OK, need some advice. My '97 has almost 126,000 miles on it, it runs great, tows and hauls great. I want to get a little more power out of it though. It seems that when I tow (two snowmobiles, or a medium sized boat) it struggles slightly. I was wondering if I should try a chip? I maintain this vehicle very well, oil changes every 3k, cleanings, filters,etc, etc...
Would it be wise at this mileage to change factory settings?
What will a chip do for longevity on the engine? Can a chip get me more power with 126k on the truck?
Thanks for the help!

 

NO not worth the money...

 

Please explain why you don't think so. I am considering it again so i'd like to hear your response

 

I'd like to hear more regarding it would not be worth it. I do plan on having this truck for quite a while, I'm one to keep my truck a long, long time.
I use it for daily driving (work) and for weekend stuff as well.
I do realize I have the 4.6, and it is no power house. I do have the tow package and the 3.73 gears, so towing ususally is just fine. I did notice this winter that it was struggling a bit on the hills and steep grades. I figured the two sleds, a new bigger trailer, my truck box (full of tools) our gear and us was making it work a bit more than usual.
Last week I hauled an entpy equipment trailer, and it struggled on the hills with that as well.
I am considering a chip to help, but I have also been thinking of elec fans, exhast, ignition upgrade, and a few other upgrades to increase HP & TQ.
A chip would be my first attempt, and as I add other goodies, I would have the chip re-burned (if I can).
Like I said I plan on having this one for a while, and as my original post indicated, I was wondering what a chip would do to the longevity of the eng, factory settings, and actual power increases with 126k on the truck. If the consensus is not what I expect, maybe I will drive it as is and just know that it will struggle.
Sorry for rambling, I apprecite the advice.

 

I can't wait to hear this.

 

Just relax Max!!! I have the tunner installed on my 2001 4.6 and the little gain you get is not worth the cost in my opinion. There is alot of hipe on these tunners, and thats why I got mine but I was not impressed. If you have money to burn then go for it but dont expect wonders. Iwould try the other mods you have listed. Hope this helps.

 

The chips do what they say they'll do. Roughly 10% more horsepower and 13-15% more torque. Now if you think that 23 more horsepower is going to convert your truck into a race car, forget it. If you have realistic expectations, you may or may not be satisfied. What you will really notice if you have an automatic tranny is the improved shifting. That, with the added horsepower and torque, make for a nice improvement over stock. It'll give you better gains than cold air intakes or exhaust mods. I've done all the 'bolt on' mods and none of them made any drastic changes. Then I realized that for big gains you have to spend big money and so came the supercharger. It, in my opinion, is the one mod you can do where you will really realize the gain.

 

I have the Max Micro-Tuner installed on my 4.6l SCREW.
I also have the Magnaflow 15609, and IMO, it IS worth the money.

The improved shifting and ability to use it to pull SES codes is worth the money alone. There is a very noticeable difference in my truck when using the performance program. I also used it to correct my speedo when I put on slightly larger tires.

I recently un-installed the program when I brought it in to the dealer, and thats when I really noticed the difference. I couldn't wait to re-install the program.

I'm sure the exhaust and K&N help also.

But as stated above, don't think you will be able to smoke Mustangs because you get a chip!! We still have big heavy trucks.

 

Well, I'm perfectly relaxed, but I've never listed any other mods that were a better bang for the buck than a chip. I don't usually come to this area and help sell chips, but it's the first mod that I do to all of my vehicles and the first one that I recommend. Yes, there's hype.....Yes, your opinion is just as valid as everyone elses, but it is in the minority.

 

f250ld,

I've got a '98 E-150 4.6L. It's bone stock but for the 1715. I'd say the difference with the 1715 is "night and day". I don't race anybody and have never "timed" the 1/4 mile but the 1715 made the truck a pleasure to drive. Just the change in shift charicteristics are worth the price of admission. Accelerating from,say, 55 to 70 mph ( to manuver around cars on the parkway) used to be VERY frustrating.(mostly because the tranny would not want to downshift from OD to 3rd) With the 1715 installed, it's a pleasure.

While driving the mountains of western NY the truck used to lose 15 to 20mph when on steep climbs with cruise control set @ 70mph. With the added Horsepower, Torque and downshifting of the 1715, the truck never loses more than 4 or 5mph on even the steepest climbs!

Good luck,

Bill

 

After quite a bit of research, I think I know what upgrades I want to try. First and foremost a chip, after reading the replies, I think it is just the improvement that will get a little more HP out of the 4.6. I am undecided though on what chip to get, read a lot here about superchips, I am leaning on one the products they offer, any suggestions?
The second mod I will add is the ignition upgrade to the MSD system. If figure with 126k on my factory ignition, this might compliment the gains the chip will give me.
The only downside.....AS I indicated in a reply above, I keep my trucks a long time, well, a friend has just picked up his '04 FX4 (XLT, 5.4, auto) and I absolutley love it. I saw it this morning, and it has gotten me thining I might be in the market next yr or so for a new one....maybe......Stay tuned.
Thanks for the info, I appreciate everyone's input and suggestions.

