# F150 Power Mods?



## 4 Outbackers

Has anyone had any sucess in power gains by making modifications to a 5.4l F150? I know the short answer would be to by a diesel, but at this point in time I really don`t want to take on that much debt.The options that I have seen are upgrading the "chip", changing the exhaust and air intake. Does anyone know if these mods really work?


----------



## GO WEST

I don't know, but I have an 03 F150 with 5.4L and 3.55 rear end, and I am going to keep an eye on this thread. I have a long tow up into the mountains this summer.

Per edmunds.com the 2003 5.4L in the SVT Lightning is 380 hp and in the Harley Davidson it's 340 hp. Stock the 03 5.4L is under 300 hp. Edmunds says your 05 5.4L has 300 hp. Clearly with the right mods you could get 27% more power out of this motor, but I bet it would come at a price.


----------



## birddog74

Its been a while since Ive looked it up but I didnt think the price for the power gain vs. the loss in mpg was worth it. But Im just a flatlander. And Im cheap.


----------



## Duanesz

Yup I just got rid of the same truck 03-F150 with 3.55 gear. The best bank for the buck is to upgrade the rear gears to 4.10. Stock 03 is 260hp its the 2 valve engine. 04 and up have 3 valve and have 300+ depending on the year. I was towing a 25rss it did ok on flat ground but any head wind or hill it was working hard and drinking fuel like 7mpg. I sold that truck for 10,500 it was ext cab 4x4 and I picked up a 2000 F-250 diesel for 12,000 so the money I was going to spend on gears and exhaust etc I just put it into the 250 and this truck is a crew cab. Yes my old truck had 83,000mi on it and my new one has 123,000 but I think I have a much better tow rig. The 7.3 is a tried and proven combo. There are many forums out there for powerstrokes and finding out issues about any problems you are having and it is easy to get help. But again gears will be the biggest help for your truck.


----------



## SLO250RS

I personally installed a Powerdyne Supercharger and J.E.T chip and Gibson exhaust on a 05 F-150 4x4 which is owned by the vice pres. of the company I work for. This set up has been on the truck for 4 yrs now,he tows a 11,000 lb.boat with this set up.All I can say is for the money he spent he is very happy.The total cost was right around $4,000.00 for everything.The supercharger has a C.A.R.B.# so it is clean for Cali.and passes the smog check here in N.E Ohio.Hope this helps.


----------



## dunk

4 Outbackers said:


> Has anyone had any sucess in power gains by making modifications to a 5.4l F150? I know the short answer would be to by a diesel, but at this point in time I really don`t want to take on that much debt.The options that I have seen are upgrading the "chip", changing the exhaust and air intake. Does anyone know if these mods really work?


I have a 2007 F150 Supercrew King Ranch and love this truck. Every truck i've ever had I have dual exhaust put on it... not just for the HP gain (little if any) but mostly for the sound. IMO the dual exhaust (Flowmaster brand) makes it sound like a truck. I also have a K&N air filter installed in the factory air box. I've been thinking about a cold air intake and probably will do it soon, just haven't yet. I also have the Edge Evolution programmer installed. This is a programmer with 3 "canned" settings that may also be fine tuned by you. It has a transmission only setting, a towing setting, and an extreme setting. I do not have any dyno results, but i can definitely tell the difference with the programs. I currently run the towing setting and can notice the torque difference as well as the transmission shift points and harder shifts. I use this setting all the time and love it. I used to use the extreme setting but it requires 93 octane gas... so I don't use it now since gas prices are too high. The extreme setting was very noticeable as far as torque, and hp gains... the harder shifts on the transmission are what I like too! 
if you have any questions, let me know... sorry for being so long winded about this. 
The edge evolution cost me around $350 and I believe it was worth it.


----------



## dunk

dunk said:


> Has anyone had any sucess in power gains by making modifications to a 5.4l F150? I know the short answer would be to by a diesel, but at this point in time I really don`t want to take on that much debt.The options that I have seen are upgrading the "chip", changing the exhaust and air intake. Does anyone know if these mods really work?


I have a 2007 F150 Supercrew King Ranch and love this truck. Every truck i've ever had I have dual exhaust put on it... not just for the HP gain (little if any) but mostly for the sound. IMO the dual exhaust (Flowmaster brand) makes it sound like a truck. I also have a K&N air filter installed in the factory air box. I've been thinking about a cold air intake and probably will do it soon, just haven't yet. I also have the Edge Evolution programmer installed. This is a programmer with 3 "canned" settings that may also be fine tuned by you. It has a transmission only setting, a towing setting, and an extreme setting. I do not have any dyno results, but i can definitely tell the difference with the programs. I currently run the towing setting and can notice the torque difference as well as the transmission shift points and harder shifts. I use this setting all the time and love it. I used to use the extreme setting but it requires 93 octane gas... so I don't use it now since gas prices are too high. The extreme setting was very noticeable as far as torque, and hp gains... the harder shifts on the transmission are what I like too! 
if you have any questions, let me know... sorry for being so long winded about this. 
The edge evolution cost me around $350 and I believe it was worth it.
[/quote]
Another great thing about the Evolution is the monitoring options. 24 different engine options to monitor. I use the transmission temp when I tow.


