Mike,

i called the # below your name and still have no response. called on Thursday. so i've sent my computer board to you in hopes to have repair.. i sent it saturday.. no one here would do it ( solder the jumps) and i couldn't get help from superchips.. please keep an eye out for my board.. as i would be saddend by it loss or no repair.. and why is ford not soldering them for us? do they not like chips?


ps. i ordered my chip from online here, i never heard from anyone then either, so what kind of chip did i recive? as i have noticed that you may request a special chip..

thanks, dave horn
anch., alaska

[This message has been edited by mtbikr (edited 11-28-1999).]

 

Hi Dave,

We have not received any call from Alaska, and we have voicemail on anytime we're not here, so I have not gotten any calls or messages from you so far, and we are the company that has the online ordering form here for Superchips, so that's us!

Superchips has a toll-free number, that is 888-227-2447, and they are there from 8:30 am to 5pm, Eastern, Monday thru Friday.

Here at Performance Products, we are open Monday thru Friday 10 am to 7pm Eastern, just so you'll know.

I have no idea where you sent your computer, but if you sent it to Superchips in Florida (hopefully along with your Superchip, so it can be tested on your computer!), then they will do the work and send it right back out to you, but you are supposed to call and get an RMA# first, like the card tells you that comes with the Superchip. As long as they get your computer, they'll do the work, but without even an RMA number, if you didn't enclose a note, they won't do anything other than send it back to you, as they will of course have no idea whose it is or what the deal is, that's the whole purpose in using an RMA system, which is why all manufacturers use them. Hopefully, you sent it to the right place, with at least a note attached, so that whoever gets it will know what's going on.

Please feel free to contact me anytime, and leave a message if you call after hours, and please make sure you leave your phone number and a good time to call you back.

So at this point, I have no idea where you sent your computer to, but we haven't gotten it, nor any phone calls or any voicemail messages from you to date, just so you know. Our number is below in my signature line, and it is correct, (540) 862-9515. If we have a power failure, which happens here in the mountains, we will lose any voicemails not yet retrieved, and we did have a 2-hour power outage on Friday afternoon, but not on Thursday.

Hopefully everything will be OK.

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

 

Mike,

thanks for the chat.. you sure did help me accept this in a much better light..

oh did i mention that with that $17,000 i got the extended cab XLT and tow package.. he he

thanks again, dave



------------------
if it's not broken, break it!

 

Dear mtbikr,

It was great to finally get a chance to talk to you last night. Like you, I felt *much* better after we talked!

So the computer went to the right place, and you enclosed a note, so they'll know what's going on, so all that at least is fine!

Now what I am concerned with is the same as you, whether or not those jumpers being destroyed by whoever tried to do the work up there for you is going to prevent Superchips from being able to fix it. I have a call into them right now to check as to the status of your computer, and as soon as I find that info out, I'll call you right away.

What a deal you got on that truck! What did you do, hold a gun to their heads or something?!?

Have fun up there in the Great WHite North, or whatever they call it! Oh, we just got our first taste of snow for the season last night. No accumulation, but it did snow lightly.

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

 

mike,

well it's been a long wait (in my mind), but i got my board back.. i left work with the excuse that i had to deliver some product.. so i could sneak home and put the computer back in my truck, which it took only seconds to do. and it was 5 degrees outside. i was so pumped when that engine cranked over!

our streets are covered with slick ice now, so i had to drive in 4x4.. but even so the diff in torque is quite noticable. the chip did everything you said it would and then some..
i had a race with one person i heard him reving up so i returnded fire.. light changed and we where off.. or should i say i was.. he had no chance.. when he caught up to me at the next light i noticed his banner DOMINOS.. it felt good that i left him holding the sausage..

again many thanks fore taking the time to work with me.

Dave

------------------
if it's not broken, break it!

 

Hi Dave,

I'm just happy that everything worked out fine, so you can enjoy all the benefits of the Superchip. Up there in Alaska, you may not get clear pavement to go out rip-snorting on until next summer, eh?

Have fun, and let me know if I can be of further assistance!

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

 

Hello Mike,
Nice of you to join in and help out with questions.

Potential customer # 2,345,678.
I have a '98 F-250LD SC 4x4, E4OD and an FQR Oct'99 5.4L engine. I haul a FourWheel Popup camper on occasion. Already have K&N FIPK, and Gibson single side (rear of wheel) CatBack.

