Hey all,
I am new to the world of trucks and I want to make sure mine runs goods. I just got a 5 inch Trailmaster lift with 33' tires. I have a 5.4 Trition V-8, and it seems to have a little trouble gettin those tires going. So I was looking into upgrades, witch is a long boring job. Unfotunalty I am not very good with big gas engines, so I have no idea what some that the stuff did. Here are the upgrades I am planning on purchasing:

1. Borla Headers
2. Flowmaster (Dual Exhaust)
3. K&N Gen II filtercharger
4. Jacobs- MSD ignition
5. Jet Performance Chip

Can anyone tell me if that is a good set-up? I am not to sure about the Jacobs- MSD, they both seem to have the same HP- TRQ gains. Thanks to anyone that can help.

Sean

 

Here is what I have installed (and why) on a 2000 Expedition 5.4L 4X4

INSTALLED Reason
Gibson ss shorty headers breathing/flow
Borla cat back breathing/flow and Quiet
K&N FIPK breathing/flow
JET chip Change computer programing

The truck runs much better with these changes. Before the changes it had almost no throttle response from mid to full throttle and was a real dog in a 60 to 70 mph pass. Now there is good throttle response in the mid to full throttle position and a 60 to 70 mph pass is much better.

If I were to change anything with this combination it would be the JET chip for a Super Chip. From what I have learned on this site and other sources the Super Chip is better. It should be noted that the Super Chip works best on premium gas but there is a regular/premium Super chip. There is a lot of info on the Super Chip on this site.

Other modifications I am considering are an electric fan (less drag on the engine) and under drive pullies (less drag). I would like to supercharge but the cost is too high for me at the present.

 

You need to get some new gears. If you have the usual 3.55's, with those 33's your engine thinks you only have a 3.23. I don't know how the guys with the 3.08's even get rolling........

I can tell a difference with my tires and they are only 31.5 inches tall! I have the 3.55's and wouldn't go much larger of a tire, unless I regeared. I'd go to a 4.10 for anything taller then a 32" tire.

 

Don't waste your money on an ignition system, I don't even think one is made for the 4.6/5.4's. listen to the man who recommends gears.

 

Hey again,

You said something about an electric fan, and power pullys? What exactly do those do? Can you please explain, and add how much performance is added when those are put on.


Thanks

Sean

 

Sean, Mitchf150 is right. If you want power regear. Think of your old ten speed bike if you were about to climp a hill the first thing you would do is "regear" then if that was not enough power then you would think about putting more leg into it.
But before that can be really the answer you got to know what you are going to use it for. If wheeling and not putting alot of highway speed miles on then the higher the gear the better! If you are doing both then you need to compromise. I believe most of us on this board are doing more road than dirt. If that is the case then you start to look to get more HP, because back to your ten speed if you were in the lowest gear trying to run down the highway you will BLOW a joint before you get to an acceptable speed.
Figure out what you want to do the best then compromise to do the other things that you have to. As far as the fan and pulleys they help add HP. You remove the fan that the motor has to move and replace with an electric fan than more HP the motor can use to move the tires instead of the fan. If you over size the pulleys then you may get less effiency from what they ran, but again more HP left to turn the tires. I hope this helps, but it is not a simple answer. Start with what you want to do BEST!

 

Lose the Jet chip,everything else sounds good. With the few things I have installed on my truck,it really has made a power difference. If your going true duals go for a small(say 2 1/4") pipe. I'm glad that I did whenever I see a post of someone who overdid theirs',and lost all their low end. I've never changed gears in anything I've owned,so I can't tell you much about it. Alot of people rave about the effects,so it must do some good. Pulleys and an electric fan do work. They reduce the strain on the engine. The pulleys are larger than the stock units,so the acc. turn slower,which frees up HP. The engine doesn't have to work as hard to spin them. The fan does pretty much the same thing,but by reducing the weight the engine has to move before the power goes to the wheels. Your not really "adding" power,just getting back what the factory units stole Good luck on the mods,and be warned,they get very addicting,lol,,,,,,,98

 

Kiss your top-end bye-bye. You'll never have speed like you did before. 'Course you'll have lots more options on the back-roads (or where there is a lack thereof) as far as mudding goes.

