gains are. The maximum gain on the V-6 is 25 hp & 31 lbs./ft. of torque at the flywheel. At the rear wheels, figure 16-18 hp at the rear wheels is your maximum peak gain on the 4.2 V-6 F-150.

Of *course* you're going to pick up larger power gains on forced induction motors, that's a no-brainer. That dosn't make the Superchip any less viable on other vehicles, that isn't a correct assumption at all.

The Superchip is going to give you V-6 F-150 about a 10%-12% increase in peak horsepwoer, just to give you an idea of what to expect, and that is the normal result on most normally-aspirated engines.

If you have any questions or would like to go over this in detail, please feel free to give us a call, our number is listed just below.

Best of luck with your truck,

------------------
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

 

Mine takes off alot better,shifts much much better,and all around is way more
fun to drive,,,,,. With the mods I already had on the truck,the HP gain seemed to nearly double when I put the chip in! I've never had a 5000 pound vehicle that would break the tires loose at will !!!
They are so worth the money,,,get one!!

------------------
98 F-150 4.6 Litre XLT2wd Ext. cab
prarie tan/tan int.
K/N gen.II fipk
custom dual exh/gibson rectangle tips/rear exiting.
color matched snuglid
Superchip!!!
Westin nerfs blk .powdercoat
Clear front corners
Cobra 75WXST cb w/weather alert
Kenwood cd w/Radio Shack speakers,don't laugh it sounds pretty good
On the way/wheels,tires,air dam, etc..etc.......
doin the monochromatic boogie
on the front end.Billet grilles on order
Hoping for deliverance from door crack hell.

 

Drubbi,

As it stands at this time, Nitrous Oxide is the best bang for your buck. At about $500.00 for 100 hp this is 5.00/hp. Problem is the engine will not last. At about $10.00/hp a chip is the next best thing. You could spend $250.00 for about 10-15 hp for headders, $20.00/hp. Or $1000.00 for 35 hp, new heads, $28.57/hp. I do not recall anyone on this board changing the heads. You could go all out and spend about $3500 for a blower to gain about 80hp, $43.75/hp. Gears, underdrive pullies and electric fans will only free up HP not increase it. Getting a truck to run a few tenth faster is pretty good. The days of camming it adding headders, bumping up the timing a wad and adding larger jets are gone. My point is regardless of what we spend, making a 4000 lbs.+ brick go fast is expensive today. Best of luck finging a cheap mod that works. And if you do please share it with the rest of us.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

------------------
00 F-150 XLT SC Flairside 4x4 4.6 w/5spd 3.55LSD
Warn XD9000i, skid plates, Draw tite class III,
Rancho RSX Reflex shocks,
Borla Cat Back, Headman Headers,
Modified Air Cleaner Outlet Tube
and air box, Shortened MAF sensor tower,
K&N air filter,
Superchips

 

I posted this to another board by mistake:

The nitrous suggestion has me thinking... It's a daily driver so I want it around a few years. Best no go there.

My only reason for buying a Superchip is to improve the acceleration. The way to know how well they work is ask other v6 owners if they measured the gain.

Mike, maybe you can answer as a representative of Supechips. Is there any reason the 0-60, 1/8, or 1/4 times are not published by Superchips? I saw HotRodSix posted a dyno graph that showed an 11hp gain so I believe the products work. I also believe that burning the required premium gas with the reprogrammed timing curves will make the truck feel different - improved. Just like putting a different exhaust or opening up the intake will give it a new feel. When all is said and done is the only gain about 2/10 of a second?

I read a magazine article last summer where 4 different performance chip companies tested their products to see how they compared against each other and a stock run in a turbochared 4 cylinder. I think it was an Audi or VW and I don't think Superchips was included in the test. The results were amazing - 2 second improvements in 0-60 runs. It showed dyno runs with each chip and compared passing gear test too. If I ever bought a Turbo Beetle, no doubts, I would chip it!

So back to the task at hand, does anyone have actual timeslips, or just the numbers, they can post to show the gain in a v6?

 

Drubbi,

Dude...Your best bang for the buck, If you are looking for timeslips, is to buy a V8.

I also understand the need for maximizing what you already have, and a superchip will surely help your driveability and acceleration.

There is only one subsitute for cubic inches.....lotsa lotsa of green...



------------------
Terry Deaton
99 F150 XLT, 2WD, 4.6, S/C, S/B, Superchip, K&N FIPK, FMS 9mm, +4s, Nerfs, Leer Top, Cow Catcher W/Bright A$$ Lights, True Duals with hi flow cats, 275 Dunlops with 3.08 gears, fat swaybars, Steeda front and Hellwig rear. Coming soon: Fabtech 3" and 4.10s.
96 SVT COBRA
98 AERO
Speed Kills, drive a Chevy and live forever.

