Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
i have a lift heavy bumper and winch and 33s willa super chips tuner help it to have more power and better mileage? or one or the other?
is a superchips worth it
- Thread starter Jeep or Tacoma
- Start date
bob91yj
Resident **************
Agreed...I bought a Superchips for my LJ after regearing it, biggest reason weas for speedo correction, and to reset top speed. Superchips had NO effect on my speedometer, it did work to reset the top speed governor, and I have seen ZERO effect playing with the different performance settings. It does have some settings that would be nice for use on a JK...if they work.
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
I have the Jet "stage II" chip in mine and the engine runs better with it, even shifts better, but not sure how much power I actually picked up over the mods I had already installed. Picked it up almost 2 years ago for $50, so not complaining much. Only downside is you have to run premium with it, but the Jeep sees minimal street miles and we don't really care much about the MPG's due to having 2 other cars that average 30mpg.
iamdanwoody
Observer
I've ran a super chip for a few months now. Mpg is around 17. Power is exactly the same. Overall, I don't think it's worth it. I would go with the bullydog tuner with a monitor. It just seems more useful than just programming and forgetting.
Good point I don't want anyone to think they will be gaining 50% over stock on a gas engine. Turbo diesels are much more limited by emissions rather than engine strength therefore there is much more room for improvement. There is also almost no concern over detonation which is a major limiting factor in both NA and forced induction Gasoline engine tuning.
However Chrysler's tunes are very conservative and there is room for improvement especially in auto trans jeeps where torque management can be removed, custom tuning is a different story than canned superchips tunes. Just for reference I have attached a file with superchips claimed gains. Custom tunes will almost always gain more.
View attachment superchips gains.xls
By comparison many diesels can gain 150-300 HP over stock with just exhaust and tuning changes
That being said I plan on tuning for tire size correction and figure that since I burn premium a hotter tune won't hurt. I don't think you will save any money on fuel as the tunes that actually add power require 93 octane. Plus the cost of the tuner at the best it will be a break even situation after many years.
If you haven't already I think a gear swap will give you the most bang for your buck.
you will notice a greater difference in both power and economy.
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Scott Brady
Founder
We used a Hypertech on the 3.8L V6 and found a noticeable improvement, especially on long grades. The calc we loaded was the 91 octane program, so the small improvement in performance certainly comes at a cost- we felt the cost was worth it.
Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
superchips hyperchip and gearing
Gearing is a someday dream that will happen. I am confused though isn't superchips a tuner with pre-canned as well as custom settings? Is hyper chip a custom tuner? what a bout bully dog? Which is best most reliable and easiest to use?
Gearing is a someday dream that will happen. I am confused though isn't superchips a tuner with pre-canned as well as custom settings? Is hyper chip a custom tuner? what a bout bully dog? Which is best most reliable and easiest to use?
I feel you on the gears they can get very expensive epically if you do lockers at the same time. (which is smart so you only pay for install once).
Superchips is very easy to use, and allows for some custom settings. But are still basically "canned" one size fits all tunes with options. They are great if you never plan on modifying past intake and exhaust. Bully Dog and Hypertech provide a similar product with a slightly different interface.
Custom tunes are written by a tuner for your setup using software from companies such as SCT, Diablo, EFI live, ETC. Custom tuning can go from a upgraded tune on a stock engine all the way to tunes for a supercharged stroker motor. Custom tuning is most effective on a dyno or with datalogs but most tuners have a few tunes they know will work well on a basically stock vehicle without the need for dyno time or datalogging. This option will allow tuning to grow with an engine build as mods are added.
Superchips is very easy to use, and allows for some custom settings. But are still basically "canned" one size fits all tunes with options. They are great if you never plan on modifying past intake and exhaust. Bully Dog and Hypertech provide a similar product with a slightly different interface.
Custom tunes are written by a tuner for your setup using software from companies such as SCT, Diablo, EFI live, ETC. Custom tuning can go from a upgraded tune on a stock engine all the way to tunes for a supercharged stroker motor. Custom tuning is most effective on a dyno or with datalogs but most tuners have a few tunes they know will work well on a basically stock vehicle without the need for dyno time or datalogging. This option will allow tuning to grow with an engine build as mods are added.
I do not but I can tell you it is most likely not worth it for the 87 tune.
reece146
Automotive Artist
Figured as much but was hopeful since ChryCo doesn't tend to get the most out of their stock tunes. That plus running 91 in such a low compression engine and getting gains implies it's a tune thing and not really taking advantage of the compression ratio per se. <shrug />