I’m curious if anyone can provide some feedback regarding the many performance products that are all over the web for 5.0L speed density truck engine. My truck already has 3-inch exhaust from the Y-pipe back and I’m looking to get some more power for towing purposes. I’m thinking about other bolt on accessories like: air intake kits, performance throttle bodies, throttle body spacers, headers, power tuning modules, under drive pulley kits, and ignition upgrades. Any positive or negative feedback regarding any performance upgrades is greatly appreciated.

 

Contact Mike Troyer (Superchips_Distributor) and get a Superchip, it is the best bang for the buck mod and I can tell you it woke my truck up alot. Then get some underdrive pulleys, I like the March Power & Amp Series. Headers, your choice, get something Ceramic coated though. Then get the Edelbrock/BBK dual 56mm TB. Give your truck a good tune up. Change the fuel filter. Yo ucan convert to dual electric fans, Edelbrock Upper/Lower Intake. Heads, cam, blower,....

 

Anything you want for the 5.0 is out there, it's just a matter of how much money you want to spend and how you drive the truck.

Being you have a 5 speed you might be able to tolerate a higher torque curve than some of us with auto's have, but if you want towing power, build for more low to mid range.

Dollar for dollar ignition upgrades, pulleys, and electric fans are a great bang for the buck. The main reason being they free up existing HP and increase your mileage.

Intake mods on these trucks can be done for next to nothing, and give good results. Do a search and you will find everything from basic to wild. All of them work to slightly different degrees. In your case I think they make a filter that adapts right to the dual inlets.


I keep hearing a chip is the best bang for the buck.... personally I call BS. I've never seen a dyno on a NA application that backed the claims of most. On top of that the increase in fuel cost must be factored. Some quick math tells the real "bang for the buck" story......

Reg gas $1.35 Premium Gas $1.50

Based on 15,000 miles per year the premium costs $132 over regular. A $250 chip just ended up costing $382 the first year.

Same 15,000 miles. My $400 box/coil/wires saves me $178 in gas via mileage improvement. The $400 mod after a year cost only $222.

Year two.... chip and gas now total $514 Box/coil/wires total $44.... and so on year after year.

In my case my ignition mods and pulleys have paid for themselves, my intake mods, and are starting to pay for my stainless cat back.

 

Thanks for all those figures Signmaster! They were quite enlightening.

Your right in that I’m looking for towing power and should focus on the low to mid range. I’ve updated my Photo Gallery with some pictures of the travel trailer that I pull.

I’m a little skeptical on the throttle body upgrade, I keep thinking that if I don’t upgrade the entire intake I’ll have a “bottleneck” effect?

I’m thinking I would like to do ignition and pulleys. I’m concerned with my alternator output when towing – when using the under drive pulleys did it lower your alternator output? Any particular brands on the ignition system that anyone would recommend?

 

The pulleys might be questionable for charging on your truck... I didn't notice the stereo upgrades in your first post. I've towed and had no problems with them, but don't run high end audio stuff either. With A/C, lights, etc on at idle the charge drops, but stays within the "Normal" range on the guage. You might be OK if you run caps, maybe even without. Try a search and see if anyone with amps, etc is running them...... I don't want to give you any bum scoop on a maybe. Beastie runs some audio gear on his truck, but I have no idea how much power he is driving.

I also agree on your throttle body thoughts. They help with breathing, but won't really help keep velocities up at lower revs and part throttle conditions. They wouldn't hurt anything, but won't really help with towing unless you have to downshift to pull a hill or something to that effect.

I've got the full Jacobs system on my truck. Others have gone with just the coil and wire upgrades. The 5.0 seems to respond to just about all of them fairly well.



The big thing is to be realistic in your goals and bang for the buck. None of these mods by themselves is going to throw you back in the seat, but they add up. My next mod will probably be an electric fan setup. I run a lot of short trips and would probably benefit more in mileage than most. Besides, I like taking the approach of mods that pay for themselves instead of me paying more per month to have them.

It's not that I am anti - chip at all. They can be good mods if you pick the right one, but I just don't see the "bang for the buck" logic in something that is a pay as you go thing. Would anyone buy an intake kit if you had to send them $10 a month to get the power gains?



Probably the best thing is to do several searches in this section. That way you get input from a number of users doing different things and with different uses for the truck.

 

Not trying to bash you Signmaster cuase I respect your opinions alot, but the chip is by far the best mod Ihave done to my truck. Even betetr than 3.31 to 3.73 gears. Sure you have to pay more for the gas, but with the chip I got about 2mpg better in the city driving the same as I had before. On my last long trip I got 20mpg before the trip without the chip I was getting like 15. So it pays for itself in my opinion. I would do it as my first mod no matter what.

 

I have the march power & amp pulleys and am running a pretty big amp for my subs. Its an MTX Thunder 6500d 775w peak, and i dont have any problems except the amp just sucks too much power and i need a cap.

 

Beastie,

As I said I'm not against chips, I just don't agree with the bang for the buck logic of them. For us with auto trannys the removal of shift delays, etc alone is a big plus. Taken over time though a chip that burns regular and does this would be more cost effective for a lot of people.

Of all the dynos I've seen on NA applications, none has shown the power increases that are claimed. This is often true of other mods as well, including those I have. It's the pay as you go aspect I don't agree with. If I'm going to pay $10 more at the pump I want the numbers to back it up.

The fuel cost difference over a couple of years would pay for other mods that would make up any power difference advantage the premium fuel chip would have over one tuned for regular gas.



As an example of other mods effectivness..... I also break 20 on the highway, and now rarely dip below 15 around town. No chip, but I also run a multi spark box. My truck is the same as yours down to the ECU code, with the exception being that it is a 4x4.

Premium fuel in my truck returned slightly higher mileage, but not enough to justify using it all the time. I got enough timing with regular gas to help the lower end that I was seeking. Being that I played with the initial timing over a period of time testing, I didn't really monitor any mileage changes the timing might have contributed to.

 

Not all drivelines respond the same to a chip, so it's not a universal recommendation as a first mod or even as a good mod. I used to have a 95 Ranger 4.0 automatic 2WD. I got a Superchip for it. It ran 16.30s @ 81 on regular gas w/o the chip. With the chip it ran 16.30s @ 81 MPH on premium. I sent the chip back.

For towing, other than bigger gears the first bolt-on I'd look at is a set of 1.7: roller rockers. Used with a stock cam, they'll give you better breathing and a bit more torque without changing the effective RPM range of the engine. The other thing to look at is a set of long-tube - not shorty - headers. Pullies are good too, especially if you do go to bigger gears since they'll help slow the accessories back down to stock RPM at highway speeds

 

I hate it when I scroll to the bottom, and the last entry is the first that says what I was going to say. lol. I completely agree with most of what StrangeRanger said. My first reaction was long tube headers, but I was going to recommend 1.7's, too. The pullies I have mixed feelings on, and I don't feel comfortable recommending them for your specific needs. The long tubes and the rockers for sure, though.

Take care,
~Chris

 

Hey 90F150XLT, you should head over to www.fordtruckworld.com for a few and check out the UTAH chapter. It'd be awesome if you could make it to some get-togethers. We can always use new members . Nice truck too :thumb .