V8 Superchip round1:
Thanks to Jim Heaton for his feedback on the Superchip modification
to his 96 SHO. Here’s the progress to date....
Superchip is now ready for V8 SHO's--
News from a Superchip Modem dealer (Paul Svinicki): We gave a call to Superchips and they said they have just completed the V8 SHO chip. We'll need to know your computer code to see if they have it on file - otherwise we would need to download your computer to them. Either you could bring your car here or you could ship us your computer and we could download it, make the chip, and return it to you; usually within about 24 hours. Give us a call at (517) 764-7661
The chip & Installation--
Here's the info we received from Superchips.
Regarding factory limits - A Superchip will raise the redline, basically 500 RPM higher. The shift points are raised about 300 RPM. The secondary intake comes in 500 RPM sooner as does the Torque. Most of the gains are at the bottom and mid-range. It also removes the hesitation that SuperChips has had so many complaints about.
The computer is located in the firewall behind the intake. It
is at the top. You can read the computer code off it (mine is JJK2).
I used a 500W halogen sitting on the intake to get good visibility.
Next, I removed the 144 (?) pin connector from the front fact of the
computer with an 11 mm socket wrench (you can fit it down in there, handle
to the left, getting maybe 3 clicks per rotation). The face of the
computer is now showing.
The computer is mounted much like a 80's car radio. There's a bezel holding it in place, secured by 2 10 mm nuts on deep threaded shafts. I used a deep socket to remove the bolts, took off the bezel with a little jockeying, and slid out the computer over the intake (just fits through).
The rest was according to any other computer chip add on.
First impressions--
"I honestly can't tell if it has more low end torque or not. One thing that is obvious is the higher shift points. Pat tweaked them for me and it looks like it's shifting out of first around 7100 rpm.
Shifting is certainly faster at high throttle settings. Seems quicker all the time. It makes the car feel a bit less refined. Not objectionable, just a different personality.
Quirks: Top speed governor & rev limiter not removed because Ford hid/encrypted them. Also, the kick down speeds do not seem any higher than stock. When I first drove after the reset, my AC didn't work(!??). After getting the oil changed, I restarted the car and the next time I hit MAX AC it worked, as did Auto. (I went to a quick change oil place because it was raining and I wanted my 0W30 in for in the morning so I had them do it - the guy didn't charge me - liked the SHO engine - so I gave him $10 beer money). Finally, First may be shifting 50 or 100 rpm too high. I can't tell if the pause is just the more abrupt shift, or if the progressive rev limiter is just starting to kick in. The 2-3 upshift could be a few hundred rpms higher for my taste."
What's next--
V8 Superchip round 2: "Talked with Superchips and they claim to have gained an honest 8 hp on the '97 they have in house, + 6 more hp at the wheels with open intake (the two mods don't add linearly). They also have gained more control than they had over the shift program (which helps the '97 a little more than the '96).
I'm going to spend the money to ship it back and get a "free" reprogram.
We're still in the pioneering days of chips for the V8's, YMMV! I'll
be the guinea pig for the chip and it sounds like Tim's going after the
exhaust with a passion. Group effort on the intake R&D seems to be
paying off!"
"The Superchip saga continues... I got version "JJK2NEW" from Pat installed this weekend. The butt dyno feels like it is in fact a bit more powerful with both the factory intake and the poor man mod, but we'll need a dyno run to verify. My 20-50 2nd gear accel tests seem to indicate a little more power (before, 6-7 seconds, after, all 6 seconds) but there were some environmental variations.
I can tell Pat got control over more parameters on the engine &
tranny. But it had a drivability problem at the very beginning of the throttle
movement - there's a loss of power which disappears once you get past that
first 1% of the motion. The RPMs dip and there is a loss of power
- not clear to me whether it is something he's playing with in the torque
converter or just the fuel richness."
Still more to come . . .