I just installed the sct chip last week and now the car sputters at low rpms. I was wondering if the plugs that I have in are too hot causing it to sputter. Should I be running colder plugs since the ignition timing has been advanced. I turned the chip back to the stock settings for now and it runs fine so I know it has something to do with the chip. The chk engine light hasn't came on so I'm thinking that could be my problem. I'm not trying to burn a valve or anything so any input would be helpful.

What sort of octane fuel are you running with. Focus sport says that you need premium gas when using the SCT chip. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with your problem. It sounds as if you are experiencing detenation, which is not good, when the chip is on.

if you have a chip i would look into getting better spark plugs and a new set of wires to go with them. maybe even a coilpack. the set is pretty cheap and it will take care of your pesky problem.

oh wait....you already....nevermind..........doah!

Yeah I am running premium octane and I have a coil and 9mm wires, I'm thinking the spark is too hot

My Ford Racing wires sucked ass. Try this: Wait until it's dark or dusk. Turn your car on, and drizzle water on the wires. DON'T FREAK!! What this will do is show you if you have any wires jumping to others, or if you have a bad wire leaking off. You'll either hear it snapping or see it arching. The first time I heard of it I thought the old fart was crazy, but it damn sho worked!!

I did what you said and nothing happened, but I did go to pep boys and pick up some stock plugs and put them in and it's not sputtering so far but we shall see. I really didnt have that much time to mess around with it, but to be on the safe side I'm going to order some wires from msd.

another thing may be the amount of timing your trying to pull out of it or put in to it cause if the spark is to late youll be running rich which may be dumping gas in the cylinder or its getting to lean and trying to burn gas thats not there but as far as it detonating you would know because when you came off of idle it would sound like a bag of marbles if it was pinging that bad

Yes it was pretty bad but after I put the new plugs in I havent had any more problems

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Our engines also like to run retarded. Fitting, huh? The chip ADVANCES the timing. That makes for a kick at low RPM's, but kinda flattens out at higher RPM's. I have the BDR adj. cam gear. I have it set at 4* retarded and it runs fine.

Jim

So a cam gear set @ 4 degrees retard would give me better performance even with no head work done at all.

Yeah, retarded is the way to go. Well, unless you're dating and want to piss off the parents.......

The timing is all relative, though. I mean 4* may be good for me, but for you it might be more advanced or even more retarded. It all depends on your driving habits and what you want to accomplish.

Well I'm a pretty fast driver, I just wanted to know because now that I have the chip if I shift to second while in the low rpm range between 2300 and 3300 my car kind of hits a flat spot not sure why. When it passes that spot it pulls again and then fades out around 6100 but first gear pulls strong all the way to 6800 before it loses momentum

Flat spot is where the IMRC motor opens up. Just before opening, you're maximizing the air/fuel that is available and getting less hp. Then just as the IMRC motor is opening, and especially if you're gunning it, you're actually running lean because now your secondaries are fully open but the fuel hasn't quite caught up yet.

So if I increased fuel pressure would that make a difference or should I get this device I seen on escortfocus.com that opens the secondaries in less than a second at wot. Just my opinion I think increasing fuel pressure a little might do the trick but I'll have to send my chip back to focus sport to get retuned

That's your call. I have all kinds of silly stuff programmed into my chip like DPFE/EGR removal, 02 sensor removal on the 2nd sensor, longer injector duty cycle, and for 19# injectors. Basically, I'm running a realistic 24# injector with a 19# injector. It'll burn them out faster as I'm up over 80% duty cycle, but I don't care. ZETEC injectors are a dime-a-dozen.

jim

Thanks after I put this udp on I guess I'll be putting some larger injectors in and increasing the fuel pressure just a little to make up the diff, cause I'm not really looking for a race car just nice mover around the town.