I used to drive 10-ton trucks in the USAF. Guess what? They've got about 80hp and 290lb/ft torque. Soooo... HOW do they carry TEN TONS and bore right through the worst muck there is? GEARS, mano... GEARS. Sure 290 is a lot of torque (like a small V8 gas motor), but they're also hauling around a lot more, even empty. Keep your gears LOW when you're offroading. More RMPs, lower speed, more control and you can go through about anything if you THINK your way through it.

I dunno if there's a reduction T-Case out there for the 4X4s or not. There is for some of the older chebbies and power wagons. Taller axles will help, too. Don't be afraid to go with the tallest you can afford, esp if you plan to keep those huge tires on there.

Be prepared for bearing jobs, blown U-Joints, re-lubing of the front and rear end about 3X as often, more tranny fluid changes, and lower (much) MPG. If you do any serious roading at all you'll break something eventually. Trust me. Pays to be financially prepared for this.

Anyhow, just a final note. Nothing makes me laugh harder than watching people with new tires and lift kits go out and blow their **** up trying to do 55mph where they should be doing about 10. Take your time. ENJOY your outdoor travels and tread lightly.

 

definately gears should be the first thing you do... i bet you'll even get better mileage than you do now, simply because your motor (which will be turning at higher rpms) will have to work alot less to push your rig down the road.

for my truck at least, the mileage ratings are the same for the 3.08 and 3.55 gears, but i get to tow and addional 1600 lbs with the 3.55's... i'm betting your engine will thank you if you get new gears.

the mods you listed (particularly the exhaust and intake) will probably slightly drop and/or shift up your torque peak, which will really hurt your driveability and especially off-roading (where plenty of low-end is needed if you dont want to destroy your clutch/torque conv)... i'm not positive about this and everyone will have differnt opionions, but i'd definalty go to 3.73 or 4.10 gears before i did anything else.

 

How much will it cost to get the gears into the truck? Where can I go to get them done, will the local axel dude be able to take care of that? What id the best one to go with I have seen many differt ratios?

Sean

 

You still haven't really said what you want to do with the truck. Gears are great if you will be doing a lot of wheeling, but if you put more highway miles on you will be revving so high and using so much fuel you will hate us for suggesting it!

 

Here we go again. Ok, you read one post where everyone says 33's or (285's) are fine (even with stock 3.55 gears) and shouldn't hurt much more than the stock 255/70 tires. You then read another post and and going 1 inch taller means you have to regear. What's a guy to think? That's half the reason I can't make my mind up what the heck to do. I mean I love the 33's but do not have a ton of money or time to spend on parts or regears. I do about 75% rural roads/highway/city driving miles and think that I need to go smaller on the tires but the looks of my combo are great and love having the capablity to travel any road (or no road for that matter). How off-road capable do you think a 31 (265) is? OK, now throw a 285 in the mix, how much change have you made? What is the "point of no return" on tire size and stock gears to maintain a well balanced mix for all types of drving. My thoughts of a 285 on stock gears not being to bad were off. I have thought of dropping to a 265 or better yet a 275/70 and stay even closer to stock power and speedometer reading yetstill get a 31inch tire (about a 1/2 shorter than a 265 but about 1/2 wider). Sorry for the long winded whining. Just see both sides of the fence so much I can't decide which is best for me.

 

I think the 32-33 inch tall tire is the limit for a 3.55 gear. seanbrent's original question was what parts to throw at the engine to get the power to turn his 33's. Since he was willing to spend that much money at parts, regearing would get him better results without adding anything to the engine.