----------



## russlg

4 Outbackers said:


> Has anyone had any sucess in power gains by making modifications to a 5.4l F150? I know the short answer would be to by a diesel, but at this point in time I really don`t want to take on that much debt.The options that I have seen are upgrading the "chip", changing the exhaust and air intake. Does anyone know if these mods really work?


I agree with Dunk, The edge evolution has been a great programmer and is simple with the three canned settings. I want to get one eventually, especially for the trans temp guage.

If you don't know or are not sure what your axle ratio is, give me the last eight digits of your vin and I can look it up for you..

For more info on the edge in the '04-'08 F150, check out the message board at www.fordf150.net


----------



## Nathan

Just remember that any performance mods will add stress to the engine. (The longest lived powertrain is the one that doesn't have enough power to hurt itself.) To put it in laymans terms, a few extra HP with a tuner won't be too bad, but a Supercharger will be looking for the weak link..

If you want better towing performance, the gears are the way to do it without the aforementioned dangers...


----------



## MJRey

I used to have an 03 Expedition with the 5.4L engine, 4-speed automatic and 3.73 axle ratio. That year motor had the 2 valve heads and I ended up getting the Superchips xCalibrator2 with 3 programs (89 octane towing, 91 tow, and 91 performance). It worked really well and I ran the 91 tow most of the time. The better mileage offset the higher fuel cost and it towed noticeably better as it improved engine response and transmission shifts. I think it cost me about $450 at the time and it was programmed for that specific engine computer. I read a bunch about performance enhancements for the 5.4 and I came to the conclusion that the biggest improvement would be with a programmer. All of the other things like intake and exhaust systems would only make marginal improvements. Whenever I needed to take it to the dealer for work I just reloaded the stock program in about 5 minutes.

When I sold the truck I kept it thinking I might need it again but it's been sitting in a box for the last 3+ years. I've used it occasionally on friends vehicles to read codes but other than that it's just collecting dust. If someone here is interested I'd make a great deal on the thing. First though you'd need to find out how much it would be to have it reprogrammed for your specific vehicle. I really don't know what it would cost but I can connect you with the place where I bought it as they do lots of work with the 5.4. If they don't want too much it might be a sweet upgrade for a moderate price.


----------



## CamperAndy

First get 4.10 rear end and then see if you need more. It does not actually add horsepower but the truck will now operate more in its torque band then with 3.55 gears when towing. It will cut down on your top end but then you don't really have a race truck.


----------



## Duanesz

Gears, Gears , Gears ,


----------



## 4 Outbackers

The Edge Evolution chip sounds interesting, I`m going to look into it. I have the 3.55 gear set and it is a 4x4 so if I change the rear end it will be costly.
Decisions,Decisions.
Thanks for all the suggestions.


----------



## luverofpeanuts

In my reading over the years... most often I see it said that the gear ratio is the best bang for the buck. Heck...if you want, try just using premium fuel to see if you notice a difference. The Triton in the Fords have a knock sensor that advances the timing a bit based on octane (I'm sure it's more complicated than that...but suffice it to say the engine does adjust based on octane). I felt that it was a tad more responsive with 93 octane versus 87. Whether it truly was or wasn't... who knows... as long as my butt felt it was worth it, I was happy.

I agree with the more cautious approach that while you can buy mods to increase engine power, it may not be the best thing for the whole powertrain. I say just be careful. If you're towing a rig big enough to wish for more power.... it may be that you need better brakes, better tow controller, better sway control, etc, etc. ;-)

Having said all that... I've always liked the idea of the Edge Insight monitor to keep an eye on things. It seems simple to install...since it uses almost all onboard connections via the OBDII port. So, if you do choose a chip upgrade, or tuner, or other mods, having a monitor to keep an eye on things would be money well spent, I think.

My used '06 F250 6.0L PSD came with an SCT X3 tuner (not a chip). I've only played with it a bit, and have kept the truck on the stock tune otherwise. *but* Holy Hannah can this truck rocket when you play with some of those tunes and settings. I could easily see getting sucked into modding out a vehicle to get more power and speed. Feeling a 3/4 ton truck rocket from a dead stop like sports car, and not feeling any let up in sight as you fly past 60 and 70 mph is quite a rush. That's why I keep it back on the stock tune. That is more fun that I need to have ;-) I've not experimented with the towing specific tunes, since the stock tune is well more than enough for my load.


