Trying to improve 5.4 performance !
Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 10,101
Likes: 40
From: Pa
The rev limiter on your truck is set around 5300rpm in drive so you won't blow it up. Shift points are well below the rev limiter value.
Best advice I can give you let the truck do its thing and use the throttle to maintain your speed. For towing the Tow tune 5 Star offers works exceptionally well. For when your running empty the performance tune works very well. For the price of the tuner you can choose 3 tunes. Economy, Performance or Tow in whatever octane fuel you want to run 85, 87, 89, 91, 92 or 93 (85 is for high altitude locations)
I only use the performance and tow tunes and with 87 fuel most of the time. I have a higher octane tune also however the 87 tunes offer a healthy difference and allow you to use 87.
I've been there with the whole trans thing, in stock form its just sluggish. Just letting you know what has worked for me.
BTW if the plugs have more than 50k on them I would change them, Ford 100k miles change interval is way off.
Best advice I can give you let the truck do its thing and use the throttle to maintain your speed. For towing the Tow tune 5 Star offers works exceptionally well. For when your running empty the performance tune works very well. For the price of the tuner you can choose 3 tunes. Economy, Performance or Tow in whatever octane fuel you want to run 85, 87, 89, 91, 92 or 93 (85 is for high altitude locations)
I only use the performance and tow tunes and with 87 fuel most of the time. I have a higher octane tune also however the 87 tunes offer a healthy difference and allow you to use 87.
I've been there with the whole trans thing, in stock form its just sluggish. Just letting you know what has worked for me.
BTW if the plugs have more than 50k on them I would change them, Ford 100k miles change interval is way off.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,243
Likes: 79
From: Roman Forest, TX
Another thing you might want to consider is 4.30 gears. It'll do wonders for your low end grunt. It doesn't help a lot at the higher speeds (cruising), but man, your gettup and go will sure give you something new to think about!
Freshman User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
My last vehicle was an avalanche. I had a 6" lift 34x12.5 tires but a bulldog programmer headers corsa exhaust and k&n intake made it very strong. That thing had a ton of power and pulled well. I now have a 99 f250 5.4 and needed to get the power up. I just got it 3 weeks ago and have done a k&n intake magna flow exhaust, not a kit but exhaust shop put together. Tonight I almost finished the headers and put an edge programmer on. I have high hopes and will let you know the outcome.
Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 10,101
Likes: 40
From: Pa
That Edge programmer will not know whats going on with the mods you listed above, especially with the intake. Off the shelf tuners leave too much on the table. Been there done that.
I would expect the lighter and more powerful Avalanche to be a quicker vehicle than the 5.4l SD. The smallest available 5.3l in the early Avalanche made more HP and similar torque numbers as the 2V NPI and PI 5.4l.
I would expect the lighter and more powerful Avalanche to be a quicker vehicle than the 5.4l SD. The smallest available 5.3l in the early Avalanche made more HP and similar torque numbers as the 2V NPI and PI 5.4l.
1st Gear
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: MD
Great info SDS..
cnc guy i have a 04 F-350 single tire 4x4 ext cab short bed 5.4. this is what Ive done so far... k&n cold air kit which I'm now selling, helix throttle body spacer waste of money mike at five star said trash it, Gibson stainless headers didn't feel it in the seat but it did improve the sound and mpg slightly, e-bay y-pipe mod its nice and made a difference but after seeing it i would have got a muffler shop to mandrel bend a nicer one for a little bit more money prob ally, high flow cat just for sound heard the Little ones plug up after heavy towing which i do but three years and still no problems. pro chamber cherry bomb muffler awesome sound and performance with 2 1/2 duals one thing make sure u get the pipes ALL MANDREL BENT from the beginning at first mine weren't then i had them changed to mandrel last month huge difference in sound and get up and go, had a super chip 1714 programmer JUNK! got mike from five star to custom tune me a sct ITS AWESOME! right now I'm running 87 performance tune its great and I'm having the 93 performance tweaked by him to get more out of the truck, last 4.30 gears BEST UPGRADE next to the SCT programmer. truck pulls ten times harder and mpg went up almost 2mpg. remember these trucks r not mustangs i learned that about two grand ago but if u get the gears and SCT and the y-pipe ull be very very happy the rest was just for ****s and giggles. And yes once its all done the truck will MOVE not muscle car fast but fast enough
Tuned
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 344
Likes: 7
I have a 5.4 and "fly" is definitely the last word I would use to describe performance. Keep in mind, it's only 0.1L larger than GM's 5.3 they put in the 1/2 tons. You won't get much more power from adding a tune and what you do get will likely be at the expense of reliability and longevity. There's a reason the 5.4's are tuned the way they are from the factory. Often times tunes can lean out an engine and advance timing, which can give it a bit more power, but at the expense of running hotter and creating more stress on the internals. I spent quite a few months looking for ways to bump my 5.4's output and ultimately concluded there wasn't anything for it unless I was willing to start doing big mods like cams and forced induction.
As has been beat into the ground, the 4R100 is a 4 speed transmission. The shifts you're feeling are 1 -> 2, 2 -> 3, 3 -> still 3, but locking up the converter. IDK why you'd run it with OD disabled though. 4th usually pulls up a hill just fine, but if you squeeze the noisy pedal, it'll downshift to 3rd like it's supposed to. My pickup simply doesn't unlock the torque converter in 4th (unless shifting), so I don't have any concerns about the transmission overheating even when pulling 10k pounds. Just stick it in 'drive' and go - no need to fiddle with stuff.
As has been beat into the ground, the 4R100 is a 4 speed transmission. The shifts you're feeling are 1 -> 2, 2 -> 3, 3 -> still 3, but locking up the converter. IDK why you'd run it with OD disabled though. 4th usually pulls up a hill just fine, but if you squeeze the noisy pedal, it'll downshift to 3rd like it's supposed to. My pickup simply doesn't unlock the torque converter in 4th (unless shifting), so I don't have any concerns about the transmission overheating even when pulling 10k pounds. Just stick it in 'drive' and go - no need to fiddle with stuff.
Tuned
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 344
Likes: 7
My last vehicle was an avalanche. I had a 6" lift 34x12.5 tires but a bulldog programmer headers corsa exhaust and k&n intake made it very strong. That thing had a ton of power and pulled well. I now have a 99 f250 5.4 and needed to get the power up. I just got it 3 weeks ago and have done a k&n intake magna flow exhaust, not a kit but exhaust shop put together. Tonight I almost finished the headers and put an edge programmer on. I have high hopes and will let you know the outcome.
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