'96 F150 Performance
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 128
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From: Murfreesboro, TN USA
'96 F150 Performance
I own a 1996 F-150/302/2wd with a 4r70w trans. From what I understand it is rated at about 200 hp. How dificult would it be, or is it even feasable to increase the output to around the 300-325hp range. So far I have installed a K&N FIPK, Gibson super truck exhaust and will be installing a set of Heddman shortys and Catco hi-flow cat just as soon as the shop can fit me in. I think this should put me in the 230-240 range but I'm not sure where to go from here. Maybe a throttle body and intake? Or would I be better off with internal components such as a cam or stroker kit? Any ideas would be appreciated. Also, how would internal mods effect the OBD-II system in the truck?
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Fadex,
Yes, that sounds reasonable for approximate power levels with those mods, given a 200 hp start figure. Figure you're going to see about a 12 hp or so gain from the FIPK kit, and another 10-12 hp from the Gibson cat-back system. The headers will give you another 10-13 hp roughly. However, what's not reasonable is getting a 50%+ power increase on a normally aspirated motor with the types of mods you're thinking about, that will never happen. You will need either a supercharger and/or seriously ported heads and a pretty stout cam profile to get you up into that range. It's certainly do-able to make 300-325 hp from that type of motor, but not with simple minor bolt-ons, it's going to take either a blower or some rather serious engine work, either one of which will require a good custom chip to reprogram the ECU (computer) to take proper advantage of the mechanical modifications.
The factory computer is nowhere near at it's peak, nor does it prevent making nice power gains with the types of mods you have listed. It's loaded with an extremely conservative powertrain program that is designed for use only with 85-87 octane fuels, so if you want to take proper advantage of the higher power levels that can be made using premium gas, which are substantial, you'll need a good performance chip to re-tune the engine correctly for not only spark advance but also fuel curves for the burn rate of premium gas, something it can never do on it's own. And, just twisting the distributor to bring in more initial spark lead is a gross across-the-board adjustment, and you need better tuning than just doing that, as the fuel curves must be changed to compensate for the different burn rate of higher octane fuels as well, it's not just a matter of spark advance alone.
If you'd like to go over this in more detail, feel free to give us a call, & good luck with your truck!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Yes, that sounds reasonable for approximate power levels with those mods, given a 200 hp start figure. Figure you're going to see about a 12 hp or so gain from the FIPK kit, and another 10-12 hp from the Gibson cat-back system. The headers will give you another 10-13 hp roughly. However, what's not reasonable is getting a 50%+ power increase on a normally aspirated motor with the types of mods you're thinking about, that will never happen. You will need either a supercharger and/or seriously ported heads and a pretty stout cam profile to get you up into that range. It's certainly do-able to make 300-325 hp from that type of motor, but not with simple minor bolt-ons, it's going to take either a blower or some rather serious engine work, either one of which will require a good custom chip to reprogram the ECU (computer) to take proper advantage of the mechanical modifications.
The factory computer is nowhere near at it's peak, nor does it prevent making nice power gains with the types of mods you have listed. It's loaded with an extremely conservative powertrain program that is designed for use only with 85-87 octane fuels, so if you want to take proper advantage of the higher power levels that can be made using premium gas, which are substantial, you'll need a good performance chip to re-tune the engine correctly for not only spark advance but also fuel curves for the burn rate of premium gas, something it can never do on it's own. And, just twisting the distributor to bring in more initial spark lead is a gross across-the-board adjustment, and you need better tuning than just doing that, as the fuel curves must be changed to compensate for the different burn rate of higher octane fuels as well, it's not just a matter of spark advance alone.
If you'd like to go over this in more detail, feel free to give us a call, & good luck with your truck!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Thread Starter
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 128
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From: Murfreesboro, TN USA
I'm glad you mentioned the chip. I have tried a Jet module but was not impressed. I really didn't notice much of a change. I was thinking of the ported heads and cam change but was worried that the computer would not be able to properly adapt to these changes. Would the superchip solve this type of problem?
