Will the tuner make it last?
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Member
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 55
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Will the tuner make it last?
Hi all,
Ok, so here's my thing with the Tuners: are they going to affect the long term reliability of the powertrain? I am not implying the F150 powertrains are weak, but I would think the engine/transmission are factory built to handle a certain range of power. My '04 F150 FX4 is not like a Lightning or GT500 with a forged steel crankshaft and pistons and a race built transmission, so making performance modifications would affect it differently I would think. Any thoughts? I am open to any feedback as I do not know much about this. Thanks.
Ok, so here's my thing with the Tuners: are they going to affect the long term reliability of the powertrain? I am not implying the F150 powertrains are weak, but I would think the engine/transmission are factory built to handle a certain range of power. My '04 F150 FX4 is not like a Lightning or GT500 with a forged steel crankshaft and pistons and a race built transmission, so making performance modifications would affect it differently I would think. Any thoughts? I am open to any feedback as I do not know much about this. Thanks.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 10,390
Likes: 10
Hi.
Done properly, it's safe.
The stock powertrain is capable of far more than you'd think.
Search is your friend - read on ...
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...rformance+dead
Again - it depends on who's doing the tuning, etc.
Cheers
Bubba
Done properly, it's safe.
The stock powertrain is capable of far more than you'd think.
Search is your friend - read on ...
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...rformance+dead
Again - it depends on who's doing the tuning, etc.
Cheers
Bubba
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi mile64,
Actually, ALL 5.4 F-150's have forged steel crankshafts - and the Lightning did NOT have any kind of "race-built" automatic transmission, it just had an ordinary 4R100 with a few parts from the diesel versions, that's all. Now the Lightning *did* have forged pistons, but other than that, it's engine is the same as any other F-150 5.4 2V. Same crank, same rods. Just FYI.
However, what needs to be remembered here is that proper tuning (where some idiot does not just remove the rev limiter) and proper driving (where some idiot does not just hold it in gear and keep their foot to the floor forcing the truck thru a mud-bog the size of Texas) is not going to cause durability problems in these trucks - if that were the case, these trucks would not last at all even in bone-stock trim, either - they aren't that fragile.
Are there things a tuner can do that can cause harm? Well, yes, if the person doing the tuning (the tuner) is that stupid, sure. Now, *does* that actually happen in the real world? Virtually never, and certainly not by any of the "names" in the industry.
So in short, this is really not a concern when yo are dealing with a tuner who is an expert in these F-150's - we have specialized in them for 15 years, so we know better than virtually anyone in the aftermarket what they can and cannot take, what is and is not safe to do, etc., in this regard.
For example, there are plenty of these trucks that are supercharged that have no durability problems, and are still towing heavy loads, etc - It's all in what you do and how it's done - in this case, the expertise of the tuner, and how the vehicle owner treats the vehicle - and if either are done with any common sense, this is simply a non-issue.
In fact, what usually happens is the automatic transmission tends to last longer thanks to the reduced friction & less heat being generated.
I hope that helps ease your mind, & please feel free to give us a call at our number listed below if you;d like to go over this in more detail and find out just what we can do for your vehicle with our custom tuning, etc., OK?
Thanks for your post, & god luck with your truck!
Actually, ALL 5.4 F-150's have forged steel crankshafts - and the Lightning did NOT have any kind of "race-built" automatic transmission, it just had an ordinary 4R100 with a few parts from the diesel versions, that's all. Now the Lightning *did* have forged pistons, but other than that, it's engine is the same as any other F-150 5.4 2V. Same crank, same rods. Just FYI.
However, what needs to be remembered here is that proper tuning (where some idiot does not just remove the rev limiter) and proper driving (where some idiot does not just hold it in gear and keep their foot to the floor forcing the truck thru a mud-bog the size of Texas) is not going to cause durability problems in these trucks - if that were the case, these trucks would not last at all even in bone-stock trim, either - they aren't that fragile.
Are there things a tuner can do that can cause harm? Well, yes, if the person doing the tuning (the tuner) is that stupid, sure. Now, *does* that actually happen in the real world? Virtually never, and certainly not by any of the "names" in the industry.
So in short, this is really not a concern when yo are dealing with a tuner who is an expert in these F-150's - we have specialized in them for 15 years, so we know better than virtually anyone in the aftermarket what they can and cannot take, what is and is not safe to do, etc., in this regard.
For example, there are plenty of these trucks that are supercharged that have no durability problems, and are still towing heavy loads, etc - It's all in what you do and how it's done - in this case, the expertise of the tuner, and how the vehicle owner treats the vehicle - and if either are done with any common sense, this is simply a non-issue.
In fact, what usually happens is the automatic transmission tends to last longer thanks to the reduced friction & less heat being generated.
I hope that helps ease your mind, & please feel free to give us a call at our number listed below if you;d like to go over this in more detail and find out just what we can do for your vehicle with our custom tuning, etc., OK?
Thanks for your post, & god luck with your truck!