so im thinking about what I can do to get some more power out of my 5.8. but its speed density not mass air.
so are there any real improvements that can be done?

 

you can do headers and exhaust mods. There are also SD compatible cams on the market. I am not sure about head upgrades,computer might not like that,but others more knowledgeable can chime in on that subject.

 

+1 on the exhaust. Best place to start. What year is your truck, gears, auto or stick? most importantly, what is your budget?

 

my truck is a 1993, auto e40d, 3.55 gears. I would love to push it up to 250hp or if possible 300. my budget is fairly open as i'll definitely be doing the upgrades a little at a time. right now I have about $1000 to get as close to 250 as possible. if that's possible.

 

How many miles on the engine?

 

subscribed:
I've done the headers and true duel exhaust, 2 1/4" pipes and the K&N air filter in a smoothed airbox with a 460 snorkel. Completed the tuneup and added a new O2 sensor. I've been told that heads will add about 40~50 HP but they are expensive. I've been considering the 1.72:1 ratio roller rocker arms. Valve lift on a stock cam would then be close to that of an aftermarket cam. Then the intake is the limiting factor. I don't manually shift mine and it auto shifts at 4000 rpm. But if feels like it is running out of power at that point.

 

Cool story time but I know a guy that has these mods on a SD system Trick Flow Track Heat 170 58cc Heads, Comp Cam XE-264HR, ported Truck intake, Pacesetter shorty headers.

It's on a 5.0 though. Just shows you can do some things on an SD set up.

 

As I said in my first post, you should start with a full exhaust system to get that rig breathing better along with long tube headers. Pace Setter headers fit our truck like a glove. Full exhaust should cost you about $500-600 for parts. You might want to consider swapping those 3.55 gears out in favor of 4.10's as they would get you out of the hole quicker and wake that auto tranny up. Edelbrock along with a few other companies makes some nice heads for the 5.8. The Edelbrock heads fully assembled from Jegs or Summit Racing will run you about $1400. Edelbrock also makes a nice Intake for the 5.8 for $600 or so. If you install an intake, you should pick up a larger throttle body. BBK makes one for the 5.8 for $350. I have dyno tested these on a stock system and have gained 3 to 5 hp. After installing an intake, I have dyno tested the 61mm BBK throttle body to gain up to 9 hp. The factory claims 7 to 12 hp. I have had 4, 5.8's so far and have not seen those numbers on the dyno, but close.

To re-cap:
Full Exhaust with Pace Setter Long Tube Headers
Gears
Edelbrock Heads
Edelbrock Intake
61mm BBK Throttle Body

These mods will easily get you into your desired HP territory. Everything mentioned above can be had at Jegs or Summit Racing I believe.

 

The 2nd thing that should be changed on a pre'94 5.8 is the cam, that and the exhaust is enough to put the motor into the 250-260hp range and this will also maximize gains from other mods like heads and intake. I wouldn't suggest changing both the heads and cam without first doing a MAF upgrade however as this will push both the SD control and fueling systems well beyond stock capacity.

 

+1 Listen to the man. I am new to these trucks, not the engine. Conan knows BOTH very well from what I have read so far.

From the previous posts I have read here, the swap from Speed Density to Mass Air is rather involved, but well worth the effort. What is a range of total cost with this swap since it pertains to this thread Conan or anyone who has done it?

 

thanks for all the info! right now I have a cat back exhaust done and I do plan on finishing up the rest of the exhaust as well. I've been thinking a lot towards getting heads as they seem to offer the most gain(from what I've been able to find). I found some ford racing heads for 600 each complete

 

what do you all think of this exhaust kit? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...rd/model/f-150
from summit racing.
the only thing I seeing is how to set up the cats to work with it.
or what exhaust kit would you all recommend I get? I looked at the pacesetter headers and the only thing that bothers me is I cant find matching components to set it all up(crossover pipes etc). im hoping to do this without a trip to the exhaust shop since they charge insanely high, even if you bring most of the parts.