I think the expectations must be a bit high for those posing towards the beginning of this thread, on how slow their truck is. My (stock) 2001 5.4L gas a great motor with impressive torque, and has no trouble towing. I'm not sure if it will beat a Hemi, I doubt it but then again it's a five year old model.

Would I like more power? Sure, more is always good as long as it stays reliable. I'm intrigued by a blower, but common sense tells me my chances of a problem with the plugs blowing out can only increase with a blower.

 

Les, your exactly right. These people get expectations built way to high, don't use common sense and believe way to much advertising and hype and other posts on these boards.
Those on the chip forum that just post to say "I can't wait for my xcal to come", "only two weeks to go" etc is purely childish reaction.
These trucks are heavy with small motors and low torque. You just cannot move them without torque.
The rush to change exhaust systems is the first mistake. There is little extra torque there to be had for the expense. the stock system is already engineered for the best overall power.
Same with the air intake. The stock system flows more than enough air at normal driving use to feed the the motor.
Why people cannot understand that the throttle opening angle (throttle body) is the absolute controller of the airflow into the engine and not an air filter or pipe, is beyond comprehension.
The original poster of this thread has proved it, as has others time and time again.

 

The gas milage on my Navigator didn't vary at all after all of my bolt ons or my blower. It actually gets about 1MPG better than before the blower. But I can see your point as there is no 1-800-blower-fix tech line that you can call if and when you have catastrophic failure. I guess, for me anyway, after all teh years ****in around with little bolts ons, finally getting a blower was like the grand finale of add ons, and I wouldn't start anywhere else now!

 

I agree with everything you've said except for the fact that the throttle angle is onlytotally responsible for airflow into the motor. Put it like this: If you put a paper bag over your mouth and breathe in, then no matter how much you open your mouth you're still affected by the time it takes the air to flow into the bag. Getting a freerer flowing bag increases the ease with which air can be sucked in, therefore increasing flow.

 

I feel pretty safe assuming everyone is refering to me. Let's see if I can explain my "expectations"...

I know how to drive tractor-trailers. I would have CDL right now (Ft Dix has a program where service members can get a CDL for free) except that NJ has a law that if you have a CDL & you get a ticket, you get double points and double fines no matter what you're driving at the time. I have 18 towing vehicles on my AF special purpose drivers license, so trust me, I know towing.

I spent the first 9 years of my AF career towing stuff around on AF flight-lines. Some thing as small as 400lbs all the way to aircraft. Most of that time was using a vehicle the AF refers to as a "Bobtail". It's a truck with the frame shortened so that the rear wheels are right under the end of the regular cab. The beasts are rated to tow 40000lbs. We had F350 300 I6's, Jeep CJ's with a Nissan 3.3 diesel (they sucked), Dodge's with the 230hp/420tq Cummins & F250's with the 7.3. Those Cummins could pull 20000lbs of equipment up this ridiculous hill on Andersen AFB, Guam with out even noticing there was anything on the back of the truck. How did they do it? Simple, a 7.0-1 rear axle. That's how a tow vehicle earns it's paycheck, with the axle ratio.

My expectation was that my brand new F150 should be able to stompt the crap out of my 91 Chevy with out trying. My expectation is that a vehicle rated to tow 8700lbs should be able to tow a 1/3 of that with total ease. My expectation is that a truck rated for 8700lbs should not lose more than 2 or 3 mpg in the process of towing a trailer that heavy. My F150 sporting a 300hp/365tq V8 can't pull a 2700lb trailer up a 4% grade without shifting out of OD. It needs to turn 4500rpm to maintain 55-60mph on I81N on a 10% grade. It drops over 6mpg while towing. A trip to the local trailer sales guy has revealed that some of the mpg loss and difficulty while towing might be due to the lack of a cap on my truck. He says that the air swirls over the top of the truck & then slams into the front of the trailer causing drag. Before anyone says anything about towing in OD, the Ford dealer I took delivery from said anything under 5000lbs is perfectly acceptable to tow in OD.

