I have been considering getting a superchip for my 1999 f-150 4.2 5 speed,but with the cost of gas at an all-time high am having second thoughts. Don't you lose a few miles per gallon due to the increased performance? Also, i believe you need to use the highest octane avail, correct? I would love to get better performance, but am scared off by the increasing cost of gas. Geesh, when's it gonna end? Sorry for the rant. Just concerned.

 

from what i am heard you can actually gain a mile or two per gallon when you get a tune. If you get a troyer performance tune you can still use the low octane and still get great results from it. So you will not have to buy higher octane gas (more expensive) and you will gain power and mileage which always makes you go

hope this helped
spense

 

You do not have to use high-octane gas, many tuners can make increased power off regular fuel. For max gains premium is required. As for gaining MPGs, don't hold your breath. I didn't lose any, but I didn't gain any either. Maybe .1 mpg over the long term thus far, but no significant impact. It's only like $6 more to fill a 30 gallon tank with premium over regular, even at these obscene prices. regular is like $3, premium is $3.20 around here... normally no more than .30 apart at most. And even at .30 diff, it's a whopping $9. If you have the disposable income to get a tuner or custom tune, then that $9 shouldn't scare you.

 

bob1,I have a 1998 F150 reg.cab,2wd,4.6 v8,auto.I run a 1715 Superchips Microtuner with 3 settings.I like the "performance"setting for increased performance.My gas mileage has not changed.You must use 91 octane and up, gas.
I recently went back to the"87 octane" tuning level.I ran a couple of tanks of gas and then went back to the "performance" tuning level.In my opinion the extra $4 a fill up is worth it for increased performance.That's what you have to decide,if it is worth it to you.
I also run a K & N fipk and have a "catback" exhaust system,with SIDO Flowmaster 50 series,delta flow.I feel like these 3 mods,complement each other.I hope this helps a little.Good Luck

 

Bob,

I'm not really sure which Superchips you are referring to.... single chip or flip chip (2 programs - runs both reg or premium)... I have a single program Superchip which I'm temporarily removing this afternoon so I can run reg unleaded.... here's an old discussion on this exact topic...https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ight=superchip

 

Hi Mike- Sorry i wasn't more specific. I was referring to chips in general. I will read the link you posted. Regards, Bob.

 

Hi Bob1,

Actually, i's very easy to get better MPG with that 4.2 V6 F-150, we do tunes like that every day. A lot of them can't even go open loop fro the factory, and that gives you even more potential for power & performance gains, as well as better MPG when you keep your foot out of the firewall, so to speak.

You don't have to use higher octane fuel to get gains, that is really something of the past - though it's true you will get larger gains using higher octane, you can still get very respectable gains using 87 octane fuels from our tuning.

The hot tip is to use the XCalibrator 2 along with our custom tuning, as that way you get a set of 3 different custom tunes set up however you need for your type of driving & vehicle usages - so you will have maximum flexibility, as you can have lower octane tuning, higher octane tuning, tuning that is for sheer performance, or for towing, etc - up any way you prefer, and that is what the majority of people here go with.

Many of the people who do not report MPG gains from *our* tuning are generally doing so because they either using cheap gas, or in a lot of cases are simply enjoying the increased performance and drive the vehicle differently - usually a little bit harder than they did before, sometimes not really thinking about it, just enjoying it - and if you do that, then in most cases the MPG will not go up. But as long as you are not using heavy throttle and use good quality fuel (regardless of octane), then the MPG tends to go up a bit with our tuning, especially in the 4.2 V6's.

Today's tuning products are a lot more up to date and have far more capabilities than what you find in the older single program and "flip chip" types of Superchips that were used years ago - today we have much higher capabilities in terms of performance and flexibility, and the capabilities of the tuner itself - datalogging, complete diagnostic capabilities, etc.

I hope this info helps a bit,and please feel free to give us a call to go over this in more detail, we'll be happy to help.

Best of luck whatever you decide, & enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

 

When i take my second vacation in November, i will purchase a chip from you. One more question i forgot to ask, when i take my truck in for service, does the chip compromise the vehicle codes? In other words, will the "check engine soon" light respond in the same way with chip installed if something is wrong with the engine? Hopefully, i made myself clear. And you have a nice Labor Day week-end too!

 

Who makes good fuel, Mike?

 

Yes your computer acts the same, he doesn't change the program just tunes it to get it to perform better, so your CEL will work properly. And as far as gas I know Mike has gone over that before, I saw a thread from him yesterday and Citgo was at the top of the list. Hope this answers your questions

 

Hi Bob1,

It's different when you use a traditional "chip" as compared to what I recommend, which is the flash device XCalibrator 2 - and of course, we can provide either the chip or the flash type device.

When using a traditional chip, some scan tools will NOT be able to read codes, while other scan tools have no problems at all. For example, the Ford WDS system cannot communicate with the PCM with ANY type of chip installed, while the Ford SBDS or NGS systems have no such issues. That is simply because you're engaging the J3 circuit - while many other types of scan tools (like all that we use here) still can easily read any codes with a chip present.

For this & many other reasons, we recommend using the newer flash style device, as you don't have the potential for that type of concern - you also don't have to disassemble the PCM to clean the J3 connector to install the chip. And it doesn't matter what type or brand of chip, *ALL* chips have this potential for some scan tools not being able to read the PCM with the chip connected to the J3 connector on the EEC-V PCM's.

One simple answer is to just pull the chip off before scanning - which takes all of 5-30 seconds, and is very easy to do - and is just as easy to replace afterwards, and can be done as many times as you like. Or use the flash type of device, which is a much easier installation, has many more features, and does not have the potential for any such issues.

Either way, chip or flash device, this is easy to avoid by simply removing the chip for a few minutes to scan the PCM, or by simply using our flash device so that you don't have to change anything to scan for codes, etc.

 

I'm not speaking for Mike.....but I consider any company not importing oil from Arab countries to be good fuel

Sunoco
Getty
Hess

Some of the oil companies who do NOT import from the Arabs!

 

I like the way you think, JerseyGeorge. I've done searches about which brands of gas are considered to be better, but turned up very little. I'd still like to hear more.