In your situation, you are looking for the best compromise between tire size and power without throwing more money into gears or mods. I'm the same way. In my situation, I had already made a "bad" choice and went with the 255's from the installed 235's that came on the truck. When I decided I could not live with the 255's and wanted to go larger, I found the same tire in a 265, but it cost me $250 more to make the swap. I went for it because it gave me the piece of mind I needed and felt the compromise was worth it. I still think a 285 is within reason too, but I guess that's where the compromise goes a tad bit over the size/power ratio. Of course the powers not going to be the same as the old 255's were, but you have a much better looking and offroad tire that is fitting for a 4x4. My original opinion to go for the larger tire in the first place was due to my own experience in the whole matter and the fact that you seemed really interested in the 285's, just as I had the 265's in mind, but didn't do it for whatever reason.

At this point, you should do whatever will make you sleep better knowing what you do now. If the 285's are still giving you doubts, then going to your other options would probably give you a good nights sleep. (I'd stick with the 285's, since you already have the new 16x8 wheels too. )

 

Mitchf150
I just want to comend you on all the help and understanding you have shown me. 33's are the limit on a 3.55 gear and I can tell you from experience on that one. I will make maybe another post and make a call or two before I make my final desicion on to stay or drop down. Thank god the place I bought these tires at has a 30 day test drive warranty and I can drop the size and still get money back.
I did some quick math and based on assumptions you went up about an 1.75 (based on 235/75 to a 265/75), you basically dropped your ratio to a 3.35 and dropped RPM's by about 124 (ex. base was 2200, now at 2076). How much does it feel like you lost power wise? I went up about 2.75, dropped to a 3.25 gear, and lossed 186 RPM's.
To tell you the honest truth it's more a combination of problems that make me think about changing. First I have about a 1/4 inch of side to side steering wheel movement (described by one person as "walking"), my thoughts on that were worn suspension parts, namely ball joints. Second the power loss issue and the third thing is the thought that I am tearing up all sorts of stuff on my truck. I will make up my mind soon enough and will be happy or live with it. I guess the saying just because everyones else does it doesn't mean you should too, applies here. M y advice to anyone reading this is to 'THINK' about your mods before you do it, get every detail you can. I did and still not sure if I might the right choice. Thanks again.

 

I really appreciate your kind words. I also want to thank you for all this valuable "hands on" info. On my next set of tires, I was going to go for the 285's, without question. But, as you say, I'll really have to "think" more about it.

Thanks also for those calculations. I was not really aware that the 285's were that much taller then the 265. I knew they were taller of course, but actually seeing the numbers makes a big difference. One thing, which was probably just a typo, but the original 235's were a 70 series, just as the 255's were too.

Since we have been going over this whole deal, I've noticed that the only "power loss" I have is around 1500 rpm's in 3rd gear (locked version) and going up a hill (about 35-40mph). Seems to really slow down, unless I give it more gas, then it will usually downshift to 2nd, instead of shifting to the "slipping" version of third. I don't notice any loss from a standing start. Heck, I can still spin both tires on most pavement surfaces (only a few feet, but it will leave a mark!) And on the highway, it has plenty of power to pass. This is what I do now. In town and in heavy traffic, I will turn off the OD. On the freeway, I'll put it into OD and just cruise. If I anticipate a "need for speed", I'll disengage the OD and then give it gas to bring the speed up. Boy, this thing will really pick up speed fast in third! It'll go from 60 to 75 in just a couple seconds, and you can really feel the "pull" while doing it. I don't even need to go WOT. Not even close. Usually just half - 3/4 thottle.

I guess this is really going to screw you up now. I know I have been saying to stick with the 285's all along, but I did forget about the front end situation you mentioned. Probably worn out ball joints, as you suspect. I guess, all in all, I am really happy with the 265's. I just wish Ford would have installed this size as "stock" and supplied us with the 3.73 rear end, then going to 285's would be a no brainer!!

I don't think you are "tearing up" your rig with the 285's, but then who knows? I'd do whatever would make ME feel comfortable and secure with my rig.

I'll stand by 'ya on whatever decision you finally make.

Mitch