I am a recent owner of a 97 f150 4X4,flareside. I love my new investment, I am looking into getting a chip for my truck. My brother has one in his 98 and he told me that it is worth the buy. If you could tell me what the chip actually does to the truck and how much they run i would appreciate it. And if you know of anything else that I could do to my truck that is not too expensive that would help the performance and speed i would appreciate it also.

 

Hello and Welcome,
Mike Troyer is the guy who KNOWS all about these, and he sells them too.
But I will thow in my 2 cents, The improve shifting caracteristics of the transmission (Firmer, more precise), adjust the engine to take full adavantage of burning Premium fuel (More Power 10-15%, and possible 1.5-2 MPG if driven the same as before), and make the truck much more of a pleasure to drive.
As for what to help out truck power wise,
my 3 things that I do are,
Air Intake- K&N Filter and intake mods, if cost is a factor, but otherwise a FIPK, such as the AIRAID or K&N. (Cost, 50-200$)
Exhaust- Hi-Flow Muffler, or entire cat-back exhaust system, talored to meet your sound needs too.(Cost, 80-300+$)
SuperChip- Make more HP/Torque quick and easy, and the only cost besides the chip is the Premium Fuel.(Cost, aprox $225$)
Good Luck

 

Hi chefkroon,

The Superchip is going to add a maximum of 26 hp & 40 lbs./ft. of torque on the 4.6, and about 26-27 hp & 42-44 lbs./ft. of torque on the 1997 & 1998 235 hp. version of the 5.4 motor. You didn't mention which engine you had, so those are the numbers for either of the V-8's.

The Superchip is, in round numbers, about a 10%-12% power-gainer. It will also clean up the shift characteristics of the autoamtic transmission quite a bit, and if you've either ridden in or had a chance to drive your brother's 1998 model F-150 with the Superchip, then you know how much of an improvment that is.

With regards to exact costs, the Webmaster here prefers that pricing issues not be discussed on the message boards, to keep them "clean" of that kind of content. We have an online ordering system here for the Superchip, so you can check that for pricing, as it includes our F-150 Online discounts. The link to that system is just below, in my signature line.

The top 3 best "bang-for-the-buck" mods on these F-150's are:

1.) Optimize the powertrain programming via the Superchip, and that product is available from us. In addition to it's power gains, it will also remove the top speed limiter as well.

2.) Reduce restriction in the intake air tract, using one of the airbox elimination kits, such as K&N's FIPK kit, or the Airaid brand of that same kind of kit, both brands cost the same, and deliver virtually identical power gains, which are 12 hp on the 4.6, and 14 hp on the 5.4 motor. Those kits are available in the F-150 Online store, which you can access by clicking on the link on the left side of your screen that says "Online Store". You can also reach the gentleman that runs the store directly, his name is Roger Lemere, and his number is 916-361-2510, he's out in California. Of those 2 kits, we prefer the Airaid brand, but you can't go wrong with either brand.

3.) Reduce restriction on the exhaust side, using a good name-brand cat-back exhaust system. On the 4.6 motor a good system will add 10-12 hp, and on the 5.4 you'll pick up anywhere from 10 hp to as much as 14 hp.

You can do these mods in any order you like, one at a time, all at once, all of them, none of them, or any combination. We call those 3 mods basically a "Stage 1" round of modifications, and that is about as far as most F-150 owners go, as they are concerned with warranty protection, etc. There are of course others here who go on to do far more modifications, based on what they want to get from their vehicles of course.

Please feel free to call us if you'd like to go over all of this in greater detail, we're always happy to help.

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Hey Mike,

Have you had a chance to see the Airforce One kit by SUV Specialties? It was dynoed by some magazine as providing almost 18 HP gain. It's a little more expensive than the other two, but seems to be made fo better materials. I put one on and am happy with it, but was wondering if you'd ever compared them with the other two kits.

Jay

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1998 F150 Lariat 4x4 Extended Cab. 4.6L Auto
Mods: Superchip
Airforce One
Planned: Ravin Z-55
BFG 286/75R16 MTs

 

Hi jayf,

Just about anything you do to reduce restriction specifically in the air intake tract is going to be noticeable and add power, certainly.

Both the K&N FIPK kit and the Airaid kit make about 12 hp on the 4.6 and 14 hp on the 5.4, those numbers are pretty well known. If the Air Force kit is actually making as much as 18 hp (which I question, that seems high), that's admirable. The Airaid kit for the 360-hp. supercharged Lightning adds 18 hp, which is a very nice gain, and is only that high because it's reduction in restriction also achieves a 1.0-1.5 PSI increase in boost level.

I have not had a chance to personally install one of those units, so I really can't comment on fit & finish, quality of the finished kit & it's materials, etc. If you feel it's worth the additional cost, that's great, & thanks for letting everyone know!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer