Apten Chip ???

[OL Crony]

i've been in email contact with brian at apten. this will be my first modification. he recommends that i go with the chip that has the 91 performance program and the stock 87.

i have read on this board that using 91 octane will damage my engine over time. will installing the 91 performance chip enable me to safely use 91 octane?

i've also seen mention of an 87 performance program, but brian says that there won't be much of a gain with that program in my year vehicle. does anyone have the 87 performance program installed? if so, what can you say about it?

i've also read on this board that there was a bulk purchase going on. is that still going on - or did i miss the boat?

any other input is greatly appreciated.

az

 

[Hartman]

You can run 91 octane in your truck with the apten chip with no ill effects. Running 91 in a stock truck with a stock computer is not recommended because it'll cause pinging and knocking that is not good for the engine if it happens over a long period of time.

You might consider getting Brian's flip chip which allows you to switch from 87 to 93 octane. IMO this is ideal for an SUV because you can save your wallet when the prices go up.

 

[Alec]

I would just go with a premium gas program.

 

[alphabets13]

i should be receiving my chip soon ad i got the 91+ octane performance chip with no stock option. i like running a higfher gas period juct because there are less contaminents and so forth in a higher grade gas. the only time i have ever heard of people getting pinging or knocking noises is when they used cheaper gas or if they got bad gas. i'll keep you updated once i get mine.

 

[Rhett]

does anyone have the 87 performance program installed? if so, what can you say about it?

-----

Yes, I do. Actually I have the flip chip with 87 perf and 93 perf programs. I have mostly run with 93 octane, and it makes quite a difference. Of course you must remember--for me, this chip is the last of what I would call "common power mods" like TB, MAF, exhaust...for you it is the first mod...

The 87 octane program I only ran for about 1 hour after I installed the chip (burning off the 87 I had in the tank) and I did notice a performance improvement with the 87 perf program. It pinged though. It doesn't ping stock (if finally cured that with seafoam and other things). It hasn't pinged at all with the 93 octane performance program. I'm going to do some things to the air intake just in case I'm getting some unmetered air (clean MAF sensor for one, re-seal some things with silicone possibly) and run 87 performance for about 2 tankfuls and see if I can fix that pinging. I would recommend you get 87 fuel economy program, and 93 peformance program. I can tell already that I will be running the 93 program most of the time.

 

[Apten]

the newer explorers (94-up) get some performance gains from an 87 octane performace program. It's not huge, but we can get by with a little more timing advance than ford puts in at the factory.

The pre-94 explorers already had optimized timing for 87, so that's why I suggested you wouldn't see any gains from a 87 octane performance program on a 92 explorer.

The other reason people like the 87 octane performance program is because you can run 87 and still get better shifts and stuff. Since most of the shift stuff doesn't apply to the EEC-IV explorers, you wouldn't get a lot of bang for the buck on a two program chip.

Not that I don't want to sell chips, but I'd rather you get the best deal for your money

Brian

 

[OL Crony]

THANKS!

for all of your input. this is a good sounding board for rookies such as myself.

brian, i'll be in touch with you soon regarding whichever chip you suggest.

az

 

[exteo]

Is it posilbe to get a chip programed for stock, 87 fuel econ. /w imporved shifts and 91 perf?

 

[huskyfan23]

Yes, that would be a dual program chip.

 

[exteo]

I know it is a dual chip but is it possible to get the chip programmed for 87 fuel econm. w/ imporved shifts not the 87 peform

 

[huskyfan23]

Premium is 92 .. And I think improved shifts don't depend on the octane rating.. You should ask Brian from Apten, he posts here often in other threads relating his chips. If this is for your '92 X, since the tranny isn't electric, you won't notice a difference in shifts, at least I didn't.

 

[exteo]

Thanks man

 

[Robb]

Being that your tranny is mechanically controlled, you shouldn't see much improvement (if any) in shifting. The improvement in engine performance will help in the shifting slightly, but nothing with the tranny itself will change.

 

[exteo]

So to improve shifts I have no coice other than a valve body shift kit is there any other ways you could improve the shifts in a A4LD

 

[exteo]

And maybe the life?

 

[Rhett]

shift kit

A shift kit is the only way to really change the way an A4LD shifts. Chip won't do it because the A4LD is mechanically controlled. The only tranny-related thing a chip can do on an A4LD is something with the torque converter; you'll have to search here or ask brian about that because I'm not sure what it is exactly.

 

[exteo]

That's right it locks up the torque converter. Cool. But I don't think the Apten chip even does that???

 

[Apten]

I typically change the converter lock schedule and the spark reduction during shifts. That's why some people report that they feel some shift changes with the apten chip installed. For the most part, there's really no dramatic change though.

Brian

 

[Chew_12]

I got my apten chip not too long ago and I noticed the shift points moved about 200 - 500....I noticed it used to shift at 4200 when gunning it, now it shifts at 4700.

 

[hsinc]

Have a 99 V8 AWD. If I was interested in maximum commuting fuel economy, would I be better off with the 87 economy or 87 performance. Maybe a dual chip with a second setting for performance, 91 or 93.

Harold