Hey what are typical outputs for an stock L with the flip chip for towing and street?

 

Hi Freak,

That's a great question and a bit involved, as it varies based on model year even in bone-stock trim due to changing A/F ratios in the factory tuning.

For example, the 1999 & 2000 Lightnings are tuned "pig-rich" from the factory, with A/F's in the 10:1 and a few even as fat as in the mid 9's. These model years we pick up an easy 40+ HP at the flywheel, some more than that, some are 46+ hp at the flywheel. You can usually count on a good 32-36 hp at the rear wheels with safe A/F's & able to run on any good quality pump premium gas.

When you get up to the 2001 model year, we gain a little bit less as they aren't quite so rich from the factory, but in any event it's still an easy 32-35 HP gains usually at the flywheel, and sometimes a bit more. They usually deliver about 28-30 hp at the rear wheels with a "conservative" performance tune.

Then when we get to the 2002 model year, they are leaner still from the factory, and so gains drop a little bit more with the conservative A/F ratios we use in non-custom applications, but you still see a good 26-28 HP at the rear wheels, and sometimes a little bit more.

In all of these applications, there is still more power available there for those who want a strip-type program to run it at say, something in the range of 12.0:1-12.4:1 A/F's, you'll see another 10-15 HP.

Performance-wise, you will usually see anywhere from a low of about 3-4 tenths to as much as 8 tenths of a second off your 1/4 mile times (there have been a few '99-'00 L's that dropped a full second, but that's rare), with an average of about 5 tenths off the 1/4 mile times.

You probably already know this, but just in case, you can help that further by opening up the air intake tract and letting them breathe, that is critically important for that blower motor. A good intake will add anywhere from 15-22 horsepower, the ones we use are in the 20-22 hp range. So you can usually pick up a 50HP or more gain (flywheel) just from the Superchip & the right intake kit.

Tehre are many things you can do to the Lightning to improve it's performance, we can take the performance of any Lightning just as far as the owner wants to go.

Give us a call, if you'd like to go over the Superchip or anything else in more detail,

 

So how would you switch over between modes, also with the dual street/tow chip, does the street still accept 92-93 pump?

 

Hi Freak,

You just flip a simple 2-position toggle switch that is included with & part of the Flip Chip to change programs, very easy.

And yes, it will still run on any good quality pump premium gas, from 91 thru 94 octane, and of course the higher, the better, up to 94 octane, like Sunoco's Ultra 94, for example.

If you wanted to have a Street program set up for use on pump premium, and then say a Track program set up for even higher octane, like 100+ octane unleaded racing gas, we can do that, too, if that is what you were referring to, sure! The power gains I mentioned above are all on 92-93 octane.

 

Mike,

What type of air intake do you recommend for the 02 L? Some are more "sealed" from engine compartment air than others. Thanks.

WarEagle

 

Hi WE,

To answer your question very briefly, I like the Air Force One unit for the supercharged 5.4, and we have found in actual testing that it makes no difference in actual power gains if it's a closed unit or not.

Closed units aren't making any more power than open units, and the IAT's show the exact same pattern no matter if it's a closed or open system, on a "regular" F-150 or a Lightning or the '02 Harleys, and no matter what materials are used for the air handling components.

We see solid 20-22 hp gains from the AF1 for the supercharged 5.4 motors.

Give us a call if you like, & we can go over this witn you in proper detail!

 

Mike,
Have you tested any ram air intake kits like the one from Johnny Lightning or PSP FASTair? Should I just go with the AF1

 

Hi 4WL,

Actually, Johnny's Lighting was put on the dyno down at Superchips some time ago, so yes, that has indeed been specifically tested. Also, some other "Ram Air" setups have been tested on a number of these vehicles as well. The bottom line was that any of the true Ram Air setups (meaning any setup that actually provides "ram air," positive air pressure into the MAF above normal atmospheric) tested caused the MAF voltage signal to be thrown off, and it's thrown off more the faster the vehicle is driven, as you would expect from a true "Ram Air" setup. Because the MAF voltage signal is thrown off, it made the engine run leaner and leaner as speeds increased. This is why we do not recommend using any true Ram Air setup in MAF-equipped vehicles. If you do decide to go with a true Ram Air setup, then it will need to be tuned for specifically, to prevent the engine from going dangerously lean as speeds increase, and to really do that properly requires some careful data-logging & mobile A/F testing to nail the tuning, a rather involved process.

You can get plenty of cold air into that motor without going with a true "ram air" setup. On our Lightning, we can of course run anything we want, and we run the Air Force One intake on our own 500+ hp 2001 Lightning. That is what we recommend for any 1999 or newer Lightning and the 2002 supercharged Harley model, at any power level, as the AF1 intake filter setup can support 600+ horsepower, and it adds a solid 21-22 horsepower just with the vehicle stationary on the dyno. It also ties into the cold air inlet from the fender via an inverted ram-type filter element so it can take outside air in the the top of the element, and if it needs even more air, it can take it from the rest of the circumference of the air filter, which is 12" long and a gigantic 7" at the base.

The AF1 unit is simple to install, taking all of maybe 15-20 minutes start to finish, and works extremely well.

Give us a shout if you'd just like to go over this in more detail, or to place your order, etc.

Good luck!

 

Mike,

Would the Johnny Lightning or Fast Air system be considered a true ram air system since they are not sealed? Would they give the lean condition at high speeds you mentioned? How high of speed would it take to cause the lean condition?

I appreciate your answering all of our questions. Before I spend the money and time for these mods I like to do my research. You always give honest and understandable answers. It is appreciated. Do you know where we could see a picture of the Air Force One set up for the 02 L? Do you have one on your L?

WarEagle

 

Hi WarEagle,

My apologies, I must have missed this post, ooops!

I really don't stay on top of what Johnny does, though one of his systems actually does cause the air to be "rammed" into the MAF (mass airflow meter), I couldn't tell you which one, we use our own parts, not his.

We recommend avoiding any true "ram air" type of intake in any MAF vehicles, due to the voltage signal of the MAF being thrown off. Johnny's Lighting was down on the dyno at Superchips a while back and that was found, showing the vehicle going leaner and leaner the faster the vehicle went. That can be tuned for, but to do it right really requries data-logging both MAF & A/F's to properly identify the exact effect on each individual vehicle at varous speeds, a time-consuming & expensive process. Bottom line, we recommend skipping any true ram air setup.

We use the Air Force One intake kit on our 500+ hp Lightning and recommend all other F-150 owners do the same, as it gains more power than any other kit we've tested. It's got the largest air filter element of any kit on the market for the Lightning engine, and connects to the cold air inlet on the fender, etc. It also looks much nicer under the hood, no PVC tubing, etc.

Give us a call & we can get you a photo, etc.