Is it worth getting a chip without doing the other mods like Cold Air Intake, and Dual Exhaust, Etc. If I was not able to afford all at one time what order would be of best benefit. I am looking for increased fuel mileage and some better transmission shifting. Not so much in performance since I'm not a street racer.

 

With regards to “Chips” and “Tuners”, years ago it was the best that most could do to enhance the ignition timing, fuel curve, transmission shift points, etc. It was (and still is) very important that a person verifies that the “Tuner” is ASE certified in both ECM and Transmission programming and IMHO be have current certification by the OEM whose vehicle you want to modify. There are plenty of persons who advertise their programs to be the best and even offer custom tunes, but in all reality, very few actually have credentials in these areas- but that’s not to say that some of these “geniuses” haven’t really caused damage to a few vehicles- just jump over to flatratetech.com and read just some of the comments from the MSE techs! or check this one out from "one of the best in the businesses".

Roush Dyno Tune
Posted August 26, 2012
Bad situation-Need help! - Vintage Mustang Forums
To make an extremely long story short. I need someone to tell me who to talk to for help. I have posted several times and got a lot of help. Got my engine build finished in May. Ran great. Took it to Roush Racing for a tune. It is a 93, efi, 302 with several upgrades. Went to get it from Roush and the water hose had blown and torn up my brand new hood I just had painted. It can be fixed. Drove the car home and it would not start the next day. Finally found the adapter between the TPS and painless harness was missing. Fixed that. It would not idle consistently. Took it back to Roush. They said it was fixed. Went less than 1/2 mile and it was idling at 2500 rpm. Took it back. They were lost. Said to bring it back. Never did since I had no confidence in them. The head of the dyno room called someone else for advice. Took it to a friend who restores cars. He went back through all the wiring (Painless), changed IAC, changed to stock computer, and ran diagnostics. Never could get to idle consitently. Still between 1800 and 2500. Read the forums and found Pro Dyno in Rock Hill, SC to be one of the best. It has been there for 6 weeks now. Changed computers again, IAC, and TPS. Added FPA headers and Magnaflow 2 1/2 exhaust and retuned. Pulled over 300 rwhp, 330 torque and they told me to come and get it. I drove it around the block and it ran great. Was going to get gas across the street and it went crazy again. Then it would not start until I bled the fuel rail. It is still there and they are lost. Only suggestion is to start changing parts which are all new. It is now grounded to the frame=twice, battery, and body twice so it is not the ground. It could be coincidence but I have not been able to drive it anywhere since I took it to Roush in May. Pro Dyno is supposed to be the best and they are baffled. Only way they could get it to idle correctly was to disconnect IAC. I need help. I am totally disgusted. If you need to talk, PM me and I will give you all my personal contact info. Thanks for any help. I am out of options.

Perhaps what is equally important is the parameters that can be adjusted are set by the OEM vehicle software…so there is really no “magic” in what they are doing anyway. Now about this new marketing hype that if you have a CAI you need a custom program………….hogwash!!!!!! The OEM software system is designed to adjust the fuel mixture up to 10% (25% on the 2000+ mod engines).......that’s more than enough to handle fuel mixture adjustments up to 7,000 foot elevation change! (for high elevations 8,000+ there are oem software programs for those specific applications) The 5.4 V8 for example if close to stock can only suck in a maximum of 480 cfm and a flat panel filter will flow 500 cfm, there is simply no way any CAI on a relatively stock engine can increase the air flow enough to exceed the ECM’s ability to adjust and maintain the correct fuel mixture. The only reason for the “custom” program to support the CAI is because the design is poor resulting in false readings from the air intake sensors, etc….period! If you look at the dyno charts from many of these supposed HP/TQ increases, they are typically around 5%-7% at peak rpm ranges…….guess what, 5% is a standard deviation even amongst mfg dynos and if you go to this link http://www.fordracingparts.com/downl...ceTechTips.pdf the engineers at Ford racing have a article on just exactly how these “tuners” play games with the hp/tq ratings, how calibration can cause misleading dyno results, & some of the “tricks” that are used to gain supposed power increases when in fact, managing your engine….. and the most important item is……these “expert tuners” (at least most) do not have or choose not to test their results (in comparison to the oem intakes) during actual vehicle motion (or simulation- such as a wind tunnel) as the oems do.

These 'tuners" you have to remember are NOT REGULATED or licensed by anybody...you have better protection taking a vehicle to a local repair shop than you do with ANY OF THESE GUYS!!!! and the only reourse you have is to sue.....yeah, try that across state lines and see how you do.....damaged transmission as an example, $1700+ typically for a rebuild, now hire your experts, filing fees and up to 5 years to get a judgement (plus appeals) or if you win in small claims court- try to actually collet! You will have to get a court order to seize company assets in many cases.

If you want to mod your shifts, replace the valve body with a professionally built unit.

What many view as an issue (is the plastic intake tube with its noise canceling design) actually increases air pressure. It is the same hydraulic concept used by fire fighters creating water supply where psi is low. By having the air cross the path at a 90 degree angle, the pressure is increased proportionally. Fire fighters use what is called a “4-way valve” or “Blake Valve” at the hydrant where the water is cycled through the fire engine (pump) and sent back into the valve crossing the water flow at a 90 degree angle. In this case it also acts as a sound canceling device! At low speeds, this can reduce the flow a tad (which is what most “feel”), but in terms of peak hp/tq, a good high flow filter is all that is needed.

Testand Corporation conducted an ISO standards test on automotive air filters which can be viewed at this link: http://www.dieselbombers.com/chevrol...r-testing.html.

With regards to the Dual exhaust...the only component that will increase exhaust flow are headers, any other oem component flows as good as any component you can buy on the market....if you want to increase sound/tone, etc, ok, but otherwise it is a 0-gain situation.

IMHO, if you live near any major city there are excellent tuning specialists with dynos who for the same price (if not less) will tune your vehicle taking into consideration your specific needs including environmental conditions, for your specific vehicle. IMHO, the best bang for the buck!

If you are comfortable and understand how to tune a vehicle, you can also do this yourself. There are several software programs available, that “Speak Common English” that will allow you to tune your vehicles ECM. One company is HP Tuners, they have a website….they offer two core programs, one for those who are doing dyno tuning and one for the home-garage mechanic (which is priced at about the same as most of the “canned tunes on the market) …this version limits the span of adjustments as a safeguard against doing something outside of the oem scope……basically, keeps you from doing something “too stupid by accident” (grin) and Sniper Delta Force Tuning Software.

 

Thanks, I will be sure to check all of this out. Very sound advice. I had already came to the conclusion that a CAI was a waste as far flow and colder air since they're placed in the same airbox bottom and location as OEM so how can that be any colder air? I do like the K@N Type Filter so will buy a drop in stock style K&N. Thanks for the advice on the headers. I thought a dual exhuast was a good idea but nowI will just leave it single and buy a different muffler just to get a better sound only. Can't afford headers. K&N and Muffler shouldn't break the bank only about $120. Do you not even trust these folks
http://www.superchips.com/Home.aspx that have been doing this for a long time. As far as Roush Racing goes I would never take anything but an all out racing engine to them.

 

I would not get a chip, they can do good but it's sort of like the one-size-fits-all coat: fits some, but not most.

I have never heard of exhaust as being a bad option and I don't really believe in cold air intake for our motors. I have tested my engine compartment with a thermometer in different places it's all hot. But letting it breathe more (new air filter/intake) is good and cheap.

After those options, it would help to know what this is for. There are good tuners out there, just need to find them.

What you can do is have a tuner with a dyno create a tune for you and burn that specific tune to a chip that is permanently attached to your computer.