As many of you know,Ive had 99/00/ and now 02 lightnings.Ifter driving the new 02 I would like to share some important changes through the years as I noticed.

My 99 felt slow right out of the dealership.It felt a little sluggish compared to the 99 silverado it replaced.I know the L was half a second faster but it was not as responsive as the Chevy.The track proved it was a strong truck at 13.8@98 mph.I did a chip/filter combo only and clicked off 13.2s while spinning a little and that was FAST in 99 for a Lightning!That truck never gave me a stitch of trouble.

My 00 felt the same.Maybe a touch more responsive but was a touch slower at 13.9@98 mph.with chip.filter/pully.i managed a best of 12.8@105 and pretty consistant on slicks until.......The motor blew.The the transmission had to be replaced 3 times for a total of 4 different transmission in the truck.I dont miss that F-N truck at all.......

Now for the comparison.The minute I drove the 02 off the lot,i noticed some huge differences!
The truck is ALOT more resposive.It almost feels like my 99/00 with a chip.I have yet to punch it yet but the around town driving is much much more enjoyable with the 3.73s and the 20 extra ponies which i know do believe exist.The shocks are definatly noticable although not a huge difference.Dont get me wrong,its basically the same truck but the refinements are noticed and enjoyed,Especially when I have the enjoyment of having three of the years experience.Other than the obvious,here are some of the un-noticable changes some of you might not know exist.

1. the blower says SVT
2.The underhood stickers are different
3.Both grab handles ans pillars are more square
4.The door lock buttons and windows are square instread of round and have a picture of a lock instead of the 'U and L
5.pouch undernieth the ignition for sunglasses.

 

I have an early '02 (Jan 02), and I dont have the square grab handles, square buttons, or the sunglass holder.

Hmm.......I just saw these for the first time Friday too. LXguy1 has an '02(Feb 02) with the stuff you describe.

His truck is running kind of slow though. 13.8 was the best he could do in good air. The best I got was 13.2. Both trucks STOCK.

Hope your truck is faster than his.

Let us know what you run STOCK.

Jason

 

My 01 doesn't have the "pouch" in the dash, which my 99 did. That the only thing I miss on the old one. Try taking a tight sweeping turn w/ ruts at 50/55 and you WILL see a big difference in the new shocks. The a$$ end of the truck is more stable. The new gears do make the truck more peppy, but it makes the truck buzzy around 90/95. I love this truck

 

I hope they didnt make the trucks slower in late 02 due to the square grab handles being not strong enough.....LOL

My truck feels way stronger than either,I would be suprised if it ran a 13.8,More like 13.5 or so.I dont think 13.2 is normal so I dont expect that

 

I just ran out to my truck to look. DANG! I didn't notice that before. Thanks buddy!

Now that I have 700 miles and 2 oil changes on my truck I've gotten on it a few times
Did your other trucks see 10 pounds of boost stock? Mine sure feels fast with just a K&N filter.

Thanks

 

See, I told you long ago. I knew you'd come around. LOL

Congrats on the new beast !!!
-----------
Rick

 

On the stock gauge,They both saw 10 punds of boost.When i did my autometer,I saw that Ford is right saying they have 8 stock

 

Yea, my friend just picked his true blue '02 L from the same dealership that I got my black '02 L from and he has the square handles, new buttons, and sunglasses pocket, I think I should goto Ford and demand these upgrades!

-Kelly

 

I have an 02 L with a build date of 01/02, which I purchased 2-14-02. I have the SVT blower, new Bilsteins, round U/L door lock button, the D-shaped handles, and no pouch under the ignition. I have an overhead console with info display, sunglass holder, and garage opener thingy.


Can't say I miss any of the "upgrades" you mention though...

 

Hey Lightning Truck- Where you at in Rockland? I'm over in West Nyack on Sickletown. Were you on Middletown Rd. by 59 on Sat?

 

I took that way home 9PM from Sears, must have been me! Had just bought a bunch of 1/4" drive tools to change the Lightning sparkplugs. I want to make sure my plugs are tight!

 

Being able to speak, read, and write English, I prefer U & L. Icon's for people that can't or don't care to learn English are not for me. Menu driven DOS (except for being 8 bits and speed) was, with menus, far better than windows with icons. Now how many Ls are sold overseas where they can't read English? Oh well, I've decided to keep my 99 and turn it into a race truck, so I will alway have the U & L.
noelvm

 

Order a 514 crate motor and wedge it in there, how's that for a race truck? A guy down in Orlando has a red '99 with this setup, havn't heard how it runs yet though, 600 hp out of the box.

-Kelly

 

Just in case the '99 owners didn't feel bad enough, all the years except '99 got the dark tint rear window from the factory.

If you don't look behind you, you'll never notice it.

 

Raoul,

I think you are mistaken about the tinted windows on the '99's.

Mine was/is WAY DARK from the factory. Actually, here in AZ. . .it's considered illegal. I know this because a Highway Patrolman was kind enough to let me know one night after pulling me over for driving 'suspiciously'. I told him it was the factory tint. At first he didn't believe me, but after the hissy I threw about it, he gave in.

I'm not sure, maybe it was just the early 99's that didn't get the dark rear window.