Just wondering if any of you ford truck guys have installed superchargers on your 5.4 motors yet. If so what kind did you use? I been reading on these things and its an awful lot of bread to plunk down for a item. I was considering the Vortech Charger or the Roush charger I never talked to anyone who did it yet. I do pull a 7200 lb camper during the summer excursions. Talk to me boys what do you guys think? thanks bob in pa. oh yeah by the way my truck is a 04 fx4 with the 5.4 3 valve.

 

The new S/C Harley Davidson F-150's come with a factory installed Steeda S/C....
I'd stick with a "roots" or "twin screw" style blower.
Good brands of roots and twin screw style blowers:
1. Roush (keeps the factory warranty)!!
2. Steeda
3. Saleen
4. Ford Racing
5. Whipple Charger

Most will put you up to ~450hp/500ft lb

 

so you figure the roots style blowers are more dependable or more bang for the buck im a rookie here so i really am looking for the input . thanks bob in pa.

 

You won't be towing 7,200 lbs once you install the blower. It cuts the towing ability in half, unless you want to risk buying a new engine....

 

since when ive had a roush for over two yrs now tow all the time my race car for one 24ft inclosed. i would get one with an intercooler helps the heat by a lot.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/6...b1003618c0.htm

 

If I decipher your (ahem) English correctly, you are giving bad advice. Roush rates the tow capacity with the blower at 1500 lbs because they are on the conservative side. Knowledgeable tuners will tell you a safe capacity is about half of the factory OEM capacity.

Just because you've gotten away with it for two years without damage doesn't mean the advice you're giving is good. Unless you are datalogging your Roushcharger when towing you have know what to know how close you are to potential problems and I seriously doubt you datalog your tows. It needs to be datalogged and an extremely safe tow-specific tune made from towing datalogs, and even then I would't recommend very heavy loads.

Heck, even Ford's tune on the Lightning which is a very safe, conservative tune, has a low tow capacity.

 

if what you are saying is true then most of the guys on this site with s/c would be complaining how there trans went out or cant tow. i have a friend with a 2003 lightning tows his 91 mustang to the track all the time for years now but maybe hes just lucky also. now maybe i missed this but i dont remember reading anything in the paper work or in the instructions that came with the roush about having reduced towing capacity.

 

If the load your friend is towing is under 5000 lbs then its okay, that's what its rated for. But towing a 7200 lb camper in the summer with a heavier 2004-2008 is a whole different thing (especially since these trucks are 500lb to 1500lbs heavier than than 1997-2003). The problems you'll encounter isn't with the transmission - though its certainly a weak point in these trucks.

Call Roush. You'll get one of two answers: they won't state it, or they'll tell you a very conservative number. Both answers are CYA answers because of the inherant problems with towing heavy loads with a blower. If you know who to talk to (and you won't find that out by calling) you may press them into telling you a more correct number and its about 1/2 the stock number.

 

i agree with you on the cya with roush ive talked to them a few times the past 3yrs about different things. everything is very safe very conservative on the tunes but maybe thats not such a bad thing. id like to keep mine a few more yrs with out having to shell out $2000 on a trans rebuild, but the new SD sure does looks fine. ive had mine 3yrs not 2 the truck is 4yrs old this month its a bitch getting old. my friend that tows the mustang is right at 5000lbs 3000lb car 2000lbs trailer. i just dont want people to get the wrong idea about s/c that they cant tow. now if i were towing 7200lbs very often and could afford it the F-250 is the only way to go and it would be the safe thing to do when the load becomes more than the truck its a hand full to control on bad roads and wind and such. check out the vid of my racecar it goes much faster than in the vid
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/6...b1003618c0.htm

 

you guys both bring up valid points ken do you think it is hard on the motor due to the constant heavy load or the high revs and pressure the supercharger or roots blower puts on the engine. like I said im only asking and this seems to be the place for quality advice. and Mach your right if I could afford a f-250 super duty crew with diesel i would be in it up to my armpits! My little 5.4 does a great job heck on the interstate i can cruise at 70 and forget the camper is there. climbing steeper grades it does work the heck out of it. I just thought the added hp and torque would improve on a already good thing.