Superchip speed limiter question

[Jornum1]

I ordered my chip monday from smartyparts, it should be here today or the beginning of next week. I heard that the chip doesnt remove the speed limiter, but moves it to a speed our trucks will never reach. Maybe troll someday It also moves the rev limiter to about 6500 rpm also. Now I have a sohc with a auto tranny. My question is what if I floor it and see how fast I can go, what will happen? I am assuming the rev limiter will slow me down when I reach 6500 rpm in 5th right? I just want to make sure of this before I go and screw up my engine. I ask this because I know a few people have asked how fast our explorers can go with the superchip. I want to try it, I know a perfect spot to test it. Will I be safe going full throttle till it cuts off?

 

[Ru Dawg]

chip driving!

you may want to take it easy the first few time ya floor it. the first time i floored mine with the superchip in it hesitated to go from 1st to 2nd longer than it should, but i have the 4.0L. Also remember to use 93 octane for optimal performance from the chip. I put mine in with half a tank of 87 left, when I filled with 93 after that, WOW! what a difference. Also, if you hit 6500 in 5th, you are going to be going VERY fast. I haven't had a chance to go wide open yet, but I don't think you'll have any probs, just go by instinct, the engine will let you know if it doesn't like what you're doing to it!

 

[Jornum1]

Well I figured I wouldnt just do this right when I put it in. I will drive it around for a day or two before I try. I have no idea how fast my truck will go. I suppose a little faster then stock with the mods I have. I guess I will see. Good thing I dont have my firestones anymore. I would never try this with them. Has anyone tried to see how fast their truck with go. I know mine cuts off at 95 now. My 1995 sport went to 105 then cut off. Anyone want to take some guesses at how fast my truck will go?

[Edited by Jornum1 on 08-25-2000 at 06:42 AM]

 

[Ru Dawg]

the highest i've had mine is about 100mph, but she had quite a bit to go, just ran outa' road! I would guess you could get up to around 120-130. Is your's a V6 or 8? I'm thinking a V8 could get to 130, not sure though. But, please let us know what ya get to!

 

[Jornum1]

mine is a v6 sohc, you can see my mods below in my signiture. I am trying to remember what my tach was at when I go it up to 95, and I hit the speed limiter. I know I still had a good about of room to go also without the chip.

 

[Ru Dawg]

tach

ok well, i'm pretty sure when i was at 100 my tach was somewher under 4k or maybe at or just over 4k. I think you will reach full speed before you hit 6500rpm.

BTW..do ya have any pics of your ride? Sounds like it's pretty nice!

 

[Jornum1]

yes i have pics in the before and after forum. They arent that great. I am working on new ones but I want to do some more stuff before I take more pics. Probably within the next month, I will have my bumpers painted along with my fender flares. It will be color matched to the trucks body color. I am ordering the front air dam from explorer express today probably that will be red also, as well as a real spoiler that will be color matched too. I have a lund windjammer which is pretty cool, but looks kinda cheesy. I want to get my truck to look really clean and show quality.....eventually. Here is a pic of my truck

I am not too fond of how the pic came out. I will take some more soon

 

[Tom Wilk]

Jornum, great looking truck!

I have the Superchips chip on my 99 Sport. I have no idea what it will top out at, but as far as shift points, it seems to shift at about 5800 RPM when you punch it in drive. I don't think that's much different from stock. I think that that is a good point, as you start running out of breath above that.

You'll notice some improvement in part throttle driving with the chip. I have 32" tires on mine, compared to the original diameter of 30" so I lost a little low end acceleration. But the chip pretty much restored that low end. It pulls up moderate hills without downshifting, which I like.

Out of curiosity, what is the diameter of your tires? If they are a little smaller than stock, that'll help your acceleration, but your speedometer will read a bit high.

