After installing my Superchip last weekend I noticed immediate performance gains, however, what surprised me was the degree that my truck improved over the past week. I put 100 miles on my truck per day during my commute and today when I was coming home, I decided to open it up a bit. What I found was a measurable increase in throttle response between 2000-3000 rpm compared to the beginning of the week. Although I knew there is a relearn cycle present with the Ford computer systems, I did not expect the type of gain I got.

Just to insure that I do not incorrectly set any expectations... it does not make the truck a Lighting (damn!) but it is a noticable difference.

Just thought I would help influence those who have not yet bought the chip. Beware, however -- once you put one in, you will find yourself dreaming about what mod is next (see, I have the members of this board to thank for that and I figured I'd repay the favor)


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2000 F-150 5.4 XLT 4x4
[list][*] Smittybuilt sure step bars [*] K&N Air Filter [*] Ford (Duraliner) Bedliner[*] Superchip [*] Ravin' Z55 muffler (awaiting install)

 

I know what you mean...I'm at 4,000 miles on this relearn cycle..and my truck is running great!

One thing I have noticed..maybe it is just me...but if the truck is driven strickly in the city for a period of time (stop and go traffic), it is not as "powerful" on an acceleration from a dead stop/passing. If I take it out on the highway and open it up for a while...then drive it as mentioned above, the truck is much better. Just something I've noticed....

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Superchip, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55 rear, class III towing package with super engine cooling/auxiliary transmission cooling HD 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, FORD black tubular cab steps, K&N air filter, mar-hyde rubberized undercoating, Modine climate filtration system, Bugflector II, Mobil 1 oil, build 7/2000

 

If the trucks improve so much during the "learning" period, it seems like it would sure be a shame to remove the chip for service or for any other reason. Mike mentions to just pop the chip out when going to the dealer for warranty work, but I'm not so sure I'd want to.

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2000 F150 Harley-Davidson: Superchip, K&N FIPK
Hard Tonneau, Hidden Hitch, 2-Meter Rig (KG0UK)
'99 FLHRCI, '95 XLH

 

Hi Cyclone,

What a great post! I especially liked the part where you mentioned you didn't want to set any unrealistic expectations for anyone else, just expressing your satisfaction with your results, and I think that is *very* important to remember. We see so many posts of people saying things like "WOW!", etc., after their Superchip installation that sometimes, and quite naturally given these types of posts of course, everyone expects to be "WOWED!" after installing theirs, which can lead to disappointment for a few; so it's perhaps not reasonable to expect the Superchip to deliver each individual's own unique version of what it takes to make them say "WOW!" in these gas-motored F-trucks. We do have to remember that what the Superchip accomplishes is about a 10%-12% power gain, so it's not going to be like installing a supercharger, which is what it would take to make some people say "WOW!".

The other point being that with the same percentage of power gain, it's going to feel like a bigger gain on the lighter trucks, and less in the very heaviest trucks, though the actual gain is basically the same. All in all, the Superchip represents the single best bang-for-the-buck performance mod for these vehicles, in terms of performance gained per dollar spent, short of something like perhaps nitrous oxide of course.

With regards to the comments about the Superchip delivering further gains after the initial installation, yes, we would agree with that as well, that's common even when the computer's memory is in fact fully & properly cleared upon initial installation of the Superchip. Done correctly, it seems that you get about 80% or so of what the Superchip will ultimately deliver right away (that's nothing scientific by the way, merely a layman's estimate), with the remainder coming in gradually over the next tank or two of fuel. Some people don't notice this last 20% or so, roughly speaking, due to it coming in so gradually, just like those who do not completely clear the computer's memory upon initial installation will not notice the power gain, it's the fact that it comes in so gradually that gives this effect, and of course, people are different in what they feel & notice.

Thanks for your detailed description of what you noticed as you accumulated those miles, Cyclone, & good luck with your future mods, as it seems you've been bitten!

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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

 

Hi Dustoff,

That too is very true, and what you have described is actually the effect of Ford's "adaptive strategy", rather than anything the Superchip itself is doing.

The ECU has a limited ability to adapt it's operations for the manner in which the vehicle is being operated the majority of the time. For example, if you take a pair of otherwise-identical F-150's, one that has been doing mostly heavy towing & hauling, and another that has been driven conservatively, and put an identical load behind each, the truck that has been doing the heavy work will have a slightly increased amount of power for a short time (until the conservatively-driven truck has been operated under heavy load for awhile, then it will even out), it's a max of about 2%-3% or so.

