Question for Mike T.
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Question for Mike T.
Mike..I keep reading all of these great stories about the performance acheived with your tuning on the 5.4 3V. Unfortunately, I have an XLT with the 4.6. My question is this, will I see anything close to what these guys are talking about ie, burning rubber, squealing tires, neck jerking shifts, etc. I know it's not gonna run like the 5.4 but I am hoping for the big difference that these guys are getting. I have searched this sight and there really isn't any talk about the differences experienced with a 4.6. I am looking forward to your reply. I also hope that anyone out there with your tuning on the 4.6 will give me details. Thanks
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Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
Hi Starfire,
The 4.6 will certainly benefit from our custom tuning as well, and we've tuned a number of them - though of course, you won't hear anywhere near as much about them simply because there are far more F-150's made with the 5.4, and thus most people here have with the 5.4 3V. Most owners opt for the 5.4 due to the heavy weight of these new body style trucks.
One thing you will have to face is that no, you are not going to get the same performance they do with the same level of modifications - you are 70 HP down to begin with, and you will *still* be about 70-80 HP less than them even after we tune it - the more power any engine makes stock, the more power it gains from tuning, is the general rule of thumb - so a 300 Hp engine gains more than a 231 HP engine like you have. That being the case, I can't guarantee that you are going to be able to smoke the tires with our tuning, and I wouldn't count on it - not is that any real measurement of acceleration capability, by the way- spinning tires gets you nowhere, you're just burning up the tires, as any drag racer will quickly tell you.
However - it will be very much worthwhile to have us tune the vehicle, as you will still see very nice improvements over stock - you will have more power, a quicker powertrain response, far better shifting, etc. In other words, you will see the same types of improvements the 5.4's do generally speaking - you are simply going to be about 80 HP HP down from what they make comparing the power level of the 5.4 3V with our tuning to the power level of the 4.6 with our tuning, due to the fact that the 5.4 3V makes 70 Hp more than your engine to begin with - and has a much longer stroke, which aids torque production, especially at lower rpms.
Look at it this way - those 5.4 3V's make 210-220 Hp at the rear wheels stock, and generally pick up an easy 30+ HP at the rear wheels on our premium gas tuning - your truck makes 140-150 HP at the rear wheel stock, and will pick up about 15-20 HP at the rear wheels from our tuning. There is simply no overcoming that difference without doing more than just tuning alone on a 4.6 that is 70 HP behind to begin with - but that does not negate the viability of tuning in any way, as it is still going to be the single best bang-for-the-buck performance enhancement you can make to that vehicle.
I know the way I am explaining it may seem negative, but it's really not - I just want to impress upon you the fact that stock or tuned, you are still going to be 70-80 HP down from what the 5.4 3V's make, and you are not going to get the kind of performance that many of them do. And remember, there are some of the heaviest 5.4 3V configurations that still might not smoke the tires even with our tuning - though most of them will easily do so.
All that having been said, we have plenty of happy 4.6 F-50 owners we have tuned - they are simply outnumbered by at least 30 to 1 in terms of the owners you will see here.
You can easily find posts from other 4.6 owners we have tuned by using the SEARCH feature here - that's the way to get their impressions, not waiting for them to come back and type them out all over again - most people don't tend to do that once they've posted their impressions & results, they don't do it over and over again each time the next person comes along & wants to get feedback - so that's what the SEARCH feature is for.
I hope that gives you an accurate picture of what you can expect in terms of the differences - you're not going to perform like a 5.4 at the same level of modification, because you do not have a 5.4 - but doing the same types of modifications, especially our tuning, is still going to be very much worthwhile.
The 4.6 will certainly benefit from our custom tuning as well, and we've tuned a number of them - though of course, you won't hear anywhere near as much about them simply because there are far more F-150's made with the 5.4, and thus most people here have with the 5.4 3V. Most owners opt for the 5.4 due to the heavy weight of these new body style trucks.
