Mod Info Needed
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Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
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Mod Info Needed
I have an 03 HD wanting to put on 8lb pulley,cone filter,&tuner is this safe mod? The people doing the tune are dependable but I heard the motor would not hold up w/these mods from someone @ rpmoutlet
thanks for the help
thanks for the help
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 739
Likes: 0
From: Houston and Lil ol' England
Hi and welcome to F150online.
Will it be safe? Hmmm, good question.
I think that one thing to bear in mind is that any kind of tuning carries a potential risk. Once you step outside the factory comfort zone (and warranty) you always stand the chance of damaging something.
Let me try and explain further.
Ford has decided that the safe output we have with our standard HD (btw, I have an 03 too) is 340bhp/425 lbft.
What do I mean by safe? Well,you might be an average Joe purchaser and service your vehicle exactly when it says in the manual. You don't want new plugs till the 100k mark. You might live in California where you only get 91 octane reformmatted gas. You might load the bed up or tow to the max capacity. The tune that Ford puts into the HD is safe (in their opinion) for all these parameters from the cold mid-winter of Minnesota to the hot humid summer of Texas.
Is the engine good for better or more power than the Ford tune? Undoubtedly but with certain cavaets.
You will need to go to a colder range plug and change them more often.
You will need to change the fuel filter more often. You might not be able to tow as much or run at max speed with an aggresive tune.
Does tuning the truck make it unsafe? (within limits). Fortunately the answer is no if you treat it and look after it sensibly.
There are plenty of people out there running an 8lb pulley with success however if you were to try and tow a 5000lb trailer uphill on a 30degree morning you would probably enter the vented block club very quickly.
When I got my tuning parts, I contacted one of the supporting vendors on here called Mike Troyer. You can contact him through www.troyerperformance.com or he may even chime in here.
I spoke with Mike on the phone for a good 45 minutes to discuss what my performance goals were (to go as fast as possible
) and how much I wanted to spend to achieve this (as little as possible ).
Mike recommended the parts I would need to keep me on budget and safe.
As it was, I went for the 6lb pulley, filter etc. and custom tuning from him.
If you are still reading this far, the best thing you could do would be to contact Mike, have a chat and get his recommendations.
Good luck
Will it be safe? Hmmm, good question.
I think that one thing to bear in mind is that any kind of tuning carries a potential risk. Once you step outside the factory comfort zone (and warranty) you always stand the chance of damaging something.
Let me try and explain further.
Ford has decided that the safe output we have with our standard HD (btw, I have an 03 too) is 340bhp/425 lbft.
What do I mean by safe? Well,you might be an average Joe purchaser and service your vehicle exactly when it says in the manual. You don't want new plugs till the 100k mark. You might live in California where you only get 91 octane reformmatted gas. You might load the bed up or tow to the max capacity. The tune that Ford puts into the HD is safe (in their opinion) for all these parameters from the cold mid-winter of Minnesota to the hot humid summer of Texas.
Is the engine good for better or more power than the Ford tune? Undoubtedly but with certain cavaets.
You will need to go to a colder range plug and change them more often.
You will need to change the fuel filter more often. You might not be able to tow as much or run at max speed with an aggresive tune.
Does tuning the truck make it unsafe? (within limits). Fortunately the answer is no if you treat it and look after it sensibly.
There are plenty of people out there running an 8lb pulley with success however if you were to try and tow a 5000lb trailer uphill on a 30degree morning you would probably enter the vented block club very quickly.
When I got my tuning parts, I contacted one of the supporting vendors on here called Mike Troyer. You can contact him through www.troyerperformance.com or he may even chime in here.
I spoke with Mike on the phone for a good 45 minutes to discuss what my performance goals were (to go as fast as possible
) and how much I wanted to spend to achieve this (as little as possible ).Mike recommended the parts I would need to keep me on budget and safe.
As it was, I went for the 6lb pulley, filter etc. and custom tuning from him.
If you are still reading this far, the best thing you could do would be to contact Mike, have a chat and get his recommendations.
Good luck
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi BK_03HD,
Even though the Harley has 2 PSI less boost than the Lightning, we do NOT advise installing a 8# pulley on there without a fully built bottom end. Trust me, as the company that has specialized in F-150 performance tuning longer than anyone else, we've just about seen it all. Some people, if they take it easy on the truck, can maybe get away with an 8# pulley - these days, we will not even sell an 8# pulley to anyone except under very restricted circumstances, as we'd rather not take the sale than put something like that in just anyone's hands.
Do not go with anything more than a 6# pulley - there are MANY more ways to make power in these trucks than trying to spin the stock unported blower to 18,000 rpm - also, once you increase boost with a 6# pulley, just so you will know right up front in case it may be a factor for you - DO NOT TOW ANYTHING WITH IT - PERIOD.
Remember, that Harley is bigger & heavier than a Lightning - this is one of numerous reasons why Ford didn't give them the same boost level in that same engine, as it will always have significantly more load on it than a Lightning would, thus you cannot push the motor as hard.
It sounds to me like before you do *anything*, you really need thorough advice from a company that is a true expert in modifying these trucks - if you'd like to get that kind of professional help, feel free to give us a call at our number below - whatever you do, do not do anything more than a 6# pulley, make sure it gets a world-class *custom* tune by someone who is a true expert in the factory-supercharged Harley specifically.
Good luck!
Even though the Harley has 2 PSI less boost than the Lightning, we do NOT advise installing a 8# pulley on there without a fully built bottom end. Trust me, as the company that has specialized in F-150 performance tuning longer than anyone else, we've just about seen it all. Some people, if they take it easy on the truck, can maybe get away with an 8# pulley - these days, we will not even sell an 8# pulley to anyone except under very restricted circumstances, as we'd rather not take the sale than put something like that in just anyone's hands.
Do not go with anything more than a 6# pulley - there are MANY more ways to make power in these trucks than trying to spin the stock unported blower to 18,000 rpm - also, once you increase boost with a 6# pulley, just so you will know right up front in case it may be a factor for you - DO NOT TOW ANYTHING WITH IT - PERIOD.
Remember, that Harley is bigger & heavier than a Lightning - this is one of numerous reasons why Ford didn't give them the same boost level in that same engine, as it will always have significantly more load on it than a Lightning would, thus you cannot push the motor as hard.
It sounds to me like before you do *anything*, you really need thorough advice from a company that is a true expert in modifying these trucks - if you'd like to get that kind of professional help, feel free to give us a call at our number below - whatever you do, do not do anything more than a 6# pulley, make sure it gets a world-class *custom* tune by someone who is a true expert in the factory-supercharged Harley specifically.
Good luck!