Senior Member
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 1,317
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From: Virginia Beach, VA
Fadex,
It can be done. The 302 has huge lots of potential. It would without a doubt require heads and porting work, bigger cam, and inductions mods. OR a blower. I'm in the same boat myself with my '95.
If you want to get a good idea of what you can make that 5.0 do check out corral.net . Even though it is a Mustang site, you're dealing with the same basic engine. I've been doing a lot of research on that site, and you can find someone with just about any combo you can dream of.
Given my choice, I'd pop a Kenne Bell on that truck and learn to spell TORQUE in a big hurry! Something else to keep in mind is the chip tuning. Many often
"guesstimate" as to the proper chip. Many of these serious Mustang guys recommend going for a "test and tune" session. That way you get the actual A/F ratios for YOUR engine, and can use that info to maximize your custom chips potential.
Just for ref, my '95 also has a Gibson, custom intake, pulleys, and a Jacobs ignition. The pulleys were a Mustang part, $100 from Ford Racing. The Jacobs made a big difference on my truck, performance was increased better than the other mods, and saves enough fuel to pay for itself in about 24,000 miles of driving.
If anyone wants to contribute to those in need of a Kenne Bell blower, let me know and I'll give you an address to send it to.
It can be done. The 302 has huge lots of potential. It would without a doubt require heads and porting work, bigger cam, and inductions mods. OR a blower. I'm in the same boat myself with my '95.
If you want to get a good idea of what you can make that 5.0 do check out corral.net . Even though it is a Mustang site, you're dealing with the same basic engine. I've been doing a lot of research on that site, and you can find someone with just about any combo you can dream of.
Given my choice, I'd pop a Kenne Bell on that truck and learn to spell TORQUE in a big hurry! Something else to keep in mind is the chip tuning. Many often
"guesstimate" as to the proper chip. Many of these serious Mustang guys recommend going for a "test and tune" session. That way you get the actual A/F ratios for YOUR engine, and can use that info to maximize your custom chips potential.
Just for ref, my '95 also has a Gibson, custom intake, pulleys, and a Jacobs ignition. The pulleys were a Mustang part, $100 from Ford Racing. The Jacobs made a big difference on my truck, performance was increased better than the other mods, and saves enough fuel to pay for itself in about 24,000 miles of driving.
If anyone wants to contribute to those in need of a Kenne Bell blower, let me know and I'll give you an address to send it to.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Fadex,
Yes, the Superchip can be programmed to properly compensate for ported heads & camshaft changes, etc. That's something that is very frequently done to those 5.0's of course.
Signmaster made a good point with regards to when you're doing major mechanical mods and you're tuning the motor, to get to a facility that can run you on a chassis dyno to get the real-time A/F numbers at full-throttle, and then get those numbers back to us so we can make any changes needed to the program. It's not *required*, as with the literally thousands upon thousands of 302's that Superchips has tuned, they know very well what most mechanical configurations will result in with that motor, but for the most accurate tuning, it's great data to have access to, and will get you the best state of tune for the fuel being used. And given that most chops will charge only about $65 or so to get you those A/F (air:fuel ratio) numbers, it's cheap insurance when you're doing major mods, and we highly recommend that as well, Signmaster gave some excellent advice.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Yes, the Superchip can be programmed to properly compensate for ported heads & camshaft changes, etc. That's something that is very frequently done to those 5.0's of course.
Signmaster made a good point with regards to when you're doing major mechanical mods and you're tuning the motor, to get to a facility that can run you on a chassis dyno to get the real-time A/F numbers at full-throttle, and then get those numbers back to us so we can make any changes needed to the program. It's not *required*, as with the literally thousands upon thousands of 302's that Superchips has tuned, they know very well what most mechanical configurations will result in with that motor, but for the most accurate tuning, it's great data to have access to, and will get you the best state of tune for the fuel being used. And given that most chops will charge only about $65 or so to get you those A/F (air:fuel ratio) numbers, it's cheap insurance when you're doing major mods, and we highly recommend that as well, Signmaster gave some excellent advice.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer