good chips and programmers?

fordboi415 · Oct 27, 2008

i want to add some power to my 2001 3.0 ranger with manual trans now there is quite a market for electronic power adders such as chips or modules and programmers. which one is the best bang for buck that wont hurt my engine at all and wont leave an electronic footprint not really concerned about the footprint as much as i am it doing damage to my engine and computer oh and there is exactly 79,845 miles on her

Wicked_Sludge · Oct 28, 2008

no real chip or programmer is going to hurt your engine. just stay away from those $20 e-bay "modules".

i would go with a programmer, as it gives you a lot more options and settings. worth the extra $$ for the initial investment, but could potentially pay for itself if you spend a lot of time in "economy" mode.

JohnnyO · Oct 28, 2008

I suppose they make one for the 3.0 too, I don't know for sure, but people on the Sport Trac board LOVE the XCal2 programmer for the 4.0 SOHC.

MUDDING B-3000 · Oct 28, 2008

i was goin to get one but i heard to get the best power an torque gains you have to run like 91 94 octane an at these gas prices thats alot so i didnt get it an i like the amount of power my 3L has with only a cold air intake an magnaflow exhaust

Wicked_Sludge · Oct 28, 2008

a chip might force you to run a higher octane rating (though they can be flashed with 87 octane tunes, but your power and mileage increases will be smaller and less noticeable.). a programmer will have several different tunes for several different octane ratings...allowing you to run 87 one week, and 98 the next, and get the most out of either.

keep in mind that running higher octane fuel is not always a bad thing. the cost at the pump is higher, but if your engine is tuned to take advantage of the higher octane (a stock vehicle will NOT, thats why running anything higher than 87 in a stock rig is a monumental waste of money), you can actually get considerably better mileage with the higher octane fuel.

my '93 has a distributor, so i can advance the timing without a chip. i started filling up with 98 octane and advanced my timing as far as i could without detonating. i ended up at about 25 degrees base. i did the math at the time (this was over the summer when gas was over $4 a gallon), and in order to break even, my 98 octane fuel only needed to provide something like a 1.5 MPG improvement. i ended up with 2-2.5 MPG improvement, meaning its actually cheaper for me to run high octane fuel.

fordboi415 · Oct 29, 2008

oh wow thats tight if i install a chip and a programmer are shops not going to work on my truck if they see that footprint?

Wicked_Sludge · Oct 29, 2008

most repair shops wont care one way or the other. even most ford dealers dont give a crap. if your really worried about it, you could stop by and ask them if they give a hoot.

FYI, theres not a tuner or chip in the world that cant be identified with the dealers software.

fordboi415 · Oct 30, 2008

Right on thanks for the input I'm gunna buy the programmer and module from jet chips

MUDDING B-3000 · Oct 30, 2008

wicked see i never knew that about the higher octange now i might be a chip for my truck you totally cleared eveything up for me to thanks alot

hey ford boi let me kno how much you paided for a jet chip i might save for one

Wicked_Sludge · Oct 30, 2008

your trucks a '94...i cant remember what year the 3.0 went to DIS... :icon_confused:

getting chips and programmers for EEC-IV vehicles (pre '95) is a little more difficult and not quite as useful as obdII rigs....but it can still make a difference with a little research and planning.

fordboi415 · Oct 30, 2008

wicked see i never knew that about the higher octange now i might be a chip for my truck you totally cleared eveything up for me to thanks alot

hey ford boi let me kno how much you paided for a jet chip i might save for one

the chip was about 230 and the programmer was 350 theres a link for it somewhere on this site it will pop up every once in a while

thepretzelman · Nov 1, 2008

if you have both wouldn't the programmer contradict the module?

se7en · Jan 20, 2009

I just purchased a jet performance tuner for my 2000 ranger 4.0L. it was 399 through a local performance shop. the chip from jet is pre programmed with a more universal tune that will help most vehicles but the programmer atleast for mine is all I need. I can program my computer and set it up the way I want.

you might wanna make a few calls to some local speed shops and find out if you need both the chip and a tuner or just a tuner.

fleck · Jan 20, 2009

I've got a 94 and have been thinking about raising the timing. What's the factory set timing?

Wicked_Sludge · Jan 20, 2009

10 degrees BTDC. your '94 should still have a distributor...you dont need a chip or programmer to advance it, just a timing light.

good chips and programmers?

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