 

MAC Performance makes a pretty good intake at $150. They also make a pretty good exhaust at $250..

I have this on my '01 5.4L S/C. It runs quite a bit better. The chip will improve your shift points, and help with the over all power band.

One note, the Hypertech folks say not to use their programmer with an intake modification, they tend to cause engine PING. They suggest an exhaust and hi- flow filter with their programmer.

A chip can be specifically tuned to your specs. MAC also makes power pullies and a throttle body.

 

go to 4 wheeler magazine and read the "PROJECT MPG". great info on what works for these trucks.

 

Hi f250old,

I would suggest dropping by our web site and taking a look at a couple of things - first, for anyone contemplating doing a performance chip or tuner, the best results are had with *our* custom tuning, as we've specialized in tuning these vehicles for 12 years - take a look in our tuning section and read up on the following specific part#'s: 5500 (single program custom chip), 6600 (4-program custom chip) & then the 9100 (3-program custom Micro Tuner) - here's the link: http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...chips%3BFoMoCo

There are some other programming products there, but our in-depth custom tuning is the way to go for the best actual power, performance, driveability and even mpg results - and I strongly suggest going multi-program (thus using either the 6600 or the 9100) - this gives you maximum flexibility, as we can do anything from an mpg tune for 87 octane to an all-out performance tune for premium gas, towing tunes, etc., and everything in between.

Next, in terms of getting you a bit up to speed with regard to the actual order of bang-for-the-buck and which brands of parts actually do the best job on these vehicles (that's what we specialize in, improving the performance of this specific platform), spend some time reading thru our Performance Packages section with our Stage 1 thru Stage 5 packages - that will go over in some detail just what we do for each level of performance.

There are plenty of brand names, but we use only top-quality products - "cheap" doesn't equal "good" or "quality" or "best power gains" or "best performance results," etc. - with cheap, you get cheap. There's plenty of cheap stuff out there (MAC is an excellent example), but we won't deal in it. We do a lot of testing in this specific regard (testing numerous intake kits, exhaust systems, ignition setups, headers, pulleys, tuning, and on and on), and we don't see acceptable power gains, longevity or quality of materials in the low-grade stuff that we do in better quality products. But of course that is usually the case almost anything you buy - you get what you pay for.

Some people prefer to buy the cheap stuff as they think they're getting "more" - while others who do their homework concentrate on using the good stuff so they get much better quality, easier installation and significantly better performance results. For example, there is only one exhaust system manufacturer actually doing flow engineering specifically for these trucks & SUV's - virtually everyone else only bothers with fitment & sound, and typically cause an actual loss of torque below 3000 rpm - that is extremely common.

Anyway, here's that link if you'd like to read up on some material that will give you some insight as to the bang-for-the-buck side of things: http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...edition%20Etc.

With regard to the ignition, MSD is a good way to go for the coil packs themselves - either MSD or Accel put out about the same current levels on these motors, the MSD's are a little bit higher quality and cost a little bit more - either one will work fine. We also have complete ignition system upgrade packages for your truck, you can find all of that on our site as well.

At 126K miles, you are a little bit more than half-way thru the normal service life of that engine, so you should have many more miles left in that motor - but it is time to take a look at some maintenance items. For example, the upstream O2 sensors should be replaced if they are original, as they are actually a 30K-50K mile maintenance item, and they affect performance, power, and fuel mileage greatly. The ignition is very important also, and you've already identified that as an area to upgrade, excellent idea! With our ignition upgrade package, it costs less than new factory parts and there's another 14 HP over brand new stock components - even more HP gain over an older original ignition.

There's so much you can do to your vehicle to help improve performance - you're off to an excellent start thinking about tuning, as the single best bang for the buck performance enhancement is a properly optimized powertrain program - nothing else for the same or less cost will help the performance of that vehicle as much as our custom tuning will. Now it won't feel like a supercharger of course, it's simply the best bang for the buck, and where most people start because of that.

I hope this info helps a little bit, and please feel free to give us a call to go over any of this in more detail, etc. - we'll be happy to help.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

 

Thanks for the great advice. I am leaning to the 9100, but I would like to learn more about the towing and hauling option of the chip. My biggest concern is loosing the capability to tow and haul.
The rest sounds great, improved performace, shifting, and a bit more MPG is always nice.
I am suprised to hear about the o2 sensors though, mine is box stock, I've never had them replaced, it sounds like I should. Suggestions on what brand of o2 sensors are the ones to look for?
I did visit the site, I found all sorts of stuff I would like to add on, but with a fair amount of miles on the truck, and the possibility of upgrading in a yr or two, I think I'd like to stay faily modest on any performance upgrades I install. As I indicated in an earlier post, I really like my friends '04, and it has gotten me thinking I might be in the marker for an '05 or '06....
Again, thanks for the advice, and suggestions, I appreciate them all.