I have had my Superchip about 2 months now. I have a 1998 F-150 flareside single cab with AT and the 4.2 V-6. The only thing I can tell that using the chip does better is make the truck have firmer shifts. In the low RPM ranges sometimes the truck will shift and actually "clunk" into gear. If I take the chip out, the truck runs great(About 65,000 miles on it). I use the correct procedure in putting the chip in,( let it sit with the neg side of the battery off for a long while).With the chip in also, it runs as good on 87 and 89 octane as it does on 93. No knocks or anything. Also, with the chip out, the truck actually is more driveable, espically around town. Now, I can say for a fact that under hard acceleration, the shifts are much quicker than without it. Why all this? 87 octane runs as good in my truck with the chip as 93 does. Does my chip need sent back for re-programming? or am I looking for a flip chip? All I can say is I am not satisified with my Superchip. I mean the truck I know will not become a rocket with a differant chip, but why is this happening with my truck?

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1998 4.2 V-6
Auto trans
Regular cab
Flare side
3.08 axle
Superchip
K&N air filter
Flowmaster 40 with duel chrome ports out back
255/70/16 tires

 

Why don't you call the place you bought the chip from? If it is Mike T., I am sure he will take care of you and help you sort it out. I believe there is a warranty.

In my case, the increased performance of the chip was VERY noticeable right away, and continued to improve for a few days.

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1999 XLT S/C, 4.2 V-6, auto, 3.55 rear, dark torreador red/harvest gold, Ford bed liner

Clarion ARX8570z Head Unit, Sony 10 disc CD, Infinity 610cs components & JBL GTO7520 speakers; USAcousitcs 4065 amp and Polk 8" subwoofer

Edelbrock IAS, Energy Suspension anti-sway bar bushings, Steeda Rear Anti-sway bar, 2" rear drop.

Superchip, Airaid FIPK, Flex-a-Lite Black Magic electric fan

 

I would strongly look at where you're buying your gas from. Make sure it's a reputable brand and make sure you've got a full tank of 93, not a tank diluted with some 87 or other grade.

At 60k I would also make sure you've got a fresh fuel filter on as well. Did you make sure that you ordered the right chip code? Mike will probably be along shortly to assist you.

 

you started out with 205 hp and threw away 50-60 hp for the auto transmission plus the fact that they play shifting/engine rev games with autos.<p>but, it sounds like you might have had a computer flash that changed your code...

 

Hi blueflare4.2,

This is very simple and easy to solve.

I agree with the others comments, in that your biggest problem is that you need to immediately stop using anything other than high-quality premium gas, never use anything less with the Superchip, as when you use lower octane, you are defeating its ability to add power. The Superchip tunes that engine for the use of premium gas, and it requires premium gas for the power gains and best driveability.

Let's go over just why you're noticing what you are a bit here.............

The fact that you do not hear audible detonation does *not* mean that your truck "makes just as much power" on the lower octanes with the Superchip as it does on premium gas, it doesn't. Sure, it starts and runs pretty well when you use the low octane with the Superchip, sometimes with no apparent "deficit" that is anything obvious to the driver, but that doesn't mean you can use it like that, or that you're going to get the same results as you do running on the proper fuel, it won't.

This is simply a matter of how you're "feeding" the Superchip, so to speak, that's affecting your results, and if you'd like to go over this in detail, please do give us a call, we'll be happy to do go over all of this in detail with you.

What's happening here is that when you use the lower octane fuels, your knock sensor system picks up the sound of detonation in the cylinder block very early on in that process, *before* you can ever hear it as the driver, and signals the ECU to reduce timing accoringly, to immediately quell the detonation. This works quickly enough that you as the driver don't notice anything, other than perhaps a perception of less power, as that of course happens from the reduction in timing, power is reduced.

