Hi, kinda new to the whole upgrading truck business. I'm currently just starting college, and i'm pretty young, so i wanna do the most i can with my truck while i can. Right now i have a 2005 F-150 XLT TRITION, with a 4.6L :\ but i wanna upgrade it the most i can, so i can get the most of of it.

My truck is riding on 20'' rims, with dual F-40 turn downs. I wanted to get a Cold Air intake, but i cannot decide which is best to use (since this is my first time i'm going this far with) and if i would change my rear gears from 3.55 to 4.10 how big the difference would be in speed in general.

Pretty much everyone i know (grown-up wise) is a diesel engineer, and they're suggesting i get the cold air intake with a programmer (or a chip) but that is VERY expensive.. So i guess i was just wondering if i would add the Cold Air intake with the gears would a big difference occur? Also my mileage is at 72,000 (i'm not sure if that's gonna make a difference)
Thanks in advance, Dillon.

 

Getting new gears installed is going to be expensive also. 4-5 hundred for gears and parts then labor by a competent mechanic. Double that if you have a 4X4. The 4:10 gears will also decrease fuel mileage somewhat. I don't know what a cold air intake by itself would do without the tuner. I have an 07 Mustang and a cold air kit with tuner only adds about 20 HP. It's not worth it to me but I'm old and never drive above 30 mph anyway. Ford Racing Performance Parts might make something for your engine but like you said, expensive. I'm not trying to rain on your parade but honestly if you add this stuff it's mostly money down the sewer. When you decide to sell the truck it's not going to be worth one dollar more. Don't ask how I know this.

 

Well i know multiple people who are mechanics >.> so i can get them installed easily, i just wanna know if they'll be a big difference in my trucks power/take off at all.

 

Yes. It should take off much better. Better on hills too. CAI wouldn't be worth much.

 

Ok so....would the CAI help at all with a programmer, and would it help with the sound of my Dual Turn down F-40s? (my truck is pretty loud as-is with these ) But one of my friends said that it would help with my sound..but i'd like someone who is actually EXPERIENCED to help me with this lol..

So basically, would it help with my sound (if so, what would be different) and how much of a HP difference would i get? Oh and i have a 2WD truck.

 

In the rpm range that you'll be running your 4.6L engine a CAI is a waste of money. All you'll get is a lighter wallet and more noise. Ford has acually done a good job on the induction system. 3.73 or 4.10 gears and a programmer with custom tunes is by far and away the best bang for the buck without breaking the bank.

 

The noise will be from the intake. Whooshing kinda sound. You may not even hear it. You'll get 5-10 hp but at the upper end of the rpms.

 

Well, for the 3.73 it's like... 190 but i can pay 230 for the 4.10 so i'm going that way. And the cheapest programmer i found was like $500. But i don't even know what kind i should get! Also Could y'all suggest some 4.10 gears? Like..a site? Because the site i was looking at everything was sold out.. :\

 

Try Randys Ring & Pinion. For the programmer try Mike @ 5 Star tuning

 

Agree with Mike @ 5 Star. He's one of the forum sponsors and gives excellent customer service. I haven't priced them lately, but SCTx3 with 3 tunes was running around $400. I have an SCTx3 with custom tunes that I bought before I knew of this site from a dealer near me. I have the 87 octane economy tune, 87 octane and 91 octane tow tunes. I couldn't be happier with the performance of the truck.

 

The CAI will do nothing. By the time you purchase gears and have them installed you are looking at about a grand. Just buy a tuner and be done with it. You need to remember, your driving a F150 not a funny car. You can change the gearing all you want, but its still not going to be super fast off the line.

If you want it to be as fast as you possibly can make it, then roush the thing out with a roushcharger, ford racing tranny and gearing, and custom tuning then you will have a fairly fast truck, but you will have also spent 7-10 grand on it. I don't think that is in your budget so you should just call Mike at 5 star and let him make you happy for 400 bucks.

 

my tuner is used to firm up the tranny shifts and give me a convenient look at my batt voltage, tranny temp and average MPG.


I HAVE been looking at the gear swap though.

TBH I am thinking about finding a 9.75 with a 4.10 in it and just swapping out the whole diff.

clean up the unit, new brakes/rotors, diff cover and seals...do it all whilst out and not under the truck.

 

To get the most out of an intake, it's really a 3 part system. Intake, tunner and catback. When you let more air in, you also need to let more spent gases out. The most important part is the engine programer. The programer will allow for proper fuel/air ratio and timming. The intake in it's self may neat you around 6 hp, but with a programer and get you 20 hp and more. Alot of the intakes sold for the mustang come with a tune standard to get the most out of the intake. To many times people will just buy an intake and expect big power gains just to get disappointed. You need the proper air/fuel mixture with timming to take advantage of the increased air flow. Thats how the manufactures of the intakes get away with these big hp claims because they dyno tune thier intake on a vehicle, basically what a programer will do.

 

I have to ask the question: will negatively affecting your mpg or vehicle dependability have an effect on what you're planning due to your stating you're soon to go to school?

Some changes, particularly if they aren't designed to work together can dramatically hurt mileage, dependability or other areas. I have one truck with 4.10's in it, factory installed. If I drive at 60-63 mph I get 2-3 mpg better than if I drive 70. Every thing you do that affects the trucks rolling resistenance (bigger, wider tires), changes to the drive train characteristics (tunes, changes to intake & exhaust), wind resistenance (raising a vehicle), and others has the potential to affect your vehicles performance, mpg, longevity etc.

Remembering back to my own college days, I didn't have alot of extra $$ so anything that took more money from my pocket had to be thought through carefully. Long as you're willing to accept the results you get then that's one thing but if any of this applies (typical college student available cash) then carefully think through any changes you're considering.

 

I called my mechanic that works on my families vehicles. He said he could get me my intake for 150 and the geras for 220. With labor + parts it won't be but about 400 at most.