I am now ready to do a little performance modding to my truck and would like some non biased opinions , if that is possible ( ha ha ), I have a 2007 5.4 4x4 supercrew , I want a realistic power gain , better fuel mileage and a nice exhuast sound without being to loud, after reading these threads for hours on end ( some are very entertaining ) I have come to the conclusion that the S&B intake with a custom troyer tune and some type of true duals is the ticket for pure power, but as I said I really want realistic power and better mpg, I allready have replaced my muffler with a magnaflow muffler and it sounds ok but not really what I want, I have also put a Bakflip cover on , now I have ordered a new Volant w/Powercore ( should I also get the ram air or try to make one with pvc tubing or leave it without one ) ,I am going to order the new Hypertech Max Energy and a Corsa exhaust ,either dual side or dual rear not sure yet, I am also changing all the air in my tires with nitrogen tommorow, sorry this is so long , but just looking for thoughts, as of now I have not seen any threads on the Volant/Powercore or the Hypertech Max Energy or the nitrogen replacement.

 

There are no garauntees on fuel savings. In ffact, any power gains from a custom tuen come at the expense of premium fuel that costs 5% more than regular and I doubt you'll get 1mpg better fuel economy to break even.

Choose mods based on performance, looks, sound, etc. Any gains may be a bonus, but nothing will decrease fuel costs.

 

All manufacturers have teams of engineers to make a vehicle have the best combination of power, economy and reliability. When you tinker, you're tipping the balance they created ( no matter how skewed we think it is) one way or the other. So you want to be careful not to affect reliability. Very doubtful you'll increase mileage at all. You will see claims to the contrary..... You can find power gains; there is little dispute here. You can also make the truck a lot more fun to drive, which is why most of us mod. them anyway. You'll pretty much never see the investment back, either in fuel economy or when it's time to sell. Go for performance. Enjoy the truck. On the other hand, for the cost of these mods., you could just put the money away for gas. The N2 replacement has been more or less debunked, but if you like it, go for it. It pretty much boils down to what makes you enjoy the truck.
As for mods., I put a custom tune on and a Magnaflow. My mileage blows, but it always did. In fact, I've made it worse because now I get into the pedal harder because it's fun. Good luck with whatever you do.

 

TNC pretty much said it all!
I think with my mods I am right about where I was from the factory on milage.
I'm getting an honest 13mpg average. Do the mods and enjoy!

 

The Hypertech Max Energy for the 07 F-150's comes with a regular fuel tune which nets 16 HP and 28 TQ over stock, and a premium fuel tune that gives you 25 HP and 40 TQ over stock. What a lot of people do is run the regular fuel tune for daily driving so they still get a nice power gain, and then kick it up a notch on the weekends and run the premium fuel tune for maximum performance. Here is a link to the dyno graph so you can compare the stock power vs the regular and premium fuel tunes.

 

Whatever. The acceleratioin gains from aftermarket calibrations come from decreased trans shift times and advancing the spark for more octane. $300-500 on engine/tranny tunes will never be made in in fuel savings, even with 87 octane.

 

If you want to do a mod that you will feel the effects of....do the programmer. The intake is not worth the money IMO, and the exhaust will add a nice sound. As mentioned above however, you won't really save in gas money.

I did the Edge tuner to wake it up a little (plus the scan guages), and the Roush exhaust so it sounds nice. I don't really see any change in gas mileage over stock (before 35" tires) but I didn't expect to. Overall I'm very happy with those two "performace" mods

 

Thanks guys for the opinions and advice, I ordered the volant/powercore wth the ram air option, Also ordered the Edge programmer and a Corsa catback rear exhaust , still dont know if I would have liked the side exit better though,I did put in the nitrogen as a buddy owns a tire shop and did it free, should keep tire pressure constant, also put on the bakflip tonneu cover , now if and this is a big if, I can pick up 2-3 mpg over stock and enjoy a little better running and sounding truck I will be happy, forgot to mention that where I live one of the local gas stations pumps premium gas for regular price on tuesdays , has been doing this for years, so on level 3 my costs for gas will not go up ,assuming I keep my foot out of the floorboard.