I have a 97 4.2 v6 f150
its a long bed 5 speed
and if i baby it it only gets about 19mpg
if anyone knows how to gain a little power and increase economy please let me know
Im thinking about chunkin these bosch plugs and getting some motorcrafts
and then im gonna do a cold air kit
idk if that will help though

 

The plugs may help but not the CAI. That is pretty good mileage you're getting already. hey, I lived in Abilene fro 26 years, left in 1990.

 

well power and fuel economy dont blend well together! But here are some power adders and MPG increasers... 19 mpg is GOOD for that truck!

1. CAI
2. Exhaust
3. E-Fans
4. Underdrive pulleys
5. Programmer (Xcal3 with custom VMP or Troyer tunes)

Id change to Motorcraft plugs and wires Bosch runs like dog crap in our trucks! The other alternative is Denso Iridiums.

 

I have a si/do exhaust i got for christmas
its 1.5" into a 24" thrush powerflow glass pack int 2" and into 3" tips sounds great but i can feel only a little more low end

my buddys think i should drop that husky toolbox

oh and 19 mpgs is on the highway cruisin 65

 

the glass packs dont do well on our 4.2's imo they sound ok but dont offer much! You could get headers added to that (shorties) and youd get alittle more low end, gibson makes a good set!

The toolbox doesnt weight enough to hurt MPG unless its full of metal! Now maybe if its not a "slim style" then you might have some drag! MIGHT.

even at 65 thats still good mpg for the 4.2 the most ive ever heard of someone getting was 24...

 

What kind of relatively cheap bolt ons could i get for this truck?

 

MAC CAI.... Make sure you use the recomended oil, keep tires aired up correctly. Im not sure what you range of "CHEAP" is?

 

idk im thinking of putting 1000$ into it by next school year i wanna be the baddest **** around

im gonna start with cai and new plugs and go from there

my buddy has a 98 gmc w a 4.3 and i only take him by a 1/2 length and another friend told me i should be blowin his doors off

 

also try E-Fans (electic fans) they do pretty good job! And if you really want it to be BAD then you need to save up money and go with either.

1. Programmer
2. Cam
3. Gears (4.10's)
4. F.I. SuperCharged or Turbocharged

Cheap Bolt-ons will not really give you much for performance so do get caught too much into them!

 

well
my dad is the only reason im not supercharged with 4.11s and slicks lol
im only 17 and im waiting till after i graduate to be real powerful

 

4.11's would probably make it worse if u had a supercharger.

if i were supercharged id stay with 3.55's maybe 3.73's at most.

 

well honestly id just save the money for GAS and other BIG mods!

 

i agree... big time... gas prices suck so bad!! for 5 gallons it was 22 dollars! 5 gallons doesnt get me anywhere, i just wanted to keep the tank at full...

 

Cold Air Intake
Exhaust
Electric Fans
Pulleys
4.10 Gears
Custom Tuning

 

Save your money.

Toss the Bosch plugs, but nobody brought up one glaring point.

You don't baby an engine that's paired to a manual transmission.

I'm not saying peel out in every gear, but I bet the first thing you do is shift really quickly from one gear to then next. Don't worry, I did that when first trying out stickshifters. I guarantee you I beat nobody off the line by getting to 5th gear first.

Quit lugging the engine and hold first and second gears a little longer.

It takes torque to move that truck and gassers do not make torque anywhere near as quickly as a diesel does.