----------



## 4 Outbackers

I thought I`d update everyone with what I ended up doing to the TV. I looked into a gear change but with a 4x4 it would run about $1200.
I bought an Edge Evolution programmer for $360, came via UPS the next day. I installed it today, it was pretty easy as it came with good instructions. Set it up for towing and took it for a test drive without the OB, Holy Cow what a difference! I didn`t realize what a dog the truck was until now. The throttle response is much chrisper and the trans shifts stronger. We won`t be camping for another month but I think I`ll take the trailer out for a test run before our first trip. The programmer also has the ability to monitor several parameters so I set it up to monitor the trans temp, engine oil temp, engine load and mpg`s.
Looking forward to putting a load on the TV to see how it responds.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.


----------



## titanizer

Put in some 91 octane and switch to level 3 for some reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaalllllll fun!


----------



## Just Add Dirt

I bully dogged my 08' F250 with a 5.4; before I could only climb South Mountain @ 45mph tops, loaded with around 8500# total. After tune and 93 octane I can cruise up South Mountain @ 70mph; supposedly it gives 40hp @ axle. This tuner is useable on a F150, a GM, & Dodge 1500 all models up to a 1 ton


----------



## GO WEST

Just Add Dirt I am considering a no frills 2010 (new) F250 SuperDuty XL crew cab short bed with 5.4L and 3.73 and wondering if its 300 hp will be enough, rather noticeably more, power than my 2003 F150 Supercab with 260 hp and 3.55. I want to know more about this Bully Dog. Sure, I could talk myself into a diesel, but I have plenty of trailer already, just want a crew cab to carry my family more comfortably. Don't want to fall prey to "upgrade-itis" and lose my grip on CAMPING.


----------



## Nathan

GO WEST said:


> Just Add Dirt I am considering a no frills 2010 (new) F250 SuperDuty XL crew cab short bed with 5.4L and 3.73 and wondering if its 300 hp will be enough, rather noticeably more, power than my 2003 F150 Supercab with 260 hp and 3.55. I want to know more about this Bully Dog. Sure, I could talk myself into a diesel, but I have plenty of trailer already, just want a crew cab to carry my family more comfortably. Don't want to fall prey to "upgrade-itis" and lose my grip on CAMPING.


There's increased power and a better axle ratio. Of course it is partially offset by more weight. I'm betting it will feel slightly better on power and a lot better on stability/control.


----------



## swanny

more engine power means more stress on the tranny. So don't forget the tranny, it will be the weak link.

kevin


----------



## alpine

I've got an '07 FX4 with aa AFE CAI, Magnaflow exhaust and an SCT X3 tuner which besides performance tunes also offers various octane tow tunes 
which is supposed to keep the transmission running cooler while heping with fuel economy. I've only travelled about 20 miles with the trailer 
on relatively flat terrain but it handled 50-60 mph easily even in OD.


----------



## CRZ

Do this cheap easy mod for some power gains. Great site for all your f150 needs.
http://www.f150online.com/forums/articles-how-tos/369190-dwv-intake-mod-2004-2008-f150-5-4l-engine.html


----------



## Ford Dealer

Per edmunds.com the 2003 5.4L in the SVT Lightning is 380 hp and in the Harley Davidson it's 340 hp. Stock the 03 5.4L is under 300 hp. Edmunds says your 05 5.4L has 300 hp. Clearly with the right mods you could get 27% more power out of this motor, but I bet it would come at a price.
[/quote]

In 2004 the 5.4L engine was changed from a 2 valve per cylinder to the current 3 valve. That is why there is a power gain. The SVT is supercharged.


----------



## Ford Dealer

In 2004 the 5.4L engine has 3 valves per cylinder instead of the 2 in 2003. The engine breathes better hence more power. The SVT is supercharged.


----------



## CRZ

Ford Dealer said:


> Per edmunds.com the 2003 5.4L in the SVT Lightning is 380 hp and in the Harley Davidson it's 340 hp. Stock the 03 5.4L is under 300 hp. Edmunds says your 05 5.4L has 300 hp. Clearly with the right mods you could get 27% more power out of this motor, but I bet it would come at a price.


In 2004 the 5.4L engine was changed from a 2 valve per cylinder to the current 3 valve. That is why there is a power gain. The SVT is supercharged.
[/quote]

Wow thats crazy! Only 80hp more then a stock 3 valve. If you supercharged the 04 5.4L 3 valve you would be pushing around 500hp.


----------



## Nathan

CRZ said:


> Wow thats crazy! Only 80hp more then a stock 3 valve. If you supercharged the 04 5.4L 3 valve you would be pushing around 500hp.


You're going to want to upgrade some components prior to bolting a supercharger to a 5.4L.... unless you like rebuilding engines....


----------