One thing you will have to face is that no, you are not going to get the same performance they do with the same level of modifications - you are 70 HP down to begin with, and you will *still* be about 70-80 HP less than them even after we tune it - the more power any engine makes stock, the more power it gains from tuning, is the general rule of thumb - so a 300 Hp engine gains more than a 231 HP engine like you have. That being the case, I can't guarantee that you are going to be able to smoke the tires with our tuning, and I wouldn't count on it - not is that any real measurement of acceleration capability, by the way- spinning tires gets you nowhere, you're just burning up the tires, as any drag racer will quickly tell you.
However - it will be very much worthwhile to have us tune the vehicle, as you will still see very nice improvements over stock - you will have more power, a quicker powertrain response, far better shifting, etc. In other words, you will see the same types of improvements the 5.4's do generally speaking - you are simply going to be about 80 HP HP down from what they make comparing the power level of the 5.4 3V with our tuning to the power level of the 4.6 with our tuning, due to the fact that the 5.4 3V makes 70 Hp more than your engine to begin with - and has a much longer stroke, which aids torque production, especially at lower rpms.
Look at it this way - those 5.4 3V's make 210-220 Hp at the rear wheels stock, and generally pick up an easy 30+ HP at the rear wheels on our premium gas tuning - your truck makes 140-150 HP at the rear wheel stock, and will pick up about 15-20 HP at the rear wheels from our tuning. There is simply no overcoming that difference without doing more than just tuning alone on a 4.6 that is 70 HP behind to begin with - but that does not negate the viability of tuning in any way, as it is still going to be the single best bang-for-the-buck performance enhancement you can make to that vehicle.
I know the way I am explaining it may seem negative, but it's really not - I just want to impress upon you the fact that stock or tuned, you are still going to be 70-80 HP down from what the 5.4 3V's make, and you are not going to get the kind of performance that many of them do. And remember, there are some of the heaviest 5.4 3V configurations that still might not smoke the tires even with our tuning - though most of them will easily do so.
All that having been said, we have plenty of happy 4.6 F-50 owners we have tuned - they are simply outnumbered by at least 30 to 1 in terms of the owners you will see here.
You can easily find posts from other 4.6 owners we have tuned by using the SEARCH feature here - that's the way to get their impressions, not waiting for them to come back and type them out all over again - most people don't tend to do that once they've posted their impressions & results, they don't do it over and over again each time the next person comes along & wants to get feedback - so that's what the SEARCH feature is for.
I hope that gives you an accurate picture of what you can expect in terms of the differences - you're not going to perform like a 5.4 at the same level of modification, because you do not have a 5.4 - but doing the same types of modifications, especially our tuning, is still going to be very much worthwhile.
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Mike..Thanks for the reply. Based on everything I have read on this forum, and I have read a lot, I am ready to buy. I just bought this truck a few months ago and if I am going to keep it with it's bad mileage, it's going to have to run a lot better. It's just a dog. My friend's stock 5.4 feels so much better, that I have got to do something. I am counting on you to make me as happy as all these other guys. I do realize it is not a 5.4 but the differences that you talk about should make me happy. If so, you can always use me as a reference on the 4.6. I am on central time in Texas, what hours can I call you guys. Thanks
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi Starfire,
Thanks for your post, & that is very kind of you to say - we appreciate your offer as a reference for other 4.6 owners, that is extremely generous of you!
Our hours of operation are M-F from 9am to 6pm, Eastern time. We also have 24 hour voicemail to leave us a message with name & number for those who can't call us during those hours, or for those who need us to call them back at their work because they cannot make a long-distance call from work, etc., so we try to make it easy to communicate with us.
I think we can make you much happier with your truck, & we look forward to working with you!
All the best,
Thanks for your post, & that is very kind of you to say - we appreciate your offer as a reference for other 4.6 owners, that is extremely generous of you!
Our hours of operation are M-F from 9am to 6pm, Eastern time. We also have 24 hour voicemail to leave us a message with name & number for those who can't call us during those hours, or for those who need us to call them back at their work because they cannot make a long-distance call from work, etc., so we try to make it easy to communicate with us.
I think we can make you much happier with your truck, & we look forward to working with you!
All the best,