Hey guys, I'm looking to do some upgrades to my truck and I'm looking for others advice on which of the following I should do first and any good or bad experiences. I have a 95 F-150, 4x4, SC, LB, 5.8, E4OD, and 3.55 rear end. I primarily use it to tow my 22 ft ski boat 5000+ lb. I would love more mileage and a little more grunt, but this has WAY more power for towing than my old 89 300 with a T-18 and 3.08 gearing.

Here is my list for possible upgrades in no particular order. Prices are from Summit, just had the mag handy.

+K&N FIPK kit $180
+Summit Short truck headers $160
+Cat back exhaust $ ???
-anyone ever run a SuperTrapp muffler? I love the sound of them.
+MSD 6A or 5 ignition $130 / 80
-any preference here for a fairly stock engine even after the upgrades?
+MSD Blaster coil - OEM style $45
+Ford racing 9mm wires $40
+NGK copper core plugs $ ???
+B&M shiftplus kit (electronic) $40
+61mm Throttle Body $350 ?
Lots o' gauges: Trans temp, vacuum, oil press, water temp, voltmeter

My concern is that this is a speed density engine, not the mass air like the newer 150's. I have read that this is not the greatest for engine upgrades. Although the list mainly addresses intake, ignition, and exhaust mods.

Sorry this is so long but I hope it generates some good discussion. Now to get the wife to agree. Thank you to everyone who responds.

Joey

 

+K&N FIPK kit $180(Best)
+Summit Short truck headers $160(I haven't found these to be worth it)
+Cat back exhaust $ ???(Best, these alone are accountable for 20 paper hp and I know 1-2mpg alone)

+MSD 6A or 5 ignition $130 / 80(Better, can't run a MSD 5 on a efi motor, but these pay for themselves in mileage over time)

+MSD Blaster coil - OEM style $45(go with this)
+Ford racing 9mm wires $40(I would go with the MSD wires)
+NGK copper core plugs (Go with Motorcraft or Autolite's)
+B&M shiftplus kit (electronic) $40(good question)
+61mm Throttle Body $350(Won't work with Speed Density computer)
Lots o' gauges: Trans temp, vacuum, oil press, water temp, voltmeter(Yes, the tranny temp guage is probably the most valuable after a tach, why the @#$% hasn't ford had one yet?) The oil psi guages are actually a dummy on our trucks, once the oil warms up the guage pushs itself down to normal, won't change ever.

The best bang for the buck is lower gears, and then probably a supercharger, But I personally have the cat back and FIPK on my truck and they are well worth the $$$, otherwise the aftermarket ignition is great

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 29-May-01 AT 01:26 AM (EST)[/font][p]Hey, on that throttle body...

Edelbrock/BBK makes a 56mm and 61mm smog-legal replacement for the 5.0/5.8 (No, not MAF throttle body), along with an intake manifold. Dunno how well they work, but they can't be detrimental if CARB okay-ed them!

1989 F-150 : 5.0, shorty headers, Flowmaster cat-back, K&N filtercharger intake, March pulleys, MSD-6T, soon to be Mass-Air...doesn't know she's not a Mustang

 

A K+N filter kit,Gibson makes some nice free flowing exhausts,and definatly a computer chip,it will also control your shift points,ford motorsport makes good 9mm. wires,your stock ignition will do pretty good on its own,unless you plan on racing this truck,the cost of these items should't be too hard to convince your wife to go for it,and i'm sure you'll be happy with the performance you get

 

Yeah, the only things I see of any real value to you in the performance upgrading would be the K&N kit, and the throttle body boost.

 

Thanks for the advice so far guys. After doing some more homework it looks like a Mass Air Density conversion could pay off in the long run. Just wondering if anyone has tried to do this yet, hotrodmex it looks like you are planning on this. Have you found a kit yet? I'm going to call Summit on this one of these days.

Also has anyone tried swapping heads and sticking in a set of GT-40 or 40P's.

 

 

Hotrodmex-
Did you notice any power improvements when you installed the March underdrive pulleys? Were they worth it?
-Fiddy