I have a '03 S'Crew 5.4L and I'm debating wheather or not I want to purchse a chip for it or not. I've read some horror stoires about them, but then again some people rave about them.. I'm just worried about screwing a perfectly good truck up, also what abouy my warranty? If I do, I've narrowed it down to a Superchip, or Diablo. What do you guys think?

 

put a diablo and a mac intake on my 03 5.4 3.55 supercab 4x4- what an improvement- last 3 tanks of highway driving has been a solid 19+ mpg- 2800 miles on it- improves overall driveabilty, shifts are crisp and taut and towing is vastly improved-phil

 

How hard was it? Whats envolved using one? I'm totally new to computers and chips so bare with me. What did you have to do to get one for your trusck specifically, from what I read there's a code number that you need from your truck to order one. THANKS!

 

got it from ken payne at www.motorhaven.com
he's the webmaster by the way
got code off passenger door jamb by hinge- 20 minutes to install paid the extra $20 for the switch to flip it back to stock- but have kept on the tuning mode for the increased power, fuel mpg and shifts- -phil

 

unllike hypertech- diablo sport offers part throttle tuning and shift improvements- where 90 % of normal driving is done!

 

Do they change the location of the code that you got off the passenger door, because I don't think I have one there. Sorry, I probably should have done more homework instead of bugging you.

 

thats where mine was on 03- look on drivers door- if not there look on computer vby passenger kick panel-phil

 

Check out the chip forum for additional info. The Webmaster has answered many similar questions there

 

id wait until the micro tuner comes out with u being able to tune it up without putting high octane in it.

 

Yes, they are working on one, but the 87 octane program will not give you any usable horsepower increase. For horsepower you'll need to run a premium fuel tune. Basically, you can't get something for nothing, and that something requires premium.

 

ok ken, then why on a diesel does it work?

 

why? because you are working on 2 different animals!

 

On a gas engine, there is a narrow range of usable air/fuel ratios. Too rich a mixture and your horsepower (and mileage) suffers. Too lean a mixture and you get detonation. Even leaner and you can burn a valve. Additionally, you have spark timing to work with. Advance the timing and you get more power. However, the lower the octane the less you can advance it without engine ping. Too retarded and power suffers dramatically. Up to a certain point, the higher the octane rating the more you can advance timing and lean out the air/fuel ratio, gaining power. The limiting factor is octane. There just isn't much room for leaning out the fuel and advancing time with 87 octane.... the manufacturers program for 87 octane and attempt to get the best power they can from it. This is why they put in knock sensors. They advance the timing slightly in excess of what 87 requires and when ping (knock) is detected the timing is retarded.

With a diesel, air/fuel ratio isn't critical. In simplistic terms, the more fuel you put in the more power you get with additional heat being the by-product. The more air you put in, the lower the temperature. Without going too far off on a tangent, within limits there are things that can be done to increase fuel without raising exhaust temps, by playing around with fuel timing and re-working the fuel-compensation and oil compensation maps in the computer's ROM. Add a chip which adds more fuel to get more power. If you add a lot of power then exhaust temperatures become a factor and the exhaust and intake need to be "opened" up to increase air flow and cool the combustion so the turbo won't melt down.

 

thanks now i understand

 

Check out the article in HotRod magazine. they put the Hypertech programmer on a Bullitt Mustang and got a whopping 7hp. I don't think that 7hp is worth $369.00. Then with a few other mods, it caused detonation on the street and they had to remove it until they got some octane booster.
What a bargain!!
Jimmy