things have changed

[ronsmith100]

I remember the old days when the largest selling computer wasn't an Apple or a Wang or an IBM or whatever. The biggest selling "computer" was an 8080 or 8086 kinda chips... intel, TI, Zilog, etc and they were in every new car built I think. Correct me if I'm wrong but you could not re-program them. Whatever was burned in was burned in for life.
Nowadays computer in cars are what? EPROMs? They can be reprogrammed... and lots of performance mongers do that.
So my question is, can you reprogram these chips in away that will increase gas milage? I ask because in almost all cases whatever increases performance (power) also increases gas millage (if you keep your foot off the horsepower).


just thinkun

[Pete Dumbleton]

It's called a chip -- Google is your friend.

The guys with the big pickups do it all the time I believe, but deviating from the factory setup might be less than legal (if it increases pollution, for example) and might void warranties or damage equipment. Usually they are trying to increase some aspect of the 'one-size-fitz-all' program to something specific to heavy towing, like delayed shifting into higher gear for greater power.

http://www.car-stuff.com/fordperformancechip.htm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...04075522AAkmJYQ

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/99-03-7-3...t-my-truck.html

http://www.tundratalk.net/forums/first-gen...unner-chip.html

My belief is that if there was a clean, mechanically safe, way to increase mileage with different algorithms in computer, they would have already done it to get competitive advantage. Chipping is extending the range of the operating parameters further into the safety factors that the engineers set up to the equipment, pushing it closer to the edge.

Along those lines, some transmissions have 'chip on the fly', where one puts it in Tow or Haul or Performance Mode to get more power, or takes it out to get better mileage. I would guess that the average vehicle is already set up for mileage over performance. I had an early Saturn with that feature and it worked for towing a small trailer.

I certainly wouldn't buy a used vehicle if I thought the previous owner had chipped it because the modifications may have shortened the useful life of the machinery by exceeding design limits - YMMV!

[ronsmith100]

It's called a chip -- Google is your friend.

[b]I feel betrayed! My friend google told you the same thing she told me?
I always ask my "friend" google first but since I couldn't find anyone who had increased their towing gas millage with a chip change I thought I'd ask here and at the other forums (I could have been more specific about towing vs regular driving). I also called two providers and they were sort of vague about towing mileage.
Your shifting programs sounds very promising... maybe some other things too.


The guys with the big pickups do it all the time I believe, but deviating from the factory setup might be less than legal (if it increases pollution, for example) and might void warranties or damage equipment. Usually they are trying to increase some aspect of the 'one-size-fitz-all' program to something specific to heavy towing, like delayed shifting into higher gear for greater power.

[b]The links my friend google provided "said" they are 50-states legal.... but even so we dont do smog checks down here in the boonies of souther utah.

http://www.car-stuff.com/fordperformancechip.htm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...04075522AAkmJYQ

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/99-03-7-3...t-my-truck.html

http://www.tundratalk.net/forums/first-gen...unner-chip.html

My belief is that if there was a clean, mechanically safe, way to increase mileage with different algorithms in computer, they would have already done it to get competitive advantage. Chipping is extending the range of the operating parameters further into the safety factors that the engineers set up to the equipment, pushing it closer to the edge.

[b]My opinion is there are very few vehicles made that are are optimum for everyone. I think the engineers program the best for the average user/buyer. I doubt it is a safety factor. Its just making a truck better for what they think the customer wants. If they wanted to they could optimize for towing by pushing those parameters closer to the edge as you say and maybe leaving non-towing performance wanting... dunno just IMO.

[b]Also along those lines I have heard some trucker/towers talk about cat-back exhaust systems that dont help much in the way of every day driving but -- according to them-- it increases towing gas milage substantially.

Along those lines, some transmissions have 'chip on the fly', where one puts it in Tow or Haul or Performance Mode to get more power, or takes it out to get better mileage. I would guess that the average vehicle is already set up for mileage over performance. I had an early Saturn with that feature and it worked for towing a small trailer.

I certainly wouldn't buy a used vehicle if I thought the previous owner had chipped it because the modifications may have shortened the useful life of the machinery by exceeding design limits - YMMV!
[b]Just FYI, when you reprogram your cpu some of the providers automatically download the factory settings into the hand set so you can always re set everything. So you would probably never know if it was ever changed