need more power
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Member
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 21
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From: pacoima cal usa
need more power
I need advise on what is a good way to achieve more power.I already have a superchip(if dont have one get one) that i love . I was wondering if a thermolstat would help . or what about a race icon like on the superchip box. or a trany shift kit.
1999 F150 4.6 S/C
flowmaster 40 series cat back
airaid air intake , trotlle spacer
3.55
superchip
1999 F150 4.6 S/C
flowmaster 40 series cat back
airaid air intake , trotlle spacer
3.55
superchip
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Dear Eddie99,
OK, you've got the Superchip, the Airaid kit, and an exhaust system done so far. Those are the top 3 "bang-for-the-buck" modifications for these vehicles, so you're off to a very good start.
With regards to the Superchip Race Icon, that is not a product you want to use for your truck, those are designed primarily for vehicles that we do not have a more normal "chip" application for. The Icon is an ignition computer, that remaps your ignition curves on the fly. It's a great product, but not really applicable in your situation. Your current Superchip does all of that and much more.
The next mod on the informal "bang-for-the-buck" list would be a set of headers. We recommend using the JBA headers, and they are carried by F150online's Digital Marketplace store. Make sure and have them Jet-Hot coated, as this will help keep underhood tempoeratures down, as headers give off tremendous amounts of heat. The coating will also keep more heat in the exhaust, where you want it. The JBA headers are worth about 12-14 hp or so. Once you install the headers, we can do a custom program in your Superchip that will give you a few more horsepower. Not a lot, but a few more. If you're looking for every last bit of horsepower you can get, you might want to do that.
You do not want to change thermostats for a number of reasons; they won't get you any more power, and going below 180 degrees thermostat rating will contribute to increased combustion chamber deposits over time, as the engine accumulates miles. The factory thermostat is 190-194 degrees, and I would just leave it at that in a street-driven vehicle. If you want to drop down to say, a 180 degree thermostat, that would be OK, but please do not go any lower. Either way, you won't see a power gain from a lower temperature thermostat. When engines are run on a dyno, they generally make their best peak horsepower at about 190 degrees of coolant temperature, just to give you an idea.
A shift kit will increase the line pressure in the automatic transmission, but it won't get you any more power, or quicker acceleration, since you already have the Superchip. You'll get even firmer shifting of course, but no more actual power. So it's a matter of just how hard do you want your shifts to feel.
If you're looking for quickest acceleration, and don't care about gas mileage, then changing your rear gear ratio to say, a 4.10 or perhaps 4.30 will definately make it accelerate quicker. This is generally one of the last things we normally do, but it all depends on what your priorities are. If all-out acceleration is what you want, then a gear change should be part of the equation. This will also in some cases require us to do a custom program in your Superchip to set the shift points where they need to be for whatever gear ratio you go to.
And of course there is always a supercharger, they work very well and there are many different kits for the 4.6 F-150. You can go as fast as you want to spend, or so the saying goes.
If you like, feel free to give us a call, and we'll be happy to go over all your options, and work with you to help determine just exactly what it is you want to achieve, and some of the best ways to go about doing what you want to do. Of course we only carry the programming products, but we'll be happy to point you in the right direction with these other areas.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html
OK, you've got the Superchip, the Airaid kit, and an exhaust system done so far. Those are the top 3 "bang-for-the-buck" modifications for these vehicles, so you're off to a very good start.
With regards to the Superchip Race Icon, that is not a product you want to use for your truck, those are designed primarily for vehicles that we do not have a more normal "chip" application for. The Icon is an ignition computer, that remaps your ignition curves on the fly. It's a great product, but not really applicable in your situation. Your current Superchip does all of that and much more.
The next mod on the informal "bang-for-the-buck" list would be a set of headers. We recommend using the JBA headers, and they are carried by F150online's Digital Marketplace store. Make sure and have them Jet-Hot coated, as this will help keep underhood tempoeratures down, as headers give off tremendous amounts of heat. The coating will also keep more heat in the exhaust, where you want it. The JBA headers are worth about 12-14 hp or so. Once you install the headers, we can do a custom program in your Superchip that will give you a few more horsepower. Not a lot, but a few more. If you're looking for every last bit of horsepower you can get, you might want to do that.
You do not want to change thermostats for a number of reasons; they won't get you any more power, and going below 180 degrees thermostat rating will contribute to increased combustion chamber deposits over time, as the engine accumulates miles. The factory thermostat is 190-194 degrees, and I would just leave it at that in a street-driven vehicle. If you want to drop down to say, a 180 degree thermostat, that would be OK, but please do not go any lower. Either way, you won't see a power gain from a lower temperature thermostat. When engines are run on a dyno, they generally make their best peak horsepower at about 190 degrees of coolant temperature, just to give you an idea.
A shift kit will increase the line pressure in the automatic transmission, but it won't get you any more power, or quicker acceleration, since you already have the Superchip. You'll get even firmer shifting of course, but no more actual power. So it's a matter of just how hard do you want your shifts to feel.
If you're looking for quickest acceleration, and don't care about gas mileage, then changing your rear gear ratio to say, a 4.10 or perhaps 4.30 will definately make it accelerate quicker. This is generally one of the last things we normally do, but it all depends on what your priorities are. If all-out acceleration is what you want, then a gear change should be part of the equation. This will also in some cases require us to do a custom program in your Superchip to set the shift points where they need to be for whatever gear ratio you go to.
And of course there is always a supercharger, they work very well and there are many different kits for the 4.6 F-150. You can go as fast as you want to spend, or so the saying goes.
If you like, feel free to give us a call, and we'll be happy to go over all your options, and work with you to help determine just exactly what it is you want to achieve, and some of the best ways to go about doing what you want to do. Of course we only carry the programming products, but we'll be happy to point you in the right direction with these other areas.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html