chips

[Jester]

Everyone's telling me to get a chip on my L, but I'm pretty scared I'm gonna blow something up. My L is my daily, and I've heard horror stories of guys blowing trannys and other stuff up because of chips, and I can't afford to have that happen. Money isn't a issue and I wouldn't' mind spending the money to get a good chip and get it tuned right, but my knowledge of chips or lack there of is keeping me from diving in. I've been told to get one put on by Dallas Mustang and have it custom made, and I've been told to see Terry and have him put one on. What are the dangers of a chip? Can it shorten the life of the truck? What kind of maintenance is required? Where do I go? What chip do you recommend? What kind of price range am I looking at? I feel like a retard, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tliss]

Don't feel like a retard...we've all been new to the world of chips and modding these trucks at one time or another.

Let me see if I can hit everything. DO NOT go to Dallas Mustang to get a chip burned for your Lightning!! I have heard more horror stories than good stories coming out of there on Lightnings. Terry is the local guy that will burn a chip that will fit your truck. I personally have my chip done by Danny Swanson out on the west coast, but that's a persoanl choice. I have heard nothing but good things about Terry;s tunes, and I have had nothing but good things from Danny Swanson's tunes.

Dangers of a chip? They are mightly powerful little things, and if the tune is not right you can blow up something. That's why it pays to go to someone that will do it right. Locally, Terry Cole is your man. Outside this area I'd go with Danny Swanson.

If it is not tuned right it will shorten the life of the truck. If it is right on the money, you'll have nothing to worry about. Putting a chip on these trucks really wakes them up. If the chip is tuned right, you will have no fear of anything braking for a very long time. Many of the guys in the club have been running chips on their daily drivers since 1999 without destroying them.

Maintenance....none. Plug in the chip and go.

Price? I'm thinking its arounf $250 or so for a single program chip, $350 or so for a two program, and $450 or so for a four program chip. Prices may vary depending on vendor. I have a four program chip to allow me to change between programs rather than run on a hot program all the time. A multiple program chip allows you to have a racing program or two and a stock program for daily driving or towing.

You've got my number. Call me if you want to know a little more. If you get a chip, you'll be really glad you did. Seat of the pants feel is extraordinary.

Tom

[jcblack]

I agree with Tom. I didnt put a chip on my truck until I had 30,000 miles on it because I was scared. Its natural to not want to blow up your daily driver. Since I put it in, everything has been fine. The winter time, depending on your tune, is when you really need to watch for detonation. I have a real conservative tune, so I have had no problems. Guys that run hot tunes need to worry about that. But that goes into more about what Tom was talking about with the multiple program chips. You can get a hot and cold program for your summer and winter needs. Everything will be fine. I talked about it with Rob (02Bolt) for 3 months before he finally convinced me that it was okay.

[Crawford]

Also if you have a warranty on your truck you might want to look at a programmer. That way you dont have to scrape the contacts on your computer. You just upload the program through the OBDII port under the driver dash. I know Terry and Danny Swanson offer both chips and programmers. If I were you I would give them both a call... ask them the questions you have about your truck, then decide what to get. :beer:

[Jester]

The winter time, depending on your tune, is when you really need to watch for detonation. I have a real conservative tune, so I have had no problems.
conservative as in how much power difference? I would like to have a chip with at least 2 settings, but a conservative one for the racing one.

[BC Lightning]

IMO the only way to go is with the SCT Tuner, Cold, warm, and race tunes, plus is easy to use, plug into your PCM press tune, and ready to go, plus it can do most anything like it can take off your SES light (service engine soon) and erase trouble codes, etc. Tom is right though, with the right tune you will never have to worry about breaking anything for a long time

[jcblack]

conservative as in how much power difference? I would like to have a chip with at least 2 settings, but a conservative one for the racing one.
I never dynoed my truck stock, but most guys see between 340-350 RWHP, with no mods. With just my chip, I dynoed at 370 to the wheels. I would think that it is safe to say 20-30 RWHP. Which is a seat of the pants feel. Conservative Chip + 4 lb pulley + Line mod (or valve body) + Filter and you would probably be satified enough with that. Like Crawford said, the Tuners are a good option. If I would have had the choice then, I would have went with the tuner.

[BC Lightning]

I saw 343 rwhp and 417 trq bone stock, with 4#, valve body, SCT Tuner, CAI, and some minor bolt on I saw 401 rwhp and 487 trq, and never had a problem with detonation (?spelling)

[Jester]

What's the difference in the tuner and a chip?

[BC Lightning]

well the chip has to be put on your computer, you have to scratch off the connectors, so if the dealer was to do warranty work, thats usually the first place they look to see if it was modded. with the tuner it plugs into the port under your dash, this can allow you to change tunes whenever you want. On my tuner it has three tunes, warm for days that are 65 degrees and up, the cold for 65 degrees and colder, and the race program for 100 octane. the difference in the warm and cold tunes is the timing for colder or warmer days you either need more or less timing. the chip and the tuner both need to be programmed, but with the tuner you can adjust the amount of fuel like put in 3% more or take it out depending on your A/F readings.

They both work great depending on the tune, i really like the tuner because its easier to use in my opinion, and it was quoted by someone on the board that "these things can do everything except change the color of the paint of the truck" I hope that helps out some, but if you want a mechanics answer then I suggest talking to terry about it and he will get you what you want

[03LightningRocks]

I would go with the SCT programer....and I would not even think about getting a tune from some dude in California when you have a man right here that can put a custom dyno tune on your truck.Call Terry cole(L8 Apex) and get it done safely on a dyno.


Rocks:tu:

[Jester]

Thanks for all of your help and patience, I'd be in trouble without this kind of help. My warranty is up in a few months, but I'm exploring my options with the tuner and chips. Thanks again.

[Aggie Mom]

My truck doesn't have any mod's. It just has the SCT. It made a big difference. You should contact Terry at PR.

[Jester]

Very cool, Thanks for the great info

[Aggie Mom]

It's $450

[L8 APEX]

Well I typed a long reply and the computer ate it. So, check out my website if you like. The SCT is the tuner of the future it programs the truck through the data port so it is a lot harder to trace for warranty concerns. When the dealer voided my warranty they left my PCM in the floorboard saying they thought it had a chip at some point. The SCT's start at $399 with a sigle mild tune and $450 for three custom tunes.

[Jester]

Well I typed a long reply and the computer ate it. So, check out my website if you like. The SCT is the tuner of the future it programs the truck through the data port so it is a lot harder to trace for warranty concerns. When the dealer voided my warranty they left my PCM in the floorboard saying they thought it had a chip at some point. The SCT's start at $399 with a sigle mild tune and $450 for three custom tunes.
I like the idea of it, thinking about seriously getting one around the first of december. I like the idea of having it stock while driving to work or something like that, but putting it on a 15-20 hp conservative program for a friday or saturday night cruise, or just playing around.