I have noticed quite a lot of conversation about fuel econemy and I like everyone else get crappy fuel mileage out of my 2001 Super Crew housing a 4.6. But I have had enough and now I am trying to do something about it. I have not put any of this stuff on the truck yet. It has been too cool to even consider. Anyhow I got a BBK 75mm throttle body, new ignition amp, new Accel COPs, I polished and matched a new throttle body adapter or elbow and a humungous 3 inch pipe dual catback system from Summit. I am not buying a cold air inlet system. I am going to mod the original equipment snorkel. I was surprised to discover how few parts there are out there for non-Lightnings and Super Dutys. The intake system for example is almost totally over looked by the performance parts industry. Tons of stuff for Mustangs but trucks are pretty much sucking air.
These are all fairly concervative modifications but based on all my reading they should make some difference. I will keep you informed.

 

An 01 , great !! You have PI heads, but you did all that without moding the intake ? You have the 75mm sucking thru the stock intake ? Well I don't think that matters yet actually . To take advantage of your 75mm BBK , I suggest getting a Troyer Tune -the X-Cal 2 makes a big diff in the 01 PI Engine. I think that's the one you want and a nice intake set up seems like a must.

You sound like you may know this , have you planned to go this route - Including The Troyer Tune kit .. Did you install the Denso's already? You have all the right stuff , an intake and a premium performance tune would bring it all together nicely..You have headers and an x-pipe set up yet ? Anything else besides whats mentioned ?

Well, a good intake is at least worth 8 ponies - Your gonna really like the X-cal 2 with all your other mods. That will be the biggest difference in HP when you add it..

 

You just need to remember one thing. More mods for power and air flow does not mean better gas milage. Their is a fine line between the 2.

 

With all those new mods, your truck is gonna be so much funner to drive that youll forget all about those high gas prices

 

Yup , U can get the same mileage , even a little better .... Until you get on it - You just crossed the line , but its lots of fun

 

JBREW you mention several items that I have no awareness of but I would like to. So if you could expound I would really appreciate it.
I have done a tremendous amount of reading on the 4.6 including Dyno testing of various parts. So I have a pretty good idea of the direction I want to go in. Small efficent steps that will ensure results. LOW RISK. Unfortunately there is shortage of parts for trucks. The intake manifold was the most obvious. Almost everything is for Mustangs and they as you probably know don't point in the right direction. But I found out that the OEM manifold in totally stock trim flows pretty good. So I bought a Stock manifold and had it run across an Extruder Hone. If you aren't familiar with the process it does a miner porting job but polishes (aluminum only) it to a near mirror finish. It requires some detailed prep work for good results but it is easier than doing it by hand and takes a lot less time. I matched it to the throttle body adapter and the heads. So I have the manifold covered. The adapter was the item that was a challenge. There is not much meat in that thing and I broke into the EGR port while cleaning it up. Try buying one of those things. The Ford parts guy looked at me like I had lost my mind. Ended up welding and grinding.
I really like my truck so I am planning this thing out very carefully. But advice is always welcome.

 

I'm doin up the manifold next weekend using these,(Oneloaf gave me the tips) -

http://www.americanbuff.com/cross-bu...abrasives.html

I'll sneak em threw the chambers with a worm drive adapter..

I Have already polished the TB and Elbow, not familiar w/extruder hones yet.

ECAL2 , Denso's and kits for our motors can be found here - Mike Troyer knows his sh^t...

http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi...pedition%20Etc.

Lots of info there..

 

i know all about the PI heads on stangs, but nothing about on the F-150's. so, do 5.4's have PI and non PI heads? and if so, does a 99 have PI's?

 

Yeah , all 99 5.4L have PI heads , 97-98 did not..

 

Mr. Brew,

Extruder Honing is just about the coolest thing you ever saw when it comes to polishing and porting. The way it works is an abrasive clay is forced under high presure through the ports of either a set of heads or a manifold. As long as it is aluminum the process will smooth it out and polish it. Because material (aluminum) is removed the ports are enlarged but if you want any large amounts of porting done you have to do it the old fashion way. The process came out about 4 or 5 years ago. It was real popular amoungst the sport racer crowd because so much of their stuff is aluminum. High end V-8 guys used it too. The down side is if you have an item that has been worked already and the walls are shallow you take the chance of blowing out the weak spot. PLus there is prep, lots of prep if you want it right. There are not many people that I know of doing it now days. The materials are expensive and you have to be very careful. But if you can find someone who does it in your area I highly recommend it. Works great on stock stuff that you want to get something extra out of.

 

Marylander -The return on investment for the modifications that you are doing will never come if you compare the cost versus benifit of these modifications. Unless, of course, the price of gasoline goes to $ 20 a gallon.

You are asking for a small v8 which is probably making well under 180 hp to the tires, to move a 5,500 lb truck. The only way it works, is to push down harder on the gas pedal to get where you want to go.

All of the mods discussed so far will each gain a few hp, and that is really it. They will never give you a big performance thrill, or much of an increase in gas mileage.

I had a 3" custom cat back installed for a while, and all it did was make my truck louder. I switched to a dual 2.5" and got a little better low end performance.

I would reccomend custom tuning and electric fans in conjunction with excellant maintenance for the most return on your fuel economy dollars.


Good luck.

 

Jbrew Im kinda new here never really looked into the PI heads much maybe cuz i have a 97 but what is the difference between the two and would the PI heads fit on my 97?

 

I agree, somewhere on here theres a thread about the full 3" system hurting more than helping, stay 2.5" and get big tips if you want it to look mean. hope it all works for you, but with the weight to hp ratio of these trucks you'll probably never be able to raise your mpg more than 3-5mpg without serious money