Hey guys,

I've been wanting to ask a few questions, since you guys know it all when it comes to a performance truck. Anyways, I own a 04 F150 5.4l and I am planning on making it a pretty quick truck eventhough you guys may think I am wasting my time. I ran my truck at the tracks last week and pulled a 18.1, I didnt think it was too bad considering I live in CO (high altitude), it was my first time(R/Ts sucked), and I left everything on it (spare tire, tailgate etc) I figure that it runs a 17.9 once i take off a few extra pounds and get a good R/T. In order to make my truck faster, I am installing a Roush supercharger on the 29th. I decided to go with the Roush because it does not void my warranty. After the blower is installed I will have around $500 left over for mods and come january I hope to have about $2,000. What would you guys suggest I add after the blower is installed. Keep in mind I am trying to keep my warranty for as long as possible.

 

Well, first off, your R/T has nothing to do with your ET.

What kind of 04 do you have? The Heritage F-150 (same body as the Lightning) or the new F-150 with the 3v motor?

As for the blower, personally I feel it's way overpriced for what little performance it adds.

Concerning your warranty, you should really do some research on that one before you put it on. Talk to some dealer service departments and find one that will actually honor your warranty with that blower on there, in the event of an engine failure. Being a former dealer tech, I can tell you right now that Ford is not going to replace your motor if you pop it with that blower on there if a rep comes out to check it out. The dealer might be able to sneak the claim through if they don't mention the blower.

 

500 bucks left over is not going to help you much. Maybe spend it on a CAI system if you dont already have one.
Is the 04 F-150 the new body style ?

BTW: quote: "take off a few extra pounds and get a good R/T "

Thats a start...extra weight slows your reaction time. Other tips to increase R/T are
1. check your vision. Before you can mentally or physically react, you must have an accurate picture of the tree.

2. Steer clear of alcohol and drugs. Everybody knows that drunk drivers are slow to react behind the wheel, but even one or two drinks can be enough to send your reaction time plummeting....

3. Don't smoke.... it dramatically reduces the amount of oxygen in our bloodstream, and slows R/T.

4. Catch some Zzzs the night before the race. A good night's sleep is nature's way of recharging our mental batteries.

5. Zap some aliens. Video and computer games have been shown to dramatically improve mental and motor skills and
increase R/T.

cant think of anything more, right now. If you had more than 500 to play with you could think about a nitrous set up like Rob has .. good luck.

 

a CAI would be pointless considering the supercharger, but i would much rather go with a whipple or kenne bell over the roush. make sure you get some kind of performance tune, i dont know if the roush comes with that but doug at BamaChips has helped whipple develop a supercharger or 2 and knows what he is doing with the tuning. after that, i would DEFINATELY say HEADERS AND EXHAUST. you wont get the full potential out of the blower without a high flow exhaust system. "what goes in must come out"

 

The roush unit comes with a CAI & tuner. Take the leftover $500 and slap on a decent exhuast system. Then save for the rest of the goodies you'll need.

 

Yeah maybe some headers or exhaust with that 500

 

SC + Nitrous

 

I used to own a Supercharged Civic SI. I know you are thinking about your warranty but to get the full max power out of the supercharger you need headers and a cat-back exhaust. You need them because you have all this air being rushed in to your motor, and then being stoped by the small piping going out. dzervit said that your kit comes with a tuner which you need when ever you add any bolt-on, because the computer needs to be reflashed to read the new parts being put on the truck, thats why you here people always saying that there intakes/exhaust works better when they install there tuners. Post back after install and after track run thanks.

 

I would put a cat back exhaust on with that 500 bucks. then later on when you got some bucks I would do the headers. and when you get that 2000 bucks I would regear the rear end to like 4.56 or even 4.88 if you are looking for strictly performance and not worried about highway gas milage.

 

I already have a cat back exhaust system. I've talked to the dealer and the supercharger will not void my warranty. Would you suggest a tuner? if so what kind?

 

It comes with one.

 

call 540-862-9515 first thing Monday morning and talk to Mike or one of his staff. They have been selling the Rousch blower for the 5.4 3 valve since it was introduced. They also have one on their shop truck and I can confirm that the HP gain when properly tuned is LARGE...Trust me......

 

spend the $500 on headers then, thats what i would do. or efans if you dont have them. if you shop smart you can do both for $500

 

it sounds like you might be ready for fuel injector/pump and throttle body upgrades to really take advantage of that sc.