I have been a member here for a while now and am just now exploring the computer chips forums. I am amazed at all the people that have them, or at least post about them. Over at the engine forums I have noticed a great deal of people having problems like intermittent weird guage readings, stalls and such. Is this not as big of a prob. as it appears. I will probably never have one just bc of the price but I was just shocked at all the posts. I guess most people have more money than I do!

 

Hello,

I have had the Superchip for a little over 6 weeks. I have not had any problems at all with mine. The shifting and power improvement where well worth a couple hundred bucks.

As far as problems go, in every single instance of problems I have seen posted on these forums since I started reading the posts have gone back to one issue. People get the new chip in the mail and then decide that they don't need to follow the directions on cleaning. It is excitement to try a new toy I guess.
Now, I do know it is from failure to read because you can see folks posting questions that are addressed in the darned instructions. I guess after 41 years of life I have learned to do exactly as the professional that makes the product tell me to. That way, if I have a problem, it is back in their court.

If you do get one, get it from Mike T. at superchips and follow the instructions TO THE LETTER. DON"T TRY to come up with some better way.

Don't let the folks that don't take cleaning seriously at first scare you from a great product. If you follow the these threads wher they have a problem, they always end up saying,"Oh, now it works" after they go back and get all that coating off. Just remember the old school exercise where they tell you to read all the diresctions before you start. In that exercise, I laughed my a$$ off when I got to the last line and it said to put your pencil down and sit quietly, while I watched the fools around me answering the questions as they went.

It works great, get it, you won't be sorry.

Rocks

 

HI!... I have had my SUPERCHIP in my truck for 3.5 years and have had NO problems at all with it. And I've probably got one of the most CUSTOM programs on one chip here!LOL!

 

Watch out Neal,

Mike has me chasing you...LOL. I am working on a way to get my heavy weight longbed extended cab up to speed. I may have to drive up there and see if I can stay up with you.

I believe I have the same fuel pump headed my way as you have. Get any bugs in worked out for me.

Rocks

 

What Neal & Rocks said. When I order a chip I take out the PCM and clean the contacts before the chip arrives. That way I can take my time and I am not rushed by wanting to put the chip in right away. I had a problem back in 97 on my old truck and it was caused by the Lip on the PCM bracket. It was bent straight and so is my current truck's. Besides when my chip arrives all I have to do is pop it in, all the prep work is done.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

I've not noticed much in the way of problems with chips on this forum. Some people just get excited when it comes to them there new fangled electronic things, the problems seem to all be easily resolved. As for having more money than you, If you can afford a newer truck, you can afford a chip. I believe that there is more money spent on sound systems by truck owners than spent on chips, they don't necessarly have more or less money than I, just different priorities.

 

I may look into the chip a little more thanks to your replies. What are the benefits besides different shifts and more power. I know some chips offer better mileage. Is this the case with the superchip. I also know if there is better mileage it will probably be eaten up by the higher fuel cost with 95+ oct.
By the way where is the pcm on these trucks? How long does it take to do the install. Including all the cleaning that is.

 

Hello Silver&Blue,

95 octane???? Darn, now I have to drive to MO. to get gas. The best we can get here in Tehxas is 93.
As far as milage goes, that is really not the main reason most of us get chipped. Some do report better milage although I have found that my urge to drive like I am in a race all the time, kills my milage.
The chip is mainly a performance mod. Maybe I'll try to drive like a normal person for a tank of gas just to see what my milage does....Naw...never mind, I don't have that kind of self control.

Your pcm is located on the passenger side, just in front of the kick panel. It took me a couple hours to do, but I really was not in a big hurry. If you will buy it from Mike T at performance products he supplies an additional install guide that is way more informative than the ones that just come with the superchip normally. Follow his instructions exacly and you should not have a problem. He also has a number you can call if you need help. Don't do as others I have sen here do and forget that. Call that number. Even if it is after hours, they check that line for messages and will call you back on technical support issues.

Give him a call and talk to him a bit about it before you order it...he can give you way more detailed answers on the phone than on the forums.


Rocks

 

You can also fly over and get our 99+oktane. I will give you a gallon.

