I have an 06 F-350 superduty with the 5.4L.It's underpowered as i'm sure you know.Can you guys tell me what mods I can do to give it a litttle more *****.I know it's never going to be a power house but i'm sure i can get more out of it than stock.Any suggestions would be great thanks

 

the real mod that is worth the money is the gearing.. for stock tires 4.10, 4.30, 4.56, etc are the best mod for the money i believe.

a tuner is a good too but that is about it. unless you go with supercharger/turbo and other means that are really expensive.

 

Is it worth it to put headers and dual exhaust on it?What about taking off the cats?Maybe a k&n intake?What gearing does it have stock?I already only get 10 mpg.

 

headers and dual exhaust only make a difference on engines that are putting out enough exhaust to warrant having headers and dual exhaust in the first place.... with bigger carbs/aftermarket heads/bigger cams, etc more air coming in means more air has to go out. and on a stock engine, or even slightly modified engine, the only difference youll notice will be in the sound. with the k&n you may pick up 1 mpg, but no added power.

 

My 06 has 4:10's behind the 5.4. She smokes the tires. The local cops will tell ya. My son no longer drives it. No computer programmer, steel rims.

I would like to get better mpg's.though. Did you ask Ford if you can get a PCM update??

 

What's a pcm update?

 

I'm in the same boat as you having a 2005 F350 5.4L with 4.10 gears. I too want a more powerful engine and plan to do the following:

1. K&N CAI Kit (purchased, not yet installed)
57-2570 - K&N 57 Series FIPK, Performance Intake Kit

2. SCT Livewire w/ custom tunes (purchased, not yet installed)
Got a 5.4L V8 Ford F150-F250-F350-E Series Van?

3. Long tube headers w/ x-pipe and dual exhaust (May 2009)
4. Denso spark plugs (May 2009)
5. High performance COP's (May 2009)

If I am not satisfied with the performance gains, then I plan to do the following:

6. Port & Polish the heads
4.6L & 5.4L 3V SOHC Cylinder Heads

7. Crane Cams

To answer your questions, you can take your truck to the Ford dealership and have the PCM updated with the latest release. It's like upgrading from Outlook 2003 to Outlook 2007. As for what gears you have in your truck, someone else will have to respond... I only know because I have the window sticker listing the options on my truck. The 5.4L engine came standard with 3.73 gears but 4.10 gears was an option.

Let us know what modifications you decide to install so we can learn from each other!

 

My '07 with 3.73 LS smokes the tires. How many miles are on your engine and when was it last tuned up?

 

I have a 5.4L with 35s and 4.10 gears and even though I know better, still find it amusing to light em up every now and then. You must have a problem or do you just want better results with a load or while towing?

 

My truck's been the same way since I got it new.It has 60,000 miles on it.Maybe there's been something wrong with it since it was new because I know It wont smoke the tires.or do you mean powerbraking?You could powerbrake a moped I don't see how that means anything.It has always ran real good,it just seems really underpowered.

 

I dont believe he means power braking. I have a 2002 cc with the 5.4 and i can smoke my 38x14.5x16's without a power brake. And I am only running the stock 3.73's. I would have your truck tuned up. Something doesnt seem right.

 

you can smoke the tires on that truck there must be something wrong with mine!!I'm gonna call ford tomorrow.

 

1st gear dry gound ram on it. if they dont turn over at all you have a problem. they should at least turn over a couple times before gripping in.

 

I think that there is something to this issue... I too am disappointed with the performance of the 5.4L yet I read that many of you have great performance from your 5.4L. I'm going to try the "light them up" test today but I have a feeling the tires will not spin at all. My engine only has 27K miles so I can't imagine that it needs a tune-up already. Did Ford make some "bum" 5.4L engine?

 

I am not a big fan of K&N, do a search and you will find out why. If it were me, I would keep the intake part of the K&N kit, but replace the filter element itself with a dry synthetic element. Do a search and you will find out why. Both my vehicles use the AFE ProDry S.

The tuner will compliment the intake very well The tuner can also maximize any gains from exhaust mods.

I'm telling you, true duals will really not help you as much as you think. You can build just as much power with a single. Plus it costs less. If it were me, I would run everything through a well made aftermarket or custom made y-pipe, run into a single muffler, and then run dual tailpipes. That setup has a nice smooth tone. It can be loud, but probably won't be too raspy, depending upon the muffler you go with.

The best plugs for your truck, even with your mods, are the factory plugs. The Densos are just a waste of money at best, and could actually make the truck run poorly. Stick with Autolite for a Ford.

Your truck comes with high performance COPs. Anything else is just a waste of money. Even if you do boost the voltage, it does not help the fuel burn better. High performance coils are for track vehicles that need ignition systems that can still produce a strong spark at 8,000 RPM.

Polished heads do not flow as well or produce as much power as roughened heads. Some of the best race teams actually make the ports smaller and roughen them. Port and polish is a term that was coined in the '70s. It makes some sense to those who don't understand flow dynamics. Rough ports flow better for the same reasons a dimpled golf ball flies farther than a smooth ball of similar size and weight. The roughened surface breaks up the boundary layers, reducing drag.

Cams can offer great gains, but have to be taken in moderation. Engines tuning is a compromise. You are often forced to either maximize low end torque and fuel economy, or get high RPM high HP performance. It is very difficult to get both. The factory cam is a pretty good compromise. Its not perfect, but it is suitable for a truck. This cam will still probably work very well, but fuel economy might suffer a tiny bit.