Hi guy, I'm new to this forum. I just bought a stock 1994 F250 with a 5.8L and 5spd. I'm wondering what improvements you guys suggest? I'm using it for a daily driver and plan to drive from Phoenix AZ to Portland OR in a couple months with a dorm's worth of junk. So not heavy hauling, more distance. My main concern is gas mileage but I also like power and handling of course. Since I am a college student my budget is quite tight. What upgrades do you suggest?

I plan on running some injector cleaner through it just for good measure, switching over to glass packs, and looking into chipping it. Ill also have some A/C questions coming up.

Any have any experience with a chip like this: PERFORMANCE CHIP FOR FORD F150 1992 1993 1994 1995 5.8L: eBay Motors (item 380260985092 end time Sep-19-10 02:05:42 PDT)

I am very wary due to how cheap it is and the lack of information I been able to find over the web.

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Most of these over the counter chips don't do much more than change the timing , you can do that with a timing light , bump your base timing from 10 deg BTDC to 12-14 helps alot , a good tune up , MSD cap , wires , coil , & a set of autolte or motorcraft copper plugs & a high flow air filter is a good start....Lew

 

X2 on Lew's suggestions. Save your money, do a thorough tuneup. Those chips are worthless in these trucks. I am running my '92 F350 4x4 w/5.8L engine on 15 degrees timing, copper plugs gapped at .055", Ford Racing wires, MSD cap/rotor as well as their coil. Those mods (aka Sixlitre Tuneup from the Bronco guys) made a noticeable difference in performance as well as a little more MPGs.

Keep the factory airbox/intake tube if you are staying stock, use a good quality paper filter or if you feel you must have some bling use a K&N oiled filter.

Once you have a tuneup completed make sure you keep the tires properly inflated and drive it like a truck, not a Mustang. You will be rewarded with reasonable mileage from these under-powered barn door vehicles!

 

Yeah i don't care much for the oiled filters & there not good for MA , AFE & AEM make high flow dry filters in stock drop in & highperformance intake systems....

 

i have a 88 f250 351w c6 trans and i got motocrafts coppers, msd cap and coil, accel 8 mill wires, headman long tube headers with true dual and put a new fuel filter on it. my mpg went from 8mpg highway to a little over 12.

 

Read up the "Six litre tune up", easy way to improve power and mileage on your truck. Then go for the exhaust, longtube headers and a single 3" will produce a very good gain in performance for the money. If you come across a cheap set, GT40 heads and intake from a 302 96-98 explorer will gain you some horses. As already stated, avoid wet filters and chips. I hope your engine setup is a MAF (opposed to SD), it will accept a lot more mods without complains... Included a new Camshaft, wich would produce some nice gains also... Well, regarding mods on a budget those are some of the best ones that come to mind, welcome to FTE!.

 

Thanks for the responses. I will look into those upgrades. What should I look for in a timing light? I want inexpensive but not cheap.

I will start looking into those upgrades! For my first tank I averaged 15mpg, ill keep keeping track and see what upgrades add what. I also plan on trying different gas grades. A few summers ago my dad I drove from Ohio to Oregon and found that using higher octane gas was less expensive due to better fuel economy.

Thanks again!
Ryland

 

Rent one from your local parts store chain unless you just have to have one of your own.

For just the occasional tune up, that is money better spent on other tools.

 

craftsman isnt a bad choice. thats the kind i have. i got mine used but i believe they usually run between 40-60 bucks at sears.

 

A good set of headers will run you around $200 for the 5.8 and just switch the stock muffler out for a high flow one and change the cat. out with a new one or just delete it will give you a good 25 rwhp and around 2mpg better. On my 95 f150 with the 5.8 i put true duals no mufflers or cats and noticed about a 1 mpg diffrence and a pretty big diffrence on the top end when im hauling something vs the stock exhaust.

 

i have the same truck and im wondering where i should go for headers whats a good brand, should i go tuned or non tuned and then im setting up for a sand truck so im looking a torque vs high speed

 

Hedman headers from JBG are good, BUT they don't have the EGR spot required for the truck. Edgethis says that if you go to "Autoanything.com" and call them, they can get you a set of pacesetter headers with the EGR slot for ~230+

 

im looking at summits # sumg9036s whether they have the slot or not is a good question but are the ones your suggesting long heads or shorts? and then if their longs do i have to get a mini starter?

 

Your going to want long tubes for more TQ , and your really good at digging up old threads....

 

I'm having trouble locating a pair at least a pair that don't have cats on them , im gonna follow up on fordman96's lead tomorrow and see where it gets me. and lol in the pursuit of an answer i tend to exhaust all possible options and i don't leave a stone un-turned