I have a 2006 E350 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!!