 

[mike91]

Do the later model explorers have speedometers that go past 85mph? If not, how are you guys able to tell how fast you're actually going. My 91 goes up to 85mph only, but as far as the speedometer goes, I got the truck up to the "D" for overdrive. I think that was good enough for high 95+ or even a 100.... I slowed down then b/c I didn't trust my Firestones - there not rated for high speeds. Anyhow, my goal in life is to do a full revolution on the speedometer someday {joking}.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Jornum1
I ordered my chip monday from smartyparts, it should be here today or the beginning of next week. I heard that the chip doesnt remove the speed limiter, but moves it to a speed our trucks will never reach. Maybe troll someday It also moves the rev limiter to about 6500 rpm also. Now I have a sohc with a auto tranny. My question is what if I floor it and see how fast I can go, what will happen? I am assuming the rev limiter will slow me down when I reach 6500 rpm in 5th right? I just want to make sure of this before I go and screw up my engine. I ask this because I know a few people have asked how fast our explorers can go with the superchip. I want to try it, I know a perfect spot to test it. Will I be safe going full throttle till it cuts off?

If you get your Explorer up to 6500 RPM in 5th gear you will be going 202.8 MPH (using 255 70R16 tires). Even 4th gear would get you 141.96 MPH. You will either hit your speed limiter or be limited by aerodynamics well before then! According to SuperChips web-site, if you request, they will remove or raise your speed limiter if they can find it. If you didn't request it, they probably didn't do it. I took my '97 out and floored it right after I put it in. It was more than obvious that there was an improvement in acceleration and shifting. If you are going for top speed tests, you may want to try with and without OD on. I got a higher top speed out of my '82 Toyota pickup in 5th than I did in 4th. It was drag limited though.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Jornum1
Well I figured I wouldnt just do this right when I put it in. I will drive it around for a day or two before I try. I have no idea how fast my truck will go. I suppose a little faster then stock with the mods I have. I guess I will see. Good thing I dont have my firestones anymore. I would never try this with them. Has anyone tried to see how fast their truck with go. I know mine cuts off at 95 now. My 1995 sport went to 105 then cut off. Anyone want to take some guesses at how fast my truck will go?

[Edited by Jornum1 on 08-25-2000 at 06:42 AM]

Are you sure yours cuts out at 95 now? The road tests from '97-'98 all put it in the 105 MPH -107 MPH range. I have no idea how fast my '97 SOHC will go since it is very light feeling above 80. In my high school days I would have tried it. Now, there is more to loose than just my life.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Jornum1
mine is a v6 sohc, you can see my mods below in my signiture. I am trying to remember what my tach was at when I go it up to 95, and I hit the speed limiter. I know I still had a good about of room to go also without the chip.

Using your tire size and 4.10 axle ratio multiply your RPM in question by 0.0291096 to get your speed in 5th gear, multiply it by 0.02037672 to get your speed in 4th gear. This assumes you have a 4.10 axle and the 5th gear ratio is .7:1. If you have a different axle ratio, multiply your end speed result by 4.10, then divide it by your actual ratio. At 95 MPH you should have been about 3264 RPM in 5th with 4.10 gears, 2969 RPM with 3.73, & 2826 RPM with 3.55 axle.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Tom Wilk
Jornum, great looking truck!

I have the Superchips chip on my 99 Sport. I have no idea what it will top out at, but as far as shift points, it seems to shift at about 5800 RPM when you punch it in drive. I don't think that's much different from stock. I think that that is a good point, as you start running out of breath above that.

You'll notice some improvement in part throttle driving with the chip. I have 32" tires on mine, compared to the original diameter of 30" so I lost a little low end acceleration. But the chip pretty much restored that low end. It pulls up moderate hills without downshifting, which I like.

Out of curiosity, what is the diameter of your tires? If they are a little smaller than stock, that'll help your acceleration, but your speedometer will read a bit high.