Since I only tow at most a 2 place motorcycle trailer weighing around 2700-3000lbs & then only a few times a year, I decided the 3.55ls axle would be better for all around driving. This truck can't tow a freaking thing, my 91 Chevy with the 195hp 350 could pull the same trailer with far less difficulty. My Brother In Law's 98 Chevy Vortec 350 pulls it like it doesn't exist. Just for giggles, I hooked up my friends 2 axle car trailer with his 72 'Stang on it. We think its about 7000lbs but we are by no means sure of this since it hasn't been weighed. I stopped after about 20 minutes and turned around. I sincerely thought my truck (or at least the transmission) was going to blow up. It couldn't maintain 60mph on I295N without a tail-wind. We then hooked the same trailer up to his Titan and it wasn't easy but it sure as hell towed better than my truck. I know for certain it's not me, it's either false advertising on Ford's part or there is something wrong with my particular truck. I don't think anything is wrong with my truck simple because it runs fine 99% of the time when it's not trailering. I have a occasional hard/no start problem that the XCAL 2 didn't fix and no dealer will mess with because the truck doesn't throw a fault code.

The facts: My truck CAN'T make it's advertised HP without a $500 goody from TP + still can't tow with the XCAL2 + Ford's absolutely **** poor dealer service (at least at the 5 I've gone too, yours may well be & probably is better) = why I probably won't buy another Ford again unless it's got a diesel under the hood.

I don't particuarly care if anyone believes a single word I just typed. Just don't sit there and assume that someone doesn't know what there talking about or doesn't know what they should expect from a vehicle. I've forgotten more about towing than probably 90% of people out there so trust me my expectations aren't too high.

KC-10 FE out...

 

A simple answer to a great deal of your stated issue is simple. FOrd bum fudged it all dumping the =pushrod design, that shebby is still hammering away with. A 500 hp 302 vs a 500HP 330 mod motor, and there is no race. The 302 would blast if off the road. The end of the equation goes like this

Modmotor + Towing = Poor
Pushrod + towing = Good
mod-motor + Ford = no more performance

Solution = 5.0L Cammer $10000 crate motor!

 

Apparently you have a LEMON. I would get it checked out. I can pull 8000# trailer from Houston,Tx. to Hot Springs,Ar. without going out of O/D until I enter Ar. mountains. As far as the trailer towing experience. I've been towing since 1970 & held a CDL since 1973.

 

KC-10 FE , i am sorry buddy, you must have a lemon, i regularly tow a large car trailer with my freinds mustange and race crap, trailer and car and crap combined probably 8,000, about 200 miles, i have no problems at all maintaining 80 MPH once i have built cruising speed i can activate OD, i have a car trailer and i regularly do side work towing vehicles, my truck does great and it is a 03, sorry buddy, good luck

 

Sorry your not having too good a luck.
I still stand by what I posted in relation to these trucks.
I too tow a race trailer with a 4.6L Screw and not a young squirt either for experience.
I would have tested a bit more before buying and becoming so disatisfied.
You might have one of those trucks that dosn't go open loop fuel when in WOT, right from the factory.
What you do about all this is open to question.
Good luck.

 

Well that settles it... As soon as I get back from my upcoming trip to the land of sand, I'm borrowing someones F150 with the 5.4 and doing a little test. 4 Guys in my squadron alone have 04-up F150's. My problem is that I purchased my truck while deployed to the middle east. Since I didn't buy the truck local, all the local dealers treat me like crap. Which is why I put that blurb about lousy dealer service. I've tried 5 times to get the Ford reflash to no avail. I tried telling them that my truck wouldn't start on occasion or ran rough for a few minutes when it finally did. I'm talking 30-40 seconds of cranking to get it running, they still didn't care. I do know for 100% certain that the push-rod 350's in my old truck and my Brother in law's truck will out pull the 5.4 in my truck hands down, no contest. If my little test turns out good, then it's time to start looking in to lemon laws. My truck also uses 1.5 quarts in 3000 miles and EVERY Ford dealer said that's normal consumption. When I told him my 91 Chevy with 187000 miles NEVER used any oil at all, he asked why I bought a Ford. Really makes me want to continue that business relationship. I am VERY interested to see the 2007 Silverado this summer... Last I heard was 320hp, 22mpg, 10000lb tow rating, 6 sp auto...

KC-10 FE out...

 

Yeah, have your truck checked out by a trusted mechanic. Scre Ford dealerships. I have 212,000 on my 4.6, and have no problem holding 70 pulling a 6000 lb load (my buddy's Chevelle). Something's not right with your truck... Good luck, and I hope that you can see how well these trucks pull when they're runnning right. I'm not sure, but this may apply to you also as far as the oil usage. https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=222631