more power
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From: ontario
more power
O.k. new tires on the way (285 all terrains) and now we need some more power. I've already got a k&n filter but it seems to make hardly any difference, so my question is what other relatively inexpensive mods can be done for more power? Less than $1000 cdn cause the tires were $1200 and my wife is getting angry. oh yeah 4.6 engine
Last edited by renegade1979; May 30, 2007 at 11:52 AM.
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From: Easton, Pa.
Well, you need to look at this with a little more reality.
The big tires was step in the wrong direction for power and fuel mileage.
Your looking for more low end grunt. Most mods won't improve this at all, such as exhaust, intake filers, pipes etc.
The only thing that may give some extra low end is a tuner with a custom program favoring this and lower gear ratio.
The big tires was step in the wrong direction for power and fuel mileage.
Your looking for more low end grunt. Most mods won't improve this at all, such as exhaust, intake filers, pipes etc.
The only thing that may give some extra low end is a tuner with a custom program favoring this and lower gear ratio.
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 30
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From: E. TN
As for low end, as has been said....gears.
If its over all power your after, Performance Intake, Throttle body spacer, Exhaust...I have these planned for my new 07. I had good luck with these three on a dodge 4.7L, got a little increase in power, great sound, and 3mpg increase. Went up one size on tires so I didnt see any difference in mpg.
If its over all power your after, Performance Intake, Throttle body spacer, Exhaust...I have these planned for my new 07. I had good luck with these three on a dodge 4.7L, got a little increase in power, great sound, and 3mpg increase. Went up one size on tires so I didnt see any difference in mpg.
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From: ontario
Originally Posted by Bluegrass
Well, you need to look at this with a little more reality.
The big tires was step in the wrong direction for power and fuel mileage.
Your looking for more low end grunt. Most mods won't improve this at all, such as exhaust, intake filers, pipes etc.
The only thing that may give some extra low end is a tuner with a custom program favoring this and lower gear ratio.
The big tires was step in the wrong direction for power and fuel mileage.
Your looking for more low end grunt. Most mods won't improve this at all, such as exhaust, intake filers, pipes etc.
The only thing that may give some extra low end is a tuner with a custom program favoring this and lower gear ratio.
Last edited by renegade1979; May 31, 2007 at 10:38 AM.
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From: Hahntown, Pa.
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From: Puyallup, WA
If you still have the stock exhaust, then get something else.. Even a muffler change can make a difference.. And I'm not talking about 'sound' either...
I had the stock 235/70/16's on my 5.4, 3.55 geared truck with stock everything... I got it used, and the tires were toast, so within 2 weeks, I got some 255/70/16 tires, a K&N Drop in and a Gibson Swept Side exhaust.
I later decided that the 255's were still too small, so I traded them in for some 265/75/16's and that's when I noticed a change in everything.. Part of it was the computer, because my speedo was running about 5% slower and the shift patterns of the trans was off. I re calibrated the speedo and the shifting came back to normal... All the while, my MPG stayed about the same (15-16 mpg), but I felt it had a tad bit more power...
It wasn't until I hitched up a #5000 TT that I found out what the 'real deal' was! I still had the 265's, K&N and Gibson muffler... It towed fine, but it did downshift into 2nd gear alot...
A year later, the Gibson started to rattle (loose baffle) and I replaced it with a straight thru muffler (FLO-PRO) and man, what a difference! While towing and going over the same stretch of road that would cause a downshift, I was able to hold LOCKED 3rd gear and speed!
In my neighborhood, there is a very steep hill that has a 35 mph speed limit on it. I take it at 40mph and with the Gibson on, I would slow down to 35, give it a little more gas and then it would downshift into 2nd all the time.... With the FLO-PRO, I would do the same thing and it now holds LOCKED third! It still slows down to 35, but when I give it a little more gas to hold that speed, or to keep it at 40 mph, it will still hold 3rd gear! That was only with a muffler change. All the while, I still only get 15-16 mpg and that's now with over 172,000 miles on the rig!
Anyway, the point is that you can bolt on all kinds of things and you may or may not get any performance/mpg gains, but IMO, there is no magic bolt on device that will get you both....
Those 285's are a 33" tall tire, so if you have 3.55 gears, you will be even worse off then me...
Good luck!
Mitch
I had the stock 235/70/16's on my 5.4, 3.55 geared truck with stock everything... I got it used, and the tires were toast, so within 2 weeks, I got some 255/70/16 tires, a K&N Drop in and a Gibson Swept Side exhaust.
I later decided that the 255's were still too small, so I traded them in for some 265/75/16's and that's when I noticed a change in everything.. Part of it was the computer, because my speedo was running about 5% slower and the shift patterns of the trans was off. I re calibrated the speedo and the shifting came back to normal... All the while, my MPG stayed about the same (15-16 mpg), but I felt it had a tad bit more power...
It wasn't until I hitched up a #5000 TT that I found out what the 'real deal' was! I still had the 265's, K&N and Gibson muffler... It towed fine, but it did downshift into 2nd gear alot...