My biggest concern is the E4OD. Hot rodding the truck for top speed, and quickest to the line - while banging the hell out of the E4OD is not my idea of making the E4OD last. So far, I have so far only considered help for the tranny. Banks TransCommand, ATG Interceptor, and B&MShiftPlus. After talking to www.TheDriveLinePage and other reliable tranny techs, the ATG seems the best solution since I can increase tranny line pressure only slightly - to ensure I don't slam it - a common cause of E4OD failures. I have discarded all these possibilities due to fact that all these manufacture's markets are not really for truely late model trannies. I know this because none of them know the connector configurations for a '98 E4OD. So I gave up on them. B&M dosen't connect directly to the tranny though, but I'm still not convinced - being able to slide the **** (from the cab no less) and max out the slamming effect does not seem very idiot proof (and idiots sometime drive my truck).

Chips seem to provide enhancements for both engine and tranny (can they delay Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) as well?) However - I'm sure chips increase line pressure to help those quicker 1/4 mile times - but too much so? I don't have my notes in front of me, but the trannie techs mentioned for instance (not ATG techs) on the ATG to not set the pressure to high. In fact, to choose the lowest setting - almost off (lets say 1.5 on a scale of 1 to 5) since I wouldn't have a pressure meter in the line. and you could otherwise boost it beyond reason - great on the track though, but this has to last. I have pressure levels in my notes somewhere, levels one should not exceed if you want the already fragile E4OD to last. ('98's are the last of the E4OD's, but the 4R100's are the same - some minor improvements, a power take off option, and a name change to escape the horrid history of its predessor.)

Plus, Ford techs tell me the E4OD 2nd, typically has some "slip" when downshifting to 2nd. I can see/feel this on occasions - slight rpm increase until hook up - then go, and is "normal". (Hell, this can happen if you arrive in 2nd casually and have cause to floor it prior to it going to 3rd.) So the idea of adding punch to a already slippy situation has me wondering. There's only that "band" in 2nd, and all the truck's weight is riding on it (up or down a hill - therfore never manually 'shift lever' it to 2nd!)

I'd love better pickup and go, who wouldn't, but not at the price of slamming shifts for a 1/2 a second ego gain in a 1/4 mile race, which I'll never take, and, I rarely go over 100mph, for reasons other than the tire ratings (like to think its wisdom).

So for the final concerns.
- Don't want to kill my E4OD, especially when the camper is on. But this is when I really need the improved shift firmness (for hauling, not racing) and would love that TCC delay.
- I have March of '98 F-250LD SC 4x4 with an FQR, Oct of '99, engine, which fortunately has the '99 horsepower (a "Quality Renewed" engine).

Can SuperChip's dial this in? (with or without a custom burn for this app?) And can you quote me the line pressure increase I can expect to find or is it trial and error until a 'firm' shift for drag racing is reached? (Not my game.)

FrankP

----------------
'98 F-250LD SC XLT 4x4
Gibson exhaust
K&N FIPK
3.73 gears w/245-75's (stock on 250's)
Velvet Ride Shackles (it's a 250, remember)
FourWheel Popup Camper

Currently adding: Edelbrock IAS shocks

Future adds: SuperChip ?

 

That's http://www.thegrid.net/thedrivetrainpage/
not www.TheDriveLinePage.

 

Thanks Mike,

After I have my '98 truck's '99 FQR engine checked out for rough idle/smoke/quiet desiel sounds, I'll consider this.

But to clarify, the 'half way thru 2nd" TQ lockup was actually a question on Torque Converter Clutch (TCC)delay. If I understand this correctly, this delays the 'unlocking' when lifting foot off pedal while entering a curve, thereby preventing that slight rise in rpm needed to 'recapture' the tranny, and continue moving forward coming out of the curve with tranny still engaged. ATG, for example, can delay TCC.

From their site, "...The Interceptor delays the signal to the torque converter solenoid allowing the torque converter time to precharge properly before applying the torque clutch. It also allows your engine time to gain rpm before lockup occurs on grades, inclines and when pulling loads thus eliminating engine "bog". "

Does this sound familiar and can a Superchip solve this as well?

Also, does the presence of a '99 engine with a '98 computer present a problem? I'm told there was no 'reprogramming' done when the engine was replaced so I guess its still at '98 coding.

