Just bought F-150, What do I do first?
#1
11-01-2001 | 01:42 AM
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From: Brick, NJ
Just bought F-150, What do I do first?
I just bought a 2000 F-150 XLT Lariat, 4 door, 4X4, with a 5.4 V8. I was curious if there are any freebe mods to do to the 5.4? I want to buy a cold air intake for it, but I don't know which one will give me the most horsepower and torque. I would like to get a cold air intake that wont void my warantee, but I don't know if that possible. Either way I want a cold air intake. How are the MAC ones? Are they better than the FIPK K&N? Any help on mods you guys can give me would be great. Thanks.
#2
11-01-2001 | 04:00 AM
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From: Ft. Worth
you mean a screw...(supercrew) thats what we call em here.....
Well glad to hear that u bought a ford welcome to the board..
Well as far as intake goes, I am not familar with any but the K&N, it's your choice...however some intakes have really cheap filters, some made of foam, I like the K&N cause it is really durable, and does a great job of collecting the dust....the cone on mine is 9", it sucks lots of air... but when its hot out it sometimes sucks just like others because the heat inside the engine compartment is what is going into your engine, if you want cooler air buy a new hood and re route the air......with a scoop. And ford says that the fipk does void so you will have to do what I and many others do, when something breaks and it has to go o the shop.....take off you mods, it's a pain and I had to do it every time but when your tranny goes out and it comes to 1700 dollars, you will be glad to have that warranty, mines expired so I doesnt matter, I just put headders on it....
Secondly, you want to look into a helix power tower, its a 1" spacer that goes between the TB and the elbow into the manifold, it has ridges cut into it so that the air going in spins and......read the technical stuff elsewere, it ads hp and torque. When I first got my truck and all that I had was the k&N, exhaust, and helix, I wooped up bad on a 98' with K&N, exhaust, and a chip...he also was a lightweight, no extended cab or toolbox....hehe
If you want more performance buy a new throttle body and mass air flow, and put them on at the same time and feel the diff. I am doing all I can to mine before I reprogram her...all motor then program is my philosphy..
I would reccomend a rancho 9000's all the way around along with a rear sway bar, if you dont have one.....and replace the stock front sway bar bushings with polyurethane....this combo will reduce body roll and give the truck a very firm ride, or if your interested, look in J C whintney for a set of 300lb helper springs, I have them on mine also and they reduce wheel hop, body roll and give you hell of towing.....
If you want buy a set of lightning injectors, only 50 or 60 a piece...ouch...I dont think that ford will know the diff, unless computer says diffrently.
I would try some of these and let us know how it goes......if you have any questions, or if your confused post it....
5.4L
http://www.f150world.com/smokin54
Well as far as intake goes, I am not familar with any but the K&N, it's your choice...however some intakes have really cheap filters, some made of foam, I like the K&N cause it is really durable, and does a great job of collecting the dust....the cone on mine is 9", it sucks lots of air... but when its hot out it sometimes sucks just like others because the heat inside the engine compartment is what is going into your engine, if you want cooler air buy a new hood and re route the air......with a scoop. And ford says that the fipk does void so you will have to do what I and many others do, when something breaks and it has to go o the shop.....take off you mods, it's a pain and I had to do it every time but when your tranny goes out and it comes to 1700 dollars, you will be glad to have that warranty, mines expired so I doesnt matter, I just put headders on it....
Secondly, you want to look into a helix power tower, its a 1" spacer that goes between the TB and the elbow into the manifold, it has ridges cut into it so that the air going in spins and......read the technical stuff elsewere, it ads hp and torque. When I first got my truck and all that I had was the k&N, exhaust, and helix, I wooped up bad on a 98' with K&N, exhaust, and a chip...he also was a lightweight, no extended cab or toolbox....hehe
If you want more performance buy a new throttle body and mass air flow, and put them on at the same time and feel the diff. I am doing all I can to mine before I reprogram her...all motor then program is my philosphy..
I would reccomend a rancho 9000's all the way around along with a rear sway bar, if you dont have one.....and replace the stock front sway bar bushings with polyurethane....this combo will reduce body roll and give the truck a very firm ride, or if your interested, look in J C whintney for a set of 300lb helper springs, I have them on mine also and they reduce wheel hop, body roll and give you hell of towing.....
If you want buy a set of lightning injectors, only 50 or 60 a piece...ouch...I dont think that ford will know the diff, unless computer says diffrently.
I would try some of these and let us know how it goes......if you have any questions, or if your confused post it....
5.4L
http://www.f150world.com/smokin54
#3
11-01-2001 | 05:09 AM
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From: San Jose, CA
MAC intake
I have the MAC intake and I like it. Its good quality, looks good under the hood, and the performance gain was noticable too. Best of all the price can't be beat! Is it better than K&N? I don't know, but some have complained about K&N's mounting strength. It you have money to spend I would recommend a catback exhaust and a computer chip. They all compliment each other nicely and are the best bang for buck mods! Also welcome to the best F-150 site on the web! 
Last edited by 99flareside; 11-01-2001 at 05:13 AM.
#5
11-01-2001 | 08:55 PM
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From: Brick, NJ
If you guys think its a wise buy, i'll get the MAC cold air intake seeing how there is a $100 difference between that and the K&N. What is the difference? What do u guys think about running 93 octane in the truck all the time? Will that screw up the computer? Thanks, u guys are very helpful.
#6
11-01-2001 | 11:09 PM
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From: Kingsport, TN
Steer clear of the 93 grade. These trucks are ment to run on a much lower octane rating. The only way you would need that high of a grade is if you buy a superchip or supercharger/turbocharger. You'd just be wasting money putting 93 in the tank; it also doesn't burn as completely as the 87 does. You can foul plugs and O2 sensors like that.
