worthwhile 4.2 upgrades
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Kurt,
Congratulations, glad to hear you're getting our custom tuning!
To answer your other question about our underdrive pulley setup & what it's worth power-wise, for the 4.2 V6 F-150 it will add another 8-10 more HP at the rear wheels - so it's definitely a worthwhile modification.
Another nice thing is that because the underdrive pulley setup is reducing "parasitic" losses (meaning engine power that is used just to turn the accessories, and thus less power gets to the rear wheels), you don't have to upgrade the fuel system - I mention that simply because on the 4.2 V6 F-150 they have 19# injectors stock, so since there are 6 of them, they can only support about 250-265 HP in the F-150 (and that's at the flywheel, not rear wheel) in normally aspirated trim - which means that for most people with 4.2 V6 F-150's, once they have done performance tuning, an intake kit & a cat-back exhaust, they have to upgrade the injectors (which is not a big deal, easy & not expensive) in order to be able to support *additional* power gains.
But modifications like our underdrive pulley, and our electric fan conversion kit too, can still be added, as the power gains from those types of mods come from the reduction of parasitic losses, so the engine actually burns LESS fuel. Just some quick FYI stuff..........
Figure another 8-10 HP at the rear wheels from our underdrive pulley for the 4.2 V6, and for our electric fan kit, another 12-15 HP at the wheels on the 4.2 V6 - just FYI so you'll know.
Congratulations, glad to hear you're getting our custom tuning!
To answer your other question about our underdrive pulley setup & what it's worth power-wise, for the 4.2 V6 F-150 it will add another 8-10 more HP at the rear wheels - so it's definitely a worthwhile modification.
Another nice thing is that because the underdrive pulley setup is reducing "parasitic" losses (meaning engine power that is used just to turn the accessories, and thus less power gets to the rear wheels), you don't have to upgrade the fuel system - I mention that simply because on the 4.2 V6 F-150 they have 19# injectors stock, so since there are 6 of them, they can only support about 250-265 HP in the F-150 (and that's at the flywheel, not rear wheel) in normally aspirated trim - which means that for most people with 4.2 V6 F-150's, once they have done performance tuning, an intake kit & a cat-back exhaust, they have to upgrade the injectors (which is not a big deal, easy & not expensive) in order to be able to support *additional* power gains.
But modifications like our underdrive pulley, and our electric fan conversion kit too, can still be added, as the power gains from those types of mods come from the reduction of parasitic losses, so the engine actually burns LESS fuel. Just some quick FYI stuff..........
Figure another 8-10 HP at the rear wheels from our underdrive pulley for the 4.2 V6, and for our electric fan kit, another 12-15 HP at the wheels on the 4.2 V6 - just FYI so you'll know.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi lew b,
Haven't seen you here for awhile!
Yeah, we can wake up these 4.2L V6's every bit as much as we can for the V8's - heck, we did the very first supercharge 4. V6 many years ago, it put down 350 to the wheels on a 5500 lb. SuperCab 4x4 with Off Road package (can't get ORP on a V6 anymore), and at 3500 altitude, that heavy pig still ripped off sub-6 second 0-60 times on the towing-compatible tune. That truck also had to tow a 5000 lb work trailer Monday thru Friday as well. Last we hard, it was at well over 150K miles and still going strong in the hands of it's second owner.
SO the 4.2 V6 does indeed have plenty of potential - like everything else, it's all a matter of cost, so you know the old saying "speed costs - how fast do you want to go?"
All kidding aside, if your truck is stock, the first 3 things to do are to have us do a custom tune, then our intake it, and then the cat-back exhaust -0 at that pint, the truck will run pretty strong, certainly far better than before,.
Feel free to call us to go over anything on this, if you like.
Keep in touch!
Haven't seen you here for awhile!
Yeah, we can wake up these 4.2L V6's every bit as much as we can for the V8's - heck, we did the very first supercharge 4. V6 many years ago, it put down 350 to the wheels on a 5500 lb. SuperCab 4x4 with Off Road package (can't get ORP on a V6 anymore), and at 3500 altitude, that heavy pig still ripped off sub-6 second 0-60 times on the towing-compatible tune. That truck also had to tow a 5000 lb work trailer Monday thru Friday as well. Last we hard, it was at well over 150K miles and still going strong in the hands of it's second owner.
