A little birdie told me...

Retail $489
Shipping date 12/21/05

Not set in stone but that's the plan thus far.

 

Thanks Racer........

 

I have heard different stories from folks saying that this chip does not work and others say it does wonders. Has anyone installed it yet??

 

Buck, talk to Racer.....she has the skinny on it.

 

Thanks i will .

 

I can't say it "works wonders" just yet as I haven't had it very long (just over a week) and haven't done a whole bunch of 'around town' driving with it installed, but I can definitely tell a difference.

Here's what I've noticed:

1 - first I tested the "Transmission Only" program. That program is designed to provide firmer transmission shifts which help increase the transmission life. This is definintely true as I could feel a harder shift. Wasn't in this mode very long as I got the unit an hour before I left on my trip to Boise.

2 - next I tested the "Tow Performance" program. This setting not only provides improved transmission shifting but it will also modify ignition timing and fuel injection to improve the performance. This is what I had it set to when I drove to Boise and back to Sacramento. Each time I fueled up I got no less than 15mpg which, granted is all highway mileage, but is better than the 10mpg I had been getting around town. I will test this out again on my next tank of gas, now that I'm back home and driving to and from work every day.

3 - right now I'm testing the "High Performance" program. This is the highest setting for this chip. This one aggressively tunes the fuel injection and ignition timing to extract the maximum performance without sacrificing drivability or durability. I can DEFININTELY feel the increase in hp when I hit the gas in this mode.

The chip has many many features to it:

* 3 programming levels (transmission only, towing, & performance)
* Can correct tire size and gear ratio
* Can monitor up to 4 PIDs (parameter IDs) from the 19 PID list
* Can change the screen to display 4, 3, 2 or a bar graph representation of 2 PIDs
* Can read and clear DTCs (diagnostic trouble codes) – it even gives the full DTC description
* Can do a datastream (records 5 PIDs of your choice for 1 full minute at 0.5 sec intervals) and then have them graphed out on a computer
* Can use alerts (the screen will beep and turn red when a PID reaches a certain value that you set the alert to)
* It constantly records the highest value of vital PIDs (that you can later go in and view)
* Can do your 0-60 and quarter mile times
* On the quarter mile run, it will do the Christmas tree (the red, yellow, green lights) and show you your reaction time
* The quarter mile run will also show your 1/8th mile and 60’ times and MPH
* It will always store your best ¼ mile and 0-60 time (until you tell it to zero it out)
* You can change the LCD screen’s backlighting color to any color you choose
* You can update the unit from home pc
* You can download an image (that you create) onto the Evolution (called a ‘splash screen’) where it will show up on the LCD everytime you turn on the ignition key
* You can measure your horsepower (at the flywheel) after you do a quarter mile run – you can then multiply it by 0.74 to get rear wheel horsepower

This is the first chip I've ever used in a vehicle so I'm not fully aware of what other's are capable of, but so far I've been impressed with this one! HTH!

 

Does that price include a “custom” tune designed just for your truck? Does the tuner have you collect any data? If not then in my opinion it’s a waste of money as you will not get all the possible performance from your truck, nor will you know if it is actually “safe”.

The reason I say waste of money is because for about the same amount, +/- $30, you can get customs tunes from one of our vendors…

You could spend that kind of money with any of our vendors here on F150, the Lightning vendors and Mike Troyer a get something “custom” tuned for your vehicle that is safe and will get you more performance…

Let me add that back a while ago Predator, which is a hand held tuner to upload tunes through the OBDII port, came with canned tunes as it appears this chip you speak of does.

It caused many Lightning motors to blow up because the tune was not correct for cold dry weather driving conditions…

 

I think a custom tune is the only way to go for a modded vehicle. my truck is stock but i may be interested in a towing tune. On my stang it was dyno'ed and data logged until the chip was just right.