I have a 4x4 with the 3.55 Limited Slip and I checked the tag on my door and it said that my truck weighed 6,045lbs! That's a tank! I would like to lighten my truck so I can have some quicker accelaration. I am planning on dropping my truck 2/3" here in about a month. I know I could get rid of the spare for some added weight but how about anything else? Do I just have to deal with my truck being a PIG? I havent even been able to top out at 100mph. Is there anything I can do? Please help!!
This truck is a 98 and only has 37k miles on it.... I really like having the 4x4 feature, I am just looking for something to get rid of all that weight.
Thanks.

Oh yeah, I also have the 5.4L

 

You can easily loose 100+ lbs. if you get rid of the spare tire, tailgate, and hitch. Maybe another 30-40lbs. if you replace the rear bumper with a roll pan. You might start looking into some aftermarket mods like chip, exhaust, FIPK's, etc.

 

i think your looking at gross weight. what you truck can weigh fully loaded. your truck should be about 4800 to 5000. maybe a little less and maybe a little more.

 

Cant see 100? My buddies 98 extended cab short bed 4x4 w/ a 5.4 just wouldn't pass the 119 mph limiter. It had 140k on it. He drove the hell out of that truck. I dont know why you cant hit 100, something is a miss there. And you might loose 200lbs total if you take out the passengers seat and eat a light breakfast. So your down to what? 5845lbs? How much do you acceleration do you expect to gain? If you didn't want a truck, go buy a nissan! Sorry for my brashness, but people want trucks to be cars these days. Nowdays a half ton truck sags when you put winter sandbags in them cause people buy them and want them to accelerate and handle like a sports car. I guess I just remember when trucks were trucks, and when a couple scratches in the bed meant you got something done today. Now if you wanted to add some power, not take away some truck, I'd understand.

 

The reason for wanting to remove certian things is because I hear all these people on this forum with close or near the same truck as me getting such high MPH. I have 31" tires and maybe thats throwing the speedo off. I dont have a speed limiter on my truck and my speedo is not digital. The highest I have seen my speedo up to was about 90 or so. Do you guys get those high MPH's with OD on or off? I was just kind of wondering why my truck with only 30k can only get up to 90mph or so. Also I already have the catback exhaust and AF-1 Intake. My next mod will be the superchip for sure. After that its all appearance baby!

 

Most F150's are speed limited between 94-108 mph. Tire size and gearing is a major factor. My truck came stock with 245's and later got the chip. My top speed was 108 with an AutoXRay scanner. Now with 33's and a ton of extra weight, my top is 96mph. Getting a chip will get you that extra speed you want.

 

Jupiterak! I cant beleive I could be so nieve. Of course, its the speed limiter. Chip it up, you can go faster. OD off. Trucks just weren't made for high speed. The suspension won't handle it, the brakes arent designed for it, the tires arent rated for it. Making one to run that fast takes a lot of mods to do it right. Me and my buddie only topped it out a couple times on open hwy and it was stock except for cat back duals and 265 series tires (basically a metric 31"). It wouldnt do it in OD though, that might be your problem as well, cause it took us a while to figure it out. I dont know why his wasnt limited at less mph??? I am just thinking your not gonna gain much by loosing the spare and tailgate. Since you don't have the right setup to drive that fast anyway, why bother? Tickets, accidents, insurance costs.... me oh my. Now if your talking about the track, thats a different story, but why do you need to go that fast on the street? Its a truck dammit. Be careful and don't run over somebodys family bro.

 

spaceman- you should just like my mother when I was 16! A hundred or so pounds may not get you a higher top speed, but it will shave off a few et's.

 

This is not a dragster! I just want some extra umph so I can pass people when need be! It is really slow and if I try to pass people with OD on people will speed up just to be an ***.. Its all ok though, I take off OD and punch it and the torque helps me pass them. I just need something for passing people and getting on onramps. Thanks for the info. I will more than likely be getting a SuperChip real soon.

 

I just dont think that your gonna shave enough weight to make a big difference on the street in a daily driver, but that is my $.02. Your right, your not gonna pass anybody in OD. OD's usually make the wheels spin MORE than once for every turn of the engine. Essentially the higher gear makes it harder for the truck to turn the wheels. The second aspect of the gear is of course keeping your truck in its power band. OD is not meant for any kind of power, and the low RPM's your engine runs in OD wont let your engine make any power. You gotta get that big dog above 3,000 RPM's before you can expect to have any kind of passing power. 31" tires are probably bigger than your stock tires (245's?). Bigger tires raise your gear ratio as well. Heres what Im getting at. Have you ever thought about a gear swap? Lower gears would counter act bigger tires and a little more. 4.10's?

 

If you really want to lighten your truck, then you need to follow this example. It can be done, if you're serious

 

LMAO, and leave the air filter as to not damage the engine....

 

Couple of other things.......

Do you really neeeeeed air conditioning in Alaska??? Sounds like dead weight to me.

Also: Did you ever notice how heavy that battery is??? Lose it in favor of one from a scooter. Like a Honda Spree.

Another thing. A 25 Gallon fuel tank??? Ufta!!! Fuel is heavy. Who really needs to carry around all that weight??? Get a 10 gallon fuel tank. You won't regret it

Finally.......Evacuate before you try to pass someone. Carrying around last night's steak dinner isn't helping anything.

 

I have been thinking of the superchip and 4.10's for quite some time now...... I think I am going to save and get me some 4.10's. This is probobly the best idea for the long run. I can then get a superchip afterwards.

Thanks.

I have a guy here that will install them for 50 an hour. So we will see how much it will cost. How much should I be expecting? 900? 1000? Less?

Thanks again!

 

I've never done it myself, but I've heard it costs between $500-$700??? That's per axle. The catch is you have to do both axles on a 4x4. Ask around for a reputable shop. I usually have the best luck with the old independent shops that have been around for 15 or 20 years. I've heard bad things about Cottman's, AAMCO and those types of places. You might start asking at a performance shop, even though they don't do them, they could probably make a reccomendation. Usually its a tranny shop that does gear swaps. Your right about your tires throwing your speedo off, but your gears will conteract that throw-off and probably throw you off to the other side, meaning that you will actually be traveling slower than what your speedo says. One alternative to gears would be smaller tires. This might be all right if you are lowering your truck. You will never get the same re-gearing from smaller tires, but it would lower it some. See the discussion here for more gearing tid-bits.

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