Is it possible to put a lighting supercharger on a 5.4 V8 F250? If not is there a decent supercharger on the market for this truck?

 

Sure is, and is actually one of the easier systems to install IMO, with a nice supply of commonly available future replacement parts since it was an OE production piece. You'll need the SC/Intake assembly with brackets and pullies, the intercooler heat exchanger and bracket(which will need a slight modification to attach to the SD body), the intercooler water pump and lines, intercooler water reservoir, the MAF, airbox, and injectors from the Lightning, a custom built air induction to attach to the airbox/MAF, a higher capacity fuel pump, and a custom tune to plug in the Lightning's stock tuning values into the SD PCM. There will be some mods necessary for the fuel rails to connect to the SD fuel lines, and then the tune will need to be conservative because the pistons in the SD 5.4L are not forged like the Lightning's pistons are.
JL

 

Wow that sounds like it would take a ridiculous about of work and money. I think I need to learn a bit more about my truck still before embarking upon that big of a project, unless I get a whole bunch of people willing to help. Thanks a lot for the information though, you really sound like you know your stuff.

 

JL, what;s your take on a vortech or centrifical SC for the basically stock 5.4 SD engine? Used, it also could be a DIY for about $1500...like this lightning swap...but less work.

Also considering stock internals can take only low boost safely, SD intake so max RPM ~ 4500, would a centrifugal SC approach work well for us?

Neil
99 F250SD 5.4l

 

If you pulley it correctly to move enough air so that the SC is in it's sweet spot for RPM before you run out of intake capacity, it could work really well. Basically, a centri SC is a turbocharger with a belt driven compressor vs an exhaust driven compressor. But, without an intercooler, the ACT's are going to be absurd, so you're really gonna be limited on how much spark advance you can run without breaking things. You'll need to have the ACT sensor in the intake or intake tube so you know the actual ACT AFTER the SC.
JL

 

Great input, thanks.

Air to air intercooling seems like it might be more effective than an air-water setup. It seems like air-water would heat the air in low boost / load situations, but then I read some articles that say this might be beneficial. ?

NC

 

An OEM diesel intercooler is plenty large enough, has brackets that fit the chassis,and then it's simply plumbing from there..that's what I would do. With air-to-air, there's no plumbing water lines, pump hookup,etc. It's much simpler to do than air-to-water.
JL

 

Slightly off subject, but any positives from injecting Methanol, NOS, or propane in this application? I am just now researching those options...
NC

 

I would think you could run up to about 6 lbs of boost without changing anything but the tune. Even then, you might get away without changing the tune. That would give you an honest 70-75 hp increase and corresponding torque increase as well.

Keep in mind, my supercharging experience is on fox body mustangs.

 

Does anyone know if putting a PI intake (or lightning SC swap) on NPI heads would require adapter plates? Or is the slight port mis-match going to be ok (contained withing the PI gasket)?

Would folks suggest running the lightning 180 deg T-stat? And would the SD fuel rails fit the lightning lower intake ok?

 

No, it won't require plates of any kind. Anybody that tells you that is trying to sell you something, or is misinformed.
The PI gasket will seal over the slight mismatch of the NPI port, but the coolant passage is the problem on the end of the cylinder head. The NPI coolant passage is slightly larger than the PI coolant passage, so you need to use a bit of RTV to seal that corner up between the gasket and cylinder head. SD fuel rails are nowhere near close to fitting-custom fuel lines to use the F150 Lightning fuel rails will be necessary. Any 180 degree thermostat is fine-there's nothing special about the Lightning piece.
Here's a pic of my ported NPI heads before I put them on the engine:

I know they look like PI's, but they're not. My cylinder head guy simply matched the ports as close as possible to allow a better intake selection when I built it.
Notice how close the coolant passage is to the edge of the intake port.
Here's a couple of shots of the water port welded up-one with and one without a PI gasket laid across it(this was a later set of heads that he welded the corner of that coolant passage):




I just used RTV on my heads in that location, and it's been around 30K miles and 5 years since I assembled it, and there's no leaks.
JL

 

awesome pics and info, thanks man! Do you suggest letting the rtv dry with the PI gasket on the head, then drop the lower intake on...the reverse gasket applied to the lower intake...or rtv on both sides?

Injectors are my next purchase, any real benefit to Siemans deka 44lb over FORD 42lb? Supposedly the Siemans is a better spray and yields a more efficient overall BSFC.

NC

 

I prefer Ford OEM injectors over any aftermarket units, and I know many of the GOOD tuners also prefer them. I apply the RTV, and place the gasket then let it dry for an hour or so before I bolt on the intake.
JL

 

Definitely possible. I designed and built all the adapting hardware to install a Lighting Supercharger on a 5.8 Liter in a 1996 Bronco. I have pics, etc if you are interested. I ran 7 lbs. Boost with no problems. Nice throttle response.

Let me know and I will post pictures in my alblum and on here. Sample----

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/a...877&pictureids[]=60356

 

this would be a sweet swap to have.
would look great too.
good info.