I wonder what SuperChips did differently from your '99 SOHC to my '97 SOHC. Mine shifts at 6500 RPM now with the SuperChip. It definately doesn't run out of breath above 6000 RPM. It even gives a very hard lurch when it shifts. First gear winds out to about 60 MPH now. It only stays in 2nd very briefly, up to about 70 MPH then shifts to 3rd. I haven't held the throttle down long enough to get 3rd up to 6500 but I'm guessing it is probably around 95 MPH. Without the chip, mine shifted at 6000 RPM and when I took it to the track to time it, I was usually just shifting into 3rd after I crossed the finish at around 85 MPH. I do like the instant downshifts to the right gear now rather than waiting for the transmission to shift through each gear until it got to the correct one. The SuperChip also made up for my larger tire size as well and then some. I'll find out how much in a couple of months.

 

[Jornum1]

hmm lots of questions to answer here... Yes my tire diameter is a little smaller then stock, maybe a inch, inch and a half. I paced my friend, and it seemed that my speedemoter is off by about 3-5 MPH. Not too big of a deal. And yes my truck tops off at 95 MPH, and that was before the wheel and tire change. It seems like it has alot more to go if it could. I thought when I spoke to chris from smarty parts he said that the limiter was moved, but I could be wrong. I hope it is. If not when I get my headers, and some other mods. I might get it custom programed and will get it taken out. That far down the road though. My speedometer goes up to 120, so I could always shoot for that My truck shifs at 6000 too and its a '99? that is strange that yours would shift lower. And like Robert said, mine also seemed like it still had alot of power when my speed limiter hit.
Hope I answered all the questions I could. I will let everyone know what happens when I get it in.
Hey Tom,
Any problems installing the chip? I hear you have to shave off some part to get it to fit. Any tips to save me some hassle? thanks guys I will keep you all posted

 

[Tekeman]

How about some people with chips and a V8. I just put mine in on Monday. My mashed throttle in D used to get to 5000 rpm if I was lucky. Now I hit 5300 or a hair higher. Are the shift points that different from 5.0 4 speed and 4.0 5 speed?

 

[Tom Wilk]

Robert, do you have the 4 speed auto or the 5 speed? I have the 5 speed, and the ratios between 1,2,and 3rd are pretty close, so even when it shifts, it is still well up into the power curve. Maybe that's why they chose to keep them where they were. Or, maybe my tach is off a bit. I haven't held it in any gear and revved it all the way up, so I guess I shouldn't comment on it running out of steam at higher RPM's. BTW, does your tach read past 6K? Mine only goes to 6000 and does not have a redline on it.

I agree with you that those downshifts are great. It will get to the right gear if you need it whereas before the chip, it seemed to not want to kick down to the necessary ratio. I ran into some trouble with a 4.3L Chevy Astro. Couldn't shake him until it hit about 3500 RPM then he was history. That was before the chip.

Incidentally, I had removed the chip for a couple of months when gas prices approached $2 per gallon. Just didn't want to pay for the premium fuel. The difference in power became more apparent when I reinstalled the chip.

Jornum, the chip is pretty easy to install. The instructions are pretty explicit as far as cleaning off the contact surface before plugging the chip in. The only problem I had was that after installation, the computer wouldn't slide back into the firewall all the way. I used some duct seal to fill in the gap between the computer cover and the firewall. Others have used some type of styrofoam for a 1/4" spacer. Duct seal is kind of sloppy.

The chip gave me enough oomph to get some 4wd wheelspin on a quick left turn the other day. Kind of surprised me to hear (and feel) that.

Tekeman, the shift points are chosen to match the engine's power curve. The SOHC engine is a revver, it produces its power at a higher RPM than does either the OHV V-6 or the V-8. Even in my Mustang, going to 6 grand was futile, I found that shifting at about 5500 gave me my best acceleration in that car.

 

[tac0meat]

hey mike91, i know what you mean about the speedometer only going up to 85 imagine getting pulled over and the cop asking "son, do you know how fast you were going?" and you saying "no sir the speedometer only goes up tho 85"

BTW- i was reading somewhere about a GPS spedometerso you can get accurate speeds even with different tire sizes

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Tom Wilk
Robert, do you have the 4 speed auto or the 5 speed? I have the 5 speed, and the ratios between 1,2,and 3rd are pretty close, so even when it shifts, it is still well up into the power curve. Maybe that's why they chose to keep them where they were. Or, maybe my tach is off a bit. I haven't held it in any gear and revved it all the way up, so I guess I shouldn't comment on it running out of steam at higher RPM's. BTW, does your tach read past 6K? Mine only goes to 6000 and does not have a redline on it.