This is precisely why some people will do the battery disconnect & voltage drain when they go to the drag strip, after driving conservatively back and forth to work all week, or for weeks or months, etc., to clear out the effects of adaptive strategy and start again from a "clean slate", so to speak. And as you noted, you can also accomplish much the same thing just by driving it harder, too.

------------------
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 Harley Guy,

Good point!

And I would say that this really depends on the kind of dealership you have, and their attitude towards aftermarket parts. Most of them are good, some are great, and as most of us know, there are those who are not so well informed.

We generally recommend removing the Superchip when going in for service, not because of any warranty considerations, this applies whether you're still under warranty or not; it's because of the false error code (P0605) the technician will get if they scan your vehicle's computer for diagnostics. As long as the tech knows that this is normal (which it is, as when you attach the Superchip, the computer instantly turns off it's own internal EPROM chip and the computer seeks it's instructions externally, via the Superchip), then you're OK, but sometimes techs are not aware of exactly how that works, and so when they see that P0605 code, they think the computer's internal EPROM chip has actually failed, and since it's surface-mounted instead of socketed, they think the computer needs to actually be replaced! They sometimes don't realize that as soon as you pull the Superchip, that code disappears, as the computer's internal EPROM chip is instantly turned back on when the performance chip is removed, that circuit basically works like an on/off switch for the computer's EPROM chip, as well as an external override data path for instruction set. More and more techs are becoming aware of this as more people use these products, but to avoid having to explain all that, we generally advise to just remove them prior to service. Here at Performance, we always leave ours in when we take a vehicle in for service, as we feel that because of who we are, we have to. We go in an personally speak with the techs, and go over exactly what they're going to find, & now they know what to expect from our vehicles. This is easy for us to do, as we have the detailed knowledge of how that circuit and the Superchip work together, where most people naturally do not, so it's usually just easier to pull it. Ultimately, this is up to each person to decide for themselves.

Just remember, after the initial installation, it only takes about 350-500 miles or so each successive time you re-install it for all that to complete (a few vehicles will take a bit longer), so you're really only talking about a tank or a little more of gas before you're back up to 100%, and the relatively small amount you miss as that last 20% or so comes back in gradually isn't so hard to live without, given the fact that as soon as you put it back in, you feel that basic power gain again, and that's usually enough to get most people thru their withdrawals.

Best of luck whatever you decide Harley Guy,

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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

 

Thanks for the feedback all... Mike, talking to your post specifically, I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes we get so excited over a modification we make that we tend to (potentially) exaggerate the impact. When this is read by someone who has incredibly high expectations, disappointment can ensue.

That said, there is something that I do believe everyone should be WOWED by -- that a mere $225 modification can cause an 11% power gain with an engine that has already been tuned by some of the best engineers in the world (as attested by the fact that the Triton 5.4 V8 has been on Ward's ten best engine list since its introduction). What the Superchip offers for the price (in both power and shifting characteristics) should be more than enough to make most people stand up and take notice.

When put in perspective, WOW is a darn good description of the value proposition of the chip.

 

Put my chip in yesterday, and there's no doubt more power is coming in after having driven about 100 miles now, then when I posted yesterday after having driven 10. Picked up about a 1/2 mile better mileage so far,per the overhead council.

 

Mike, I printed out the error code and your information. With this printout am sure I can "educate" the techs next time I head in for any warranty work. (The last 2 vehicles I had never went in for any -- am hoping this one is the same!)

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2000 F150 Harley-Davidson: Superchip, K&N FIPK
Hard Tonneau, Hidden Hitch, 2-Meter Rig (KG0UK)
'99 FLHRCI, '95 XLH

[This message has been edited by HarleyGuy (edited 03-03-2001).]

 

Hi Cyclone,

We agree of course.

In all fairness to Ford, they have of course tuned the motor for 85-87 octane gas, whereas we tune for premium gas, so there's a good part of the power gain.

Where we really shine is in the applications where they are already tuning the motor for premium and we still make those kinds of gains, like in the supercharged Lightning, for example, where we make solid 12%+ gains with no increase in boost.

The bottom line is that it's great to be able to achieve these kinds of improvements for such a relatively small investment, and that's a great bang-for-the-buck.

Thanks for your posts!

------------------
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 03-05-2001).]