Got my Superchip this afternoon and got it installed. Let me be the first to say it was a PITA in my particular truck. I had to remove the battery and the battery tray and I was also one of the unlucky ones to have to bend the 1/4" tab on the computer mounting bracket - it sucked taking it out as the top bolt is hard to get to and there's some thick gooey stuff on the threads so you have to use a ratchet the whole way out. Thank god the thing started up when I got it all back together.

Now the good news - this thing honestly works! I've been ******* my new 02 Screw because it seemed like such a slug to my 99 w/ 3.73's, but with the chip it is now comparable. The shifting and responsiveness is superb. Can't wait to do some more experimenting tomorrow.

One thing, anyone else have a squeal (like a belt) at 4800 rpm just before the shift to second? Let me know if you know the remedy. Thanks.

Thanks also Mike T. The supplemental instructions are a godsend...

 

Hi FirsttimeFord,

Congratulations on your installation, it really does make a difference you can feel.

On the belt squeal, that's normal, it's due to the quicker & firmer shifts in the automatic transmission primarily, as the factory serpentine belts are not of good quality in terms of how much grip they have on those pulleys, though they will last a good while before actually cracking on the ribs. With the quicker & firmer shifts, and sometimes even just from the increase in power and how much quicker the engine will gain rpms as a result, especially in 1st gear, you'll sometimes get that belt squeal.

The cure is simple, replace that low-grade factory belt with the Goodyear Gatorback belt in the same length (99" for all 1997 & newer V-8 F-150's with air conditioning). It's a much higher quality belt, we use them on all our vehicles.

We also carry those Gatorback belts here at Performance because of this very issue, for your convenience, so if you'd like to pick one up, we'll be happy to take care of that for you.

The belt squeal won't hurt a thing of course, but it can be irritating to hear especially in a new vehicle.

Sounds like Murphy (as in Murphy's Law) had his hands in your installation, what with needing to remove the battery and then also having the "lip" that some of these trucks have. We go over that specifically in our docs, as you found, we feel that info needs to be readily available for those who will run into that, better to know what to know & be prepared!

Thanks for your post & enjoy your Superchip!

 

I have a 2002 Screw, what is the issue with the battery tray and the other pita items mentioned?

 

If you have the off road package, there are 2 solenoids on the firewall that prevent you from accessing the wire harness bolt; therefore you have to remove the battery and tray. Not really a big deal, just takes more time when you're anxious to get your chip in and drive.

The other issue is my computer bracket had a 1/4" lip on the back of it. The Superchip sticks out a little from the computer and won't fit in the bracket with this lip, so the instructions say to bend or cut the lip. Due to the position on the kickpanel, I couldn't bend it while it was in, so I had to remove it first. The top bolt is almost unreachable with a ratchet, so it was a pain. After I got it out, I put it in a vise and straightened it out with some pliers.

Those 2 things, combined with all the scraping of the contacts, it took me 1.5 hours to get the chip in. But it was worth it!

 

Thanks, i also have a 2002 w/fx4.

 

Hi everyone,

The ORP models (FX4's will be on ORP's in the 02's) do require removal of the battery and it's tray, and that will add about 10 minutes to total installation time.

If you have that tab, or lip on that mounting bracket/plate that the ECU is held in place against, then that will add more time to the installation. Only about 1 in 5 of these trucks has that "lip" (meaning that doesn't happen on all ORP's, for example), and the way to deal with that properly is to remove it from the vehicle, it's very hrad to do it with it in the vehicle. It does take some time to remove it, as it's a bit of a stretch with a rachet.

These are just a couple of reasons why we write all that additional documentation, so that nobody will be surprised by any of this, and will be prepared if any of this crops up or applies to them.

 

Glad you got it in and it cranked up the first time with the chip in.

 

Yea, no doubt. I made sure I took my time and cleaned the contacts thoroughly with the process described in the Performance Products instructions. As Mike said, these are included so there are no surprises, as they cover everything in great detail. The actual Superchip instructions really stink!!!

 

I'm a bit confused, i got my superchip yesterday 400$ with delivery, ( damn canadian dollor ) anyways i scoped my truck out this morning and i have those two selenoids aswell, but i dont have the ORP, though i was still able to get the wireharness bolt loose with a few scrape and my hands. Also i think i have that damn tab too on my computer box.

So do i have the offroad package? cause it says nowere on my truck that i do nor do i have a skidplate or gastank protector.

 

Mike, thanks for all the info... but what is an orp?

 

ORP = Off Road Package.

 

Hi Honster,

Ahh, perhaps I gave you a mistaken impression, as it's not *only* the ORP's (an ORP is a 4X4 model that has the Offroad Package, hence the term ORP) that can require removal of the battery, we'll occasionally see a few other F-150's that just happen to have a configuration that also has components there on the firewall just above the harness connection, but in any case it's an easy 5-minute or less deal to remove the battery and it's tray with the 2 vacuum cans & their connections, and then another 5 minutes or less to put that back in when you're done.

Also, if you happen to have large hands, that too will sometimes make battery removal a viable option.

What we do to make this all much easier to to simply use a flex drive, and that eliminates almost all of that.

Overall, it's actualy extremely few F-150's overall that require battery removal to access that harness, only a tiny fraction of F-150 owners ever have to deal with that, and luckily even for those it's pretty easy.

Some people (especially women with their naturally smaller hands and those of us men with smaller hands) will do what you did, scraping their knuckles to get that done without battery removal, and that's OK if you prefer, though we'd like to see you not have to shed any blood.

If you had the Offroad package, your vehicle would have a pair of decals, one on each quarter panel right below where it says "4X4" that would say Offroad. And of course you'd also have the skid plates, etc., so it's a safe bet you don't have an ORP. Good for you, as they are heavier & significantly higher too, so their performance is worse, we own one of those too among our F-150's here at Performance.

 

I received my flip chip today and took a look through the instructions to familiarize myself with the procedure. I have a couple of questions.

Still not sure what the lip is. What is the lip? Is the lip the black TAB that holds the computer in place on a fx4? I looked up in the kick panel area tonight and the only thing i noticed holding the computer in place was a black U shapped tab that seems to come off real easy.

Looks like I will have to remove the battery and tray.

 

one other question. how and where are you guys mounting the switch for the flip switch?

 

Hi F150aGoGo,

For mounting the toggle switch for your Flip Chip,m what many of us do is to use the existing "tabs" under the dash on the passenger side, there are a couple there within range of the length of the switch's harness, and they already have a perfect sized hole in the tab. So it only takes 30 seconds to mount the switch & your're done with that part, very easy! These locations work very well, the passenger's knees & ankles will never hit the switch, etc.

You'll know if you have the "lip" or Tab" on the mounting plate/bracket for the ECU by viirtue of it being in close proximity to the Superchip module when you go to reinstall the ECU with the Superchip attached. This "tab" will want to get in between the ECU and the Superchip module, which over time can interfere with the Superchip module. Only about 1 in 5 vehicles seems to have this as best we can tell over the years, so most people don't have to deal with that. If you have it, remove that plate/bracket from the vehicle and bend or trim that tab, just as we describe in our docs.

Good luck!