A year later, the Gibson started to rattle (loose baffle) and I replaced it with a straight thru muffler (FLO-PRO) and man, what a difference! While towing and going over the same stretch of road that would cause a downshift, I was able to hold LOCKED 3rd gear and speed!
In my neighborhood, there is a very steep hill that has a 35 mph speed limit on it. I take it at 40mph and with the Gibson on, I would slow down to 35, give it a little more gas and then it would downshift into 2nd all the time.... With the FLO-PRO, I would do the same thing and it now holds LOCKED third! It still slows down to 35, but when I give it a little more gas to hold that speed, or to keep it at 40 mph, it will still hold 3rd gear! That was only with a muffler change. All the while, I still only get 15-16 mpg and that's now with over 172,000 miles on the rig!
Anyway, the point is that you can bolt on all kinds of things and you may or may not get any performance/mpg gains, but IMO, there is no magic bolt on device that will get you both....
Those 285's are a 33" tall tire, so if you have 3.55 gears, you will be even worse off then me...
Good luck!
Mitch
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From: ontario
Thanks mitch, that's exactly the type of response I was looking for. Anyone swapped in 4.10's? That would be reasonably inexspensive. And if you did what was your new fuel mileage? Don't get me wrong,we're not doing the earth any favours by driving fullsize trucks and fuel mileage is of some concern. But no matter how you look at it mileage takes a back seat to functionality, hands down.
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From: Puyallup, WA
Yeah, gears will help the most with low end and low speeds. Do you tow? What kind of 'functionality' are you looking for? Stump pulling power??
Yes, we drive #5000 bricks and they are not going to get 30 mpg, no matter what we do to it! But, we do need them to occasionally 'work' them from time to time!
I can say that with my 5.4, 3.55 gears and only really needing my truck to tow for about 4-5k miles a year, I'm happy with my setup, even with 32" tall tires.
If I were to go to 3.73 gears, I could put my stock VSS gear back in and be calibrated the same as the way the truck was with the little 235's... I'd get back ~ 100 rpms or so...
I do have 4x4, so the 4LO comes in handy for me! I use it for backing my trailer into it's parking spot and it's awesome! I've also pulled 'stumps' out with it too (with some major digging around the 'stump' first!). In 4LO, my truck shifts into second gear, going up my driveway! Of course, you can't drive on the street that way, but still....
Here is a link to a 'gear calculator' and you can enter in all the specifics of your drivetrain and see what rpms you will be pulling at any given speed/gear... This should let you know where your engine rpms going be. With a 4.6, you need to be in the higher rpm range anyway, so 4.10's might be a good match for you? In my case, I don't think they will help me much on the crusing end of life, because in third gear, going 60 mph, I'm pulling around 2300 rpms and that's my engines 'sweet spot' for towing... I can pull that all day long and hardly ever downshift..
http://www.bncoffroad.com/tire_gear_cal.html
MItch
Yes, we drive #5000 bricks and they are not going to get 30 mpg, no matter what we do to it! But, we do need them to occasionally 'work' them from time to time!
I can say that with my 5.4, 3.55 gears and only really needing my truck to tow for about 4-5k miles a year, I'm happy with my setup, even with 32" tall tires.
If I were to go to 3.73 gears, I could put my stock VSS gear back in and be calibrated the same as the way the truck was with the little 235's... I'd get back ~ 100 rpms or so...
I do have 4x4, so the 4LO comes in handy for me! I use it for backing my trailer into it's parking spot and it's awesome! I've also pulled 'stumps' out with it too (with some major digging around the 'stump' first!). In 4LO, my truck shifts into second gear, going up my driveway! Of course, you can't drive on the street that way, but still....
Here is a link to a 'gear calculator' and you can enter in all the specifics of your drivetrain and see what rpms you will be pulling at any given speed/gear... This should let you know where your engine rpms going be. With a 4.6, you need to be in the higher rpm range anyway, so 4.10's might be a good match for you? In my case, I don't think they will help me much on the crusing end of life, because in third gear, going 60 mph, I'm pulling around 2300 rpms and that's my engines 'sweet spot' for towing... I can pull that all day long and hardly ever downshift..
http://www.bncoffroad.com/tire_gear_cal.html
MItch
Last edited by MitchF150; May 31, 2007 at 01:52 PM.
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From: The LBC (Long Beach, CA)
Originally Posted by renegade1979
Anyone swapped in 4.10's? That would be reasonably inexspensive. And if you did what was your new fuel mileage?
Here's a good thread that will answer a lot of your questions, a few guys whove done the swap have posted in it:
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=263323
Most folks report no change in MPG using 4.10s and stock sized tires (or close to stock).
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From: ontario
There's no towing with my truck at all. It's primarily a get to work then play on the week-end truck....with some yard work thrown in between. I put about 300 km's a week on it to work and back.The functionality part is off-road and around town driving which of course means the odd burnout at the lights. I'm wishing now that I just bought a 5.4 truck in the first place.