Power chips

Four year old thread revitalized then link removed

I've found a site with reviewing performance chips and helped me to make the right decision. I have the Stage 1 Chip for Mi MH and I see more power and better mileage.
here it's a link where you can see the reviews: ***Link Removed***

When I had Brazel's do my Ford V10...
First, we talked on the phone about what I had, how it performed, and what I'd like him to change.
Then he sent me the programmer, with instructions to hook it up, upload my current tune, and another thing or two. My understanding is the unit is "married" to one particular Ford ECM.
And then I sent the tuner back to him.
Got it back in a week, with a trial tune on it.
I flashed my ECM and drove for a while.
Called Jon, told him this and that are good, this and this other thing needs a little more tweaking, he emailed me a new tune. 3 times before I was happy.

When done, that was the best running 99 pace arrow on the continent.
I traded it in with the ultrapower tuner connected and sitting on the dash, and I'm sure whoever bought it from lazydays was very happy with it.

It was not under warrantee at any time during my ownership, not sure who brought up warrantee, it was neither me nor the OP.

and again, we're not talking about making it breath fire here or anything. Overall smoothness, throttle response, and especially getting the transmission shifting under control, that was the biggest difference.
Accellerating, pedal to the metal, down an onramp, there was no difference at all.

Cruising down a highway, up and down mild hills, huge difference.

FrontRangeRVer wrote:
lots of misinformation here! There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of us that have installed the Ultrapower ECM tune in our 8.1 liter GM engines in our Workhorse motorhomes. I was skeptical at first, and now have it. There has been alot of thought put into this tune, and I still haven't heard of any engines "blowing up" as someone else stated regarding the ECM tune.

It's not as if your Workhorse chassis is anywhere under warrantee anyway! This is a proven tune, and you should notice staying in gear longer, but not any MPG gain. Your engine is tuned (ECM), and not your transmission (PCM).

You are right, a lot of misunderstanding by people that have never had their ECM reprogrammed.
I don't know whether or not it is standard procedure but according to Jon Brazel, if you send it in, along with the ECM, they will flash your Allison TCM for FREE to lower the engage point of the overdrive and to have the transmission hold the higher gears longer while in a climb. Great personal service from a company that provides all types of service for RV's, gas and diesel engines, which they will also reprogram.

I worked for a boat manufacture and been to engine suppliers and they program the engines within the SAFE Margins. Is there room for them to push the power up more YES, however they chose to stay more to the Lower end of the safe margin. It is a HP power game between GM, Ford and Dodge, that is why one year they say blank engine has 352hp and in a couple model years its now 365, they just raised their SAFE zone, when nothing else on the engine has changed. However you do not know how much of a safe zone you have to play with. If your out of warranty then add the chip, however if your under warranty I would not recommend doing this just in case something happens and you end up paying for the repair, cause it may not be the reprogram fault but another sensor goes out and causes the failure. Why take the chance unless you have deep pockets.

One of the interesting things is that the engine in my RV comes in a MARINE model with much higher horsepower.. What is the difference? Well there are two

1 The control computer is "hotter" and 2: The radiator is many hundreds of times larger (Being the lake or river the boat is floating on).

Another is folks talk about stuff used on race cars... Which are tore down and rebulit after, at the most, 501 miles.

lots of misinformation here! There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of us that have installed the Ultrapower ECM tune in our 8.1 liter GM engines in our Workhorse motorhomes. I was skeptical at first, and now have it. There has been alot of thought put into this tune, and I still haven't heard of any engines "blowing up" as someone else stated regarding the ECM tune.

It's not as if your Workhorse chassis is anywhere under warrantee anyway! This is a proven tune, and you should notice staying in gear longer, but not any MPG gain. Your engine is tuned (ECM), and not your transmission (PCM).

JimM68 wrote:

et2 wrote:
Just can't help thinking if the manufacture wanted you to get max power out of your engines they would make them to operate at the higher edge of the engines capacity. They are set the way they are for a reason.

For someone to tell you to do this or that it'll be ok, then ask yourself if they"ll be their when you start to have engine problems with a open wallet to help pay your repair bills.

There have been hotrodders in this world since the day the first vehicle was moved by an engine.

And there have always been some whose comfort zone is always "within the rules"

As a longtime hotrodder with direct experience with the OP's question, your answer of "if they wanted it to run better, "They" would have made it so" is just an expression of your comfort zone. You are welcome to it, enjoy, no hard feelings for sure. But you did not address the OP's question.

YES, there is more. There is always more.

FYI, I own a built by me 68 Camaro... Aftermarket everything... 550 horsepower, 12 second quarter mile's, AND 21 mpg.
Note the original ran the quarter in 16 seconds, and got 12 mpg....

There is always more.

And plenty of hotrodders who've blown a engine or two, or trashed a tranny or rear end. Most people hotrodding aren't under a manufactures warranty and if they are, they don't care as they planned to tear the engine apart to begin with. Taking a stock engine and doing something it wasn't programmed to do from the manufacture because you need to be the first to the top of the hill by adding tuners or chips, and still expect the manufacture to stand behind it after thenresulting damage is ludicrous.

Would you like to buy the MH off a dealers lot where the previous owner added a chip or tuner and ditched the MH due to the damage they did to it? That is exactly why a lot of people buy new. If you have to add a chip or tuner you've probably made the wrong choice and failed to do your research ahead of time, or you don't care.

Executive wrote:
BIFF ! $%$%^$...BAM ! $^$#$^#...BOP ! #%%$^$%.....gotta love it....:W....Dennis

we need a like button!

et2 wrote:
Just can't help thinking if the manufacture wanted you to get max power out of your engines they would make them to operate at the higher edge of the engines capacity. They are set the way they are for a reason.

For someone to tell you to do this or that it'll be ok, then ask yourself if they"ll be their when you start to have engine problems with a open wallet to help pay your repair bills.

There have been hotrodders in this world since the day the first vehicle was moved by an engine.

And there have always been some whose comfort zone is always "within the rules"

As a longtime hotrodder with direct experience with the OP's question, your answer of "if they wanted it to run better, "They" would have made it so" is just an expression of your comfort zone. You are welcome to it, enjoy, no hard feelings for sure. But you did not address the OP's question.

YES, there is more. There is always more.

FYI, I own a built by me 68 Camaro... Aftermarket everything... 550 horsepower, 12 second quarter mile's, AND 21 mpg.
Note the original ran the quarter in 16 seconds, and got 12 mpg....

There is always more.