Should I go ahead and upgrade my fuel pump? I shouldn't need a re-burn for that, should I? And will a Lightning fuel pump fit?

Thanks,
-Flea

 

Just curious, have you added a SC or somthing else that will require higher fuel flow? Either way I would think unless you're also changing the delivery capacity like with larger (i.e. 42 lb) injectors as well, I would imagine it would require a reburn.

 

Hi Flea,

Well, I don't know what your modifications are so I really can't answer that, but what I can tell you is that the stock fuel pump in your truck could be either an 85 l/hr unit or a 125 l/hr unit, which will support roughly 265-280 hp & 310-325 hp, respectively, so you can judge by your power level if you need to upgrade or not. In the 1997's & 1998's, we conservatively assume an 85 l/hr stock fuel pump on all of them so we upgrade those 2 model years sooner, better to have a little more than a little less in fuel pump capacity.

Changing the fuel pump usually doesn't require reprogramming, certainly not in the return-type fuel systems used thru '98 in the F150, & we have newer F-150's with returnless systems upgrading fuel pumps too with no problems, but then, they're not going to excess with tons of unneeded capacity, either.

 

I am eventually going to need a reburn, as I plan to buy fuel injectors (42-lb.; better too much than not enough!), a Fuel pressure regulator, and higher capacity fuel pump. I'm not going to install the injectors or regulator until I have made the purchase of a supercharger and 4.10 or 4.30 gears. Like you said, Mike, I'm going to try and do everything all at once, even if I do have to buy at seperate times, so I only have to do one reburn on the chip. ($250!)

Right now, I have intake (K&N), Flipchip, Glasspack exhaust (SI/DO), headers, T-body spacer, and electric fans; pulleys are in the works.

Should I go ahead and get a new pump?

-Flea

 

Hi Flea,

Yes, you do need mroe fuel pump capacity right now, most likely, but without knowing the model year and engine, it's hard to say exactly, but bascially, yes, you're probably capable of exceeding your stock fuel pump's capacity.

Without knowing the model year or engine in your truck, it's impossible to give specific answers, but with your present mods done to say, a '99 & up 260 hp 5.4 motor, if you had enough fuel pump & injector capacity you could potentially make (under ideal conditions) as much as 320-330 hp. Now if this is done to an older 235 hp 5.4 or to a 4.6 the power levels will be significantly less of course, but that is just for an example.

Let's say you can hit even as much as 330 hp right now *if* you had enough fuel supply (and you don't). And let's say we're gong to add a blower at say, 6-8 PSI and add another 100-125 hp to that, giving us a total power level of about 450 hp, again, *ideally*. That kind of power level on a supercharged 8-cylidner engine could be supported by a 30# injector, though it would not have as much headroom as I'd like, so let's say we bump that up to a 36# injector. That will support almost 600 hp normally aspirated, and about 540 hp in supercharged trim.

So if you are going to the 450+ hp level area, then you'd want to use a 255 l/hr fuel pump, as there you want more capacity headroom than in the fuel injectors, and use an adjustable fuel pressure regulator to maintain proper rail pressure. With that size of fuel pump, if you have a returnless fuel system more changes would have to be made, so thius very quickly can get very involved, especially in the newer returnless systems, too much so for here.

We'll need to cover everything from the fuel pump the the fuel lines to the fuel rail size to the injectors, as what model year you have, which engine you have, and whether you have a return or returnless fuel system all play important roles in all this, so the way to get your answers on exactly what you really need is to call us, so we can do this right.