I agree with you that those downshifts are great. It will get to the right gear if you need it whereas before the chip, it seemed to not want to kick down to the necessary ratio. I ran into some trouble with a 4.3L Chevy Astro. Couldn't shake him until it hit about 3500 RPM then he was history. That was before the chip ...

'97 SOHC V6, 5-speed automatic. The close ratios between 1,2 & 3 are what I like about the 5-speed auto. The reason they are so close is because it has the same ratios as the 4-speed auto, only it uses the OD gear on 1st to create a gear between what was 1st and 2nd. The engine certainly keeps pulling strongly above 6000. The 6500 on mine is an estimate since my tach. looks the same as yours. The needle now goes to what I would estimate would be 6500 if it were marked. I haven't hooked my scanner up to see exactly where it shifts now. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Before the SuperChip, it would shift as soon as the needle hit 6000, now the needle goes about 1/2" past. There is a TSB where Ford discusses the shifting of the 5-speed automatic. Basically it states that the 5-speed automatic will shift through each gear whether up or down, rather than skip a gear or two when under hard acceleration. Basically it justifies the cappy shift program. I'm not surprised about the Astro though. I had a '95 Astro with the 190 HP Vortec V6 in it when I lived in Ohio. I was coming up I 77 from Akron, towards Cleveland when this lady in a Lexus didn't like the idea of me using the left lane to pass a long line of semis (nevermind the fact that I had 6 or 7 cars in front of me). Anyways, as soon as we cleared the semis, she started to go into the right lane to go around me when the car in front of me went right at the same time. She had to slam on her brakes and fell back in behind me. When it was safe for me to move back into the right lane I did. She went flying by me in the left lane giving me the one-finger solute. I let my anger get the better of me and moved back into the left lane and put the pedal down. I stayed on her back bumper until I looked down and noticed my speedometer was past the 100. I would love to have known what she was thinking when all she could see in her rear view mirror was the grill of my Black Astro at 100 MPH. The reason you shook the Astro was because at 3000 RPM your SOHC's Variable Intate System (VIS) opens up which basically doubles the amount of air going through the intake manifold. It is the valve, with the 3"-4" metal rod on top of your manifold towards the front. Once you hit 3000 RPM, the valve opens up another port which lets air through both sides. It almost feels like a turbo charger kicks in when it opens. If you pay attention when you floor it, you'll feel it open.

 

[Tom Wilk]

Robert, yeah you do feel that thing open up. I was always under the impression that it was just getting into the power curve, but I've never really looked at the intake until today. It is quite a kick, and it does dust some vehicles when it opens up. It seems a bit more gradual when you start from a dead stop, but when you punch it up while under way, it is phenominal (sp?).

I wasn't sure if the 5 speed was out for your year. I'm aware of the use of the OD gear for the ratio between 1st and 2nd. I'm pretty happy with it myself. I'm even more happy with it now that I have the chip. It will kick down to the appropriate gear when you open the throttle and it scoots.

As far as tach readings, I've never seen it go over 6 grand. It just runs up short, which is why I figured 5800 RPM. I understand that the tolerance on these tachs isn't really precise so there could be some difference between what they read and what the actual RPM is. I know that the speedometer on mine isn't all that accurate. When I changed tires, the speedo became correct (as measured against Ryan Penner's GPS) while the odometer bacame about 5% slow as was expected. The speedo had previously been reading high. Cheap gauges, I guess.

 

[Troll]

Top Speed

I have taken my Explorer up to around 150 but I am not sure because the only way I used to figure that out was by using a calculator (RPM ,gear ratio, tire size). My friend has a GPS that tells top speed so I am going to borrow it and go for a all out run soon. I will write back and tell you how fast an explorer can go soon.