So, I went ahead and purchased some upgrades for my 2003 F150 Supercrew with the 5.4L Triton.

They are as follows...

A 6 pack of K&N Oil Filters (ooooo ahhhhh)
K&N 77 Series High-Flow Performance Air Intake Kit
Predator Flash Tuner
Gibson Heavy Gauge Stainless Steel Exhaust Header
Borla Split Rear Exit Cat-Back System with Round Angle Cut Phantom Tips

Whaddya think? Each of those upgrades (not including the oil filters) claims about 15-20 hp and another mile or so per gallon. I figure stock the engine puts out ~260hp, so I should be in the ~330 hp range, and around 16 mpg on the highway.

Now, besides bragging I'm also posting to ask a question... How long do you anticipate all these upgrades will take to install? I've got a shop with a 8 point hydraulic lift, I'll be able to pick the truck up easily and do all the exhaust and oil filter installs, and I assume I'll also have to unhook the stock headers from off the engine from below.

Anyway, I was thinking I could do it all in a day, easily. I'm somewhat mechanically inclined, I've worked on cars/trucks all my life, just nothing as new as this Ford of mine. I figure an hour on the exhaust, 10 minutes on the oil filter, 3 or 4 hours on the header, 10 minutes on the Diablo tuner, and an hour or so on the K&N intake system. So thats around 7 hours or so, if no problems occur. That sound correct?

 

just a thought, if you added one upgrade at a time, you will be able to tell how much each one added to the performance of your truck...and if you run into problems you'll know which one to deal with...just my .02's good luck with the upgrades.

on edit: i think removing the inner fender wells might make things easier working on the exhaust.

 

I'll be getting most of these parts seperately.

One I have a friend from the states bringing up when he comes in his truck. (shipping to Alaska is the pits and I avoid it whenever possible)

Two are coming from one company, two from another company. One company is shipping ground freight, so 2 weeks, but the exhaust is coming in 2 days...

So I'll put them on a step at a time and see how it changes performance.

Thanks for the advice though, I'm looking forward to doing these mods

 

keep us posted in this thread on how each upgrade does, and did you use any of FTE's sponsors for the parts?

 

I'm new to this forum, so I'm just guessing by sponsors you mean the company whose web page pops up when you click on certain words, like tires or exhaust?

I used truckperformance.com for most of the parts, they seemed to have the best prices and were the only ones who gave me free shipping to Alaska, which saved me $294 for the parts I had to have shipped.

 

Hey, Rambo...be sure to time your truck 0-60 and things like that to see if they really make a difference. It's kinda fun to watch the stuff work how it is suppose to. The Diablo chip made the BIG difference for me. Cut my 0-60 time by more than a second.

 

So when you say chip, what exactly do you mean? Is that the little plug'n'play chip you insert into the system? Or is it the tuner? I'm getting the tuner, hopefully it has as great of results as your chip.

 

I got the diablosport chip....plug into computer and your good to go...it's awesome.

 

Well, this tuner should do everything the chip does and a little more, which is why I went ahead and went with the tuner. I'd always rather not have to purchase another upgrade for the same part later.

 

yeah, it should be great, just how I looked at it was:

It only cost $206..motorhaven charges me $30 if I have to get it re-burned...If I make any modification that require a re-burn..I can do A LOT of re-burns to add up to what the tuner costs.

Don't get my wrong, I think you made a wise decision you have a lot of versitility with the programmer, it should give you all the power you want..

 

Hey, "Rambo", welcome to FTE from Canyon Lake, Texas! I have a cousin living in Homer & one in Fritz Creek. Sounds like you are well on your way "Mod Maddness"! Welcome, again!

 

Then we are probably related, everyone around here seems to be

 

I wouldn't be surprised! These two cousins are probably in their 30's, by now. Their Dad, my 1st cousin has been staying with them, recouperating from medical problems. He is originally from California, but more recently from Kansas.

Good luck with your truck.

 

Just an FYI, a guy named Ken has been talking to me on the Tuners section of this forum and apparently the Diablo tuner I ordered isn't even made yet. I heard from a dealer they are supposed to come out in late April/early May, but oh well, I went ahead and canceled that part. Besides, the more I hear about tuners/chips, the more I realize that my 87 octane gas isn't going to make much of a difference. They dont even have 91 octane available here, so that isn't an option for me unless I want to mix in octane boost every single tank I fill.

So, now I'm shooting for ~310hp and 15 mpg.

And as long as I'm updating everyone, the headers/exhaust/K&N intake system all shipped out this morning, so I should actually be getting them in Friday and be able to put them on over the weekend. However, if they come in Saturday, the stupid FedEx place isn't open here on weekends, so I wont be able to do anything until Monday

 

bummer about the tuner.....Ken is the MAIN man, he is the owner of motorhaven and this site. He knows what he's talking about. I (edit) my wife gets better gas mileage with the chip, so it makes up for the 91 octane. You will average about the same dollar output. However, I get about the same, because I drive like an absolute maniac with the chip turned on. The power is unbelievable, it's hard to resist putting the gas pedal on the floor when your setting beside a Chevy or something...hehe heheh

The chip made the single most power of the mods I did. Too bad you can't get yours.