Ive been reading on other Ford Forums that the microtuner doesnt make your truck race ready, but it certainly wakes it up a bit. People are saying that it make the pedal more responsive and rids it of the lag that these new 5.4's have. People are saying that the shifts are firmer and feel alot better under hard acceleration. This is even on the 87 octane program. From what I have read so far, the Micro tuner sounds like a winner.

 

No. Addition of an aftermarket part does not void the warranty. However, Ford does not cover damage they determine is caused by any aftermarket part, whether that is an oil filter, a mass air flow sensor, blah, blah...

You don't have to worry about burning up your computer... that's bunk.

 

superchips said, acting like a kid with one of these programmers like racing at every red light ect. that you could burn it up.

 

Superchips did not say that --- you must have misunderstood them. No matter how you drive it will not burn up the computer. Driving habits may effect the drivetrain but under no circumstance can it cause the computer to burn up (unless you drove into a brick wall and the truck exploded!).

If you doubt me, I can invite Vic, the programmer from Superchips who participates in the 6.0 section of this site, to post here about it.

Then again... what do I know? I've only programmed thousands of chips, shipped thousands of tuners, hacked hardware and programmed software professionally since the 1980s.

 

yeah i use to program chips too

 

No offense intended to anyone here, but you should be aware that the addition of performance enhancements CAN void your warranty. Just read the 6.0L Diesel horror stories, or refer to page 2 of your owner's manual.

One guy installed a Bully Dog unit on his 6.0L and destroyed his engine and transmission. Ford replaced them under warranty the first time because he removed the unit before bringing the truck in. After the repair he reinstalled the Bully Dog unit and destroyed the engine again, at which point Ford got wise and gave him a quote for $12,000 for another replacement engine. They also voided his powertrain warranty, so he's on his own if his axle or transmission fail sometime down the road.

The Magnussen-Moss act (that the aftermarket companies quote) allows you to use non-Ford parts like oil filters and other "equivalent" parts, but does not protect you if you install "non-equivalent" parts like power chips. Ford is really cracking down on this, and they are even able to determine if you have used them by looking at the data in the computer. (Disconnecting the battery doesn't clear all of the data from the computer. There are "keep-alive" memory blocks that retain information about overboost and other fuel information)

Bottom line is: Play if you want, but be prepared to pay if damage results.

Dave

 

Yes.... read the owner's manual. Its worded in such a way that it attempts to discourage use of chips, but it does not say they void the warranty. Its worded very carefully to imply that, but complies with the legal requirements.

As I said, Ford cannot void the the warranty for installing a part. They can refuse to repair something caused by the part. There's a difference, and from a legal standpoint its significant. The bottom line remains the same, you play you pay but that does not mean your warranty is voided. For instance, you install a tuner and problem not caused by the tuner shows up.... Ford would be obligated to repair it under warranty.

Also, the naturally aspirated engine doesn't have boost...

 

Sorry for the confusion about boost. I was referring to the 6.0L Diesels, which do of course have boost. With power chips, the turbo goes over its rated speed and disintegrates. If anything is going to give a diesel a death sentence, pieces of broken turbo impeller will!

With the gasoline engines, I would worry more about preignition. Unlike "spark knock" you can't always hear preignition, but the damage to the engine is costly.
(http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/detonation/detonation.html)

Also, the 4R70 transmission is notoriously sensitive to shift recalibration, so I would worry about its longevity with the firmer shifts that the power chips advertise.

Finally, if the power chips defeat the speed limit (99 MPH of 2004 F150's) you run the risk of catastrophic failure of the driveshaft. That can really ruin your day if it punctures the fuel tank or catapaults the vehicle into the air at 100+ MPH.

 

I agree with "you play you pay". I grew up in the muscle car era. I mean upgrade "everything" from blowers to exhaust. Boy did we have fun, sure things now and then blew up but what a ball taking the roadrunner or the goat up to the drags for amateur night.
You might be right about drive line failure but lets face it, if your stupid enough to run the heavy shoe box over 120 for any length of time you got a damn death wish anyway!
We have a a-6 turbo and in my garage I have a 03 Audi rs6. You want to go fast and feel safe take that rs6 for a spin.....I just want to get a little more "snap" out of my 5.4. I am not going to take it to the drags and beat on it. If under 400 dollars gives me better throttle response and the "snap" I am looking for than the hell with the engine warranty...Just mt 2 cents. Also to help in towing the Audi to Lime Rock a few times a year.

 

Give me a break, a speed rated drive shaft? Where does one come up with
such nonsense?
JE

 

I've never gone onto Ford dealership lots and told customers about the problems the 6.0L diesel has had such as failed injectors, the still unresolved vibration problems of some 2004 F-150s, the door skin cracks on the 1997-2003 F-150, etc. This web site encourages, not discourages, the sale of Ford products and based on information from user surveys, forum studies and click tracking, the site results in the sale of tens of millions of dollars of trucks each year. Discouraging the use of aftermarket products discourages the sale of the vehicles. GM learned this lesson a long time ago and they "get it." Let's be up front with agendas when using scare tactics, especially when worst case sceneros that don't live up to the reality of the vast majority of people using aftermarket performance products, okay?

 

I dont know if these super chips you all are talking about are like the one I put in my chevy, but I believe all gas engines have to run on 93 octane all the time. You might want to rethink it. Down here in San Antonio thats about 25 cents more a gallon everytime you fill up. I know the diesels dont have to worry about it. Let me know if you know of anything different on the 5150's

 

No, it's not a chip it's a programer. No, you don't have to use 93 octane.
Because it's not a chip ihe PCM still uses all it's sensors (not tricked by a chip) and adapts accordingly. A chip can't even be used on the '04 because it doesn't have a port to plug into.
JE

 

ken,

Let me ask this... Is the manufacturer of the superchip willing to stand by any of us that blow an enginer or tranny and run into flack with the dealer or are we "on our own"

 

$400 seems like a lot of money for just 20hp gain. I thought intakes would give that type of gain for only $200. Also can you use this chip combined with the turbochargers/superchargers that will come out later? Or is it just best bet to go with the chargers and not the chip?