I have a '08 King Ranch that I bought new and only has 17,600 miles on it. I wanted a King Ranch truck from the first time I saw one, and now I have one. I have one problem with it, and it seems to be a pretty big problem for me. It's just not an exciting truck. It's an extremely nice truck, but it's just not fun. I traded one of my favorite trucks on it, which was a '02 Ford Lightning, and that truck was fun and exciting to drive. This truck just seems to be all about class, rather than enjoyment (although I know that's subjective). Anyway, as dull as the drivin' experience is with this truck, I still really like it. I just want to be able to have more fun with it. So I'm contemplating two options.

First option is to lift this truck a little and supercharge it. I really feel the 5.4L 300 hp motor is underpowered. It feels like a slug goin' down the road. The supercharger would take care of that. I'd likely go with the Ford Racing kit. If I lifted it, it wouldn't be anything too extreme. I really like big trucks, but from a practical standpoint, and because I'd like to use the stock wheels to kinda keep the basic look of the truck, I'd probably go with a 4" Rancho lift. That would really only be for looks. I like the look of the King Ranch and I don't wanna change it drastically. I just want to change it a little and add a little somethin' more to it. I haven't made up my mind if I'd go with 33" or 35" tires, but I'm pretty sure I'd get Nitto Trail Grapplers. I should also mention this truck will be paid off in a little over a year.

Second option is to trade this truck in on a more powerful 2011+ model. (I put the + in there, 'cause I'm not sure if I'd do it the first year of the new motors.) I love Ford, but they've been behind the competition when it comes to their motors for a little while now, in regards to power. That's kinda made the company more boring to me. With the new motors, Ford has me excited again and I'm glad to see them back in the game and ready to whoop up on the competition. The Raptor SuperCrew has caught my attention. It's powerful, has a lot of room, and I think it looks good. However, I think the other F-150's look good too, and the ones I'd be interested in should be available with the 6.2L motor. Or who knows... The Eco-Boost motor might even wind up more appealing to me. No matter what, though, a new model will put out more power than the stock motor I have now. The boost in power should at least make the truck more fun to drive.

What do y'all think the best route to go is?

 

Try VMP custom 93 octane performance tunes... it'll give that truck so better giddy-up.

 

Def def def supercharge your 08.

 

I have a Gryphon on my list. Is the VMP product better, worse, or pretty much the same? Yeah, I know that's been beat to death. It's just too early and I'm too lazy at the moment to start searchin' for those threads. Seems like most people go with the Edge or Gryphon, from what I recall. I had a Diablo tuner on my Lightning, and it was alright, although I didn't really mess with it. I'm concerned that a tuner alone won't give me the power I'm cravin'. However, I could always get one and then add more mods to the truck later.

 

That's kinda the way I'm leanin' at the moment. I love gettin' new stuff, because it's a change. However, with this truck bein' almost paid off, and knowin' that a supercharger would have it puttin' down more power than the new trucks (stock), I think I'd definitely be happy with that. Also, if I lift it, it will be enough of a makeover to make the truck look like a different beast.

 

Just don't start complaining about MPG after you soup it up.

 

What kind of mileage should I expect? I know it would drop some once I put some bigger tires on it, but I didn't think the supercharger would have an affect as long I stayed out of it until I needed it. At least that's how my Lightning was...

 

Well if your plan is to create more HP I'm assuming you like to "put the petal to the metal" and that is never good for MPG.

 

You are correct about that! However, I know how to drive responsibly as well. I definitely like to go fast, but I also know it comes with a price (gas expense, possible tickets, wear & tear, etc..). So if I can expect my gas mileage to only be a affected by larger tires under normal drivin', I'm alright with that. Mostly, I just love the feel of torque and I like to be able to pass vehicles quickly when needed. This stock motor feels like a turd when I go to pass someone on the interstate.

My other vehicles are a Harley that's had some motor work and a Cayman. Both of those are exciting. I want my truck to be exciting as well.

 

My truck is blown on the stock 22's I average anywhere from 12-14 city (I have seen 15.5 city when I drive conservative and don't allow the charger to kick in) and that's gettin on it quite often. You could prob expect worse than that if you lift it and throw big tires on it. The best I've seen hwy is prob 16-17 but I set my cruise on 80-85 always. But you should be prepared. I believe you have to run premium gas if you charge it.

 

Cool. That's about what I expected. I'm probably only gonna go up to 33" tires, rather than spend more on 35's and lose more gas mileage. Runnin' premium really isn't that big of a deal to me. Actually, it might make life a little easier for me, since I run premium in my car and bike and have come close to puttin' premium in the truck out of habit.

Is your truck 2WD or AWD?

 

supercharge it and level it out on 20s and 33s since the stock KR rims are pretty much the same as the others

 

Supercharged Harleys are ONLY 2wd (unless done aftermarket)

 

After talkin' to my wife today, I think that's the route I'll probably go. I'll keep the stock wheels for a while, though. I love big trucks, but for practical purposes, I'll just get a HBS 2-1/2" leveling kit and 33" tires. I'll upgrade the shocks to improve the ride as well. I'll look into other wheels, but I'll probably hold off a bit. That's assumin' someone hasn't convinced me tradin' for a new truck is a better idea.

 

Ah, ok. I didn't know that.