Hey guys. I am new to this forum. I have read about all I can stand and dont think that I have learned anything other than I need help.

I have a 2000 Ford Expedition XLT, 4.6L, 3:55 gears, 17" wheels, single exhaust. After buying this truck my wife and I bought a travel trailer/camper. It weighs about 4300 lbs loaded. According to my owners manual, the factory installed towing kit... this truck should have no problems towing. On flat ground you really dont know its there; BUT I live in the Ozark Mountains. There are hills everywhere. I shift from D into 2 and try to get a jump on the hills. Even the small ones prove to be a challenge. With the gas pedal mashed to the floor in 2nd gear, I cannot maintain any real speed and watching the TACH fall from 3500 RPM's as we slow to a crawl.

If anyone out there knows of DYNO proven ways to get this thing to pull a hill under a load, I would love to hear about it. I am considering the SuperChips TUNER and an exhaust... but I dont know what kind of exhaust to get. I know the more flow = the more HP. Too big of pipes can kill low end TQ.

I hope there is someone out there that has seen or dealt with this before, and can assist me.

Thanks for letting me rant and beg for help.

 

Hello OE,

Welcome to F-150 Online!

Here at Troyer Performance/Performance Products Inc., we have specialized in the F-150 platform upon which your vehicle is built for over a decade, so we have a lot of experience with this exact same scenario. Towing is a very common need in these vehicles.

If you've spent time here reading these threads, then by now you probably already realize you've got a heavy load with not near enough torque and horsepower to be able to do what you want it to comfortably, I.E., getting that load moving up significant grades. A heavy Expy with the small 4.6 engine, with only 3.55 gears and the tall 17 inch factory tire setup is a configuration that is not conducive to towing heavy loads.

The factory towing package doesn't change that, a fact that surprises some people. All the towing package gets you are things like a tranny cooler, trailer hitch, wiring, 130 amp alternator, etc. In other words, basically heavy-duty cooling & electrical capabilities. The factory towing package does not give you one iota more power or any more torque multiplication, it's important to remember. So the vehicle still needs to be *configured* properly from the start to be able to tow heavy loads, meaning the factory 3.73 gears, the larger 5.4 motor, 2WD instead of 4WD, etc. Maximum power & torque multiplication along with the lightest possible vehicle weight. Now in your case, it's too late for that, so you need to make what you have work, and that can be done, don't worry.

Assuming that a gear ratio change to 4.10 gears is out of the question, the first steps to take are to add power, and where possible, you want to do mods that are going to tend to emphasize power *everywhere*, not just at higher rpms & heavy throttle. It's easy to add power, with just external bolt-ons we can add a *lot* of power to that vehicle. By the way, I wouldn't get hung up on this phrase of "dyno-proven," as dynos mean relatively little in the real world for these vehicles for what you need, or just about any heavy vehicle with an automatic transmission. This is due to a number of factors, such as the fact that chassis dyno pulls don't even start until well over 3000 rpm. They have to be done in 1:1, which means 3rd gear in these automatics, thus the pull can't even start until the vehicle is traveling fast enough on the dyno so that when the operator punches it to start the pull, the tranny won't downshift back into second gear & skew the readings. This is why any dyno plots you'll see for your vehicle won't even start until usually somewhere in the 3200-3400 rpm range, thus telling you absolutely nothing about what's going on below that point, which is where you need all the power you can get. Far too many people think of a "dyno" as some mythically accurate & infallible device when it's not. For example, I can make a dyno say just about anything I want it to, as can any experienced dyno operator. With all the variance of different types & brands of dynos and in operator experience & technique, I place relatively little value on "dyno proof." What counts far more with us is the actual performance of the vehicle, the acceleration times of the vehicle along with it's lower rpm torque. It's the actual *performance* that tells the tale.

So what can you do to improve your Expy's towing ability? Plenty!

The Superchips tuning is the single best bang for the buck, optimizing the powertrain program is just about any computer controlled vehicle usually yields the best performance gains for the least cost, but keep in mind that it's not going to suddenly make that vehicle capable of zipping up mountains with a 9000 lb+ load with ease. It's simply the best bang for the buck as nothing else for it's same cost or less will improve the performance as much. However, we still have to realize that the Superchips tuning is about a 10% power gain, so it's going to take that Expy from about 21.64 lbs. per HP to just a tad under about 20 lbs. per HP. That helps of course, but it's not going make a *BIG* difference in it's ability to haul 9000 lbs.+ up a mountain all by itself.

On the exhaust side, we do have an exhaust system that will not reduce the low-rpm torque as so many do. We took almost 2 years to test every name brand cat-back system for this platform, and did find 1 system that actually increases available torque *everywhere*, at any throttle position and at any rpm.

I think you're on the right basic track with regards to getting the powertrain programming optimized and if the right system is chosen, opening up the exhaust *properly* so you don't lose torque. Excellent ideas. You'll also want to get restriction out of the air intake tract if you haven't done so already. In fact, Our Stage 1 kit is the bet way to get all 3 of those areas optimized, meaning the tuning, intake and the exhaust. You can read up on all of our Stage 1 thru Stage 5 kits, as well as all the individual modifications over on our web site, at www.TroyerPerformance.com - when the home page loads, just click on "Shop" to see all the various sections.

The best thing to do at this point would be to give us a call at our number listed below so we can spend some time with you going over in detail just exactly what you can expect from those modifications you're talking about, as well as some other mods that will be very helpful, especially for towing, so you can give that some thought from a fully informed position. We can help you avoid making any mistakes in your choice of modifications, and to have a very realistic expectation of just exactly what to expect from each change, etc. We focus on bang for the buck for the task at hand, so every dollar you spend on performance gets you the maximum return. We've helped thousands of F-150 & Expedition owners do exactly what you want to do over the past decade, & we can easily help you get the best results for your available budget.

Our contact info is just below if you'd like to give us a call.

Best of luck with your Expy, & we hope you'll hang out here with us in your spare time!