I have purchased a few items from Bob, with awesome results. We all know tunes work well with our platform, we know exhaust and intakes respond great when tuned. Those 3 upgrades seem to be the best bang for buck. I am looking into gears now, and Bob was telling me, I mean giving me advice on what to get.

 

He who doesn't believe catbacks, intakes, and custom tunes don't work, just race a truck with them and you'll quickly see that they do...

 

See, Thats where everyone screws up! I actually tow with cruise control set, OD off, and kick back and enjoy the ride. I don't see why everyone under estimates these trucks. I towed to Myrtle Beach SC... approx 300 miles. I averaged 63 MPH the whole time. I got 12-13 MPG all the way there and back. Never had to stop for fuel and had ZEREO problems. I have had this rig in the mountains on NC with no problems. Granted I didn't get stellar MPG with the hills but I still pulled all of them at 55-60 MPH. Yes when pulling that much weight up the side of the mountain you do have to give it more fuel.... your towing a 8'x12'x31' 8000lb brick behind you! If you haven't tried towing anything substancial with your truck I don't think that gives you the right to criticize anyone! When I say substancial I mean something larger than your truck, that weighs more than your truck and needing the use of trailer brakes.

 

off topic, where in NC are you?

 

Bob, I understand that it is off topic. I just can't stand people that jump in here wanting to get sports car performance out of a 6500lb truck! If you want a sports car then buy one. If you want to tow, haul, and carry things buy a truck! I am in Salisbury just outside of Charlotte. I towed without the Edge and exhaust and I towed with them. It is a hell of a lot easier to tow with the current mods on the truck now. I could not keep a gear to save my life under load. Now I just give it a little more and go. I would drop MPH on hills substantially before, now I can actually gain speed if I need to. I regularly pass tractor trailer trucks struggling to go up hill. The mods done to my F-150 made a huge improvement. I never dynoed it, I have no reason to do so. The truck does the job it was designed to do easier after the mods were done. Not to mention, when it is not towing the camper, it is pretty damn quick compared to a stock truck..... just ask the poor soul that got his *** spanked last weekend at the stoplight!

 

Ah actually...if you want to go fast and haul stuff, buy a diesel. lol It is pretty common for a guy or girl to want there truck or car to stand out from the crowd. I cant think of the last vehicle I owned that was left stock. There is nothing more frustraiting then trying to get around a person with the exact same vehicle as you, and they wont let you. A cat back system can give him the ever so popular dual exhaust look, and a mean sound without spending huge cabbage to do it. If we were practical people our trucks and cars would be stock and this forum would be empty. No, a cat back system wont give you the performance a complete kit would, but it will help.

 

haha bryan, I meant I was being off topic, by asking where you were in NC

 

LMAO...

I love it. He set the cruise and kicked back to enjoy the ride.

There is nothing to enjoy about towing an 8K brick behind an F150. Its not designed for it.

The only time my wife's F150 would be a joy with an 8K trailer is......

When the F150 is (yes I actually tow, since you inquired) is strapped down in my enclosed 8K brick and its hooked to my F250 Powerstroke Diesel.

And the only time I would see 55-60MPH is passing thru to 75-80MPH.

Oh, with the cruise control set and getting 13-14MPG. If i were to srive 55-60MPH, which I just cant do....talked about bored and frustrated, the fuel economy would be north of 15-16MPG.

In closing...I don't screw up, I use the right tool for the job.

 

I'll not take this as a hit on my posts since I never disputed intakes and custom tunes.

My point is... bang for buck. IF performance is your only concern, Cat Backs are a waste of $$$.

Granted, there are PLENTY of other waste of $$$ performance mods, this seems to be the one most people go for first since it makes their truck sound like it's got more power. Therefore, it must have more power? Anyone ever get behind a Ricer with a fart can exhaust? Or sit side by side with them and smoke them off the line?

Will I go with a cat back system? Possibly. But, I'll not pretend that it'll make my 300 HP truck a 320 HP truck. I'll be lucky to make it a 305 HP truck. But, it'll sound good and look good.

 

I agree. F150s weren't built to haul 8K lb trailers. Sure, they can do it. But, the right tool for that job isn't an F150 (or any other 1/2 ton rig for that matter).

I have loaded my truck with hundreds of lbs of crap and done road trips and was very happy with it's performance.

Now, smoking the camaro's off the line, I could use some help. Anyone ever hear of Saleen?

Yes, I fully intend to make my 6500 lb truck into a 4x4 sports truck with 6" lift and 35" tires. Should be fun smoking camaros then.

 

See...thats where you screwed up again! I don't tow at that speed for fuel enonomy, I tow at that speed for safety. ALL ST trailer tires are only rated for a max speed of 65 MPH. Not only are the trailer tires only rated for 65 but so is the frame and components of a travel trailer. Please, if you're going to tow anywhere above 65MPH please let me know where, when, and on what road so I can safely get my family out of your way! When you are on the side of the road with a blowout and the entire side of your camper ripped open from a load range d tire exploding, I will ride by and wave. Oh and by the way.... The 04 up is rated at 9900 lb towing capacity. Of course this is with a Weight distribution hitch and proper braking. Yes a 250 diesel will do a better job but the 150 does it well also, this is providing you have the 5.4 with 3.73 gears. If you got the 4.6... I feel bad for you!

