I have an 04 f150 5.4 3valve with a afe intake, bbk throttle body, hi flow cats and a 3in exhaust. Currently i have a superchip flash paqand my truck seems gutless. I ran my buddies 08 f150 with a 4.6 he has a k&n intake, cat back exhaust and an edge tune. His truck easily pulls away from mine. I cant figure it out. both trucks are almost identical except the engines. i just can't figure how he beats me so hard. Can my tuner be my problem? there aren't any engine codes, but it definitely is running rich. Should i consider a custom tune?

 

Good place to start, as you can't safely run an aftermarket CAI/WAI without a custom tune to render it safe ( unless yer Flashpaq was loaded with one of Superchips' CAI-specific tunes for that intake - they cost a bit extra but can be downloaded )

O4 3V's came from the factory kinda on the lean side - the intake only makes it worse.

Other factors include maintenance (or lack of same), gearing and manufacturing tolerances, vehicle weight, etc, etc.

You also could have an issue that does not set a CEL - things like lazy front O2's, random misfires that are storing codes but not triggering CEL's, clogged fuel filter, etc, etc

3" exhaust is also probably adversely affecting yer low-end grunt, and if it's a baffled muffler it's not helping matters. You need to maintain high exhaust gas velocity to promote scavenging which will in turn enhance torque.

BTW - why do you think it's running rich?

good luck
MGD

 

My friend says when he drives behind me can smell gas. Even when its idling i can smell unburned gas out of the muffler. I've been told its my throttle body, but it ran good in when the truck was in Nevada and California. I'm in Colorado springs now. The truck has 40000 miles on it. It has new plugs. It also isn't throwing any codes when driving.

 

What's the altitude of yer current location?

(BTW - Throttle body is worth bupkis perf-wise on a stock N/A truck).

Like I said - some stored / pending codes will not set a CEL, nor show up on a standard scanner - you need a high-end unit, or the Torque Pro app, which can display Mode $06 data.

Failing front O2's can induce richness, but will usually set a code.

If it is indeed running rich ( as measured by wideband data, not a guess), then you will certainly be down on power from that alone. You need to find the root cause of that condition, if it's not from the altitude change exceeding the control limits of the canned tuning you are running.

And you need a tune for that intake - MAF transfer function is almost certainly skewed.

good luck

MGD

 

COS is over 6000 feet - I'd BET it's your tune!

 

I live at around 6000ft elevation.

 

Yup I specifically tuned for altitude.

Every 1000ft will loose 10hp apparently.

 

I'm thinking the canned tune isn't liking the elevation. When i say our trucks are almost identical. We both have the same drop, rear gears, and tire size. Then just different brand intakes and tuners. He has a cat back and i have a whole new exhaust. his 4.6 walked me like I'm sitting parked. my truck ran awesome back home. The rich smelling idle and the fact my friend can smell it while diving is enough to make me think the elevation and tune are my main problem. Any recommendations for a good custom tune?

 

For now, why not return the tune to stock and see if it makes a difference? A stock tune is easier on the engine than a bad tune.

 

Its back to stock for now. I'm just bummed that his truck pulled me so bad. he has an edge tuner. We were taking about returning both trucks to stock. Then trying his edge on my truck to see how it runs. Any input is appreciated?

 

Its back to stock for now. I'm just bummed that his truck pulled me so bad. he has an edge tuner. We were taking about returning both trucks to stock. Then trying his edge on my truck to see how it runs. Any input is appreciated.

 

Hi.

As a quick test you can certainly try it.

But the canned device it's not the optimal solution for you long-term, so it will not really prove anything.

Contact one or all of these folks about getting an SCT flash programmer and proper custom tuning from them:

www.vmptuning.com
www.gopowerhungry.com
www.5startuning.com
www.morepowertuning.com
www.troyerperformance.com

BTW - now you know why it's important to include ALL relevant info in your initial post to help folks diagnose the concern - like, say, Altitude,

good luck
MGD

 

Yeah i forgot altitude. The only other thing i have done recently is replace my cht sensor. just noticed i have a slight rough idle, which is new

 

Called superchip today. They basically told me Im s.o.l. I was told from there customer service that my problem is a mix of my parts and elevation. I was told they don't offer a tune upgrade to work with my intake. So my option is to get a custom tune. Now i need to research who to order a tune from. Thanks again for all the help.

 

Such is the way for most canned devices.

That's why I never recommend them as you can buy true custom for about the same investment ( give or take ).

Back in post #12 listed our recommended tuning dealers. The devices SCT they sell come with 3-5 custom calibrations of yer choice included in the selling price ( except PHP - their pricing model is different ).

All good folks.

You WILL need to but a new handheld - its not capable of holding custom calibrations, so flog yours in the Classifieds.

Current recommendation SCT X4: http://www.f150forum.com/f38/sct-x4-...g-soon-247454/

good luck

MGD