Superchips Flashcal for Jeep is long established as an easy tire and gear calibration tool for your modified Wrangler or Gladiator. With the new, app-based Flashcal+, Superchips has taken the product to a new level by combining its proven functionality and reliability with the convenience and processing power of a smartphone.

Flashcal+ swaps the traditional Flashcal’s cable-connected, handheld device for a Bluetooth dongle that plugs right into the vehicle’s OBD-II port. The dongle is controlled by an app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) to enable quick and easy adjustment of tire size, gear ratio, daytime running lights, auto start-stop and many other features. As with the traditional Flashcal, there is no need to unlock or swap the PCM as all the features are Gateway-based.

“One advantage of shifting to a dongle is that it stays plugged into the vehicle all the time,” explains Mike Litsch, Superchips’ senior category manager for domestic tuning products. “That gives us the ability to run live features that require the device to be plugged into the vehicle, such as disconnecting the sway bar in real time on a Jeep Rubicon or being able to disable the auto start-stop system. Those are features we can’t offer with the traditional Flashcal.”

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The smartphone app provides a familiar, cleaner, more efficient user experience for customers, who can opt into automatic updates to ensure that they benefit immediately from any improvements to Flashcal+ released by Superchips. There’s no need to keep an additional handheld device in the car or repurposed vehicle controls, such as cruise control switches, to activate functions or alter parameters. With the app, information on functions and explanations of adjustment parameters are easily accessible through info menus at every stage of the process.

Superchips has no plans to discontinue the physical Flashcal, giving customers the option to choose whichever solution makes the most sense to them. With less hardware required however, the new Flashcal+ is priced cheaper than the regular Flashcal.

There are versions of Flashcal+ available for Wrangler JK 3.8L/3.6L, Wrangler JL 3.6L (GPEC2A PCM) and 2.0t (GPEC4), and Gladiator JT 3.6L. Support for 2022 models is arriving soon; that’s expected to include the new GPEC5 PCM being deployed in Gladiators.

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As with all Superchips products, the Flashcal+ was subjected to a rigorous development and test program on its way to market. Development was handled in-house by the same software team responsible for the Amp’d 2.0 throttle sensitivity booster. The 12-month process was expedited by the company’s prior experience of similar calibration functions with the TrailDash 3 and regular Flashcal.

Once engineers in Superchips’ Ogden, UT location had established Flashcal+’s functionality and reliability, colleagues in Sanford, FL joined them to expand the user base and test both JK and JL Wrangler applications. Once the test team was happy with the app’s functions, menu structure and flow, the final stage was to push it into beta testing with a group of customers for final validation of the user experience.

Particular attention was paid to Flashcal+’s exclusive new features, which are enabled by the use of smartphone technology. The new Tire Size Wizard uses the phone’s built-in GPS to simplify the tire-swap calibration process. There’s no need to enter the new or old tire sizes; simply follow the instructions to drive at a reference speed and the app will do the rest, determining your actual speed and the disparity between that figure and the speedometer reading. Then, when prompted, you simply push a button to confirm the tire size change. It’s an elegant, highly accurate solution that automatically takes any difference between the tire’s marked size and true size into account.

The CRAWL screen is another benefit of the Flashcal+ over the regular Flashcal, offering some of the features of the more expensive TrailDash 3 device. CRAWL functions as a live drivetrain command center, enabling Rubicon owners to quickly activate the rear locker in 2WD or 4WD, front and/or rear lockers in 4-Hi, and extend the allotted window of 25mph for activated lockers to 55mph. Other features include overriding the factory limitation on sway bar control to enable disconnection in 2-Hi, up to 25mph, and raising the idle speed when more RPM is needed for winching or running lights with a heavy amperage draw.

Flashcal+ is the latest example of the innovative ways in which Superchips delivers tuning capability to its enthusiast customers. Stand by for more dongle/app-based solutions in the future!