Hey everyone. I'm here for a friend of mine looking for the best budget mods to do on his 97 5.4 F-150. Just would like to hear what kinds of things people feel have offered good bang for the buck. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!

 

I don't believe there's any budget "good bang for the buck" mods. Almost anything costs $200+ and won't really give you a noticable difference, it's usually a good combination of several mods before you actually feel gains, then all of the sudden a $1,000 disappears. A mod such as cold air intakes, cat-back exhausts etc. yield very few ponies (regardless of some manufacturers claims). As heavy as our trucks are, 10-20hp is not going to make much "seat of the pants" difference. I've been there, done that. Eventually, I just got BLOWN, that you can feel !!

 

01screw is correct. Budget and Mods are 180* from each other.

I have got too much invested and still N/A. Still waiting to drop another 5K to get the S/C.

A quick pick me up is a Chip, but if he is on a budget, he is not going to like buying premium fuel for it.

how about we try this a different way :
1. How much does he have to spend NRC ( non-reoccurring )
2. How much is he willing to spend MRC ( monthly reoccurring ).

If #2 is zero,then the choices are limited.

BTW : #2 is going to go up, once you pile any mods on, with or without premium fuel. I still can't keep my foot out of it, and getting 9 mpg at 2.08 + per gal is getting steep
Still won't yank the chip though

Let us know, and we'll try to provide some directed answers.

 

By budget, I meant that things like a supercharger are out of reach. But things like chips etc ar all in line. I'd say for this round we've got roughly $1000 to play with. He already has a cat back system that we just installed so I think we will be looking at chips, cold air intakes, t-body spacer(?), etc. Anyone have any experience with the Superchips flip chip? Thanks! Oh, and he doesn't mind paying at the pump a bit either but fuel mileage is still important when not playing with it

 

The chip and cold intake are a good start. I'd say a single chip is fine, don't see any need for a flip-chip in your case. With the chip you'll notice firmer quicker tranny shifts. Cold air intakes make a loud suction noise and sound cool, a little bit of gain. Throttle spacer, a waste of money!! I'd also go with dual electric fans as they free up drag and weight by getting rid of the stock fan and fan clutch, gives better milage and pretty good power gain for the money also. A chip, good quality intake and e-fans will pretty much burn up most of the $1,000.

 

Great advice so far. I'd squeeze in some underdrive pulleys when I could. I really liked them on my 2000 5.4. I think a good combo project is e-fans and pulleys together, since you're tearing most of the same stuff out.

 

I agree with the advise so far and in the order stated. When you go for the underdrive pulleys also pick up a new gatorback belt to. Check the classifieds here and/or check with Troyers. They are f150online sponsors and they put together performance packages that may fill your bill.

 

Thanks for all the help guy's! I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out!

 

hey 01screw

where did u get 1"/3" drop kit . is your king a 4x4 ?? did u need to do any major mods for the drop ? i have a 03 S-crew 4x4 i would like to drop 2"/3" ..

 

jp1130,
Mine's a 2wd. The front was lowered 1" using the Lightning coil springs, the rear was a 4" hanger and shackle kit, I drilled new holes on the shackle an inch higher. I originally had a 2/4 but my tires rubbed on big bumps and dips.

 

Is it just me or does it seem odd to drop a 4x4

 

look in computer chip section at my 2 posts
1-diablo versus superchips versus superchips
2- results from 1/4 mile
the 9100 tuner will put a smile on his face!

 

9100 ALL THE WAY!!

 

check ebay for under drive pulleys, Air intakes, and throttle body spacer. i got all those mods for my truck off ebay $55 for intake $77 for spacer and set of aluminum under drive pulleys for 24 bucks. all brand new. added about 55HP and 60lb torque that'd be best bang for buck. so check ebay for some stuff. i have the 4.6L SOHC in my truck and i get 23mpg highway with my mods. only thing is with the under drive pulleys dont let ur truck idle more then like 5 minutes because it under drives the alternator and at idle it alternator cannot charge your battery well enough with the RPM reduction on it.

 

HI!.... 4.6lpwnage : Sorry to tell you bud but those 3 mods you mentioned don't come anywhere close to 55H.P (FLYWHEEL).

- AIR INTAKE KIT = 7-10H.P

- 2 PIECE UNDERDRIVE PULLEY SET = 7H.P

- POWERAID SPACER = *JUNK*!!!!!! Actually cost you H.P. Been proven.

So your 55H.P is actually about 14 - 17H.P (FLYWHEEL).

Don't believe what the aftermarket companies box says on it. RULE OF THUMB : Whatever the claimed H.P gain is on a aftermarket product ........ divide that by 2 and that's closer to what you will ACTUALLY get.


I also have a 340H.P (FLYWHEEL) 5.4 in my truck that is N/A and have 4.10 gears and I get just over 21 MPG.