 

I dont tow a camper, I prefer a hotel.

I have E rated tires on the trailer. Why, I dont tow @ 60MPH. I know I drive fast, so I prepare for it.

I don't recall seeing a rating on the frame for maximum speed. I will look though.

 

Industry standard for travel trailers is 65 MPH. Think about it this way... can you tow your house down the road at 65MPH? There are things that flex and move. They don't tend to hold together very well when they hit a huge bump or impact anything above 65. How long is your trailer? What does it weigh empty/ loaded. 31' is a loooong trailer going down the road. I do use sway controls and WD hitch setups. It must be used when you have 1000-1200lb tounge weights. As far as tires go.... I don't care if its a load range Z tire (if they even made them that high) A trailer tire is only rated for 65 MPH due to tire construction. A load E tire will do even more damage when it blows. Just ask my dad about it. When his load range E tire blew out it ripped the entir side of his bed off his F-250! They do blow quite violently. Just imagine what it would do to the side of your trailer that is constructed out of aluminum and tin or fiberglass! I agree about the whole F-250 deal and towing. My next truck will be a 250 diesel 4x4 Lariat crew cab. But for now the F-150 tows this trailer just fine and does it without issues. I am over GVWR on the truck by 75 lbs. The axles are under and the CGVWR is under. I do run weighted tags on the truck so my GVW is actually under the registered weight. I can keep up with traffic all day long and if someone wants to pass me at 80, then let them pass. I usually have my family with me and I am going away to relax and get away from life for a while. I don't prefer hotels just because I don't know the person who slept in the bed the night before or what they were carrying when they did. I don't feel comfortable unless it's MY bed that I am sleeping in. I can't bring my Golden Retrievers into a hotel either. They enjoy being with myself and my family so we bought the camper. This is the only real quality time I can spend with my children and family so I chose to. Thats enough about that and it is now over. The thread is about more power in an F-150.
If you want more power without breaking the bank as suggested above, a cat back system, and air intake, and a programmer, wether it be a custom tune or an out of the box programmer will make a huge improvement over a stock truck. It will increase your fuel mileage a bit( providing you still drive it like a sane human being) and overall the truck will be much more driveable. I love the mods done to my truck. I probably would have traded it in if these mods did not exist. The new F-150 needs some help from Ford. The electronic throttle sucks, a programmer will fix this. THe truck sounds and performs like a wus. The above mods will fix this too. These mods also work wonders for a diesel. you all have to keep in context how the 2 engines operate it is much easier to pull HP and torque out of a diesel because it is a simpler engine. With all the crap that they have on these gas engines it is much more difficult to pull power out of them. I have seen diesels at the drag strip smoke everything out there. I absolutely love it when it happens. What most people are talking about in mods is something to help the EVERYDAY DRIVEABILITY of the vehicle. Places like Discount Power Parts and Bob Jusnes can help everyday folks make the most out of thier trucks. If you have an unlimited cash flow and want to make something really fast, find out how to wedge a 6.0 PSD into a Ranger! Then chip it and exhaust it and intake it. You'd probably have to drive it around in 4WD all the time though because you wouldn't be able to keep the back wheels from spinning! And for the comment about 1/2 ton trucks not designed to tow anything.... thats about the most rediculous thing I have ever heard! Why then do they prewire for TT's and put a hitch on the truck from the factory. Also, why do they even have tow ratings for these trucks that weren't designed to tow anything. Thats almost like saying that your Ferrarri was not designed to go 200MPH plus!

 

For sake of the forum, Ill go back to topic.

My wife's 2006 Harley Davidson 2WD F150 5.4L has...

A programmer as you have suggested.
A Cold Air Intake, also as suggested.
Exhaust is factory. Eventhough, the Harley Davidson exhaust is more free flowing than the regular exhaust, a Cat-Back is still getting installed.

The end result is a SILL UNDERPOWERED vehicle. Which is why I continue to fall back on my 1st comment. Towing with this vehicle cannot be enjoyable. Thats all.

Good night.

 

What gearing does the HD have? What kind of programmer do you have? Have you had all the software updates from Ford? It might be that you're used to driving the diesel and can't adjust to the gas motor. It might just be that you don't have your programmer set up correctly. You might need an update from Ford also known as a reflash. My truck is a Super crew and doesn't feel underpowered. When not towing I need to be careful not to smoke the tires at a stoplight. My friend has a super cab that is stock and there is a night and day difference in the 2 trucks! His feels like a dog compared to mine. Same year, same drivetrain, just different cab configuration. This has been brought up here also with Fuel mileage differences.... 2 of the same trucks with 2 totally different MPG. It really doesn't make any sense.