In the December issue of Super Ford there is an article about THE Superchip. I only skimmed the article so far (read under the pictures) and in the last one is claims only 6.1 RWHP. This sounds awefully low out of a Mustang 4.6. The article does make a comment about improving overall drivability, but isn't this a "performance" chip and not an "enjoyment" chip? Let me know your thoughts, and I'll post again later after I've read the whole article. Take care.

Neal Coppola

------------------
'94 F-150, 4.9 6cyl., K&N FIPK, Mangecor 8mm wires. Gibson 3" Side Swept, MSD Blaster Coil, superchip. Pioneer DEH-P835R Head Unit, Rockford Fosgate 200a1 pushing 2 RF 10" subs, components and another amp will go in when funds are allocated! Est. 200 hp 300ft/lb. Torque! Not bad for a straight 6!! New project: '82 Stang, 351 Windsor, now on jackstands....blew up the rear end, oops!

 

Ill take at look at that. Sounds fishy..

 

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I have a Superchips in my F-150 and a Mike Wesley Autologic chip in my Mustang. Based on personal dyno testing, Super Ford magazine's results are typical of what can be expected from a chip.

A few on this board have made claims for higher results but have yet to back up these claims with data.

------------------
HotRodSix
'98 STX Flairside 4.2L
Best 1/4: 16.26 sec. @ 84.4 mph
Dyno: 180 rwhp / 228 ft-lb

 

I haven't read this particular article, but this happens all the time, and one of the biggest factors influencing this is the dyno itself. As Steve Madole, Chief Engineer of Superchips Inc., and Mike SHort, General Manager of Superchips Inc. have said many times, the vast majority of these tests are done on Dynojet dynos, which are great for the money, but are a very inexpensive "inertia" style dyno, that is not well suited for measuring incremental gains in back-to-back testing. This is why Superchips uses the more sophisticated "eddy current" chassis dynos, for this exact reason. They'd be happy to spend $30,000 instead of 6-figures for their chassis dynos, if they did the job needed, but they don't. Additionally, Superchips numbers are at the flywheel, just like the automakers do, as per the request of many customers. They wanted a number they could add to their stock number. It used to be the standard method of reporting gains was at the rear wheels, but so many people wanted a number they could compare their stock SAE Net flywheel power rating to, that Superchips started using the flywheel ratings. I don't mean to say that this explains why the article's gain was what it was, just that this is a factor to consider, as flywheel numbers will always be higher than drive-wheel figures.

Now before anyone gets their nose bent out of shape over this, Dynojets *are* a great tool, and I think it's fantastic that a chassis dyno is available that is so low cost, relatively speaking. Just about any shop owner can lease one for a few hundred bucks a month, and make a very nice profit using it. Far more people have access to dynos than ever did before as a direct result of the Dynojet, so I am kinda/sorta a fan of them for that single reason. The Dynojet is accurate enough so that NASCAR uses them to test the top 5 finishers after each Winston Cup race, to make sure that no team has an obvious advantage in horsepower over the others. But for testing incremental gains, they just aren't geared for that kind of accuracy. An "inertia" dyno cannot properly simulate the weight of the vehicle on it's rollers, so the only time they are "dead acurate" is when the vehicle just happens to exactly match the weight of the rollers. An "eddy current" dyno has the ability to simulate the exact weight of the vehicle, for proper load parameters.

This is exactly why top specialty tuners like John Lingenfelter have at least a half-dozen different types of chassis dynos at their facilities! When John sells one of his 400 hp LT1 Chevy packages, and his customer goes home to a Dynojet and then says, "wait, I only got 78 hp instead of 100 hp gain", he *knows* why.

With regards to performance claims, when *I* post numbers here, they either come off the Superchips dyno, or are reported from customers running at the drag strip, many of whom report their results right here, so these numbers are not made up or imagined. Some of our V-8 F-150 customers see 7-8 tenths of a second of their 1/4 mile times, and some see 3-4 tenths. Few of them are identical, there are just too many variable factors.

With regards to Neal's question, is this a performance chip or an "enjoyment" chip, it's *both*. The Superchip is one of extremely few chips in the world that can actually improve overall driveability, and very few of us spend even 2% of our driving time at full-throttle. It's easy to make power at WOT, it's not so easy to increase part-throttle torque and horsepower.

Neal, you've been using your Superchip for some time now, and even though your engine doesn't make the horsepower that a 4.6 Mustang does, from your past comments here, you know from driving it and using the product that you got more than 6 hp at the rear wheels. (Neal's chip for his 4.9 "Big 6" adds 14 hp & 31 lbs./ft. of torque at the flywheel.)

Now obviously everyone has their own feelings about all this, and everyone is entitled to their opinions, absolutely! There are hundreds of very happy F-150 Superchip owners here, and that couldn't happen if the product didn't do basically what it claims, so don't let some magazine article change how you feel about the Superchip you've been using and enjoying. I just thought it was appropriate to mention these points, as they do affect the numbers.

Our bests to all,

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

Sorry for the double post, I hope this has edited it out!

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 11-18-1999).]

 

or you can always use the "assjet 248", it comes installed in every vehicle. easy to use, simply depress drivers seat with yours, and depress gas pedal all the way, and the "assjet 248" will send electrical impulse to your brain, signaling a smile or a frown.

 

"assjet 248" test was confirmed to work in all WOT tests performed this weekend after installing the SuperChip in my new SVT F150 Lightning.

Thanks Mike for the quick delivery. Pleasure doing business with you.

Rich


------------------
Rich
1999.5 SVT Lightning - Red. Super Chip. Viper Alarm w/remote start, etc. Build #2755
stbtb@Tampabay.rr.com

1999 Expedition XLT

 

Dear TampaBayLightning,

I thought I would literally roll on the floor laughing when I read MRBBQMAN's comment about using the "ASSJET 248"! It just doesn't get much simpler than that, does it?

Rich, I'm glad you're up and running, and enjoying your new Superchip in your Lightning. You join hundreds of other Lightning owners using the Superchip. Just be careful when you really nail it hard off the line, as they have a tendency to go up in tire smoke!

Have fun, and happy turkey week!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com