I want to start customizing my truck but where to start. I have limited time (2 kids) and limited money (2 kids). I see people listing K&N filters and such. Any ideas on how I should start? A suggest order to do mods?
I havn't done anything like this since my 76 Camaro back in the 80's and I have the itch.....
I would like to start with performance enhancements first. (Easier to justify the cost)

Help the neophyte.....

Thanks

 

What truck do you have??? What engine??? If it's a diesel you could look into the Superchip programmer, for between $300-400 you can boost HP and torque appreciably. You can buy it here through Motor Haven and there are several threads you can read to get feedback if you do a search.

 

Intake and exhaust are the best starting points.

 

My sig deleted. Sorry. All that info was there....
2003 F250 SD CC 5.4L 4x4

 

my sig in the profile just not showing up.....?!

 

Check down in the Site Announcements forum.............sigs are no longer enabled except for mods, admin, Club FTE members, etc....everyone else's sig is gone.

 

Yep, they (rightfully so) are trying to save bandwidth....
and some go OVERBOARD with their signatures !

I'm not up on the 5.4L options... but you'll get a lot of help here !
stay tuned

 

Get a tuner or chip, exhaust, personally I would stay away from a intake such as the KN fipk, I run one on mine, but have't heard to many good things about them.

Other than that, unless you got big money, were sol....

 

Chip or Tuner first..

 

I have same truck and 2 kids aswell. I started with intake and exhaust. Next will be tuner.

 

Maybe gears? If you're looking for seat of the pants and you don't want to do a chip etc, I would think dropping in a set of 4.11s or something would be pretty decent. I have 3.73s and from what I read here on the board, they might be a little to high for the 5.4. I tend to agree with the guys that say that. That's my only big complaint with the truck. Shifting...
It's hard getting a SOTP difference with a truck that weighs as much as ours too...

 

Thanks!
I ordered the K&N intake today. I hope it to be an easy first step. Then, depending on how the funding goes maybe chip or tuner. Need to read up on that. I will be browsing that forum next....
Gee then there is exhaust, tires lift kits. I hope the kids don't want to go to college...... :-)

 

IMHO, depends on what you are going to do with the truck that you need a mod for?

Towing a heavy trailer? Exhaust and gauges.

How old is the truck? If it still has a warranty, how much grief are you willing to put up with if the dealer denies warranty work based on a mod? Most dealers are not chip or programmer friendly.

If you just want to have fun changing stuff, that's cool too!

 

If I had it all to do over again...and this is my advice to you...save up the pennies and get a supercharger.

Even with a chip, air intake, tbs, headers, and exhaust, you'll be lucky to get 25 more horse power at the rear wheels. These items, in my humble opinion, produce more of a placebo effect than anything else.

A supercharger will produce power you will notice, an additional 30-50% of your stock 260 hp. So you'll be seeing a total of around 338 to 390 hp...that's something you will certainly notice.

I really wish I'd just gone with the supercharger...but that's just me. I base this on having gone through what you're now considering.

 

As far as bang for the buck I would say get a chip, you can tell a difference in response, shifts, and overall gas mileage (which is always a plus!)