Does anyone have experience with the Superchip in a towing (4,000 lb. boat/trailer) application?

------------------
.....Unencumbered by knowledge I am free to speak.....

1999
4WD
4.6
3:55
4 Speed
255/70R/16 BFG AT's
Ravin Z-77
Westin Nerf Bars
Spider/Cargo Net
K & N Filtercharger

 

Hi Dice4me,

You might want to do a search thru the archives here, as there have been a few excellent threads on comparions before & after the Superchip while towing loads. There is an excellent thread that was posted some months back by a fellow F-150 Online member who uses the screen name of "Conocoan", the thread title is something like towing results with the Superchip, or something along those lines. It's an excellent thread in which he had been towing a large load over the same route for some time, and then did it with the Superchip, and reported his results. He got noticeably better performance of course, as you would expect from the Superchip, and in his case, he even picked up a little bit of gas mileage improvement as well.

In terms of giving you an idea of what to expect from the Superchip, in round numbers, think of it as a 10%-12% power gain. It's a nice aid for towing, as it increases torque even on part-throttle, which helps with the downshifting down out of Overdrive, etc.

If you'd like to go over anything in detail, please feel free to shoot us an email or give us a call, we'll be happy to speak with you & answer any questions you may have, etc.

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

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 06-11-2001).]

 

Hello Dice4me,

I do alot of towing and will try to pass on my experiences with out becoming to boring.

The post that Mike is refering to is when I first got my chip. I was pulling an 8,300 lb 5th wheel camper. I was in a hurry to install my chip before our trip and in my haste filled my truck up with low octane fuel. Every little hill I came to the truck tried to down shift. After running that tank out I filled up with the right fuel and the difference was so big that even my wife said something about how much better the truck was pulling. Same highway, same type hills, huge difference.

As for what to expect I look at it like this, my truck weighs 5,470 lbs and common sence will tell you that a 10% to 12% increase in power is not going to make it run like a Mustang. But, have you ever been in a go cart with someone else and felt the difference in power when the other person gets out? The go cart is maxed out with two people in it and anything you do will make a big difference in the old "Butt-O-Meter". Four wheelers are the same way, an exaust pipe that adds 3 hp will feel like a big difference. Well, same thing when towing. The truck is working harder and that 10% to 12% goes along way.

The shifting is another added benefit. Just last week we made a trip from our home in Northwest Louisiana to Panama City Florida. We traveled 1,800 miles total pulling the 5th wheel. The further east we got the higher the gas prices got and I have to admit I did think about pulling the chip. But, I also have a transmission temp gauge and was watching it like a hawk. Pulling on the highway in overdrive she ran around 170 deg but when I got caught in traffic the temp would sometimes jump as high as 190 deg.
If I had removed the chip then the transmission would have reverted to the sloppy factory shifts and I think that would have generated even more heat.

As for fuel, before doing any mods my overall mileage was in the low 15's. With the mods I have gotten as high as 16.7 mpg.

Sorry for the long post but for me, I won't have a truck without the chip.

Good luck

------------------
1999 F-250 LD 4x4 Lariat Supercab, 5.4 w/3.73LS
Wedgewood Blue & Silver.
K&N FIPK
Flowmaster
with duel stainless
tips in front of the
rear tire
Superchip
Line-x
Amsoil

 

I tow a boat (21 footer) and an 18' foot travel trailer (not at the same time) all over the mountains and deserts of California and Nevada. I have about 10k miles with the S-chip.

I really noticed the big difference in the gear shifting with the S-Chip. I haven't installed a transmission temp guage yet, so I don't know if we ran cooler because of the enhanced shifting the s-chip does. The shifting sure does feel better to me.

If you are expecting some kind of gain in fuel efficiency, remove those thoughts because no matter how I drive, I still get 12mpg, and about 10.5 when I tow. Same as before I installed the s-chip. Even with the '****-poor' mpg I get, I like having the S-chip for towing.


Note: The S-Chip folks NEVER promised me better mileage, so I am not ragging on them about the mpg. The promises they (S-chip folks) made, they fully delivered. No problem there!

 

Hi Conocoan & big_rod,

Conocoan: Thanks for showing up in this thread, we haven't "seen" you around for a little while! I often refer people looking for information about towing results with the Superchip to your original thread from back then, as it's gives a number of excellent insights into your experience, which directly relates to so many others who are towing. There are, of course, any number of threads about that very same thing that have been posted here over the past few years by numerous people, but yours gives a very good picture of a number of factors and cites results before & after the Superchip over the same route, etc., very nice post for those looking for that kind of feedback, & we refer people to it. I need to memorize that URL so people won't have to search! Interesting perspective you mentioned with regards to transmission fluid temperatures, and I agree, without the Superchip you generally will see higher tranny fluid temps when towing, especially if you are in traffic and the transmission has to do much shifting, up or down. Once you're up to freeway speeds, or cruising at normal speed, I don't think you'll see any real difference in those temps with our without the Superchip, as the torque converter should be locked up, but anytime that transmission is having to shift much you'll see some difference there.

Also, the higher that gas prices go, in many cases the more financial sense the Superchip makes, as the cost delta between regular & premium doesn't change much if any, it stays at a relatively constant average of about 20 cents per gallon in most places. So the higher gas prices go, the smaller that cost delta gets in terms of a percentage, giving the Superchip that much more of a chance to offset more of that cost delta with it's small mileage gains. Of course, towing a load in excess of 4 tons like you're doing, I really was surprised to see you pick up another 1 mpg or so with the Superchip back in that original post, I consider that an excellent result under those load conditions. Bottom line is that for those who actually track that expenditure comparison, it's a very small cost to run the Superchip for it's benefits in most cases, but of course given your background, you know all of that as well as anyone.

