I am a first time truck guy and new to this forum. I purchased a 99 150 4x4, 5.4, 3.55ls with 28k miles. I am interested in changing the tire setup from oem 16"(255x70-16") oem to "off road" oem 17"(265x70-17") which increases total diameter about +1.3". I have several questions and need all the help I can get!!!!
- Do I need to rechip for drivability, other than the speedometer?
- Mike's chip seems to be a good investment, however Hypertech's progammer(+$100) looks like it gives me the ability to correct the speedometer for the new tire and wheel size as well program different setups for towing, best MPG, etc. Does it??? Will it deliver similar performance gains to the Superchip?

ps.... As a new guy, I have enjoyed and learned a great deal from the spirited debate on the chip issue. I don't know or have not spoken to Mike, however my impression is he is a "class" guy and I really appreciate him taking the time to share his learning. Yes, it is his business and yes, it is smart business to defend your product. That having been said, I think he has presented a balanced review of what his product can do and what a consumer should expect. Having spent 30 years selling, I know one can be passionate about your product and at the same time, present it with honesty and integrity.

 

Read the computer chip threads.........Mark

 

Hi laxman,

The Hypertech program will only add a little bit of power, and even then only at WOT (wide-open throttle), the rest of the time there is no power gain. Since most of us spend little of our overall driving time at WOT, it's important to have a program that adds power not only at full throttle and throughout the rpm range, but at any and all **throttle positions** throught the entire rpm range, so that you have solid performance gains and improved driveability all the time. Though they (Hypertech) say that you have all these different options in that unit, in reality, there is little to no actual change in the program, as it doesn't even tune on part-throttle, only @ WOT. With regards to their speedo corrections, that has been problematic as well. We've seen numerous cases of the speedo correction resulting in a reverse, thus increasing the error instead of correcting it. They have also left a number of people stranded due to failure to upload all of the program, and then the vehicle is completely disabled until you can get it into a dealership or elsewhere to have the factory program restored. That can't happen with the Superchip, as if you lose communications between the Superchip and the computer (say a big impact and it's not installed properly), you simply re-seat or remove the Superchip and you're back up and running right away. Now of course all those problems don't happen all the time or to everyone using that unit, nor do we ever mean to imply that, and it's important to point that out; but we've seen them happen often enough that it should be mentioned. Of course the Superchip isn't perfect, either.

It seems Hypertech's speedo corrections work better on the GM vehicles they offer the PPIII unit for than the Fords. In addition, the Hypertech PIII unit is only available for a limited number of these F-150's as well; initially, it was the 1998 4.6 automatic F-150 only.

If all those functions worked reliably, and the unit did not have a tendency to sometimes loosing the communications protocol in mid-upload, and of course if it added power all the time, then it might be worth a look, in my personal opinion; it's a neat-looking device, and in fact we've offered the same thing for years now on GM vehicles where that type of device is actually *required* to be able to upload the new program. We don't offer it for the Fords yet simply because it's too expensive and not required on Ford computers, and most people won't pay the additional cost and not get any more power gain from it. The issue of correcting the speedo for tire size changes is one that Superchips has been working on for awhile now, as unlike Hypertech, Jet, etc., each Superchip is programmed for the exact software revision in each individual vehicle, so Superchips has been having as many different F-150's on the dyno as they can get their hands on, doing the reverse-engineering to be able to dial in the speedo for tire size changes, etc. in each code. Whether we can do that for your vehicle or not all gets down to exactly which code you have in your particular truck, 1999 & newer. One thing that should be noted is that if you have us do that, it's considered a custom program, and costs more, though we're still less than Hypertech due to not having to use an abnormally cold thermostat as Hypertech requires for most of their applications, and that cost, especially if you have someone else do the labor, can add a good bit to the total cost. For me personally, it all boils down to a choice of the quality of the actual programs from each company. And everyone here on F-150 Online who has ever used both the Hypertech unit and then a Superchip on the same vehicle and posted their results/impressions here has always preferred the Superchip program hands down. It's due to the fact that it works all the time, and it's made for the specific vehicles instead of only working on WOT and being made generically for all similar vehicles.

In all fairness, we (meaning us here at Performance Products) should mention that we have 3 customers of ours who have been waiting for us to get the speedo corrections for tire size changes done in their Superchips, as we do not yet have all the various codes done yet, it's an on-going R&D project that is proceeding as fast as they can get the different codes we need in vehicles on the dyno. Each of those 3 persons we originally attempted the speedo corrections on about a year or so ago, and they did not work correctly in those 3 cases. As we get each code done, we make more progress on making this available for more F-150's, of course. The nice thing about that is that once we've got it done, it works *correctly* all the time, it isn't hit or miss.

Now, let's directly answer your questions.... for a 1.3" increase in tire height, do you need to "re-chip"? No, you do not have to, this is up to you, though you will notice an immediate decrease in performance from the effective change in gear ratio that the taller tires cause, as the engine is turning fewer rpms for a given speed in any gear. In my opinion, a 1.3" change in tire height over stock is generally not enough to actually require a gear ratio change to compensate and get the engine back to turning the same rpms it did before for a given road speed. We generally say that at about the 32"-33" height range, that's when you'll need to give serious thought to doing a gear ratio change to get the engine back up into it's power band, so that performance, driveability & mileage don't suffer too badly. The ECU normally looks at MPH to determine it's shift points, but if the speedometer is off it will default to engine rpms, so from that standpoint, there is no need to change your factory program.

If you are looking for more performance, then certainly a properly optimized powertrain program is the single best "bang for the buck" performance enhancer you can add to that vehicle, short of nitrous oxide, perhaps. And if increased powertrain performance is what you want, then the Superchip is the best aftermarket program, hands down, thanks to the fact that it adds power at all throttle positions, and it's made specifically for your vehicle. It is also a flash design, so it can always be updated if you decide to throw a supercharger on it down the road.

To directly answer your question of will the Hypertech program deliver similar performance/power gains to the Superchip? No, it never has. We've always made more total power, and always added power all the time at any throttle position. What the Hypertech program does for power only happens at WOT, and it's less than the Superchip.

It's really very simple... Yes, we do sell the Superchip, absolutely; but if Hypertech or anyone else offered anything superior to the Superchip programs, we'd be selling them instead, as we don't care what the name is on the outside, just the quality of the program inside.

I hope that information helps a little bit, and please feel free to give us a call if you'd like to go over any of this or anything else in detail, we're always happy to help.

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