Install Question!
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Joined: Dec 2000
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From: Sierra Vista, AZ (Bye, bye Bella Napoli)
Install Question!
I was luck enough to find a slightly used Superchip for my engine code. Information I got from Mike T was to change the chip when my low fuel light comes on. I want to install the chip this Saturday, and there is no way I can get below 1/4 tank. Will insatlling the chip at this level be a problem?
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Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
Hi baddgene,
You're a DI, eh? Good man!
We do not recommend doing that, as you will not have enough octane in the tank. With 1/4 tank of gas indicated on the gauge, you have about 9-10 gallons or so in the tank, which has a 25 gallon capacity total. These gas gauges are not very linear in their calibration, which is why they stay in the first 1/4 tank after a fill up for so long, and then drop quickly from the 3/4 full mark down to 1/4 full mark, and then that last 1/4 tank lasts much longer again, according to the gauge at least.
This means you can only add a maximum of 15-16 more gallons of premum if you have a 1/4 tank of 87 indicated on your gas gauge, and that is not going to get your octane up high enough, the Superchip requires a bare minimum of 91 octane, and we're really tuning for 92+ octane to get the rated power gains.
All you have to do at 1/4 tank is to drive it another 50-75 miles, which you can do in 1 hour somewhere on the highway, and then you'll be down to where the low fuel light comes on, so you can do this "right".
If you try doing this like you propose, you won't get the power gain you should, and you may get some detonation as well, that will depend on the total effective compensation range of the knock sensor system in your vehicle, and they do vary quite a bit.
Another point is, whatever you do, don't use any octane boosters, they vastly shorten the service life of your spark plugs, O2 sensors, etc., coating everything with a nasty pick to purple-colored residue, even though they mostly claim to be "safe" for those parts, we've been thru that too many times.
You can always give this a try, and if you hear any detonation (pinging, pre-ignition ), jnust pull the Superchip until you run that next tank of fuel out, and then put it back in again once you've actualy got nothing but premium in the tank. We recommend not doing that of course.
Good luck!
You're a DI, eh? Good man!
We do not recommend doing that, as you will not have enough octane in the tank. With 1/4 tank of gas indicated on the gauge, you have about 9-10 gallons or so in the tank, which has a 25 gallon capacity total. These gas gauges are not very linear in their calibration, which is why they stay in the first 1/4 tank after a fill up for so long, and then drop quickly from the 3/4 full mark down to 1/4 full mark, and then that last 1/4 tank lasts much longer again, according to the gauge at least.
This means you can only add a maximum of 15-16 more gallons of premum if you have a 1/4 tank of 87 indicated on your gas gauge, and that is not going to get your octane up high enough, the Superchip requires a bare minimum of 91 octane, and we're really tuning for 92+ octane to get the rated power gains.
All you have to do at 1/4 tank is to drive it another 50-75 miles, which you can do in 1 hour somewhere on the highway, and then you'll be down to where the low fuel light comes on, so you can do this "right".
If you try doing this like you propose, you won't get the power gain you should, and you may get some detonation as well, that will depend on the total effective compensation range of the knock sensor system in your vehicle, and they do vary quite a bit.
Another point is, whatever you do, don't use any octane boosters, they vastly shorten the service life of your spark plugs, O2 sensors, etc., coating everything with a nasty pick to purple-colored residue, even though they mostly claim to be "safe" for those parts, we've been thru that too many times.
You can always give this a try, and if you hear any detonation (pinging, pre-ignition ), jnust pull the Superchip until you run that next tank of fuel out, and then put it back in again once you've actualy got nothing but premium in the tank. We recommend not doing that of course.
Good luck!