I have 2019 Lariat with gas engine, and was wondering what where some of the best performance mods? There seem to be a lot of contradictory opinions on cold air intakes, and I am not quite ready for a turbo, so what works for all of you?

 

If you’re after performance gains you’ll actually feel, in my opinion, you need to start down the path of forced induction. A well written tune can make the truck feel more awake by changing the shift strategy and eliminating the drive by wire delay, but it’s not really adding any power unless you start heading toward higher octane performance tunes. I would not install a cold air intake for performance, the stock one works just fine.

i would start by asking yourself what it is you’re trying to improve on. ‘Performace’ is broad. If you want it to tow better, or be able to get a trailer moving, you might want to look into a regear and that could be all you need.

 

The 87 octane performance tune from 5star really woke my 6.2 up. It was a work truck so I wanted to stick with 87.


I would run 89 octane in it usually if I was filling it up. That really helped with or without the tune.


If I were to have taken it further a full exhaust and CAI would be the next step. Doubt getting into the motor or forced induction would be worth it, just get a diesel.

 

I studied the same topic extensively when I owned my 17.

The net result was to leave it alone

Even the cold air is a waste of money

 

I went through this with a Suburban. With anything less than a blower, you won’t likely feel it in the seat of your pants. Changing shift points and firmness coupled with a throaty exhaust gives the impression of more speed but you’ll need at least a hundred hp improvement to get a 7,000-lb vehicle moving noticeably faster.

Gearing, however, will get you off the line quicker in a way you can feel. Nobody wants shorter, lighter-weight tires on a Super Duty, but that’s the cheapest way to get out of the hole easier.

Let us know when you supercharge it!

 

Are you looking more for towing or street performance?

 

A diesel would be a $10k option, on top of whatever he would lose trading in his truck.

$10k would go a very, very long ways on his current truck. Shoot, you might think I'm nuts...but $10k would put a 600+HP 429/460, or even a LS based drivetrain in his truck

But like others have said...we don't know what he's looking for yet (towing, street, or something else)?

 

$10k for a diesel gets a man an unbeatable engine (did it myself). However, a blown gasser with a cam and headers will sound better and be more fun than any stock diesel even with less torque. Nothing feels as good as a hot rod V8 gasser if one isn’t afraid to go without a warranty.

 

Yeah both right.

And my feeling is his gasser probably has plenty of power and just getting into some throttle response stuff, adding a few horse power, and fixing the shift points from fleet/mpg to performance with a programmer is more than he needs.

 

You get nothing from modifying the intake side. I don't know that there is debate on aftermarket intakes. Most people have known for many years the only way aftermarket intakes improve performance is to lighten your wallet a little.

Lighter weight wheels and tires is a really good suggestion since you are reducing static mass and angular mass, meaning the truck will be more responsive to getting going, have better braking performance, better cornering response, better suspension control. That's a really good suggestion. Sadly, they don't make the truck louder, so that might not work for you.

Headers and an engineered exhaust is another good suggestion. The exhaust side is always a choke point. But it's not as bad as people think. You can probably pick up around 20 horsepower with a good exhaust.

Forced induction is a proven pathway to increased power. But instead of an expensive mechanical supercharger, either roots or turbo, I would suggest chemical supercharging with nitrous oxide. Way more affordable and you use it only when you really need it.

But really, the best suggestion is still to go diesel. There is only the financial consideration, but you didn't say you were working with a budget, like; "Hey, what's the best performance bang for my buck for $39.99 or less?" So, spend the bucks and get a rock-solid, no compromise package right from the factory

 

The factory throttle tip-in curve is very soft. If you floor the accelerator from a stop your engine management system doesn't go full throttle. It limits the throttle to protect the drivetrain.

A tune such as a 5 Star tune can modify the throttle tip-in curve to provide more oomph off idle. The throttle opening will more closely match your pedal inputs.

As for cold air intake kits, your truck already has a cold air intake that can supply your engine with all the air required. A cold air intake kit would only lighten your wallet and make more noise.

 

However dont lose sight of reliability as a factor.

He trades his gasser for a new diesel. Chances are the worst problem he'lll see for 100,000 miles is suspension related.

He dumps $10k into a 600 horse motor or LS, and you better have a good mechanic and towing service on speed dial. You're not going to hot rod anything and get 100,000 miles of problem free years out of it.

At least thats my experience. Ive had plenty of toys, and have gotten that TOTALLY OUT of my system. Havent stood on the side of the road in years. Havent called a mechanic in years. I like the simple life.

 

Best mod that I did was to install a Pedal Commander. I run mine in sport mode at +1 or sometimes +2. If you don't care about factory warranty then maybe look into a tune from 5 Star. I personally would not bother with an air intake or engine mods. If you want to get into all of that then I would buy a V8 Mustang and go nuts... lol. Good luck