I did want to ask you, is there anything that you might want to comment on with regards to fuel quality, etc., in your travels? It seems you do a fair amount of traveling, towing, etc., so I thought I'd see if you have any general or even specific comments you might happen to have any feedback you'd care to share there. I don't know if you are travelling all across the country, or maybe do the same basic trips a number of times each year, etc. Forgive me if I've asked you for that kind of feedback in the past, & thanks in advance for anything you might care to share with us.

big_rod: Thanks for your comments as well, of course! Just out of curiosity, do you have a feel for just how much weight you're pulling with either that boat or that trailer?

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

 

Hi Mike,

Your right, I haven't posted in quiet some time. I just pop in every once in a while to see what's new and happened upon this thread and since I tow so much I figure I'd throw my 2 cents worth in.

You hit the nail on the head in regards to trans fluid temps in that anytime the torque converter is not locked up the temp goes up. I think the firmer shifts are bound to help keep the temps down. The magic number I try to stay below is 200 degrees. I am running synthetic fluid and it should handle the heat a little better but I try not to push it. When I see the temps approaching 200 deg I try to start doing something different.

As for why I picked up a 1 mpg increase when pulling I think I know the answer. I don't use the cruse control when pulling the camper because it shifts in and out of overdrive too much. I instead try to anticipate when the truck will try to down shift and ease off the gas. Before I installed the chip that was very hard to do and quite frustrating. The truck shifted on every little hill and that's why I think I am seeing an increase in mileage. The trucks shifting less and over the long haul I think I end up with a cooler transmission and a little better economy. While pulling the camper I range from 8.75 to 9.5 mpg. This is why I say that that 12% increase in power can make a big difference. Especially in driver fatigue.

As for fuel quality, I don't think I can help you there. I always use Texaco or Conoco when I can. I have gotten bad batches of Texaco gas before and there is a station in my area that sells off brand gas and my truck runs great on it. I used it the first time because I was running on fumes and was supprised that it didn't really affect how my truck ran. The strange thing is that it all comes from the same refinery for a given area. For instance, Exxon, Texaco, Chervron, etc all buy their gas from the same refinery in Lake Charles which is a Conoco refinery. They do however add their own additive packages after the gas leaves the pipeline. And that is the only difference. As to why some gas is better than others, I don't really know. Maybe it's just something as simple as quality control and keeping the water out.

On a side note, I just left Caracas, Venesuela where the gas is just 35 cents per gallon. Of course they don't import any of the oil they use. It's all produced right there. By comparison we import over 60% of the oil we use and pay the price.

Hope this helped and good "chatting" with you again Mike.

Mark

 

Thanks for all the input, folks! Sounds like the SuperChip would sure help in some of the "problem" areas I'm experiencing.
How do you feel about adding octane boost in a pinch (104+ Brand?) if I can't find anything higher than a QUALITY 90 or 91 octane while on the road?

------------------
.....Unencumbered by knowledge I am free to speak.....

1999
4WD
4.6
3:55
4 Speed
255/70R/16 BFG AT's
Ravin Z-77
Westin Nerf Bars
Spider/Cargo Net
K & N Filtercharger

 

Hi Conocoan,

As always, thanks very much for your detailed post.

You could very well be right about how you achieved that mpg increase with the Superchip while towing 8000+ lbs, with the reduction in the number of downshifts, that could indeed make a contribution to that. Less rpms=less fuel consumed, certainly!

Thanks too for your insights re: fuel quality. What I would *love* to see is a mandate to have the energy content known, that would be very tell-tale from what we're seeing. That most likely won't ever happen, each refinery run is going to vary a bit of course, in addition to the logistical nightmare it would be etc., so it's just wishful thinking on my part, but it sure would be nice.

35 cents per gallon, eh? I haven't seen 35 sent a gallon gas prices since the 70's!

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

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 06-20-2001).]

 

HI Dice,

I would urge you *not* to use any kind of octane booster unless it's an absolute emergency, as they shorten the service life of spark plugs & O2 sensors, they're expensive, etc.

If you get somewhere that you cannot get a good premium gas, and have to use a lower octane, if you start hearing any pinging (detonation), you can easily stop and remove the Superchip in about 30 seconds, which will put you right back to the factory program. Then once you run that tank out & get back to good fuel, you can put the Superchip back in. I'd rather see someone do that than use octane boosters.

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

 

Perhaps I missed it somewhere in the thread. BUT, gas mileage was the nicest attribute for me. I towed a 5,250 pound boat and trailer with my Expedition. I went from 9 MPG to 11.5 ish with the chip! Pulled it noticably easier, but not shocking! The TORQUE is most noticable because the extra 46 ft/lb of torque would get me moving easier. The 26-28 HP kept me in motion VERY SLIGHTLY better. Shifts should help with longevity of trans....

Dont have the boat and dont use the chip anymore. GAS PRICES!!! $2/gal

Going to Outer Banks NC soon and I will use the chip due to its much needed help in deep sand!



------------------
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)

NEVER BUY EXXON/MOBIL! ITS A CRAPPY
PRODUCT AND THEY'RE AS SLEAZY AS CLINTON!