I just wanted to know which mods would be required for the 4.6 to beat the chevy 5.3. I hate to lose especially to those other guys. Mainly interested in the bolt on mods, ie electric fans superchip, fipk, headers, exhaust, ? what else and the horsepower boost they give would be nice.

 

That will be hard to do with a 4.6. Maybe with headers and all the other bolt on's, but I doubt it. Good luck though

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OO L Black, Superchip R9, Airaid FIPK and Tonneau cover1999 F-150 Lariat SC 2 WD, White/Silver, 5.4L, 3.55LS, K & N FIPK, Superchip, underdrive pulley set, Flowmaster dual chamber one in and duels out, six disc CD changer, towing package and captain chairs

 

Hi jbrac,

Well, you have to consider that you have a smaller engine with substantially less power to begin with, anywhere from 50-70 horsepower less, depending on which GM numbers you believe, 270 or 290 horsepower for that new 5.3 motor.

You also have less gear ratio than they do, and you also might have more weight to boot, you don't mention your exact F-150 configuration (2WD or 4WD, short cab or Super Cab, towing package or not, Offroad package or not, etc.), as that will make quite a bit of difference in your vehicle weight, and hence, your power-to-weight ratio, and ultimately, how much power you need to add to be able to keep up with and even beat the new 327 Chevy motor'd truck.

The maximum rated gains from the Superchip for your 4.6 F-150 are 26 hp & 40 lbs./ft. of torque at sea level altitude. Figure in round numbers you're going to see about a 10%-12% power gain from the Superchip.

An FIPK kit is going to be worth 12 horsepower on your 4.6, a set of JBA headers is going to add about 12-14 horsepower, and
a good cat-back exhaust system will add about 10-12 hp.

Converting over to electric fans has never been properly dyno'd back-to-back, but it should be worth about another 8-10 horsepower at high rpms, as those clutch fans take a good bit of power to turn as rpms rise.

You might also want to think about installing a set of underdrive pulleys.

Doing all of the above-mentioned mods should get you a total power gain of somewhere between 60-70 more horsepower roughly, which should get you very close to the performance of that 5.3 Chevy. Most of these types of modifications do tend to give cumulative gains, so you won't have a lot of trouble with some of these mods effectively cancelling each other out, etc. like some mods can.

So it is possible, just do your homework like you're doing and enough mods, and you'll get there.

Good luck!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Mike T., you are awesome! My suggestion was going to be easy: All he needs is access to all four of the Che^y's tires so he can flatten them.
jbrac follow my suggestion and you'll smoke him even if his truck is tricked out.

(...I said I wouldn't do this again... oh well, get in line and sue me...)

I have got to lay off this coffee!



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'99 Ford F-150 Lariat, 4WD, SCab, ORP, LS/3.73, Tow Pkg, 5.4L
* Superchip
* K&N FIPK GEN II
'99 Chrysler 300M, PHP, Sunroof, Premium Infinity Sound, 3.5L
* Borla Cat-Bak
* K&N Filtercharger
Atlanta Gamerz
F-150Online
300M Club
StarBand

 

Well i have a ext cab with the 4.10 gearing, no 4x4 or tow package. Already have the superchip, ravin exhaust, next is the fipk then the electric fans then the headers, unless one is easier or cheaper than the others.

 

I ran at the local track last night and most of the extra cab chevy trucks ran around 16 flat with most of them 16.1. That's with the 5.3 and I think most of them were stock or close to it. I ran 3 times with a best of 15.651 at 87 mph with the mods listed. Note: This was not in my Lightning!!

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OO L Black, Superchip R9, Airaid FIPK and Tonneau cover1999 F-150 Lariat SC 2 WD, White/Silver, 5.4L, 3.55LS, K & N FIPK, Superchip, underdrive pulley set, Flowmaster dual chamber one in and duels out, six disc CD changer, towing package and captain chairs

 

Hi jbrac,

1.) Just as a suggestion, it would help everyone here to help you better if you post exactly what you have, meaning, both your exact vehicle configuration, year, powertrain, etc. as well as any modifications. That way, anyone can look at it and see exactly what kind of truck you have & where you're at, as without knowing that, it's tough to correctly line out the next best thing to do.

2.) Taking into consideration the modification you mentioend already having in your past post, sounds like you've got a good plan there with regards to your next modifications. Doing the FIPK next, then converting to electric fans, and then doing the headers is the correct order in terms of "bang-for-the-buck", so it looks like you've been doing some homework on this!

3.) Is your truck an F-150? I ask simply because you mention having 4.10 gears, which you can't get from the factory in an F-150 from '97 on up, you have to get into at least an F-250 light duty to get 4.10's from the factory if memory serves. Why this matters is simply that if this was a change you made to the vehicle, then your speedometer is off, and if you have an automatic transmission, your shift pointrs could be off as well, costing you more performance.

Good luck!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Sorry i guess i should have said that. I have a the early model 97 f150 and i saw somewhere in my paperwork that i have the 4.10's im pretty sure. I wouldnt bet money but ill check again. Mike i read in an article that changing the torque converter in the trans, knocked off almost a half a second in the quartere mile time. Will changing this be that much of a difference? If so how much is the average cost to upgrade? Thanks for anyones input.

 

Hi jbrac,

OK good, & thanks for posting your vehicle info.

Ford has not offered a 4.10 gear ratio in any of their 1997 & newer F-150's, so I don't think you have 4.10's in yours, but please do feel free to check your paperwork.

With regards to making a change to a different torque converter, sure, that can be a good way to improve times at the drag strip, but you probably don't want to run around in your daiily driver with a "loose" (meaning high stall speed) torque converter, unless drag racing is your first and foremost concern for this vehicle's application. It's expensive, most high-stall speed torque conveters are going to run $1000 and more, not inlcuding installation, so for most people, this is something they never do. It's done primarily by racers, and specifically, drag racers. And for those applications it can be a very important part of the overall picture, so to speak, but on daily driver's, most people don't do that particular type of modification, that's all.

I would suggest doing your power-adding mods first, and then if your performance still isn't where you want it, then take a look at things like a loose torque converter and/or a gear ratio change.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer