i just purchased a 09 f150 stx i am crazy about the truck it rides great and handles great. the only thing that concerns me is it has the 4.6 in it and i am afraid that it might be a little under powered for towing my utility trailer. is there any thing out yet that might be able to help me get a little more out of it.

 

No test drive?

Supercharger. Of course, there goes the warranty.

Chip. Of course, there goes the warranty unless you take it out every time you take it in for service.

Small tires, for easier rolling and a shorter effective overall gear ratio.

 

i did test drove the truck and found that i realy like it the dealer said that it would handle 8500lbs. it has 355 ratio and is the 4.6L 3 valve.

 

I don't see why anyone would buy a 4.6. The difference between the 4.6 and 5.4 in fuel economy is negligible... but the difference between the two when towing is huge.

The previous poster had it right... chip, supercharger, upgrade rear gears. I'd hate to strap 8500lbs. to a 4.6, personally... I assume the utility trailer has a fairly large front profile and will add quite a bit of drag. It'll do it, but it'll work the truck pretty hard.

 

Supercharging it can kill tow capacity unless you have the correct tunes, and of course warranty goes out the window as well as insurance going way up.

I'm assuming by a chip you mean a tuner, in which case I'm not positive what's out for the '09s yet. But there are various companies that make excellent tuners that can improve power and you should have no warranty issues unless it can be proven that the tuner is the cause of the problem. I have an Edge Evolution in my truck and it has been great.

 

Ditch the 3.55's and go with 4.10's. It will wake it up a bunch.

 

4.6 2v or 4.6 3v??

 

Well good luck with it. I shure wouldn't want to pull an 8500lb TT with it. Take anything the dealer tells you with a grain of salt, they just want to sell vehicles.

I know you used to be able to put a Rouschcharger on and it came with a 3/36 warrenty but don't know if thats for the 09's. A tuner will help the trans and TQ lockup the most but won't add a huge amount of power even on premium fuel.

 

Ok, hold on a minute, how big is the trailer? I agree with all above who said you are not going to enjoy pulling 8500lbs with it. But give us some specifics on what you haul then maybe we can give you some educated opinions.

 

the trailer is a 16ft utility trailer i think empty its 4000 gvwr the truck has a 4.6 3valve in it i use the trailer to haul hay in and smaller tractors

 

You need to give more specs on the truck....4x4, wheelbase, etc. Go to the Ford website and figure out what you have for towing capability... Here is the link: http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/f...ations/towing/

 

the truck is a super cab with a 51/2 ft box i beleive the wheel base is 133 inch wheel base

 

Have you pulled any of your stuff with it yet? Do you have to pull any steep grades very often? Sound like you shouldn't have any trouble. Especially if your truck is a 4x2. The only 4.6L I've had was a 98 model ext cab 4x2. I pulled very similiar stuff to what you are talking about never had any huge complaints. I will tell you that my 08 5.4L pulls much better but it has what 100 lb/ft torque over my 98. It doesn't have that much of an advantage over your 4.6L 3V.

I'm sure your truck with rap up pretty tight when you put a big load of hay behind it and drive into the wind, but you'll get there and not hurt the truck one bit.

 

Do you have the 4 speed auto or 6 speed? I thought STX setup was only 4.6 2 valve engines with 4 speed autos. If you have the 4.6 3v with the 6 speed auto, you should be more than good for 4000lbs. no problem. If you had the lesser, you will also be fine as long as you are not trying to beat everyone from the stoplight or climb steep grades. Hook on to it and tow with it. What one might think doesn't have enough power, another may be totally happy with it.

 

i have the 6 speed auto. the only thing i have on had on it is 3 four wheelers one in the bed and two on a four wheeler trailer it did ok with that going over the mountain heading to our dear camp but there was not realy a hole lot of wait there. i guess find out friday i have to go get my tractor back from the shop. i just hope i dont have to get my dads hd to do the job i wont here the end of it.lol thanks for all your guys help it is greatly appreactated