I have a 2006 E350, yes "E", cutaway van with a closed in utilty box on the back, 10' long 6' tall. It has the 5.4, NO dually, completely stock, class 4. I don't know how they figure out the weights but the GVWR is 9,600. It say the payload is 3,140 and the truck body weight is 6,460. I think the cutaway van is a regular E-350 without the rear van section then they install a different brand box, I have a Supreme. So if the 6,460 weight is including the rear box, I would guess weighs 1,000 lbs then I guess our average total weight is 7,500 because I am guess our tools, material and me weight about 1,000. I want to get more power out of it, that I can feel the difference, don't spend too much money (no SC), and don't make a big decrease in the gas guzzling.
I don't put many miles on this, bought it 11/06 and it only has 11K on it. I am a plumbing contractor and unfortunately business has been slow and most of our jobs are close. Also my plumbing supplier and home depot is 1 mile from my house. I also have a 99 F150 with a little work done to it and hoping to do more soon, but I use this truck for the business running around and estimating, so the E350 is only used for actual work.
I want to get more power out. Since it is heavy, I think torque is very important, probably more than HP, is this correct? Ford did a good job with the 5.4 and the 4.10's for the average driver, but I am not the average driver. I find myself flooring it very often to get it moving. I want to do upgrade/s that don't cost much now, but I want to feel the power difference with I don't even know if it is possible.
I know the K&N probably won't make a difference and if I buy one, they don't make a full intake kit for this truck, just a regular replacement filter. If it actually slightly improves gas mileage and gives me a little more HP AND torque, then I will purchase one since the filter is cheap. Any advice or input?? I know I won't feel or see any big changes.
I know the usual starting upgrades are the K&N, exhaust and programmer which I have done to my 99 F150 and I barely felt a power difference so I don't think I would feel the difference on a heavier truck. I don't want to change the exhaust unless it will make a big difference since I don't want the sound on a work van so I would have to go with something quiet. Will a programmer make a big difference? I don't think I will be able to do any upgrades for under $1K that I will be able to feel the power difference but hopefully someone can prove me wrong. Or if there are upgrades that cost more than $1K, I would like to know, and I can do them in the future. No supercharger or anything that expensive and/or gas guzzler like that for the E-350, I would love to install a SC on my F150 someday. I appreciate all feedback!!

 

K&N does make a CAI for the E-350 however it is for the 6.8L. You can contact them at;
Send all product related inquiries to: tech@knfilters.com If your question is vehicle specific, please provide the vehicle's year, make, model, and engine size in your email.

Phone: (800) 858-3333 or (951) 826-4000

A programmable tuner would allow for shift point changes. It sounds as if a tow mode program may be needed.

 

Change the rear gears.Go to a 4.56 ratio.Nothing you can do to that motor will help you launch that much weight from a dead start up a hill.For local use,your gas mileage won't change much if at all.Your transmission will be happier too as it won't be spooling up the torque converter as much to start off which means cooler tranny temps. and longer trans life.If you wanted to spend some more money you could put in an underdrive between the tranny and the rear end that would do the same thing as a rear gear change for starts and steep hills while still keeping the stock rear gears for flat roads and highway travel.In general,big cutaway E vans with heavy GVW'S should be diesel.Small gas motors just don't have the torque.

 

When I say "K&N", that is usually what I use but I am open to other manufacturures. If I just buy the K&N filter or can find a complete kit, either way what are the HP and torque gains?? I know K&N says that you save on gas, is that really true?? I know if it is true it must be so minimal that it won't be noticed. I just need more information before I can really weigh out the options with cost.
If I get just a K&N filter and I can save a little on gas, I would be very happy on a 2-3% gas, and gain 5 HP and 5 tc, I will buy it now (I doubt any of these 3). I know I won't feel or see a diffence, but it will pay for itself in gas savings in a year or so and the small power increase could be more once I make other upgrades, especially since I am leaning towards a power programmer so far. I just think the only positive thing about it is the duration which is good for me since I plan on keeping this for most of my contractor carrer, could be another 20-25 yrs or so. So if nothing else come us, when I upgrade this truck, I will probaby buy the replacement filter for $55. Hopefully a better option will come up even though I know it will cost many times more.
If I can get a full intake kit, I am guessing it will be expensive since they are rare and I have never seen one, $300. I still don't expect to see much gas saving, I would be very happy with 3-5% but I want more HP and torque increase. I would like to see at least 15 and 15 or in that range, then that should help with the increase if I get the programmer.

 

Any intake kit, for what you need, is a waste. The only time when an engine intake will give you more power is at high rpm's when your foot is on the floor. I'll bet your don't spend much time with your engine at 5000 rpm's... Otherwise, the throttle body is limiting airflow to the engine anyway, and the electronics are monitoring fuel mixture, so you get zero more power and zero more mpg.

A full intake system may *sound* gutsier and give you a placebo effect, but is a complete waste of money for what you're after. And K&N's do not filter as well, and you risk oiling your MAF sensor.

George

 

Sorry Thumper, didn't see your post until now. I probably have the biggest gas truck, I wanted a diesel but the cost wasn't worth it. I completely agree with what you said about it should be diesel. It is the smallest cutaway of this style and is not a dually. These type of trucks are usually special ordered and Ford dealers around here only keep a couple of differnent types on the lot. I bought this in 11/06 so they wanted to get it off the lot so I was able to negotiate $6K off the sticker price. I did question about the diesel package at multiple dealers and the diesel option costs over $4K extra. So in my situation, I would of paid about an extra $10K for diesel since I wouldn't of gotten the lot discount and there was no way I was doing that. This wasn't a spur of the moment purchase, I searched for about 3 months, in many Ford dealers and I couldn't find anything good used online.
I am gonna be in kinda this position with my 99 F150 4x4 5.4 soon. It has the K&N intake kit, flowmaster cat back and hypertech programmer. I am ordering new wheels/tires today I am just trying to finalize the tire size. I am trying to find out if 33x12.5 will fill without issues (I dont' think so) It sounds like they will with some minor front suspension adjustments. I need to confirm this and get more details because I also found out that the ride will be stiffer. You can look at that thread on here. If I don't go with these tires, then I will go with 33x11.5 (LT285/65/18) Nitto Terra Grapplers. I want more performance from this truck too. I also want to lift it but I think my next step will be gears, if it wasn't a 4x4 I would have them done much sooner.
Anyway, what do you think about the K&N and the programmer? I just think 4.56's will be too aggressive but who knows. I thought the higher gears are worse on your trans since it is constantly shifting? Your answers are what I expected. Thanks.

 

I do spend a lot of times with the pedal on the floor in the current power condition.
So your bottom line is the K&N and the programmer is a complete waste of money??

 

Your van suffers from the subpar Drive By Wire system from Ford. A complete rework of that system can improve pedal response and increase torque.
Give us a call or email for more info we would be glad to help out.

 

For your van, yes.

I also note that you are putting huge tires on your pickup which will destroy the gas mileage on that truck. 12.5" wide sounds like a LOT of rubber to scrub the pavement with.

It sounds to me like you are just in the mood to modify and play with your toys without a consistent plan in place. Your pickup uses gas too, doesn't it?

Good luck,
George