 

Mike,

I see your point about NoS. Best left to experts with deep pockets. I will in the futur refrain from suggesting it without proper warnings and the temp use thing. You are right though, the reason I don't use it (YET) is, the truck is still under warranty. Besides, even with a squirt of juice I stil wouldn't beat Neal. He is on his way to the 14s.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

------------------
00 F-150 XLT SC Flairside 4x4 4.6 w/5spd 3.55LSD
Warn XD9000i, skid plates, Draw tite class III,
Rancho RSX Reflex shocks,
Borla Cat Back, Headman Headers,
Modified Air Cleaner Outlet Tube
and air box, Shortened MAF sensor tower,
K&N air filter,
Superchips



[This message has been edited by JMC (edited 10-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by JMC (edited 10-06-2000).]

 

Hi JMC,

Interesting post!

I would never regard nitrous as the best bang-for-the-buck simply because only the "dry" systems are generally that cheap, number one, and you have to have a custom program to use them with any real safety, which adds even more expense, as a 2-program Flip Chip is needed to do it "right" in these Fords. In addition, playing with nitrous can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, and it will also void your powertrain warranty, no contest. And last, when the bottle is empty, there goes your power. Nitrous is not a mod that can be used all the time, and we do not include mods than only add a temporary shot of power at full-throttle, but instead list only mods that work all the time, and that will not void warranties.

So when we published the top 3 best "bang-for-the-buck" mods, we used the criteria of not including those mods that can void the warranty, and no mods that only give "temporary" gains, and thus only improve performance on occasion.

------------------
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

 

Hey JMC,

Hey, don't let me change anything *you* think or feel, I'd be the first to agree that "spraying sensibly" *can* be a very valid and useful way to quickly add some cheap power under the hood. Forgive me if I came off a bit strong.

I guess it's just some of the things we see on this end, people coming to us who have hurt motors from a quickly-applied shot of nitrous, and that does tend to have an impact on my thinking from time to time.

As a matter of fact, I'm glad you brought that up, because it reminded me of an excellent article done in Car & Driver a coupla years ago, regarding Alex Borla's (Yes, the same Borla) 1998 Oldsmobile Aurora, where he had commissioned a custom street progressive-controllered nitrous system, a real masterpiece of technology. Now it was expensive, he had somewhere around $3000 into this setup, but it could be used *progressively*, meaning, you didn't have to always be @ WOT to use it. It could be set up so that it was only armed @ WOT, but it didn't have to be, and it had a very trick one-off progressive controller to handle the spray & fuel chores. If I was ever going to put nitrous on the Mark, I'd want that setup, it was *very* trick.

We've all seen how many 5.0's & Z28's have been spraying for some years now, on the street & at the track, and it definately works. It's an oxygen-releasing agent, basically, and after all, cylinder pressure is what makes power.

------------------
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 10-07-2000).]

 

Hi Drubbi,

I think you're making assumptions here. Perhaps you are not familiar with the fact that Superchips *does* do a lot of that kind of testing on many of their applications, which are closing in on the 7000 mark, by the way.

If you're asking me what to expect to see in terms of improvements in your 0-60 & 1/4 mile times by using the Superchip on the 4.2 V-6 F-150, it will depend on the configuration of your particular F-150; because of the impact that has on vehicle weight & torque multiplication, and hence, the vehicle's power-to-weight ratio, as well as 2WD, 4WD, short cab, super cab, 3.08, 3.55, manual, automatic, etc., etc., there is a tremendous amount of variation here. Usually even the heaviest V-6's with the tallest gears will knock off at least 2 tenths at a bare minimum, and they're usually more like the 3-5 tenths range. The least I've ever seen personally was .32 off the 0-60 time, and that was on a heavy 4WD V-6 automatic F-150. Some have knocked off as much as 7 tenths, though that's above the norm, I'd say. 3-4 tenths is more like it, on average, in the V-6 F-150's.

Many people have reported back here over the past few years as well, posting their numbers for everyone else to see, and they've been very consistent in terms of showing clear gains in acceleration & top speed, and also gas mileage, when not using a lot of heavy throttle.

As far as which vehicles out of the almost 7000 different applications that Superchips will publish "official" test numbers on, that is generally the "performance" vehicles. There is just no way they, or anyone else for that matter, can do formalized track/acceleration testing on every one of 7000 different applications, and Superchips is very unique in this regard, in comparison to other chipmakers. The next closest chipmaker has well under 1000 different applications, just to give you some perspective on the numbers here. Superchips does all the R&D & chassis dyno work on every application of course, as they are all 50-state emissions certified, etc., etc., but in terms of actually publishing "official" acceleration test results, that's done on the usual suspects, so-called "performance" vehicles usually, and then any other models they have time for. They also work with many other tuners and other "testers" across the country, who report back their results, and thus Superchips will get some of that data relayed to them. Overall, it's quite clear that the product works, and works well.

We understand your desire for numbers on hardcopy, and there are a number of V-6 owners here with Superchips.

If you'd like to go over this in detail, please feel free to give us a shout, our phone number is just below, we'll be happy to go over anything 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

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-07-2000).]