Tuner or Performance Chips - Do they work?

I dont think you can even get a programmer or chip for a 95 Ford. I think you have to be 1997 or newer on trucks, possibly some 96 cars.

Had one on the current truck when I bought it ..... In the trash now. Found no difference other than it cancelled the extended warranty that was on the truck.....

Tuners may make a small difference in performance. The larger gains are from intake and exhaust improvements. Also, just about any increase in power comes at the expense of more fuel. A given amount of fuel has a limited amount of power, so more power means more fuel.

Ken

TXiceman wrote:
Tuners may make a small difference in performance. The larger gains are from intake and exhaust improvements. Also, just about any increase in power comes at the expense of more fuel. A given amount of fuel has a limited amount of power, so more power means more fuel.

Ken

I would mostly agree with you with a minor caveat;
A given amount of fuel has a limited amount of power BUT, modern engines are still not very efficient. The fuel they use has a specific amount of energy but less than 25% of the fuels energy is actually used to propel the vehicle. The other 75%+ is wasted making useless heat and emissions.
Tapping into that wasted energy is where mileage gains are to be found and that's where they have come from in that last several decades.

I know that there is a module from JET that fits on the connector to a Ford ECM and tells it lies about what inputs it gets from sensors. Since most of the market for this one is people who want more power at wide open throttle, the lies it tells are meant to encourge the ECM to advance ignition timing and inject more fuel, but there is a limit on this, as what is maximum on the fuel and timing maps will still be the maximum after you tell the ECM the appropriate lies. Thus it is not a reprogramming of the ECM.

Something like this is what most people are talking about when they say they are "chipping" a gas engine. JET module is about $250 for most Fords, from JEGS or Summit Racing, probably some other speed shops as well.

My brother put one on a truck engine, the 4.0 Cologne V-6 in a late 1990s Ranger. He said it gave him a bigger "kick" when he floored it at mid-range RPMs. It cost him about 4-6 MPG in his daily driving, probably because wanting to feel the "kick" changed his driving habits.

Banks sells a PowerPack system for the 460 V-8 of that vintage, claims 85 HP boost, 118 lb-ft peak torque in the motorhome installation. Problem is, most of what makes those gains is external plumbing, and it doesn't fit in the E-series. Gains for a similar system for the F-series 460 V-8 are a bit smaller, but that one doesn't fit the E-series either.

Although you can't get one for your motorhome, a PowerPack for the 460 costs $1500 to 1800 as a kit, depending on which vehicle has to be fit, and you can double that to cover installation, particularly on a motorhome.

The PowerPack does include a reprogrammer for the ECM, so that it can be tuned to match the new exhaust and intake systems. I don't think the Banks reprogrammer sells separately, and if it did, you would have to find someone who knows how to tune it for what it is you actually have.

Performance improvements for the 460 as an off-road engine are certainly possible. While this engine series is not as popular as some generations of the Chevy big block, or Ford's FE series that preceded it, you can get free-flowing heads, intake manifolds for at least two different tunes, several types of exhaust headers, cams custom ground to match your intake and exhaust tuning, high flow carbs or aftermarket EFI. The 460 is not a performance orphan, just not a real popular build.

You can even buy a 575 HP crate engine from Ford Racing (about $10K without fuel, exhaust, ignition or engine management systems) but it won't be street legal, and you will struggle to find the plumbing that fits under the engine cover of an Econoline.

Boy, it looks like I will forego chipping my MH. It sounds like they may be more of a pipe dream, at least in my case, so I will just leave it as it is and take my lead boots off when I drive.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I purchased a flash kit from http://www.5startuning.com/got-a-v10-rv/ about two years ago.

There was no noticeable improvement in fuel economy. I did it to help performance and speed up the shifts.

Yes, the older "chips" didn`t do much. the newer "tuners" do make a difference. I have one from 5star tuning and it made a huge difference in my V-10 X. I got it mainly for the improved shift strategy and power gains, but I did also gain .5mpg towing.

Have always run vehicles bone stock & have always gotten long service lives out of them.

My view is that the R&D people who design engines have far more resourses & much more knowledge than me. They design engines with the best combination for overall durability & performance. Get more performance, the lifespan & durability goes down. Ask anyone who races. The maintenance is constant, & expensive, to keep the performance level high. Durability & reliability goes out the window.

Use better than OEM filters. Perform OEM maintenance. Do not abuse the vehicle & it will last a long long time without major issues.

jfkmk wrote:

mike mck wrote:
Give this a try. If nobody there has an answer you don't need to know it.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum28/

Tried the link but it didn't bring me to any specific forum, so I'm not sure where you stand on the question.
One thing to remember....no tuner can give you displacement, compression or greater flow of fuel mixture. Your vehicle is already programmed to give you the optimal fuel to air ratio. A tuner can do things like change shift points and timing, but it can't change the basics you need to produce more power, at least not on any kind of appreciable level.

It takes you to the 87-96 F150 and larger forum. If you post the question there you will have Ford truck Gearheads from all over the country responding.
As to tuner not being able to give a change to air fuel and already being optimal A/F ratio I would disagree. We Dyno tune our 94 Lightnings 408 stroker all the time. Change it based on time of year, outside temp and altitude.
Optimal? Ford averages the tune to cover a wide range uses.
If all your looking at doing id buying a preprogramed chip off the net well it's a******shoot.