hey all - i've been gleaning wisdom and knowledge from you guys over the past year since i found this forum, so thanks in advance for any responses...
I've got a 2003 4.6 2wd that is basically stock (k&n air filter), i've been reading/learning, and trying to put together a plan for the future on increasing power - exhaust, intake, tuner (way too many options there...) rear gears, maybe new intake manifold (even possible/worth it with stock heads?).
My question is: how close to 300 rwhp can i reasonably expect to get without a supercharger or nitrous while keeping low end power/torque as high as possible? again, thanks a lot for your expertise.

jack

 

turbo

 

long tube headers, roush catback exhaust, gryphon tuner, gears, cai, underdrive pullies. i dont know what the 4.6 has stock but that'll get you an extra 75hp roughly at the crank. you'll need a turbo or supercharger to go with these in order to get 300 to the wheels.

 

Actually it's real, real, easy. Go find yourself a wrecked Aviator (The little Navigator) and swap the engine into your truck. The Aviator 4.6 is a 3 valve engine making 302 stock HP. Buy the 5 speed auto with it and you will have one hot running little truck. The SVT bunch did several on regular cabs with 3.73 axles. They were incredible screamers. You'll probably have to either use the harness from the Aviator or get a custom tune for engine/tranny.

 

thats cheatin swaping out the engine

 

It's a 4v in the Aviators.


If you want to make that kind of power NA with a 4.6 you will need a decent set of ported heads and some cams with it as well

 

Swapping the engine out is more than i want to get into and is definitely above my head anyway Gotts - where (and what) should i be looking for as far as heads/cams? And what is reasonable to pay? Matt - same questions about the turbo (i know nothing about that stuff). one more: will roush exhaust far outperform a magnaflow?
thanks again, guys.

 

Like gotts already stated work a set of '03 or newer 2 valve heads (with the 8 thread spark plug holes), custom ground camshafts, long tube headers, high flow cats, dual 2.5 inch exhaust (with an H or X pipe), trans shift kit, 4.10 gears, underdrive pulleys, e-fans, I'd try to find a bullitt mustang intake or work a FRPP intake to match the PI ports, 39# or 42# injectors, SVT 90mm MAF, a 255 lph intank fuel pump and a good tune and you should see over 300 hp easy

dropping a supercharger on it would be easier but your goal is within your reach without boost if that's how you want to roll

 

I forgot, a single turbo will set you back about $4300 installed and tuned

 

Thanks guys. tarajerame - pretty sweet list, and seems manageable over a period of time (i think the turbo is out cost-wise). with those types of mods, is it alright to do it a bit at a time - i understand that to get the most out of one's powertrain, modifications need to work in conjunction with one another as a system. would there be any concern of just doing some of it here, and some of it there, and waiting until i've done all of that before getting it tuned, or would it be necessary to get it tuned more than once after certain mods? (hope i'm conveying my question well enough...)

 

I'd do the shift kit and efans first

headers and exhaust second

then cams (and valve springs), injectors, 90mm MAF, fuel pump and tune

save the P&P heads and intake until you rebuild the engine and then raise the compression a bit 10:1 would be a nice street driven N/A engine

 

get about a 3,000 9" converter. do the J-mod on the valve body. go to the mustang intake manifold. get a set of 30lbs injectors. a nice set of long tubes. catted or catless X pipe. 75mm throttle body. port match the plenum. get a nice set of efan and UD pulleys. and a nice tune. you'll be at 300

 

not by much but there will be a little bit of a gain. borla and the roush systems are the best for performance for these trucks. borla makes the roush offroad but i think the roush sounds better so thats why i said that one. if you already have a magnaflow system then dont worry about it.

 

thers also a new company OBX that makes magnaflow copy mufflers that are high quality for about half the price.

 

thanks everybody for your replies - seriously. faster150: i have no idea what you're talking about with the "3000 9" converter - j-mod on the valve body" - is that a 3k rpm stall converter? what exactly is the application? also, i'm probably continuing to show my lack of knowledge, but would the mustang intake rob any low end power from the truck (higher rpm application), or is it simply more free-flowing, and that's why it's a good mod? it seems counterintuitive to put a sport car's intake on the truck (but again, that's only cause i don't know any better).
now i have a hundred q's about the exaust, but i'll save the majority of them for the exhaust section - however, i'm curious to know everyone's opinions on the obx mufflers as it relates to increased power (or facilitating the capability of increased power) - same ? about the dynomax bullets...
- thanks again