I got a 99250ld with a 5.4 its 4wd its a great truck super clean ive done some little stuff like bug deflecter rain guards 285/75/16 MIckey thompson tires,but now im moving to performance..I just ordered my magnaflow cat back,and a hi flo cat,and im gunna make a y pipe with the hi flo cat out of 3" stainless..my K&N Intake is sitting on my toolbox and so are my new plugs coil packs fuel filter etc...

But maybe a little down the road I was looking into the Procharger kit,or the Vortech kit. I dont race it or anything,but I MIGHT! But I do a lot of trailering,not huge stuff,just an 18' open with about a 3500# car and the occasional snowmobile/atv trailer.. But I wanna have some extra kick for passing gear..Anyone used these kits yet?Good bad indifferent?


Also,truck has about 110,000 on the clock,and if this blower pops the motor,I was going to rebuild it anyways so no sweat there..

 

I put my Procharger on at 100K miles, she's got 130K on her now. No problems, just pulled 318rwhp / 410 lb-ft torque. And this is with crappy non-PI heads.

Your 99, with fuel mods, would push 360 - 380 hp to the rear wheels. And about 430 lb-ft torque.

I have a 9psi P1-SC blower with a 2-core intercooler. Combined with a low-restriction custon blower inlet, I see 10.5 psi of boost.

Great setup. I love it. Surprisingly fast for a 3-ton truck.

The two blowers you mention are centrifugal, so they need a few revs to make boost. However, I make over 380 lb-ft or torque from 2800 rpm on up, in a very flat curve that peaks at 410 lb-ft as I mentioned.

You may also want to look at a roots-type (used on the Lightning) or twin-screw (Whipple), they tend to make a bit more power down low, which may help with towing.

But... I tow a 7,000 lb boat/trailer quite easily with mine. Pulling the boat out of the water IMHO is a bit easier with a centrifigal blower, as traction is always an issue, even with a stock engine. Too much torque can overwhelm the limited traction on a slick ramp, even with LSD.

Put in laymen's terms, I'd may lose a race across an intersection to a roots-type blower...but win through the quarter mile.

But really, the difference is so much better versus stock with either type of blower, I don't think there's a bad choice.

If you're gonna get a blower for sure, then sell your K&N intake. It won't be usable with a blower. And you'll also need new spark plugs.

If you don't already have one, I also recommend a larger aftermarket tranny cooler. The stock one is too small. I have an active one with a fan that kicks on at high temps, and that thing is always on when driving in-town on hot days, even without towing. The extra torque really heats the fluid up fast.

 

Something in the drivetrain must not really like the supercharger when towing. The reason that I say this is because if you look at the specs for a N/A truck like mine, 01 Supercab 4x4 Offroad package w/17" wheels and 3.55 gears with a 5.4L, it has a towing capacity of about 7400lbs. A Supercharged Harley Supercrew 2wd or a Lightning (Both Supercharged) with a larger rearend 10.25 vs 9.75 and 3.73 gears are only rated for 5000lbs. Much more power but are designed to tow less. I can understand the lightning, but not the HD.

 

Interesting observation...
I think it may have as much to do with the chassis settings as the power.

My guess is that they don't put heavy load-rated rear springs/shocks in the street-performance-oriented Harley & Lightning.

But this is just a guess.

 

Pronstar awesome man,sounds good.
I really like the procharger because of the intercooler and such,and Ive used prochargers on cars and vortechs and I usually like the prochargers results better..
What did you have to change fuel system wise?Also do you have a shift kit or anything in your trans?Upgraded gears?Those are other things I was thinking about doing as well..
And what kind of trans temps do you consider escalated?I was going to put a trans temp gauge in my pan as soon as I drop the fluid out next week,and I will take your suggestion and put a big cooler on it with a fan,where do you have yours mounted?

 

On the temp issue, I think you'll get a variety of opinions. I don't know for certain what's absolutely a good or bad temp, but here's my opinion:

Tranny temps tend to fluctuate a lot. Plus, instantanous heating then immediatel cooling versus prolonged high temps (sorta of like heat-soaking the system) are quite different.

I think around 220 degrees or less is safe. My fan kicks on at 180 or 190 (can't remmber exactly, but it's under 200). Make sure you change the fluid regularly, expecially if you know it has been overheated (say, around 260 degrees or so). Heat kills ATF.

I have a Derale cooler, I mounted it in front of the radiator & AC condenser. I didn't want the heat from the radiator going thru the cooler. This is an old pic but you can sorts see it on the passenger side behind the grille (the lower heat exchanger is the intercooler):


I've got an Art Carr (California Performance Transmission - the REAL Art Carr!) valve body, and on my SCT chip we also bumped up the shift firmness a bit.

For rear gears, I run 4.10s with a Ford Racing LSD. Ford doesn't make 4.10s for the 9.75-inch rear (at least they didn't back when I had mine done), I think I've got Yukon gears in there but I can't remember... I got a smokin deal on the LSD, but if I had to pay retail I'd get a different one. I think there are better units out there.

For my fuel system, I've got a 255L/hr Walbro in-tank pump that replaced my factory pump, as well as 42-lb. Ford Motorsport injectors. I should have had them flow-matched before I installed them, for piece of mind if nothing else... I've also got a MAF from a Lightning, just the factory Ford piece. If it can flow enough for a modded Lightning, it can flow enough for my truck.

You also need a custom tune to get it all to work properly. I've got an SCT chip and a dyno tune. I tried the mail-order route and was not satisfied at all, though others have gone this route with good results.

The Procharger kit has an FMU that will use the stock injectors and factory ECU - do NOT use a chip if you go this route - timing is too agressive. But looking at the results of guys who use the kit without fuel-system upgrades, their air/fuel ratios on the dyno tend to be all over the place on the dyno plots I saw. By upgrading the entire fuel system, I've got rock-solid A/F ratios.

Plus, you'll get a bit more power with the fuel-system upgrades & custom tune versus just using the kit & FMU.

I had a lot of fun getting mine going. Plus, when you do the work yourself, you know exactly how to fix anything that may go wrong...and something inevitably goes wrong somewhere. Typically, a hose will come loose or something minor like that.

 

I have a Procharger P1SC with 3 core intercooler on my 91 Mustang GT, 475 RWHP, other mods too...but the Procharger is a SCREEMING NOISY THING. I don't notice it much at highway speeds, but around town I find it displeasingly LOUD. I am giving some thought to supercharging my new 06 F-250 5.4, but I'm going to see what a chip does for it first. If I do, it won't be a Procharger.
Paul

 

Yeah, procharger's straight cut gears are a bit loud.
I like it, sounds like a little jet lives under my hood.
But it may not be for everyone.

Roots-style & twin-screws have a whine as well.
I think the Eaton M112 that the Lightning uses is relatively quiet one, as expected from an OEM part.
Whipples are pretty loud. I like the whine, a lot different from a procharger's sound.