How to Increase Power in F-150

Not an endorsement, but Superchips can do it. I'm sure there are others out there too.

Smaller diameter tires, free flow exhaust, and make sure there are no Chevy parts touching any part of it (Chevys got cooties)

I like my way better. Turn your truck into a hybrid. I can't find the original website I saw that was doing this, but basically they remove your driveshaft to the rear wheels and replace it with a couple of large DC motors and bolt batteries up in the body panels around the bed.

Even if you can't generate much through the dynamic braking feature it will be cheaper to charge the system on your house power than to just burn gasoline.

Here is another company that is doing it.

Drew

Drew, re-read the question. Your proposal is far from easy.

True...but I do like it. I want to design my own for my truck, but am a bit intimidated by the computer controls on the electric motors and regen system.

A easy way is to fit a power commander to an electronic ignition and fuel injection system then re-map them for increased power.

Easier is to reduce friction on air flow in and out, K&N type air filter with a ram-air kit and flow through increased diameter exhaust.

Without details on the year and ignition and injection / carburetor best advice I can give is to bolt on around 100 hp of electric motors to the driveshaft install some batteries and call it good.

Drew

thanks for the valuable info, i'll try as many sugestions as i can into the old girl!

Do the truck first, then you take care of the girl !

The easiest way is installing an MSD ignition system, it is a single module that goes between your original ignition module and the HV coil, and it does do wonders.

It basically discharges multiple sparks (about six) to every single plug every time it fires them, but also it increases the voltage from about 15 KV to around 60KV, thus allowing you to open the spark gaps to around 0.060" !

I own a 1976 CJ5 with its original carburetor, used to be a pain in the back, 'till I installed this, afterwards it burns all gas, runs smoother, has noticeable more power and better mileage.

You can install it yourself in about 2 to 5 beers.

Yahlasit

Instead of putting in a simple header exhaust, why don't you try to get some power out of your exhaust by installing a turbo charger. But they're not so good at low end torque you say, well maybe you should super charge your engine for that low end push. But if you wish that real big push, you could just add another little engine.

Assuming the engine is running correctly and doesn't need a tune-up, the biggest bang for the buck is the installation of a supercharger. Eaton makes some of the best. Supercharging will provide superior throttle response and a horsepower and torque increase of 25-35%. If the engine needs a tune-up, do it and then install a supercharger. The turbo chargers need some RPMs before they become effective. That's okay for a race car and IMHO that's where turbos belong. For a street car, nothing beats a supercharger.

Actually, the easiest way is to trade it for an F150 with a 5.8L.

Supercharger or Turbocharger kit will give the biggest increase in available HP.

Weldermam's comment (gave him a GA) re the issue of turbochargers lag, has an element of truth, however in practice turbos are still very acceptable on the street.

Also, this IS a truck, so a small amount of "turbo lag" will really be of no consequence.

So go for a Supercharger or a Turbocharger!

Tony

The cheapest way to improve performance on any combustion engine, is to effectively allow it to breath better. By this I mean a free flowing exhaust and air intake system (air filter). Here is where alot of restrictions are imposed to meet certain regulations. This is also the starting point to move on to other engine tuning. If you don't make this process the most efficient it can be, then any other enhancement will be muted.

Wash it, and replace the windsheild.....and put a sticker on the front thats says "get outta my way, I'm a Shea"

are you a actual "shea" or just a harper wanting to be a '"shea"?---hahaha

Get Wayne Computerhead to install an engine programmer in it, that will give you a few extra horses for a couple hundred bucks, it also will let you see how much gas you are burning when you beat on it and let you change the mapping for racing or towing etc.....

You are going to race it right???

The easy things would be a cat back exhaust, a cold air intake, and a computer tuning upgrade. These three items alone wont make much of a difference. The exhaust usually will just shift your powerband (at what rpms your motor makes it's power) into a higher rpm range. The cold air intake alone will give you a few extra (think low like 4-5) hp at wide open throttle and high rpm. The computer tuning module will ask you basic yes/no questions and usually advances the ignition timing and adjusts the air/fuel ratio. Combined you can see a roughly 20-30hp increase. That is a pretty noticable difference for these easy modifications. A combustion engine is basically an air pump. The more restrictions in air flow (intake/exhaust) you can remove, the more efficiant the engine is, and the more power you can make. All of the other items previously posted turbos, superchargers are fantastic power adders but require fairly extensive mechanical know-how. Not saying that they can't be done (go for it!) But, be prepared for thousands of dollars of expense, and weekends doing the job and then more weekends tuning the motor. Look on www.summitracing.com for all of the parts you need. They have hundreds of thousands of parts and a very helpfull technical staff that will answer any questions you may have. And no I dont work for them. Good luck, as the quest for power never really ends!

I have tried all the suggested techniques. Spark, compression, re-mapping, exhaust, filters, etc. Sometimes you are lucky and stumble across a modification that makes a noticeable difference. Usually, not. One sure method is an engine transplant, but you are in for some serious wrench twisting. A supercharger kit for your truck should cost about $2500.00 and take 4-8 hours to install. It's like replacing the intake manifold and adding a longer drive belt. The difference will be immediate and gratifying. I installed an Eaton (supplied by TRD) on my V6 Tacoma. One of the most gratifying auto experiences I ever had, and utterly reliable. In fact, the Tacoma rusted away and was sold back to Toyota, but the supercharger was like new, removed, and re-sold after70k miles. I have found that 100% of the people who don't vote for supercharging either never tried it or are not telling the truth.

A 5.0 Ford engine - easy way - where have you been for the last 20 years?

