Great post, Brian! This is why I used to have so much fun in the F150 forum...maybe I'll have to spend more time here.

First of all my concern with the underdrive pulleys doesn't doesn't have much do do with one particular system or another. Simpy the fact that the belt drive accessories, like everything else on a vehicle, was designed to operate properly in a certain RPM range. If you take it out of that range and keep it there for any time at all I think you can cause damage over time. With a conservative setup like yours you may never see any harm, but as a rule I do NOT like underdrive pulleys for this simple reason.

I don't know enough about aftermarket electric water pumps to really have an opinion here. You seem to have done your homework with this one, and the only issue I have may be long term reliability. I think a traditional belt driven pump may last longer, but due to my ignorance on the subject I can't really comment further. From what you describe it sounds like a great product, though!

As far as weather in Canada, I'm familiar with it. I understand you guys still have 90 degree days in the summer. But it's still cooler than most of the US is, and as I'm discovering now the summers are shorter and the winters are longer. Therefore I think it's fair to say your cooling system won't be worked as hard as one in, say, Florida.

I was referring, of course, to your Contour cooling fans. Nothing wrong with them, other than the fact that they simply don't move as much air through the radiator. From your informative post you clearly understand this in greater detail than me!

The only time I think this could be a problem is heavy towing up large hills. Stuff similar to what we did here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ith-video.html

In this thread myself and a few other guys got together with our trucks and drug my trailer, loaded to nearly 11,000 lbs, up a 15 percent grade repeatedly. Before you say it, we've done this twice before with F150s present for both previous comparisons.

But anyway, in a situation such as this where the cooling system was pushed as hard as it could be, I would see your e-fans at a disadvantage. Now the time before this we had my Dad's 2010 F150 which drug 9,500 lbs up that same hill a few times, and this truck had electric fans. Never had a problem with temperatures, but it was also a factory setup which I'm sure moves more air than your Contour fans. The F150s went to e-fans for 2010, BTW.

So in a nutshell, I don't think you're likely to experience a problem with these mods. I just think that when you take something as critical as a cooling system and make it weaker you would need to be careful pushing it really hard in hot weather. Since the vast majority don't push their trucks that hard I doubt you'll have a problem.

 

I put a K & N on mine and flowmaster exhaust. Air in and air out are the most important things to do to the truck for mileage. But the most important thing is how you drive it. If you take off slower, let out of the gas sooner, slow down etc. you will get better. I have notced with my 5.4 4X4 Screw that if I drive down the highway at 55 I get about 22 or so, if I go up to 65 it is about 20, if I go on up to 75 then it is about 17, a lot of it is how you drive it.

 

Synthetic oils all around.

 

......

 

I'm getting 18.4 MPG on the highway with my '08 F150 screw with a Leer 'glass cap on the bed and a large load (me) behind the wheel. Of course, I drive like a little old lady (actually, I'm a large old lady) with eggs between my feet and the pedals. Driving habits have a huge impact on gas milage as does the amount of crap you drag around (you would be surprised how much all the "stuff" we just have to have weighs). I wouldn't be surprised to see my mileage drop to 10 mpg when I start dragging around a travel trailer.

Jeannie

 

Found this link from another thread a while ago. It's targeted for the big rigs, but most of it applies to just about anyone. Very interesting factoids....

http://www.everytime.cummins.com/***...Whitepaper.pdf