Had to remove chip...
#1
02-20-2003 | 10:46 AM
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From: El Cajon, CA
Had to remove chip...
Gas prices here in San Diego are so freakin high ($2.10+ for 91) that I had to remove my chip.
My truck has noticibly less power and the shifting is a bit more hesitant. I can live with this for a while until the prices come down a bit. My gas mileage barley changed as a matter of fact it may have gotten a little better because I am not racing it around as much.
I can't pass people as quickly as I used to so I can honestly say that the chip does work as advertised.
Well until lower gas prices....asta...
My truck has noticibly less power and the shifting is a bit more hesitant. I can live with this for a while until the prices come down a bit. My gas mileage barley changed as a matter of fact it may have gotten a little better because I am not racing it around as much.
I can't pass people as quickly as I used to so I can honestly say that the chip does work as advertised.
Well until lower gas prices....asta...
#2
02-20-2003 | 12:38 PM
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From: New Orleans LA
It always seems funny to me when people complain about how expensive it is to fill up with premium gas.
Let's see, there is about a 20 cent price delta between regular and premium. A std fillup is roughly 20 gallons. That means you pay U$4 more per fillup. At U$2.10 for premium it costs U$42. With regular at U$1.90 it is U$38 bucks. Is U$4 really that much considering you are driving a U$26,000 truck and most likely pay more than U$100 a month for insurance? U$4 won't even buy a happy meal anymore. Besides, the higher the gas prices the less the price delta becomes. If gas is U$1 per gallon a 20 cent reg/prem difference is 20%. With gas at U$2 then it is only 10%. With higher gas prices using premium gas has >less< of an impact on your pocketbook.
Fritz
Let's see, there is about a 20 cent price delta between regular and premium. A std fillup is roughly 20 gallons. That means you pay U$4 more per fillup. At U$2.10 for premium it costs U$42. With regular at U$1.90 it is U$38 bucks. Is U$4 really that much considering you are driving a U$26,000 truck and most likely pay more than U$100 a month for insurance? U$4 won't even buy a happy meal anymore. Besides, the higher the gas prices the less the price delta becomes. If gas is U$1 per gallon a 20 cent reg/prem difference is 20%. With gas at U$2 then it is only 10%. With higher gas prices using premium gas has >less< of an impact on your pocketbook.
Fritz
#3
02-20-2003 | 01:43 PM
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From: Tallahassee, FL
Fritz,
this is the same argument I use to my wife when she starts complaining about how much it costs me to have a Superchip because I have to run premium. Just doesn't make sense to me what she finds so hard to understand about the fact that it costs me 12-16 additional dollars a month to run premium. BIG DEAL!! I say.
this is the same argument I use to my wife when she starts complaining about how much it costs me to have a Superchip because I have to run premium. Just doesn't make sense to me what she finds so hard to understand about the fact that it costs me 12-16 additional dollars a month to run premium. BIG DEAL!! I say.
#4
02-20-2003 | 03:33 PM
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From: Sparks, Nevada
Hi Dc...i understand what your saying.
Hi Fritz
Interesting your logic...but looks like fuzzy math to me!
HeyF150...be careful...sleep with wife or sleep with truck!
Seriously...we all have choices. Just do what works for you. I would imagine there are some who are in a "stretch" with monthly payments + cost per mile. Rising fuel cost does matter.
Good luck...OT
Hi Fritz
Interesting your logic...but looks like fuzzy math to me!
HeyF150...be careful...sleep with wife or sleep with truck!
Seriously...we all have choices. Just do what works for you. I would imagine there are some who are in a "stretch" with monthly payments + cost per mile. Rising fuel cost does matter.
Good luck...OT
#5
02-20-2003 | 07:50 PM
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From: SW MO.
I agree with Dcovel, I had to fill up today. I was very close to getting the cheap stuff, but decided to wait one more fillup before I pull out my tuner. Maybe it will come down a little. My mileage has been around 16 so it will make a noticeable difference on my truck. If I were still getting 20+ I wouldnt worry about it.
#6
02-20-2003 | 08:04 PM
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From: El Cajon, CA
Yes but here is this logic, I am still saving money by removing the chip, bottom line....................
If you have a budget thats a little tight (just finished a lawsuit) then that extra 20 cents regardless of the gas price helps when your getting about 13 MPG! I drive quite a bit too, for work and seeing my fiance.