You're *very* lucky in that your knock sensor system apparently has enough total effective compensation range to allow you to run the Superchip all the way down on 87 octane without exhibiting *audible* detonation (not all these vehicles will do that, there is a fairly wide amount of variance in the compensation range of the knock sensor systems in these vehicles), but you must stop doing that, you're *wrong* in assuming that you can safely continue to run it like that, meaning on anything less than premium gas with the Superchip installed. You'll never have the best driveability (and of course little to no power gain) running low octane gas with the Superchip installed. You have much less timing and the burn rate is off when you do that; lower octane fuels burn quicker than higher octane fuels do, and the fuel curves in the Superchip program are specifically and precisely calibrated for the burn rate of premium gasolines, and this affects driveability. That doesn't mean that it's suddenly going to have serious problems and that if it doesn't, it's OK, or that the Superchip isn't adding any power when you run it on premium. It means that you won't have the best driveability, that will only happen when the vehicle is fed the required fuel.

Here's an important point to remember.........

Remember that anytime you're running a lower octane, even when you go back to premium, you have dilution of the incoming premium gas from the existing lower octane fuel still left in the tank & the rest of the fuel delivery system. Anywhere from a low of 3 to as much as 6 gallons is still in the system by the time the low fuel light comes on. You also have no reset of the ECU when you change octane levels back and forth as you've been doing, to clear the existing adaptive strategy adjustments and let it go thru its relearn cycle from scratch, so you can isolate the program changes much better and thus make a far more accurate & relevant comparison. Each time you change octanes, unless you do a re-set, or clearing of the ECU as we discuss in our documentation, the change in engine performance is going to happen very gradually, over the next 350-500 miles or so. My point is that this all causes the power gain to happen *very* gradually when you finally put premium in, and also causes your performance to change on the way back down very gradually as well, when you go back to lower octane. It's not going to be like flipping a switch and you suddently have the *instant* differences in power output, up with premium and back down on 87, when you switch octanes back and forth like this with no ECU re-set, this happens *gradually* under those conditions.

Those 2 factors combined (going back and forth on octane, and the resulting gradual changes in performance *both* ways, either when going back to 87 or when going back to 92+ as a result) is basically what's formed your impressions of the Superchip.

Remember that as long as the vehicle starts and runs properly with the Superchip installed, that Superchip is working just as it is supposed to, and at that point, all you have to do is use the correct fuel for the Superchip to do it's job. All you have to do to get the power gains is use *ONLY* the best quality premium gasolines, all the time, no exceptions, ever. It's that simple. You need to use it only as it was designed to be used, if you want the results the Superchip is capable of delivering.

What I would suggest you do is remove the Superchip, and run out whatever tank of fuel you have in it right now, which I'm betting is 87 octane, but regardless of what it is, run it down at least until the low fuel light comes on. Then fill it up with premium, and then re-install the Superchip according to the directions, making sure to do the reset of the ECU again after the installation as we describe in our documentation. Then run it like that for a solid month, using *only* high-quality premium gas, no cheap stuff, sometimes people try to cut expenses and use cheap premium gas with the Superchip, but you won't get the performance or mileage you could. Stick with something like Texaco, Amoco, etc., no Exxon (low energy) or no-names or off-brands, let's make sure you're using only a good quality premium fuel. After a month of running it like that, run your then-current tank of premium gas down until the low fuel light comes on, remove the Superchip, and fill it back up with 87 octane, doing another re-set of the ECU after removal of the Superchip & putting 87 octane back in the tank. Do that, and you will see what that Superchip was doing for you all along by the time you're halfway thru that tank of 87, if not much sooner.

What you can expect from the Superchip when run consistently on good quality premium gas is a maximum gain of about 10%-12% more power. It's not going to feel like a supercharger of course, you already know that. In round numbers, we call it a 10% power gainer.

Particular areas of improvement you're going to notice in that 4.2 V-6 is what happens below 2500 rpm, the factory program is noticeably weak until you get about 2500 rpms on the tach. The Superchip noticeably improves this, but of course that isn't the only place the Superchip works, it adds power at any rpm and throttle position. That's just one area that is a characteristic of the 4.2 V-6, it's being weak below 2500 rpm on the factory program, that you can easily notice is improved from the Superchip, so that's why I point it out as a specific area of improvement that V-6 F-150 owners comment on the Superchip improving.