I drag raced a Mustang 5.0 through the 1990's, and had the engine output up to about 500HP - still streetable. There are numerous magazines dedicated to Mustangs and getting the most out of 5.0 engines. Free flow air cleaners, new manifolds, re-programmed chips, better heads, better intake manifolds, headers, and so on.

He has been in Tignish....there are only a couple of Mustangs....mostly pickups and Camaros....

LOL

Weak....

Chips will only do a little on a naturally inspired engine. Google "F150 supercharger" or "5.0 supercharger." That engine is an icon in the world of tuning and performance. I bet there are plenty of bolt on kits for under $3k that would work. If you go this route, choose a low boost option for reliability. Expect your MPG to significantly decrease too.

Right idea, but wrong information. The MPG one should expect depends on how much gas is used by the engine. If the driver uses the same performance profile as before the supercharger installation, he can expect similar MPG. To the extent the engine is asked for additional performance, the MPG will decrease. So the potential for reduced MPG is there; it's up to the driver whether he/she uses it.

Jason,

A very good reply.

The OP has to consider where and why he wants this performance boost. Since this is a truck you are quite correct that the desired performance boost maybe for low RPM torque instead of a total HP increase. Defining precisely a new design's goals and then identifying the acceptable anticipated drawbacks are the fundamentals of good engineering. You've laid out here a good collection of scenarios, options, and drawbacks that the OP can clearly choose which route to take.

I have to disagree with your statements of the turbocharger being only for high RPM. It all depends on where it is engineered to come in and how much boost you apply. I had a 1985 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon that could not spin the tires on gravel from the start, but would come on very strong about 50 ft off the liine and then pull my boat with no trouble like it was not there. All your large trucks use turbos because it is power on demand and you are not having to drive an blower when you do not need the power. When you need it though that is when it starts in to make power and the more you work it the more it makes.

Rich Hurd

You should see how a kid in his Mustang GT looks when you pull up alongside him at 90 mph and hit passing gear and wave good bye to him with your 4 cylinder wagon.

Priceless.

...and you boat on the back!!!

Thats why i said gasoline engines... large trucks are diesel. And you're right, you're volvo did take a while to get off the line, has no torque down low and took a while for the turbo to spool. Turbo's work like this, I don't care what literature you read about 0 turbo lag, or instant boost off idle. Your engine has to make a large quantity of exhaust gasses to spool the turbo, or basically make boost. Diesels do this easily by the massive quantities of exhaust gasses they make. They also make about 2 -3 times the boost a gasoline engine needs. This is because of the laws of mathematics. You can't make 400 horsepower at an agricultural 3600 rpm without big torque. Even a peterbilt diesel doesn't make big torque without 20 + psi of boost. I'm sure there are a lot of diesel's out there making 800 horsepower and gobs of torque whoopin up on ricers and bolt-on mustangs everywhere. But i don't think thats what the OP was looking for... maybe i'm wrong?

It still depends on the engineering and design of the turbo system. You can set one up so that it has all the bottom end torque you could ever want. Back in the 70s I helped a friend of mine install a Corvair turbo on a 6 cylinder Chevy II 4 dr. sedan with the old 2 speed power glide transmission. We needed no muffler and it sounded like a typical old lady's car normally as it left the stop light. But if you stayed in the throttle you would lose control at about 45 mph. That was with only 5 pounds of boost. When we decided to race we would add the condition that we got to change radiator caps first. We used a radiator cap to limit and bleed off excess boost. Crude and very inefficient but effective. If you then preloaded the turbo on the line with up to 21 pounds of boost, you could smoke many of the so called muscle cars that were around then. It would stay with anything up to and including a 440 Charger, and still get 21 miles to the gallon.

By the way the Peter-built uses engines built by Cat, Cummings or Detroit, and their RPM range is normally less than 2100 RPM.

The key to a turbo is the exhaust and the heat it produces. When an engine is under load it makes more heat and therefore makes more power with a turbo. It is also altitude compensating, your mechanical blowers are not and you have the added mechanical drive and friction.

I will concede that you may have slight turbo lag but you are totally wrong to think that it is the reason that the Volvo would not spin the tires. I also had a 1978 Chevy Caprice that would not spin the tires either and it had a built 1970 Corvette block. The car had a 2.56 rear end gear ratio and only tached 1850 RPM at 60 MPH. If you wanted to do 180 MPH it would do it, but it would take a while to get there. When most "hot" cars were topped out it would shift into high gear. It is all in the total system and what you are trying to do with it.

What do you plan to do with your extra power? Is the truck lacking the balls to pull a boat? Is some punk with a sewer pipe poking out the back end of his rice burner giving you a hard time at stoplights? Or do you just want more power on the open road when you feel like passing someone?

If it is the boat thing, gears will give you that power easily, and swapping an entire axle from a 4 wheel drive truck will probably lower your gear, and give you a limited slip differential as well.

For that punk, or the open road feel, "There is no replacement for displacement." You could get away with a nitrous system that will add 75 to 100 hp on demand with little work. Mount the bottle, add a spacer plate under the throttle body, and a programmer to allow the stock injectors to run much richer when using the nitrous. Moderation of the right foot will allow no change to the current driving abilities, and still allow some increased performance when desired.

How are your wrench driving skills? Do you have skills, space desire to feel like king of the hill? The only engine that might be easier to find good aftermarket performance parts for than the Windsor, is the SB-Chevy. Find a 351W at a yard, and build it yourself. It is a simple swap. The feeling when you start that engine for the first time will bring a smile to your face that will last for a long time. And when someone asks who built the motor, The smile comes right back. Try searching for racers that are selling used equipment. Watch the buy lines. Start by getting a couple of subscriptions to Mustang magazines, or Ford truck mags. As stated above, there are tons of Mustang people out there. Use their experience and your labor. Have fun with it. Good luck.