-Flea
P.S. welcome aboard
-Flea
P.S. welcome aboard
#7
11-01-2001 | 11:55 PM
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From: Newark,DE
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#8
11-02-2001 | 02:50 AM
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From: Brick, NJ
I'm interested in the Helix Power Tower. Do you have a picture of it and how much does it go for? Also, the something that is bothering me is that the truck likes to lean when I go into turns. What is an inexpensive way to solve this problem? Polyurethane bushings the way to go? Thanks, and keep the ideas coming.
#9
11-02-2001 | 03:06 AM
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From: San Jose, CA
Originally posted by STWater
If you guys think its a wise buy, i'll get the MAC cold air intake seeing how there is a $100 difference between that and the K&N. What is the difference?
If you guys think its a wise buy, i'll get the MAC cold air intake seeing how there is a $100 difference between that and the K&N. What is the difference?
#10
11-02-2001 | 01:18 PM
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From: Ft. Worth
more mods....
flareside, your intake looks nice, however the chrome tube is metal and conducts more heat then the K&N's composite plastic, more heated air going into the engine means less performance....
Stwater, I will try to find the Helix for you on the net. I would take a pic of mine but I dont want to take it off....and look at rancho 9000's and a rear sway bar for better handeling, the rear swaybar made the biggest diffrence, so check out gfh, and see if they list a sway bar for your screw, otherwise ask some screw guys if the rear end is drasticly diffrent from a regular e-cab truck, if not too diffrent then you could put a rear swaybar from a 99'or 00' truck on your screw....and the helix is 100 bucks in Tx....and take Fleas advice on staying away from the high octane, our trucks are made to run the best (by fords idea) off of lower octane, unless you have major mods...
p.s Flareside your engine compartment is a hell of alot cleaner then mine...lol...so clean you might want to check your brake fluid you look a little low...
5.4
p.s look at this site for the helix, the one for our truck is the pic on the right....its only round..
http://www.performanceimprovements.h...com/Helix.html
Stwater, I will try to find the Helix for you on the net. I would take a pic of mine but I dont want to take it off....and look at rancho 9000's and a rear sway bar for better handeling, the rear swaybar made the biggest diffrence, so check out gfh, and see if they list a sway bar for your screw, otherwise ask some screw guys if the rear end is drasticly diffrent from a regular e-cab truck, if not too diffrent then you could put a rear swaybar from a 99'or 00' truck on your screw....and the helix is 100 bucks in Tx....and take Fleas advice on staying away from the high octane, our trucks are made to run the best (by fords idea) off of lower octane, unless you have major mods...
p.s Flareside your engine compartment is a hell of alot cleaner then mine...lol...so clean you might want to check your brake fluid you look a little low...
5.4
p.s look at this site for the helix, the one for our truck is the pic on the right....its only round..
http://www.performanceimprovements.h...com/Helix.html
Last edited by 5.4lariat; 11-02-2001 at 01:25 PM.
#11
11-02-2001 | 08:24 PM
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From: Brick, NJ
#12
11-02-2001 | 11:05 PM
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From: Va Beach, VA
99Flareside:
Nice engine! About the Mac, a couple of questions:
1. Is the filter capped or open?
2. Does it extend to the wheelwell opening (i noticed that alot of the K&N's stop well short of the opening).
3. Does it use the K&N filter or does it have its own brand?
For STWater:
My belief is replacing the stock exhaust w/ a dual cat-back system is the most bang/buck. Nothing annoys me as much as stepping on the gas and having my 5.4 sound like a Kirby vacuum cleaner... Eliminating the back pressure caused by that restrictive stock Y will improve your speed dramactically. I don't know if you want to start that drastically, but if u r interested, there is a wealth of info on the "Exhaust" board.
About the Computer chip mod, personnally, i would wait and do all my hardware mods before getting the chip since some of these mods need to be reflected in the programming...
Nice engine! About the Mac, a couple of questions:
1. Is the filter capped or open?
2. Does it extend to the wheelwell opening (i noticed that alot of the K&N's stop well short of the opening).
3. Does it use the K&N filter or does it have its own brand?
For STWater:
My belief is replacing the stock exhaust w/ a dual cat-back system is the most bang/buck. Nothing annoys me as much as stepping on the gas and having my 5.4 sound like a Kirby vacuum cleaner... Eliminating the back pressure caused by that restrictive stock Y will improve your speed dramactically. I don't know if you want to start that drastically, but if u r interested, there is a wealth of info on the "Exhaust" board.
About the Computer chip mod, personnally, i would wait and do all my hardware mods before getting the chip since some of these mods need to be reflected in the programming...
#13
11-03-2001 | 03:47 AM
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From: San Jose, CA
5.4lariat,
Yeah I know about the metal tube conducting more heat. I thought long and hard about which intake to buy. I settled on the MAC mainly because it cost only $140! I couldn't justify paying more for a similar style intake (the Air Force One has a metal tube too for $100 more!
) Plus it looks nicer than plastic As for the brake fluid I'll check that tomorrow!
98 4x4Flareside,
The filter is made by MAC and the end is capped. Yes the filter extends to the wheelwell opening. There is probably a 1-2" gap between the two. I'll measure that while I'm checking the brake fluid!
Yeah I know about the metal tube conducting more heat. I thought long and hard about which intake to buy. I settled on the MAC mainly because it cost only $140! I couldn't justify paying more for a similar style intake (the Air Force One has a metal tube too for $100 more!
) Plus it looks nicer than plastic As for the brake fluid I'll check that tomorrow!98 4x4Flareside,
The filter is made by MAC and the end is capped. Yes the filter extends to the wheelwell opening. There is probably a 1-2" gap between the two. I'll measure that while I'm checking the brake fluid!