Thanks for your time.
Frank

 

Dear FrankP,

Your concerns echo those of many other owners of these vehicles, particularly where the transmission is concerned. And as you've seen since you've been here for quite awhile, people do everything from drag racing to towing to you name it with these vehicles, so many people have many different ideas of what a truck is "supposed" to be used for. I say use it for whatever makes you happiest, of course!

Let's get right to your questions. First, the "standard" Superchip program for these vehicles increases line pressure by about 20% at WOT (wide-open throttle). We're not allowing it to spoil the smooth character of the vehicle when you drive conservatively, so the upshifts get progressively firmer as you give it more throttle, culminating in a 20% increase in line pressure which really isn't very much. It's just enough to make the upshift execute quickly. We're not trying to give these trucks "musclecar" upshift characteristics, what we do is really as much of a longevity aid as it is a performance modification. The shift delay is removed, which Ford uses to elongate and soften heavy-throttle upshifts, we also remove the power-robbing spark retard that is present during and just after a heavy-throttle upshift, and then finally, the line pressure is increased. The end result is that we eliminate the slippage that is induced from the shift delay and line pressure decrease in the factory program, and this tends to help the transmission live longer.

Also, the downshift delays are removed, so it will respond to your right foot much quicker when you need to pass another vehicle, for example.

The sum total of all these transmission-related mods is far more than you can ever get from any of the devices you mentioned, none of which address the shift delay or spark retards in the factory program, because none of them reprogram anything in the computer. The Banks unit gives stiff upshifts on light throttle according to the feedback we've gotten from our customers who have used it, so I don't like that unit due to that and it's very high cost, well over $200. B&M, JET, and others make much cheaper devices that simply splice into the ECU's wiring harness (usually the pink wire) to spike the upshift voltage signal.

The bottom line is that the Superchip is not going to cause any reduction in component life in your automatic transmission, it tends to do just the opposite. How long your vehicle lasts never depends on how much power or performance it's capable of producing when pushed; it depends on how you operate and maintain the vehicle, and that doesn't change with the Superchip, with the possible exception of increased transmission component life due to reduced slippage.

You also asked about delaying the onset of TQ lockup. Yes, that is done, but only in one area, and that is, the second half of second gear (meaning rpm range) when you are accelerating hard. The factory program causes the TQ to go into lockup about halfway thru 2nd gear when you're accelerating hard, and that causes torque to drop dramatically, so the Superchip will delay the onset of TQ lockup, but only in the last half of the rpm range in second gear. Doing so restores the roughly 100 lbs./ft. of torque that is lost in the factory program because of the TQ locking up so soon at heavy throttle, according to Craig Ancel, one of the product development engineers at Superchips.

And just to give you an idea of how little line pressure is used, it's barely over 100 PSI in most late-model Ford automatics. In my Lincoln, the line pressure was only 96 PSI, for instance. Line pressure is *not* going to be a problem with the Superchip. Remember, Superchips has the very same basic concerns that you do as a vehicle owner, and the *last* thing they ever want is for someone to have their vehicle compromised by anything they are doing in the program, as that would be instantly disastrous for their reputation! These programs get a lot of good solid R&D, from chassis dyno, emissions lab, to drag strip testing for results, as well as a lot of everyday driving. The performance program in the Superchip is designed to simply improve power and overall driveability in all conditions. You'll be very happy with the results, we guarantee it!

Please feel free to contact me privately if you'd like to discuss any of this in greater detail, our contact info is below.

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

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 12-08-1999).]

 

Hi Frank,

No, that's not what I mean. What I'm talking about is only when you are accelerating hard. And when accelerating hard, the Superchip will delay the onset of TQ lockup in 2nd gear, as I explained in detail above, thus restoring the roughly 100 lbs./ft. of torque you lose when the factory program locks it up halfway thru 2nd gear.

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

 

Thanks Mike,
So then, I assume
-Superchip does not/cannot/will not effect TCC (or does not know about it?).
-And that the FQR engine replacements with '99 HP (and in my case, into a '98 truck) cause no issues with these chips?

Do you or Superchip, know about the TCC issue. Do you think Superchip could 'custom' this in for me. And what are the drawbacks in making a 'custom' burn (burn = programmable EEPROM burn)?

If customizing gets me into questionable 'support' issues, then never mind. But I'd love to get rid of that lazy curve decoupling and keep my engine connected to the tranny just a bit while longer - while I get out of the curve and back on the thottle. - Do you (or Superchip) know what I'm talking about?

Frank
Frank