Mike...I also am a H-D owner, about a week after I bought it, I started reading your replies to various questions and incidents put to you from owners of the H-D.

Prior to asking my question, I would like to compliment you on your professionalism and courtesy in communicating with us the Consumer...

Also the knowledge you posses in the field of your employment... You are indeed an asset for the Company you are employed by.

Now that I have blown enough smoke up your "patutie" here is my question.

Knowing practically nothing about Performance Chips, but hearing more and more about them and with so many out there in the market....such as Jet, etc, etc.. and wanting to enhance the performance in my
H-D... what are the Pros and Cons of your product as compared to the others????

Remebering my youth and the sounds of the "Glass packs" and 'Hollywood" mufflers, I removed the stock Lightning exhaust system and replaced with a set of "Flowmasters"

I am looking to get a little more "punch" and I know I won't get the "punch" I use to get out of the old "Ford Interceptors" when I was on active duty as a police officer, just prior to being shot...

Also, do I need a reputable mechanic to intall it...Mike...any input you have will be greatly appreciated....Thanks... John

 

Well, thanks very much for your kind words of support, they're greatly appreciated. A lot of the answers to what you ask about are available here in the Computer Chips section of the message boards, as those are topics that often come up there.

This is actually quite involved to give you detailed answers on all this (which we're happy to answer for you, of course!), so instead of sitting here typing what would basically amount to an advertisement for Superchips for an hour, what I might suggest is just giving us a call at our number below when you get a chance, as I can go over more in 5 minutes on the phone with you than I can here in a half-hour of typing.

Briefly, Superchips is the company that invented this entire industry, meaning aftermarket powertain programming, back in 1983, and between how long they've been doing it and the fact that they employ far more actual automotive engineers than any other comparable firm by a wide margin, their level of expertise is simply unequaled anywhere in this industry, which is why we "Rep' their products. (I am not an employee of Superchips Inc., our company Performance Products Inc. serves as the National Distributor of their product line, serving other dealers & end users all over the world). Simply put, we don't care what the name is on the outside of the box, what we care about are the quality of the *results*. If somebody else had a superior product line and a better or more qualified engineering staff, we'd be selling their products instead.

Jet, Hypertech, etc. make only "generic" programs (I.E., only 1 "generic" program for all 1999 Lightnings, or only 1 "generic" program for all 1998 F-150 4.6 automatics, etc.), whereas each Superchip is programmed for the exact software revision that was loaded into your vehicle's computer by the factory, so you get a program that was made specifically for *your* vehicle. Now in the Lightning *only*, that isn't as big a factor as the Lightning is very low production and so far has only 1 software revision for each model year. The other key is the Jet & Hypertech only tune at WOT (wide-open throttle), whereas the Superchip tunes at *every* throttle position. If you only tune @ WOT, you don't have to certify for emissions compliance, and this and other measures decreases their R&D costs drastically; we just don't do things that way, as that doesn't improve overall driveability, or towing, etc.

With regards to installation, that's easy. the Superchip is actually a sealed module that has a female slot on the back of it that simply mates to the corresponding male connector on the back of the Ford computer, which you have to clean before attaching the Superchip. Typical installation times on these F-150's & Lightnings runs about 30-45 minutes and just about anyone who can read instructions can do this pretty easily.

By the way, you might be interested to note the Lightning's factory exhaust is very efficient up to about the 450+ hp level, so we do not advise changes there except to change the tone, as power is genrally not increased by changing any part of the Lightning's factory cat-back exhaust system. Personally, I think the factory exhaust is far too quiet, so I'd have to change it too.

Please feel free to give us a shout, and we'll be happy to go over all of this in greater detail, for either your HD or your Lightning, or both, we're happy to help.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Sorry for the duplicate, my browser barfed...

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-27-2000).]