If you have a budget thats a little tight (just finished a lawsuit) then that extra 20 cents regardless of the gas price helps when your getting about 13 MPG! I drive quite a bit too, for work and seeing my fiance.
#7
02-20-2003 | 09:30 PM
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From: Tallahassee, FL
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#9
02-22-2003 | 01:04 AM
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From: El Cajon, CA
I agree your right about the $200 chip, I eventually will put it back in. I drive about 28,000 a year (yes I know it's high) so 20 cents x 28,000 = $56 extra in gas each year for the chip so really it isn't costing me much extra just that funds are a bit tight right now and I just had an accident and am out almost $600 for that (partialy my fault, slid into a friends truck offroading, no insurance involved, ABS sucks on the sand!)
Well anyways it will eventually go back in...
Well anyways it will eventually go back in...
#10
02-22-2003 | 12:45 PM
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From: Washington
When they came out with the super tuner, I was a bit disappointed that I'd got s flipchip instead of the tuner. I'm really glad I got the flipchip now. The performance in the low octane setting is "feel it in the seat of your pants shifts" and excelent economy. When the high test stuff is more in the range of what I want to pay, I'll just switch back.
#12
02-23-2003 | 12:54 AM
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From: California
#14
02-23-2003 | 03:09 PM
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From: El Cajon, CA
Your right 2000regcab, I kinda forgot the whole MPG thing too. DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Oh I'm going back to school, oh wait maybe I should, go TO school!
Either that or it was a long day and... OK no excuse for this one, I'm just losing it, need to stop
that s***
Also if that is true then at a $1.90 for regular it is costing about $646 more per year than if the gas was at $1.60 a gallon! So for every cent the gas goes up it cost $21.50 more per year... Ok this math stuff is getting easier now.
Oh I'm going back to school, oh wait maybe I should, go TO school!
Either that or it was a long day and... OK no excuse for this one, I'm just losing it, need to stop
that s***Also if that is true then at a $1.90 for regular it is costing about $646 more per year than if the gas was at $1.60 a gallon! So for every cent the gas goes up it cost $21.50 more per year... Ok this math stuff is getting easier now.
Last edited by dcovell; 02-23-2003 at 03:15 PM.
#15
02-24-2003 | 03:57 PM
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From: Virginia
The fuel cost analysis has been done many times by many people here, and it's shown the additional fuel cost to run on premium with the Superchips tuning versus running on the factory program on 87 is not more than $100 per 10,000 miles driven, and for most people it's less.
On average, driving 15K-20K miles per year in a 50-50 mix of city & highway driving, most people average spending about $2-$3 a week more for gas to use the Superchips tuning.
It's not going to be anything like $400 a year unless someone is driving 40K miles per year and is also getting worst-case results, something that happens rarely. Someone driving 28K miles per year ios *never* going to be spending an additional $400+ just to use the Superchips tuning. For someone driving 28K miles per year they are generally not going to spend more than an additional $280 per year, or about $5 a week, to run the Superchips tuning.
There are some other factors at work on this, ranging from those who track their mileage consistently and accurately to those who really only guess, and/or from other factors such as driving the vehicle harder with the Superchips tuning installed (quite normal), and one we still see too frequently, those trying to get by on cheaper premium fuels instead of buying the best quality premium gasolines available, which lowers the energy content and thus drops the mileage (shopping for gas based primarily on price per gallon is generally a false economy).
Most people do see some small gains in mpg from the Superchips tuning, it's not a *lot* of course, and it will rarely make up the entire cost delta between 87 & premium of course. But it's not just a straight 20 cents more per gallon for every mile someone drives.
There are only 2 ways a vehicle owner is not going to see at least some small gain in mpg using the Superchips tuning, and this is either driving the vehicle harder, or using a premium gasoline that is lower in energy content than the 87 octane being used previously. Otherwise, the increased timing using on part-throttle will in fact cause the engine to run a bit more efficiently, thus the fuel mileage comes up a little bit.
Normal gains in mpg from using the Superchips tuning average a range from .7-1.5 mpg gained over the past year or so, with the total range running from a low of zero reported by a few (usually the leadfoots & those using cheaper premiums) to as much as 3.5 more mpg being reported here (and seeing a +3.5 mpg gain is very rare). So there is clearly some offset of that 20 cent per gallon cost delta for the majority of people using the Superchip.
