I've tried a search and it didn't turn up what I was looking for.

My brother has a 1995 F150 XLT Supercab 4X4 with the 5.8L. It has been in our family since new and is fairly low mileage (about 100 000KM so 60K miles).

He primarily uses it to tow a travel trailer that weighs about 7000 lbs. He wants to get more power out of it to make towing easier, perhaps get better fuel economy and so on. He has added a leaf in the back due to the weight and the trailer is hooked up using a load equalizing hitch.

So far he has a Superchip in it (model 1100 I believe), he runs 87 octane fuel (even though I think it should have premium due to the canned tune in the chip). And he has a 3" exhaust with a custom y pipe into a Dynomax Muffler - no cat anymore. We've ordered a K&N fresh air intake for it. All of the fluids have been changed - oil, trans, transfer case, front and rear diff... and all synthetic. The plugs, cap and rotor, and wires were all recently replaced with new Motorcraft ones.

What else should be done to get these things moving better? I've heard of things like an air plenum from a 460 - ?

Would his have Mass air - he doesnt seem to think so? and does it have the 4R70W trans? I am pretty sure it has a tranny cooler as well - a nice bonus for towing.

We dont want to spend a ton of money, or rip into the motor too much (until we kill it down the road and decide to put a decent cam and heads onto it). We just need it to be spot on reliable and tow the trailer with some authority. Right now a new truck is out of the question.

Thanks in advance, this would really help me out.

 

First off, get caught without the cat converter and you could be in a lot of trouble. Even if like me there are no emission check requirements in your area. This is federal law which trumps any local laws. That being said here are a few things to try.

1: Ditch the muffler. This will free up some horsepower as well as improve the gas mileage. It gave me an increase of 1 MPG as well as a noticeably increased throttle response. If your brother has to worry about the sound police Summit Racing has an insert that they advertise will muffle the sound of his exhaust without creating any back pressure. Part # DTC-72-32520 at Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts | 800-230-3030. I do not have one on my truck as I like having my truck sound similar to a classic mustang.

2: Upgrade the ignition. I am not saying to put a super hot ignition in the truck put one that hot a hotter spark and a longer park duration for a more complete fuel burn. Combined with the aftermarket tuning chip this should improve towing and MPG.

3: Install E3 sparkplugs. They are a bit pricey but are designed to give a more complete burn in the combustion chamber. I can not testify to how well they work as I have not placed them in my truck yet but they will be going in there soon seeing as how it is almost time for a tune up.

4: Seeing as how the trailer being towed is a bumper pull trailer I would suggest having a tonneau cover on it. I don't know about increasin power but it should increase mileage by at least one MPG.

5: Put a underdrive pulley set on the engine. With a 5.8L engine you should be able to find them all over the place. I just found 10 results at summit racing.

6: another exhaust upgrade to consider would be a set of headers.

Some of these things I have put on my truck and others are going to be put on my truck. I have a '96 F-250 4X4 with a 460ci big block. Your brother should have a much easier time finding performance upgrades for his truck than I do for mine. Just remember, There are a lot of high performance products out there that are less expensive than stock parts are and will give you better performance and mileage. Go extreme with the performance parts and you can end up killing your gas mileage and driveability. That said you mentioned a cam upgrade when it comes time to replace the motor. He may be waiting a while for that if he takes care of his truck. The original motor in my truck did not go out until just over 316,000 miles. And my cousin has moved a few mobile homes with it and I have had 2.5 ton of gravel in the bed of the truck. Go Ford Check out my thread "fuel mileage" in these forums for other ideas as I work on my goal of getting my truck up to 20 MPG.
And no I do not work work for Summit Racing. I mention them because I have been using them for a lot of parts for the last 20 years.

 

What gearing does the truck have?

 

I haven't looked into that yet.

 

7000lbs is a big load for an F150, you need all the gearing you can get to maximize the power the truck does make. The axle code on the door pillar will tell you what you have.

 

I'll have to look that up. I know one thing, I like the gearing I have. Not too low and not too high. I have good acceleration and good hauling ability. It is basically a perfect balance in my opinion.

Yea 7,000 lbs is quite a load. Definitely overloaded. My truck in my avatar is my '96 with the gravel still in the bed.

 

It has a 3.55 gear with stock size tires - LT235/75/15.

It is a big load for the truck, and that is with it full of water and all of their supplies. I think we maxed it out at 7200 lbs weighed with EVERYTHING in it. Like I said right now a new truck it out of the question, down the road he will likely get a F250 Diesel but for now this will be his only truck.

Thanks for the idea of underdrive pulleys - I didnt even think of that. And he does have a bed cover as well.

Are there any other simple bolt ons that arent too pricey that will help with torque to get our load moving better? I do remember reading something about a intake elbow from a 460 that helped to improve torque? But I cant find anything on that now....

 

If you're not going to get into the engine now, stick with the better y-pipe and maybe longtube headers and free flowing cat and muffler. As for the intake, use a drop-in k&n or just keep a clean paper filter in it. Keep up with the tune up stuff; plugs, wires, cap and rotor, all motorcraft.
If you still need more pull, it's going to need gearing.

 

Jarod, i must say most everything you posted would hurt the performance of this setup. He needs gearing and Torque from the motor. installing pullies, ditching the muffler and running a fancy plug hurt the low end of this motor substantially.

Advocate, your brother needs to upgrade gearing to at least 4.10's. Long tube headers, msd coil, ford 9mm wires and basic copper plugs. bumping the timing to 12*btdc with spout removed and once that is set put the spout back in. from there if that isnt enough he should either go with a cam and intake upgrade or look into buying a truck with a diesal.

 

Yes it should have Mass air 95 was first year for Mass air on the 5.8l

 

Kemicalburns, You said that most everything I told him to do would hurt his performance and then turn around and most of the things you tell him to do were on my list.

Also, if these things will hurt performance why are they being implemented on race cars and performance trucks. I have been doing these mods for about 20 years now both on and off the track.

Advocate, Now I am impressed. Over 7,000 pound load in a half ton. Wow. Just out of curiosity was that in the bed or on a trailer?

 

That is on a travel trailer. I cant recall all the specs on it right now. but wet and loaded it is about 7200 lbs. I sure would not want to stop that thing in a hurry if the trailer brakes stopped working. He says it pulls it fine but I dont think he can maintain 60 MPH or higher with it. The truck is always working hard. With the equalizer hitch and extra leaf it handles the load decently. It may not be what I would do though. I would much rather be over-trucked then over-loaded.

 

Jarod , pullies help hi rpm power needs. they do nothing for low rpm power which for towing is what is needed. the E3 plugs you posted are crap and dont run well in our ford motors for what ever reason. standard copper plugs work the best, copper is a better conductor of electricity. the stock ford ignition is more the capable, but adding an msd tfi coil does help. removing a muffler and having basic strait pipe would hurt low end as well. no muffler would work better for a hi rpm type setup. a 5.8 is not that type of motor and starts losing power above 4500rpms. thats where i was coming from. i should have been more specific on my original post.