Hi all. I am considering getting a chip but am interested in running 87 octane. Is anyone running a chip on 87, if so what kind, and is the performance better? Or, is my only option on the chip to run 91 or higher and have it advance the timing?

I don't need a flip chip as I will always just drive on 87 but want to squeeze as much as I can out of that. 91 around here is to pricey and my truck uses too much gas as it is.

Oh, I will be running the MSD Stacker 8 and a K&N air filter if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

 

Hi Robsmst,

You are not going to gain any kind of significant power on 87 octane via powertrain programming, that is *precisely* why performance chips have always required the use of premium gas.

There is very little room for improvement on 87 octane in terms of raw power, 5 HP to maybe 8 hp if you're lucky. Since it's an automatic, we can also improve the overall response of the powertrain, getting rid of delays, retards, etc., but you aren't going to gain significant power via powertrain programming on 87 octane gas, there's no getting around the laws of physics.

It's also a near-complete waste of money to put an MSD ignition on that truck, you're not going to gain any signifcant power doing that, either. That 5.4 has a coil-on-plug system that works very well, aside from some coil deterioration over time. You'd be *extremely* lucky to see 5 more horsepower from doing that. Your best bet if you want to do ignition system mods would be to just wait for good aftermarket performance coil packs to come out for the Ford COP system.

The money you want to spend on that MSD would go a log ways to paying for the additional fuels costs to use premium gas and put a decent state of tune on that motor. The cost to run the Superchip on premium gas all the time is not more than $100 per 10,000 miles driven (and for most people it's less), assuming a cost delta betweeen 87 & premium of 20 cents per gallon. Or even better, forget spending money on the MSD and just go with the 2-program Flip Chip, so you've got the best of both worlds with a dual octane configuration.

Don't get me wrong, MSD is a great company and we sell their parts as well, as we do just about anything performance-related for these vehicles. But it's also our job to look out for our customer's "bang-for-the-buck" value, and it's just not there in the MSD over your present COP system, the return on that investment is extremely small.

This is just FYI, by all means do whatever pleases you! If you'd like to go over this in some detail, please feel free to give us a call & I'll be happy to go over all of this with you.

Good luck with your truck,

 

Thanks for the response. So it seems like the only way to get power out of a chip is to pay the fuel premium.

As far as the waste of money thing, I know you said that you were not trying to knock MSD but that is what it sounds like. Either that or you are trying to sell me a chip. Don't worry, I plan on getting one next month.

I've used these ignition enhancers before so I know what they do. They manage the spark; low rpms they lengthen the spark for more complete burn fuel and give you more power and at high rpms they can supply a full spark as they have step up transformers and capacitors that allow for a full charge at high rpms. It no longer feels like the the engine runs out of air (figure of speech as it is not running out of air just not buring all the fuel being dropped into the cylinders) and you can pull through the high 5Ks.

Anyhow, I've known people to do the ignition mod and the chip on Mustangs (me being one of them) and the ignition module always gave you more of a seat off your pants feel than the chip.

I'm not the only one raving about the Stacker 8, check the threads in the HD section.

My new plan is to run both a chip and the module. Since I can't get away from the octane thing I will have to live with the higher cost. So, new question.

What kind of chips are people running? I have heard great things on the Superchip, tested and proven. I have not heard much on the Diablo. Are there any others? I don't need a flip chip as I am a no hassle kind of guy. It will stay on the 92 octane. What chip has everyone been happy with and what are some links to where I can purchase them?

In case anyone is interested on the Stacker 8 install and performance numbers, look in the HD threads. I got mine for ~$300 with shipping from Summit. Some places wanted $550 so buyer beware.

 

rob - i run a superchip. i did some descent research when i was on the market for a chip. i looked at the hypertech module. which looks good at first...but when it came down to it was pretty lame. only "real" gains at WOT or hard acceleration. the thing that sold me on the superchip was the power at ANY throttle position. for me that is what i want because i do not drive my baby very hard.

i did not get the shifting benifits seeing as how i have a manual but i hear they are pretty substantial. another thing that sold me on the chip was mike. i have not met another person (granted i do not know many people in the field but i am aquanted with others on this board) who knows more about our trucks. and he is always available through these boards. this is great for people with time changes. i go to school and it is hard/impossible for me to call him on week days when they are open. but with this board he replies to every post with very informative, and detailed responses. well...i have rambled enough. just do some research on these boards, ask some people, and check out some websites. i am sure you know about the search function...very usefull tool. good luck with your purchase!

p.s. i know this is off topic. but wish me luck. i have finals this week!! no more f150online for the next couple nights. i have to do this thing called something like "study"? anybody know about it?

 

Best of luck and thanks for the response, after doing extensive research on boards (Internet is good for something after all), I've decided to purchase a Superchip.

 

Hi ROBSMST,

It seems I didn't explain myself thoroughly in re-reading my own post, and that has given you in incorrect impression, so please allow me to extend my apologies to you and a bit of an explanation........... it's really not my intention to "knock" MSD; as a former professional NHRA drag racer & engine builder, as well as being an F-150-platform performance specialist company for the past decade, we *sell* ignition upgrades including the MSD line, just as we sell many performance parts for these F-150's specifically.

You'll get completely different results using virtually any top-shelf ignition control upgrade on vehicles using normal spark plug wires, or forced induction engines like the 2002 HD models & Lightnings, or on vehicles that have a number of modifications, and on lighter vehicles where smaller power gains deliver more of a performance improvement, etc. compared to your F-150. You're working on a stock F-150 engine that is normally aspirated with the factory COP system, and that being the case, the raw peak power gains you'll see from the MSD unit will be small, on the order of 5 to perhaps 7 more peak horsepower (at least until you do a number of additional modifications to effectively increase cylinder pressure), so on a stock to lightly modified COP F-150 you aren't going to see 15-20 horsepower gains. This will also depend to a certain extent on the amount of deterioration in your factory coil packs, as some of them deteriorate significantly while others hang in there for quite awhile. Assuming we're comparing a healthy stock COP system to installing the Stacker 8, the increase in raw peak power won't be large on your F-150, though it may very well please you, which is ultimately all that matters.

My comment was strictly as it pertains to the bang for the buck value in an effort to help you, not in any effort to try to make you buy a chip instead of an ignition upgrade, it doesn't matter to us which part you use. I do get in a hurry sometimes here, just due to how much of an email load I personally answer in addition to all that I do here, and in re-reading my origial response to you, it looks lioek I was in a bit of a hurry, as it didn't give any real detail and could indeed have been construed as it came off to you. It should not have, as that really wasn't my intention.

Sometimes people assume from our screen name that all we do is sell Superchips, but that is only the beginning of what we do here at Performance, we handle just about anything performance-related for these vehicles, from custom tuning to intakes, exhausts, headers, electric fans, pulleys, superchargers, and the list goes on and on. Having done that for years as we have, it's given us the ability to identify the best bang-for-the-buck approach to improving performance and that does play a role in what we recommend, simply because for most people, that's what they want to do, their modifications in order of best bang for the buck. We don't presume that *everyone* will want to do their modifications in the order we list of bang for the buck, we just feel it's our job to offer more than just a parts list, to offer the experience of knowing the bang for the buck value of various parts, so the vehicle owner can make his or her own decisison from a fully informed standpoint. What each vehicle owner then does is striclty up to them, and should be done so as to make that owner the happiest, whatever that may be. It's your vehicle, and you should enjoy it in your own way, and do whatever you feel is most important to you.

I wish you all the best in whatever you decide to do with your vehicle, my friend.