What's going on right now is not the additional $100 per 10,000 miles driven to use the Superchips tuning, that's not what has a very few people wanting to pull their Superchip. The *real* culprit here is the fact that gas prices have gone up significantly for *all* grades in the past couple of months.
Fritz is exactly right, the higher that gas prices go the less of a cost penalty there is to use the Superchips tuning, as the cost delta between 87 & premium remains a constant. If premium gas hits $5.00 per gallon, regular will still be $4.80 per gallon, for a 4.16% difference in cost. A 20 cent per gallon cost delta is 13.3% with gas at $1.50 per gallon, and at $2.00 per gallon it's just 10%, and so on, until you reach the point that the small gains in mpg in effect wipe out the 20 cents per gallon average cost delta.
Right now we've got the gas price hikes & outright gouging that have been going on due to what's happened down in Venezuela, war rumors, etc., you name it, anytime the oil companies get a chance to get more $$ out of a barrel of oil, they'll do it.
If it were just the small increase in fuel cost to run the Superchips tuning, that's really not an issue with most people; it's all the *additional* gas price increases due to other factors over the past few months that are exaggerating this & making it tough for those on a tight budget.
Good luck!
On average, driving 15K-20K miles per year in a 50-50 mix of city & highway driving, most people average spending about $2-$3 a week more for gas to use the Superchips tuning.
It's not going to be anything like $400 a year unless someone is driving 40K miles per year and is also getting worst-case results, something that happens rarely. Someone driving 28K miles per year ios *never* going to be spending an additional $400+ just to use the Superchips tuning. For someone driving 28K miles per year they are generally not going to spend more than an additional $280 per year, or about $5 a week, to run the Superchips tuning.
There are some other factors at work on this, ranging from those who track their mileage consistently and accurately to those who really only guess, and/or from other factors such as driving the vehicle harder with the Superchips tuning installed (quite normal), and one we still see too frequently, those trying to get by on cheaper premium fuels instead of buying the best quality premium gasolines available, which lowers the energy content and thus drops the mileage (shopping for gas based primarily on price per gallon is generally a false economy).
Most people do see some small gains in mpg from the Superchips tuning, it's not a *lot* of course, and it will rarely make up the entire cost delta between 87 & premium of course. But it's not just a straight 20 cents more per gallon for every mile someone drives.
There are only 2 ways a vehicle owner is not going to see at least some small gain in mpg using the Superchips tuning, and this is either driving the vehicle harder, or using a premium gasoline that is lower in energy content than the 87 octane being used previously. Otherwise, the increased timing using on part-throttle will in fact cause the engine to run a bit more efficiently, thus the fuel mileage comes up a little bit.
Normal gains in mpg from using the Superchips tuning average a range from .7-1.5 mpg gained over the past year or so, with the total range running from a low of zero reported by a few (usually the leadfoots & those using cheaper premiums) to as much as 3.5 more mpg being reported here (and seeing a +3.5 mpg gain is very rare). So there is clearly some offset of that 20 cent per gallon cost delta for the majority of people using the Superchip.
What's going on right now is not the additional $100 per 10,000 miles driven to use the Superchips tuning, that's not what has a very few people wanting to pull their Superchip. The *real* culprit here is the fact that gas prices have gone up significantly for *all* grades in the past couple of months.
Fritz is exactly right, the higher that gas prices go the less of a cost penalty there is to use the Superchips tuning, as the cost delta between 87 & premium remains a constant. If premium gas hits $5.00 per gallon, regular will still be $4.80 per gallon, for a 4.16% difference in cost. A 20 cent per gallon cost delta is 13.3% with gas at $1.50 per gallon, and at $2.00 per gallon it's just 10%, and so on, until you reach the point that the small gains in mpg in effect wipe out the 20 cents per gallon average cost delta.
Right now we've got the gas price hikes & outright gouging that have been going on due to what's happened down in Venezuela, war rumors, etc., you name it, anytime the oil companies get a chance to get more $$ out of a barrel of oil, they'll do it.
If it were just the small increase in fuel cost to run the Superchips tuning, that's really not an issue with most people; it's all the *additional* gas price increases due to other factors over the past few months that are exaggerating this & making it tough for those on a tight budget.
Good luck!