SO the 4.2 V6 does indeed have plenty of potential - like everything else, it's all a matter of cost, so you know the old saying "speed costs - how fast do you want to go?"
All kidding aside, if your truck is stock, the first 3 things to do are to have us do a custom tune, then our intake it, and then the cat-back exhaust -0 at that pint, the truck will run pretty strong, certainly far better than before,.
Feel free to call us to go over anything on this, if you like.
Keep in touch!
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
I didn't know we got a 'club' discount. How cool. I've been looking at either the pulley or e-fans, as I cannot afford both. I'm just not sure which one is the better way to go. I already have a Superchip, Intake and Exhaust plus I"m regeared. My little 4.2L hamsters need a boost of steroids 
Senior Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,409
Likes: 1
From: Sunny FL
e-fans edge out under-drive pulleys for hp gain a little
Troyer Performance Dual 16" Electric Fan Kit for 1997-2003 Ford F-series
Power gains from this kit run anywhere from a low of 15 HP to as much as 20 HP at the rear wheels, and throttle response is improved *everywhere* - at any speed, at any rpm, and at any throttle position
Underdrive Pulley for 2001-2003 Ford F-150 w/4.2 V6
Adds 8-10 HP at the rear wheels
Troyer Performance Dual 16" Electric Fan Kit for 1997-2003 Ford F-series
Power gains from this kit run anywhere from a low of 15 HP to as much as 20 HP at the rear wheels, and throttle response is improved *everywhere* - at any speed, at any rpm, and at any throttle position
Underdrive Pulley for 2001-2003 Ford F-150 w/4.2 V6
Adds 8-10 HP at the rear wheels
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi "Blonde Ambition,"
Funny screen name!
Yes, we have always offered a special discount on our tuning products here at Troyer Performance for registered members of this web site - so you;l want to call us for your price on our tuning, definitely.
In terms of what gains the most power between our electric fan kit and the underdrive pulley on the 4.2 V6 F-150's our electric fan kit gains the most - but many people do the underdrive pulley first, as it's cheaper. It's really a matter of what your budget can tolerate - the E-fans give you about double the power gain and give you some MPG gains as well, so they're very popular. You can always do one, and then do the other later on whenever your budget can tolerate it.
Jackal's suggestion was a good one, talking about the shifter - we worked with Hurst for a long time to make that shifter happen, and anyone with a manual-tranny F-150 will absolutely *love* it's feel - makes the truck feel like a sports car, a lot more fun to drive - though it doesn't actually add any power, of course.
You know the deal, there's always going to be more mods available than we can afford, just about every vehicle owner has that same basic dilemma - so you generally just go in the order of best bang-for-the buck, and do your mods as you can afford them. Don't feel bad, we own a performance company and still can't afford to do *everything* we'd like to with every one of our vehicles here - we *all* have limits!
Good luck with your truck,
Funny screen name!
Yes, we have always offered a special discount on our tuning products here at Troyer Performance for registered members of this web site - so you;l want to call us for your price on our tuning, definitely.
In terms of what gains the most power between our electric fan kit and the underdrive pulley on the 4.2 V6 F-150's our electric fan kit gains the most - but many people do the underdrive pulley first, as it's cheaper. It's really a matter of what your budget can tolerate - the E-fans give you about double the power gain and give you some MPG gains as well, so they're very popular. You can always do one, and then do the other later on whenever your budget can tolerate it.
Jackal's suggestion was a good one, talking about the shifter - we worked with Hurst for a long time to make that shifter happen, and anyone with a manual-tranny F-150 will absolutely *love* it's feel - makes the truck feel like a sports car, a lot more fun to drive - though it doesn't actually add any power, of course.
You know the deal, there's always going to be more mods available than we can afford, just about every vehicle owner has that same basic dilemma - so you generally just go in the order of best bang-for-the buck, and do your mods as you can afford them. Don't feel bad, we own a performance company and still can't afford to do *everything* we'd like to with every one of our vehicles here - we *all* have limits!
Good luck with your truck,