All in all, this is very easy to solve, you just have to "feed" the vehicle the required good quality premium gas.

Again, if you'd like to speak with us about this, please feel free to give us a call, ok?

Good luck!

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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
National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Thank you Mike, I can see what you are getting at. The gas that is in the tank now is 89 octane. Got about 1/3 tank left. I will take the chip out and run the gas as low as I can, then reset the CPU like I am just putting it in. We have an Amoco station done the road and I am going to buy my gas for the next month.Right now I have 65,650 miles on the truck. Don't get me wrong, I like the truck. I bought the chip directly from Superchips and the directions are so vague about telling you to do all the resetting of the CPU and sticking to a "good" brand of premium gas. I even called the factory and they told me the chip was made to work well with about 90 octane fuel. I guess they can't tell you what brand to use. All we have around here is 87, 89, and 92 or 93, although I have seen some Citgo stations with 87,88,89,90,91,92,& 93. Makes it awful confusing to the inexperienced motorist. I will post my results when I begin to start over again.

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1998 4.2 V-6
Auto trans
Regular cab
Flare side
3.08 axle
Superchip
K&N air filter
Flowmaster 40 with duel chrome ports out back
255/70/16 tires

 

Hi Blueflare4.2,

You're very welcome, of course!

Ahh, now I understand better. And you're absolutely right, the manufacturers instructions are rather vague in those areas, I agree. That's exactly why we write several additional pages of far more highly detailed documentation, that we send out with every Superchip we ship for these vehicles, so that people will know all these other little factors that can easily add up to making the difference of being satisfied or not, or getting the most our of your Superchip, etc.

The manufacturers instructions are great as far as showing you how to install the Superchip onto the computer itself, but they don't tell you anything specific to the vehicle itself, such as where the computer is, the easiest way to get to it, troubleshooting info, tips, hints, etc., so we go over all of that in our additional documentation. Also, we use a completely different technique for cleaning the connector, they use that green Scotchbrite pad, and we manually scrape each contact on the connector.

I think that now you know what the deal is, you should be able to get more enjoyment out of your Superchip.

Basically, to get the rated gains from the Superchip requires a high-quality 92 octane or higher, at sea level altitude. There are shades and grade of fuel quality, so steer clear of any of the cheap stuff, we recommend brands like Texaco, Amoco, & Citgo, in that order of preference. Those 3 brands are our favorites, in that order of preference, due to generally having among the highest energy content of any fuels on a fairly consistent basis, and also have excellent quality detergent additives. Steer clear of brands like Exxon (very low energy), and any "no-name" or "off-brands", like Sheetz, Coastal, Racetrack, etc., for the same reasons, low energy & quality of detergent additives.

It is true that the Superchip can generally be used on any high-quality 90 octane or greater, they didn't tell you wrong there, however, we're seeing that these days, energy content is a big issue, so it pays to use only the best brands & grades of gasoline with the Superchip, to get the best results, not only in performance, but also in terms of actual fuel mileage. So while it usually works well on any high-quality 90 octane or higher, to get the rated gains requires using a high-quality premium gas of 92 octane or higher.

I hope this helps you to get the enjoyment from your Superchip that it's capable of delivering, and should you ever decide to get another Superchip in the future, just as a suggestion, you might to consider going thru us, so you don't have to pay full price by going thru Superchips directly. Just FYI so you'll know, it's up to you of course!

Good luck & have fun!

------------------
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
National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Hey blue,
Just to let you know,my truck(4.6) audibly detonates whenever I use anyhting but 92 and up octane. I bought my chip when I was at high altitude(5000 ft.)and the only thing available was 91 and lower. Octane works wonders,,,,,98

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98 F-150 4.6 Litre XLT 4x2 Ext. cab
prarie tan/tan int.
Yep,it has alot of stuff installed on it,I just got sick of lugging that huge sig. around,hehe
Come and see my newest pictures@ www.my-f150.com

Everything is shown there,except for the Superchip,Thanks Mike T!!

FENDER GUITARS ROCK!!!

Now,if it only looked like this in real life