hey guys,
i have been driving my new '98 F150 around and having an absolute blast. However, now that i've driven it a little and know more about the truck i wanted to put a cold air intake on it. I was thinking the K&N has a pretty nice set-up, and i know that they're worth the money.
My questions are:
- are there any brands out there that you guys prefer or know perform well?
- is there anything else that i can do to increase the performance of my truck (i don't wanna do anything insane, just the lower end of the spectrum, if you guys catch my drift). Basically i want to know whats the best bang for my buck.

Thanks guys

 

gman -

Take a look at www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm - it might help you decide if you want to run a washable filter on the street.

Steve

 

Well, I have done a few things to my 4.6L in a 2003 4x4.

AIr intake=Air Force One. Very nice set up with a polished stainless steel intake tube and a huge K & N style filter. Very pleasing to the eye. Noticed an increase in throttle response over the stock setup and mileage increased about .8 to 1 mpg. The reason I know this is because ever since I bought the truck I have checked my mileage.......every tank. Claimed 17 hp at the real wheels from the manufacturer but it is in the upper rpm range. Cost $240

Exhaust=True dual setup with flowmaster 40's....originals. Not a system or mandrel bent. Ran the exhaust all the way out the back at a 45° angle with 3 1/2"x22" tips. Chrome. Liked the way it sounded alot but with the tips being out at a 45 ..............they were getting screwed up big time. So I decided to dump them underneath the truck with no tips. Not good. The truck is really quiet now. It sucks. Going to run high flow cats...........pretty soon and run it out the side like the L's. Cost at the local muffler shop was $280.

E-fans. Without a doubt I think this was the best bang for the buck for me. Especially if you include the pulleys. Fans were $335 and the price of the pulleys was $169. A little over $500 gets you some very "feelable" power.

Superchips tuner. I got this when the new 1715 came out. I love it but now they have the new programmable SCT. Might have to look at it a little closer.

 

i think he is interested in performance, not "bling" mods.

The air intake won't make him any noticable power. The factory exhaust is 2.5 mandrel so replacing it won't gain anything. Also its not quite time for a chip the cost of one won't get him alot of gain.

Here are the best mods for that truck.

1.) PI cams (less than 100 bucks used)
2.) Electric Fans (good time to replace the water pump with a gt waterpump also)

You can buy electic fans for around 150.

So you have 250 dollars at most into the truck and gain 20hp at the wheels.

Thats good performance. Then you can let SCT tune the truck and you will be happy with the results.

JH

 

I put on a cold air intake, flowmaster exhaust and a Superchip microtuner on my 1999 F150. I really noticed a nice improvement in performance in the seat off the pants especially low end torque. It didn't cost too much and it the intake and microtuner tuner were a snap to install

 

true dual exhaust will help ur engine but by far the most cost effective bang for buck mod is headers just headers and an intake u will see about 30-40 hp difference. chips hell find one on ebay for like 50 bucks. get it reprogrammed like i did place around here charged me 75 bucks to have it programmed and then tuned for my truck. cheaper then payin 200+ for a brand new one programmed for stock truck

 

Why not get some performance and a little "bling"?

True about the cams.............but what about installation. That is going to be quite a chunk of the green.

You can buy electric fans for $150. But lets look at the total package. How much cfm are you talking about. I know Zirgo puts out some serious CFM...............around 3300 each for the heavy duty 16". I've seen those go from $130-$200 EACH. That comes with no controller or anything. The set up that I have pushes around 5200 cfm combined. I payed $335 for the whole setup which includes everything that was need including all necessary wiring and hardware.

 

I used an electric fan from a thunderbird lx and the tbird fan shroud. I bought a controller for 75 bucks, thats where the money is, that and the relay.

I have about 150 bucks into mine.

Installing cams is another DIY job, get your hands dirty

 

Has anyone got any real dyno data to prove the power increase of electric fans (when running) over a properly working clutch fan? In theory, the added load on the alternator would cancel out the benefit of the power gained from the electric fans.
I do know that a clutch fan is good for 7hp over a direct drive flex fan. I have seen dyno results on that.

 

I have a 2006 f150 xlt 4.6 and what cheap engine mods can I do

 

Flowmasters
26 in' k9 rims
Aftermarket hood
Fiberglass tonneau cover
Chrome door handles
Aftermarket front grill
Aftermarket radio
Kenwood speakers
updated mirrors

 

Interesting thought. Never have seen any dyno test on it. My 99 Crown Vic P71 4.6 runs electric fan only. I figured it had to be because of all the idle time on cop cars. But it does stay cool even in 110 degrees with A/C on in town.