Howdy,

I have a 2000 F-150 Extended Cab with the 5.4l engine. Do a lot of highway driving using cruise control. Does the super chip help at all with fuel economy. If so what are the average specs? Gettin kind of tire not being able to pass up many gas stations. I'm averaging 15.5 mpg. Very seldom drive faster than 65. If I could get 1.5 - 2.0 more mpgs out of this horse it would indeed be a real sweet ride!

Thanks

Mongo

 

Good question. I have never done a good comparsion before and after the chip. I will tell this I don't do alot of Interstate driving in my truck, but I took a fishing trip last October and it was about 3/4 interstate. I drove 75-80 at times without a/c. This was the first and only time I went over 400 miles on one tank and I had the chip installed, so I think if the conditions are excatly the same it will produce an increase in fuel economy. However, sometimes the right foot gets heavier due to the power increase. Good luck

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1999 F-150 Lariat SC 2 WD, White/Silver, 5.4L, 3.55LS, K & N FIPK, Superchip, underdrive pulley set, Flowmaster dual chamber one in and duels out, six disc CD changer, towing package and captain chairs

 

Hi Mongo,

Welcome to F-150 Online!

In your situation, doing mostly highway cruising, you probably should be able to see some improvement there. The numbers you cited, 1.5-2.0 more mpg, are the average increases that get reported back to us in V-8 automatic F-150's. This mileage gain is just a by-product of the increased spark advance used on part-throttle in the Superchip's tuning to increase power, so your results will depend on 2 primary things; how you drive it, and the energy content of your fuel supply.

However, don't forget one thing, and that is, the Superchip requries premium gas. So if you are trying to actually reduce the amount of money spent on gasoline, that's probably not going to happen. It shouldn't be too much of a problem with mostly highway cruising to see a little bit better gas mileage, just remember that you'll need to burn premium with the Superchip.

We do have a product called the Superchip Flip Chip, that can store 2 different programs, and some people are using them configured with one program for regular gas, and then the other being our normal performance program for premium gas. Keep in mind that when running on the regular gas program, you won't see any mileage gains, and the power gain will be small, maybe a handful more horsepower at best. The power gain and potential mileage gains will genrally only come when you're running it on the premioum gas program, in the Flip Chip. They way we set it up is so that both programs are identical except that on one side of the Flip Chip the engine will be tuned for 87 octane. This way, you get all the other benefits from the Superchip, such as improved automatic transmission shifting, top speed limiter removal, transitional spark retards removed, etc., so no matter which program you're using, the vehicle will be more responsive in either program. Then when you want maximum power, you can run it on premium.

If you'd like to go over this in detail, please feel free to give us a shout, our contact info is just below.

Good luck with your truck,

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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 Mike,
I'm kind of new to the site and have heard a lot of good things about the superchip. At this point I'm sold, I was just wondering why is it neccesary to run premium gas and does it decrease the engine life of my truck. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. I really want to know everything there is about this chip.


[This message has been edited by Stayblown (edited 02-05-2001).]

 

Mongo:

From what I've seen, just as many people are NOT getting increased mileage but WORSE mileage as there are getting better mileage.

I tracked my fuel consumption for 6 months and got worse mileage with the chip. Not a whole lot worse but slightly worse.

After MUCH debate over my situation and data, most of us concluded I was seeing no gains.

DO NOT BUY THE CHIP FOR A DECREASE IN FUEL CONSUMPTION!!!

Besides 92/93 octane costs about .20 more!

What I can say about the chip is:

-Helps very well in towing
-Engine seems to run better
-Slight more power (noticable)
-Trans shifts better
-Seems to start better on cold mornings
-I get about the same to slightly worse mileage in the city.




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Rand

98 Ford Expedition 4X4 XLT
5.4, 3.73s, 17" wheels,
Homemade 3" "COLD" Air-Box
mod, SuperChip, Amsoil
everywhere but tranny, Perma-
Cool combo 6 pass trans/oil
cooler (FQR 5.4 @ 50K)

 

Hi Stayblown,

Performance chips require the use of premium gas simply because it is the re-tuning of the engine specifically for the characteristics of premium gas that gets the vast majority of the power gain in these vehicles.

The automakers didn't leave any power "laying on the table", in their programming so to speak, on regular gas, so increasing power via powertrain programming requires the use of premium gas.

And no, using the Superchip will not decrease the life of your engine. These engines are not so fragile that another 10%-12% power gain, which is what the Superchip does for these vehicles, is going to cause any lessening of the number of miles you'll get from it. In fact, over the years, what we've observed is that what matters far more than an engine's potential peak power output when pushed to the limit, is how the vehicle is actually operated and maintained. If yours is an automatic transmission model, chances are the automatic will last longer with the Superchip, thanks to the reduction in slippage from the superior automatic transmission programming of the Superchip.

If you'd like to go over this in more detail, please feel free to give us a call, we're always happy to help.



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