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I got my LMS chip today. Here are my notes/thoughts..
-The contacts on the J3 connector have a thin coat of solder, on top of copper. I scrubbed the connector until some copper was just barely starting to show through the solder traces. I installed the chip, and it felt no different at all. I called Geno for advice, and he said to just scrub until the copper was completely exposed. I did, and sure enough that did the trick!
-It shifts *so* much better now. I can't believe Lincoln could have made it behave like this from the factory, yet chose not to. During normal driving, shifts are actually less noticeable because they happen so much more quickly. And when you stand on the gas, it doesn't sit there, wind out, and slam into gear anymore. It just simply downshifts. It reminds me of the transmissions in newer GM cars I've driven. That's generally the only thing I like about them.
-It will still upshift to 3rd gear at 20 mph, and 4th at 35. But, unlike the factory setup, that only happens if you're cruising along on level ground. Not when you're climbing a hill, merging into traffic, or in other asinine situations.
-There's a mild but definite increase in power. The best part is that it's most noticeable in the low and midrange, where it's most useful in everyday driving. And of course it helps that the transmission is no longer hellbent on trying to keep the engine below 1000 rpm.
-I haven't driven it enough to accurately determine gas mileage yet, but so far it's looking like there's a ~2mpg gain. That's impressive!
Whenever I do a performance mod like this, I think "If someone came by in the middle of the night and did this to my car without me knowing, would I be able to tell a difference when I hopped in the next day?" K&N filters, high-flow mufflers, etc. have always failed that test. But with this chip, the improvement is absolutely unquestionable. It doesn't just knock a few tenths off the 1/4 mile time, it makes the whole drivetrain feel like it should have from the factory.
Kudos to Geno/LMS for making such a great product. I'm very happy, and I highly recommend this chip!
