I’ve got a 1995, F250, 351w, E40D, That I use to tow my home a 23’ 4500lb trailer. The thing struggles even down hill. The truck runs great and up tell now I’ve been satisfied with its performance, it could roll my 35s down the road at free way speeds. But as soon as the house is hitched up, it puts a lot of stress on both me and the truck.

The plan is to do a MAF swap and a trans controller from Interactive Systems & Technologies Mass Air Home Page I called Steve over there and he gave me loads of information about the kit and trans controller, and I feel very confident in the product. Along with the kit, I’ll be upgrading injectors to 24lb, and a bullit fpr. Soon I’ll be doing short tube headers and a better flowing exhaust. A mild cam (open to recommendations). Re-seal the whole package and I’ll have it tuned at a local shop in SLC. I’m hoping to make around 350hp, and 400lbs.

I’ll then I’d like to do 4;56 gears, and a torque converter, as well as just freshening up the whole E40D.

im sure some one on here has done something similar before, so I’m looking to see what’s realistic. Any other parts you may think I need to hit that goal please drop some info, I’m not currently wanting to get into bottom end work, as the truck still had good compression when checked last year.

also if there is already a forum covering this exact build please drop a link, I’ve searched and searched so I finally made my own. TIA

 

A MAF conversion is not an automatic fix for increasing performance. You REALLY should first run your codes & see what the current state of affairs is with your engine/trans control is.

If you do a bunch of mods & you still have the same problems, it is a REAL pain.

The EEC IV is not tuneable or "flashable" in it's stock state, either in speed density or mass air flow configuration, it has to have additional ($$$) products to fool the computer into altering its out-put to the things it controls.

MAF CAN alter its self to make corrections for things like increased air flow through the engine when better heads & exhaust improvements are done.

It cannot compensate for 24# injectors.

I've done the whole smear so far. I did mods, then E4 mods, then engine rebuild & then MAF conversion.

I'm currently waiting for another dyno session, followed by a complete aftermarket tuneable ECU upgrade from Stinger Performance ( https://www.stinger-performance.com/ )

Temper your expectations & don't move to quickly.

Welcome to FTE & good luck with your project.

 

None of the upgrades you have planned require MAF or larger injectors, and sorry but you won't get anywhere close to 350hp without better heads and intake. What your truck needs more than anything is more gearing so do that first, then do a full exhaust with headers but don't go any bigger than a single 3", and then if you feel it still needs a bit more do a cam swap with perhaps the Comp cams 35-512-8 or Lunati 20350611. If you decide to put better heads on it that is when the injectors and computer need to be upgraded, but go with a Pimpx instead to get the tuneability these updates require.
If yoiu have never heard of Pimpx it is a direct swap PCM form Stinger that does not require any wiring changes and has an option to include transmission control just like the original computer, they aren't cheap but it's a much more elegent solution than MAF and a separate trans controller that still doesn't give you any tuneability... which is required for this level of mods.

 

Spend the money on re-gearing. Your running 35's, and then you hook up your 23' home. It will definitely struggle. As you stated, 4.56 gears would be a upgrade worth doing 1st. Then go with a cam upgrade, better heads and shorty headers.

Others will chime in.

Best of luck! And keep us posted.

Conaski was typing while I was. As he said, gearing is needed 1st. He knows his stuff.

 

When talking to Steve he made it sound like the computer was flashable, I’m not sure what computers they sale, but I haven’t heard of the pimpx, I will definitely look into that, is it a direct replacement for a SD computer? Gears are definitely the first thing on the list and they are actually in the mail as of today. I’m not expecting the MAF to make any gains on a stock set up, if anything I want to do it more for MPG, and being able to further this build in the future, one day I’d like to actually build this bad chicken like I’m sure we all do, but that’s not where I’m at currently, I’m just trying to move my house without fear of hills. The goal of 350 and 400 is pretty far fetched for my current plan, but I still feel it’s the correct rout to go for future upgrades. Thank you for the info I definitely have more research to do.and as far as the current state of engine and trans goes, both are healthy and code free, the main thing slowing this truck down is the tires and not enough gear

 

If you're already planning on changing to an aftermarket computer, don't waste your money on a MAF conversion, you won't gain anything.

 

Here's a link to my write-up on installing a PimpX to power my 351 / 5-speed.

In my case I didn't have to move around any wires since I didn't need transmission control. You'll need the PimpXShift verision which has transmission control built in. I believe it requires you to move around a few wires on your ECU connector... but so does a MAF swap.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post19672542

 

MAF won't improve your fuel milage any so don't do it for that reason, there is no good reason to even consider it now with the Pimpx solution available. And no these PCMs are not flashable... they don't even contain any flash memory.

 

So MAF is out and PIMPX is in... easy enough and thanks for the link! I’ll do some reading on the pimpx and report back when I actually do some work!


THE MF’ING PIMPX IS CHEAPER THEN THE MAF CONVERSION KIT!!!! And has way more capabilities! Thank you all for saving me money and pointing me in a better direction for engine management!
Sorry Steve.

 

I'm sure Interactive's stuff works fine, and they've got a fair bit of R&D into making them work, I just can't figure any good reason to do it, especially at those prices.

 

If I remember correctly IST's stuff is dependent on the "air-adjuster" which goofs the MAF sensor.

Last individual to pass this way did not have a lot of success with theirs, but I'd attribute that to not having a clear idea what was happening technically.

 

(I'm reposting this because I accidentally put it in the wrong thread).

I have read about plenty of horrible experiences with IST. I would steer clear of them. I personally used a Fiveology kit to convert my 460 to mass air. If I could do it over again, I would hold out for a factory mass air california pickup and avoid a lot of cost/work/headaches that came with getting my pickup running right. So far I have spent $800 on the Fiveology mass air conversion kit, $300 on a Moates Quarterhorse, and $200 on binary editor and eec analyzer software licenses. Last time I filled gas I calculated 12mpg; before the conversion I would get 8-9mpg. It's a decent gain, but I don't think it will ever pay for itself given how little I drive the vehicle. However, it was worth it to me. I enjoyed the learning curve/process, and I like knowing that my engine is running more efficiently.

@Conanski What's your stance on pimpx verses quarterhorse? Your opinion is always appreciated.

- Joe

 

It's hard to make a blanket statement because every situation is different but If somebody already has a PCM that is supported by Quarterhorse and BE then it's a no brainer, but if not then a Pimpx starts to make more sense.

 

*UPDATE*

So my 4.56 gears showed up Thursday, me and the uncle got it all torn down and figured out I had 3.73 not even the 4.10 I thought I had. Friday after work, we finished up the install, I hooked up the trailer and headed down the road for a weekend trip. Instantly I noticed the truck didn’t need any accelerator to get this trailer rolling. We came to our first hill (parleys canyon in Utah) its about 7% grade, and I was able to pull it at 60mph @ mid rang of rpms (my truck ain’t got the tach so I’d say it was just around 3k) anyways I’m very happy with the performance now, and I’m excited to see how the truck drives without the trailer now. Maybe she will have enough gear to spin some tires.

thanks everyone for chiming in and simplifying my solution.

id still like to do the pimpx down the road, but not tel I’m ready for head work, cam, and now I’m kinda thinking ProCharger!? But that’s a long ways away.

 

You did break in those 4.56s properly, yes? If you just hooked up a load and towed you cooked 'em