Do I have to run Premium Fuel with a superchip for my 99 and is the gain worth the extra cost in fuel?

 

Yes. You'll have to run premium with any of the chips. I have the 4.2 with a 5 speed and 3.08 axle. I get 21 mpg on the highway but I do not concern myself with gas milage. I never checked it before the chip. If I did I'd be driveing a toy truck and not a big ole F150. But, 21 mpg is pretty good gas milage for a full size truck. With the Superchip the 4.2 ends up equal to a stock 4.6 in hp/torque so IMHO, it is well worth the money. I wouldn't drive around without one but like I said, I never intended this to be good for my wallet.

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98 SC/XL/4.2/5 speed/3.08/MoonLight Blue Metalic/Mobil One Synthetic/235.70S.16 Michelin XC LT4/AR-136 Wheels/Chrome Nerf Bars/Bug Shield/Aluminum Tool Box/K&N/Superchip/NOS maybe.

DAMN FLEXING DOOR CRACK!

Ford Engineering, reinforce the curve in the door! The cracks will stop.

 

Superchips will recommend you use premium. Some people report that they can run regular with no pinging. My friend's Expedition with 4.6 will run on regular with his chip & no detonation. However, you apparently will not gain the full power increase of the chip if you are running regular, and many vehicles will ping and not tolerate the lower grade fuel. If you search back in this forum, you will see what others say on this topic.

Eventually, I plan on experimenting with my V-6 and chip, gradually blending regular w/premium, just to find out if it pings on lower octane. It may take a few months before I know for sure, cause I want to run premium for a while to check the mileage.

I just added mine a week ago, and it does produce more power and better shifts for the auto tranny. I'm almost through the first tank of gas, and haven't recorded mileage yet. I've been flooring it all over the place, and the needle doesn't seem to be going down any faster than when I would drive normally w/out the chip. I'll post in a month or so when I've got something to report regarding mileage, but others have reported substantial increases (2 mpg) with the chip and the V-6.

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1999 XLT S/C, 4.2 V-6, auto, 3.55 rear, dark torreador red/harvest gold, bed liner, Sony 10 disc CD, Edelbrock IAS, K&N filter, Superchip

 

Dear Koepke,

Yes, you will need to use premium gasoline with the Superchip. It *is* true that a lot of these vehicles, about half of them in our experience, can be run all the way down to regular (87) octane with the Superchip without pinging, or detonation, but you will not get the raw power gain from the engine like that.

These vehicles come from the factory tuned to be able to run on 85-87 octane fuel, and they cannot take advantage of higher octanes by increasing engine power like you can with the Superchip, that's the whole idea. The Superchip retunes the engine *specifically* for premium gasoline, and that affects more than just spark advance, it also affects the fuel curves and other issues. Premium gasoline burns slower, so the fuel curves have to be rewritten to compensate for this.

In other words, the Superchip basically converts the vehicle from being tuned for regular gasoline to one that is tuned specifically for premium gasoline. And in that process, we gain 10%-12% more peak horsepower, and 15%-18% more peak torque. One of the by-products of this tuning is a bit better gas mileage when you're not using a lot of heavy throttle. Your results wqill depend on how you operate the vehicle, and your local fuel quality. Most people with V-8 F-150's from '97 & up see about 1.5 to 2.0 more mpg on the highway. Some have seen as much as 3 more mpg, but that's rare. Here in Virginia, we *are* getting that kind of result, our Superchips are actually paying us to use them! But that is because our price delta betwen regular (87) and premium (93) is only 12 cents per gallon currently.

For somebody driving 20K miles per year, and assuming you don't see any increase in gas mileage at all from the Superchip, your increase in gasoline costs will run about $150-$200 per year. Most people do see some kind of improvement, but those are both ends of the spectrum, so to speak.

You asked a most important question, "Is it worth it"? To most people it is, but only you can answer that for yourself, of course. If you want better performance, a smoother running engine, extended automatic transmission life, better all-aroud driveability, easier towing, etc., then yes, it is worth it.

To give you an idea of what the vehicle is basically going to feel like with the SUperchip, it's best described by saying that in round numbers, it's about a 10%-12% power gainer. So it's going to feel like you have about 10%-12% more motor, all the time, from 1200 rpm on up, regardless of throttle position. Most people feel that's a wonderful gain, and well worth it.

I hope this helps to explain it a bit for you, and please feel free to give me a call if you'd like to discuss this in greater detail.

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html

 

Has anone heard of anyone pulling out the chip in the winter. I live in WI and don't need the extra hp or torque in the winter. Is there any other disavantage of pulling the chip in the winter except if I get stuck in the snow?

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1998 F150 Silver 4WD Styleside V6 Reg Cab 3.55 RE - Extang soft cover, Rhino step bars, K&N air filter, Steel Horse Brushguard with 2-100W KC Daylighters

 

Wont harm anything Silver. You'll lose MPGS, but thats about it.