 

No problems here.
I am on my second Superchip. My first was a single program. My truck was basicly stock. I have the manual so I don't get to feel improved shifts but the increase in power and drivability was quite nice for such an inexpensive mod.
I now have a Superchip flip chip. I needed a dual program because of the addition of a kind of major mod. With this set up I feel the effects even more.
I can't imagine running my truck without the Superchip.
I don't think I have any more money than anyone here (I am probably one of the poorer ones here), I am just more in dept. I might not be taking one of the smartest routes here but I just couln't wait to upgrade my F150. If I waited till I could afford to do the mods (without the use of consumor credit) I would be too old appreciate the power.
I would guess that a great majority of the problems that we read about here are caused by installer error. The chip by it's self, I don't think lends it's self to causing problems.

 

Hi Silver & Blue,

I wanted a wait little while to respond on this thread so you would first see others responses. As you can see, the Superchip causes no inherent problems, it's a simple matter of proper installation, like anything else.

The Superchip is not going to pay for the entire cost of using premium gas, they're not supposed to; performance parts are purchased for increased performance, so any mpg gains are icing on the cake.

That being said, there is indeed some potential for better mpg with the Superchip, however, that is just a byproduct of the performance tuning for premium gas, and specifically the increased spark advance on part-throttle. So it's basically a matter of how you operate your vehicle and the quality of fuel used that dictates your actual mpg results with the Superchip.

The majority of people who track mpg carefully & who can manage to keep their driving habits the same after installing the Superchip do generally see small improvements in mpg. In our vehicles here at Performance, we have seen mpg improvements in every vehicle we've used them in over the past decade+. And then there are some who do not see any gain in mileage, either from having too much fun enjoying the additional performance to care about mpg, or using a low quality premium gasoline, etc.

The bottom line is that it as long as you use good quality premium gas (no offbrands, no-names or Exxon, etc.), doesn't cost more than an additional $100 per 10,000 miles to run the vehicle on premium gas with the Superchip compared to running it on the factory program on 87 octane fuel (assumes a 20 cent per gallon delta between 87 & premium), so for most people they aren't spending more than another $2-$3 a week for gas to run the Superchip, that's a drop in the bucket compared to the cost to own & operate a late-model F-150.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

 

I got a couple years and about 20,000 miles on my Superchip, have not had any problems.

 

That's an interesting comment about gas. I run AMOCO premium in my Harley, but the 87 octance no name stuff from the Arab and Indian gas stations in my 4.2 V-6 and our two Grand Cherokees.
If I go to Superchip, sounds like you're saying to avoid some gas.
What's the story??

 

The lower energy content of the "no-name" gas stations will more than eat up your savings per gallon in lower milage.
This applies no matter if ya have the chip or not.

I and about everyone else I know have tried the habbeebee special at one time or another and we all noticed power loss and milage loss.

Rocks

 

"The story" is the same as it has always been, you get what you pay for.

Rocks' response is right on the money.

Performance and low quality cheap fuels don't mix. The same applies for fuel mileage, the better quality fuels have a higher raw energy content, they have more BTU's per gallon and thus deliver higher mpg. The no-names, off-brands, and even a number of "name brand" fuels have lower energy contents and thus are not preferable to use, either for fuel mielage or for performance. This is nothing new, it's always been true that those who shop gasoline based on price alone are only shortchanging themselves and their vehicles, as they get lower fuel quality with less energy content, the detergent additives are sub-par, etc.

It doesn't matter if a vehicle is bone stock or modified, you're always better off using the best quality fuel you can get, whether your vehicle requires 87 octane or 91& up premium, fuel quality matters. It shows up in performance, in fuel mileage, and in keeping that vehicle's entire fuel system and inside the engine clean.

As a result of tuning these vehicles and many others for a lot of years, we see differences in fuel quality from one location to the next, and from brand to brand. A brand that works well here in the East may not do such a good job out West, and so on. There are a few brands that are, in most cases, at least going to be among the better quality fuels available, such as Amoco.

The bottom line is, use the best fuels for best mileage, performance, & a clean fuel delivery system.