Need advice.
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Need advice.
Hello i am looking at buyin and 03 f150 supercap fx4. the truck has the 5.4 triton. now heres my question. can a functional ram air hood actually hinder the performance of this vehicle. the reason i ask is i test drove two 03's that were identical only about 4,000 miles difference(36,000 vs 40,000) the truck with 40k has the ram air hood and is a straight up pooch compared to the other 03 with 26k on it. the trucks both have good clean gas. clean airfilters and unobstructed air boxes.. anyone know whats going on? i am really diggin the look of the ram air hood. but i would rather sacrifice looks for power. thanks in advance guys. im new to this. not to trucks just fords. was always a chevy guy but its time to buy a real rig. 
Cargo Master
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I can't imagine a funtional hood scoop decreasing performance... Are the gear ratios the same? that would definately cause the one truck to be a dog compared to the other. BTW, congradulations on growing up... only little boys wear bow ties.
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what i mean when i say pooch is its just gutless. and i know thats not how the 5.4 tritons run. its hard to imagine that someone could have beat the **** out of it that bad but maybe. it only has 36,800 miles on it. i was also wondering if the exhaust could hinder it. it is dual exhaust but instead of haveing real mufflers it has like a screen at the end of the pipe on both. almost like a spark arrester you would find on a dirt bike or four wheeler. i assume this causes quite a bit of back pressure could that also affect the performance. hope to hear from everyone soon thanks again.
thanks again.
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check the slower truck for tire size change which messes up the gear ratio. A hood scoop if truly funtional should improve performance. Also the exhaust can make a big diff in low end power.
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both have 17" wheels with 265/75/r17 tires on them. like i said these trucks are identical. i thought a hood like that would and should impove performance its got more air. maybe it just needs more exhaust now. heres some pictures of it..
http://images.tcmautonation.com/2003...3NA03256_1.jpg
http://images.tcmautonation.com/2003...3NA03256_1.jpg
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did they screw with any of the controls such as the air inlet , MAP sensor, etc. Is the air inlet go straight into the original box, or has it been modified so the computer does not know what the inlet air flow is?????????
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not sure the hood was installed by waldoch custom crafts. they are a pretty welll known company. what exactly is a air inlet?? fancy word for air box? and what is a map sensor? also how would i know how to adjust this. also the bottem of the hood has a custom plate type deal that routes the air to the stock air box..
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From: Louisville, Kentucky
That is one NICE looking hood scoop 
but, that is about all it is good for 
. That hood scoop while it may be "funtional", is not going to help the performance of the truck unless the truck is being driven at high speeds where air is forced into the scoop.
There is more air accessable through the grille and the stock induction system than those small slits way back on the hood can ever hope to provide to the engine at normal highway speeds.
There has to be some other reason that this truck is such a "pooch". Just MHO.
but, that is about all it is good for . That hood scoop while it may be "funtional", is not going to help the performance of the truck unless the truck is being driven at high speeds where air is forced into the scoop.There is more air accessable through the grille and the stock induction system than those small slits way back on the hood can ever hope to provide to the engine at normal highway speeds.
There has to be some other reason that this truck is such a "pooch". Just MHO.
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I have to disagree about the size of those "tiny slits" if you ever remove your stock intake tube you will find that there is a hole in the fender wall about 2" in diameter that allof the air from that big grille has to pass through. And as for my prior post regarding tire size what I was referring to was if the trucks tire size had been changed from stock not if they were the same on both trucks. These trucks are available with several tire sizes (not referring to the rim size).
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I was led to believe that the computers on newer trucks such as these "adapt" to an individual's style of driving over a few hundred miles or so... Meaning that the fuel curve and shift points would adjust themselves accordingly to the way you drive. maybe the last person that drove the truck was real light footed, and the druck needs to be "reprogrammed" for someone with a lead foot. Drive the hell out of it for a little while and see if it gets better.
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From: Louisville, Kentucky
Originally Posted by tinman67
I have to disagree about the size of those "tiny slits" if you ever remove your stock intake tube you will find that there is a hole in the fender wall about 2" in diameter that allof the air from that big grille has to pass through.
What you are overlooking is that the 2" hole is located in the grille area as compared to the slits of the hood scoop. The hood scoop slits are low pressure as the air flows over the hood and the grille opening is high pressure where the air comes in as the truck is pushed through the air.
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Originally Posted by stephen.osborne1
I was led to believe that the computers on newer trucks such as these "adapt" to an individual's style of driving over a few hundred miles or so... Meaning that the fuel curve and shift points would adjust themselves accordingly to the way you drive. maybe the last person that drove the truck was real light footed, and the druck needs to be "reprogrammed" for someone with a lead foot. Drive the hell out of it for a little while and see if it gets better.