Would the Xcal do anything for an 06?
I read another post about certain year F150's needing a re-flash.
I thought it was only for 04, maybe 05? Not sure.

 

The interior is what sold me on the F150 as well. I decided one day to go looking at trucks and hit all the dealers. I saw the new F150 and then knew that was the one.

 

Yep.... My truck is an 05 and did not require the reflash (same as an 06). The Xcal adjusts the 'drive by wire" settings, your shift points, your speed limiter, etc. Basically it does alot more than just add "Horspower".

 

That's the choice you have to make. The power SHOULD be there from the factory but it's not so it's up to you to decide if you want to spend the money to have it. If you do, you WILL feel the difference.

 

Another option I haven't heard mentioned is to turbocharge it. I know it would be expensive, but it doesn't use power to make power like a supercharger does. Probably $5-$7K, but it is always there lurking and waiting to be used.

 

I didn't know that the ability to spin tires was an indication of power. When I was in high school, we'd blow the tires off my friend's '80 something Toyota Celica at the drop of a hat.

Get it tuned and get some gears for best effect.

 

So the Xcal is a programmable tuner.(engine management)?

Does the Xcal do anything in relation to the air fuel ratio?
I know factory car's run very rich because of gas and to same their ***.
Not sure about truck's though.
I know some mustang's that I tune run under 10, under WOT. That's pretty rich.
I try to get them in the ballpark of 11.0 to 11.9 for blown application's and 12. to 13. for natural.
The funny thing, you notice a big difference getting the air fuel ratio closer to stoichiometric(14.7)

 

All the slow hemi trucks must be in my area because not a one I’ve met up with wants to go again

 

Thx for the replies guys.

I have 3.73LS for the record, not 3.55 gears. I wanted the 3.73s specifically for the low end grunt but also the top end manners. To be honest, I didnt beat on the truck when I first had it, I babied it, hell it only had 5 miles on it! So now that Im well broken in and a little more heavy footed, I am noticing these things.

I realize that breaking the tires loose doesnt mean you have HP, but lets face it, we have rear wheel drive trucks and spinning these skinny tires(mine are) shouldnt be an issue. A celica with tiny donuts should also spin the tires but thats due to popping the clutch, skinny tires, and the wieght transfer off the tires causing them to lose traction. I used the example of not being able to spin the tires in order to illustrate how slow it is off the line. From now on I will refer to it as slow off the line(and slow period ) to prevent confusion quinton.

Now Im not going to go out and buy a Dodge, that would be silly. I just would like to be able to keep up and still maintain my Ford status, I dont think I could ever drive a dodge.

The other main concern is warranty issues and engine safety. I dont want a custom tune to lean it out too much or jack up the timing too much. I would like better throttle response and a more performance oriented SAFE tune running either 89 or 93 octane. Xcal2 or 1714 or any others are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Go to the “Chips & Programming” forum and read up on the XCal2; IMO it’s the best mod I’ve got

 

Our 5.4 3V will chirp and spin the rear tires. They just wont smoke em! My 05 SCREW would not even chirp the tires until I put about 1500 miles on the ODM. Now they will chirp or spin fine.

I was actually surprised to find that fords with the powerstrike diesel and a few mods can smoke the tires all the way down the road.

 

I don't know what kind of slugs some of you are driving, but my stock '04 will light 'em on dry pavement, wet pavement, whatever, with no problem!

 

SilverBullet,

My 04 supercab FX4 felt like a slug when I first got it. I did not feel any stronger until I got about 15,000 miles on it. The first thing I did was put a Magnaflow SI/DO muffler on it, then an Airaid which seem to help quit a bit from 2500 rpm on up. The last thing I did was get an Xcal2 form Mike Troyer which helped in many ways (shift points, power, and overall driveability). If feels much better now but I am still looking for more so that is why I am going to the next dyno day at Mike's so I can find out exactly what kind of HP it is making at the rear wheels and hopefully Mike can tweak my tunes to make a little more. You have to remember these truck are heavy and weight can be your worst enemy in the quest for acceleration. As an example when I put my bull bar on I had to remove my tow hooks and I was amazed at how much those thing alone weigh, at least 15 to 20 pounds apiece. I drove several hemis before i bought my 150 and was not impressed except for and 03 reg cab 2wd which was a fast little truck! The 05 2wd 4dr hemi I drove was not very impressive to me at all. From what I have read on this board any trust me I have read most everything, there seems to be fairly wide range of performance characteristics for these trucks in stock form and even after modifications. I believe Mike Troyer has referred to this in his many posts. My advise to you is to get an Xcal2 from Mike with his tunes, that seems to be the best bang for the buck and then come to one of the dyno days and find out exaclty what kind of numbers your truck is producing. Hope this helps and FYI, I have spent approx $1000.00 on performance mods alone, HP is not cheap.

 

Though I agree with Quintin about spinning the tires... I can see where your coming from. When I first got my truck I tried to spin them just to "see if it would"..... and it was rather dissapointing.

With the Xcal...... wouldn't roast em..... but would definatly turn them over for a few feet.

Mix in some exhaust.. a little pulleys.... and a dash of Volant (or whatever your choice may be), and voila! I can roast them for ... well.... quite some ways. (though I have felt rather stupid after each time i've done it).; Usually she shifts into second (with a light bark) before it stops spinning.

.... it's all about the recipe. Troyer does have it down....... but honestly it never was a big secret. Get more air in (CAI), get more air out (exhaust), improve shift points & firmness/ air fuel ratio/ drive-by-wire response (Xcal), get rid of parasetic loss (pulleys, alum drive shafts, e-fans, etc)

 

Tbird69, I'm with ya.

My truck whips them so good, much better than my 2002 F150 5.4L, and I am driving an 04 Lariat Supercrew 4x4 with LS, so the differential does help. I am going to get you guys a video soon, could be today, I promise. And my truck is completely stock. It's hard to spin them without the brake, but sometimes I can. Regardless, in the higher rpms it pulls much harder than my stock 02.

I guess I just got lucky or don't know what fast is. Somebody comment on this.