Hi All,

This is my first post. :-)

I am considering supercharging my truck. It is a 2006 F150 5.4 Crew Cab XLT 2WD. It has 77,000 miles and is in very good condition. Currently it has a Borla cat back exhaust, Edge Evolution CS tuner, K&N CAI and stock drive train. I believe the gear ratio is 3.73. The wheels and tires are from a 2010 F150 Platinum which I believe are 20" x 8.5"

My goal is to just make it more fun to drive. Unfortunately I live in the communist state of California so my options are limited...

The two kits I am considering are: 1) The CARB approved ProCharger and 2) The CARB approved Whipple supercharger.

My questions are: 1) With the mileage on my truck, is it OK to add a supercharger? 2) Will either one be better for my stock drive train? 3) If anyone has a similar set up, do you think the cost (approx 6k) was worth the results? 4) Should I just sell it and get an Ecoboost? ;-)

Thanks!

 

So there are a bunch of guys on here that have a lot more experience then we that can opine on this but I think I can offer some pretty good insight. I started with a stock 2007 4x4 5.4l went to a rebuilt engine with a Vortech (same as Procharger) blew that up went to a fully built 5.4 with a Whipple with 10 psi and then converted to an 8-rib setup now pushing 16 psi and over 500 whp. It has been a fun, very expensive, and ultimately fulfilling experience. HOWEVER...if I had to do it all over again I would have bought a Raptor and just been done with it. I love my truck as it sits today. It's crazy fast, seems to be pretty reliable, and it awesome to drive but has been a lot of work and, more importantly, a lot of money. Fortunately I seem to have more money than brains so it didn't impact me that much. But again...should have just bought a used Raptor. *note* I do a lot of offroading, primarily in Baja so offroad capability is more important to me than drag racing etc and I ended up putting a bunch of $$$ into the suspension on top of the supercharger.

Between the two superchargers you are looking at I find the positive displacement (ie Whipple) to be a much better solution. The motor produces a lot more torque all over the RPM range versus the centrifugal charger that the Procharger kit uses. It makes it a much better daily driver solution. Overall I think the impact on the drivetrain is similar between the two..

As far as the transmission goes I had mine built as sturdy as can be without dropping a ton of money and it has held up so far. With that said I try not to beat the **** out of it. Also mileage really doesn't impact things and a 70k mile old motor is hardly broken in nowadays.

My suggestion would be to find a used supercharger Whipple kit and save yourself a ton of dough. They come up every once and awhile and if you install yourself you are looking at being in the hole maybe $3k versus $6k+. Or buy an Ecoboost and be done with it.

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck!

 

Thank you radelow. Good info. Yeah, I've been down a similar road with a Camaro... everything ends up twice as expensive as you think and 1/2 as reliable.

What I have learned so far is with a supercharger I can expect to make around 330-360 RWHP and because I live in Kalifornia, apparently I cannot use custom tunes, only canned CARB approved tunes... Also, if I add a supercharger, I should also consider upgrading the trans, differential, cooling, fuel system and brakes...

If I was looking at 450+, I would be all in. But for sub 400, if I do this, I will definitely look for a used one. I am sure there are guys pulling them all of the time during a rebuild or upgrade.

Thanks

 

California smog check doesn't test the tailpipe. They plug in to the computer and confirm no check engine light and that emisson's test cycle is complete. If you had a custom tune, more boost, etc. if it is done right you will pass smog fine.

 

I had a Roush on my 05 Lariat with pretty much everything you can do to a stock motor and I made 430. The 05-08 made roughly 220 stock trim at the wheels. And just because you live in California doesn't mean you can't get a custom tune. I'd be more worried about finding 93 octane. But as stated I think you'd want to go the whipple route it's a good blower and lots of room to grow if you wanted too.

 

Do you have to run 93 octane or can you run 91 octane with a supercharger?

Yeah I am just tryin' to decide what to do... Right now the truck is in great condition and I could probably sell it today. So, do I sell it and buy an Ecoboost or even a 5.0? Or do I add a couple of mods to this one? *I know I will not get any money back for the mods I make no matter how much they cost.*

I don't if this is true or not but it seems like there are more mods for Chevys than Fords and they are less expensive. For example, I can find a good deal on a used super charger for a 5.3 no problem. But try and find a good deal on a used super charger for a 5.4 and you'd have better luck passing a healthcare bill...

 

I'm sure you could get tuned to run 91. Mine was tuned for 93 since it was readily available. The whipple supercharger is the most expensive on the market, I think Magnuson also makes a supercharger but regardless it's gonna cost upwards of 6k. You might be able to part one together via eBay for a little less.

 

I am way over 500 rwhp on 91 octane fuel so don't worry about that. I have heard the Magnuson chargers run really really hot. That's at least what my tuner told me...

 

There was a guy here running the magnuson on his f150 this was about 10 years ago or so. He never had any hot issues with it. But I would stick to roish or whipple.