Okay guys, I've been doing alot of research and so far have only been stumped on what all to get for my truck. So...I'm letting you guys be the judges. Just post up on the three things that you think I should get. If you don't know on one or two of the subjects, just post up one thing. Any and all opinions are welcome so just let me know.

P.S.~ Gas mileage increase is a plus for me, and yes wxmcpo I know that I shouldn't upgrade just for gas mileage, so here it is, IT'S NOT JUST FOR FUEL ECONOMY! haha. I'm doing these upgrades to have a better running vehicle with more "umph" if you get me. The mileage is just an issue b/c of the whole college thing. Dumb I know, who needs it anyway. haha.


C.A.I.:

For the cold air intake just give your opinion on any of them. I was really leaning towars the K&N 77 but am also in South Central Texas, so it get's pretty hot down here. Anyone else heard of the tube actually heating up?

I've also heard a lot on here about the AF1 3". Just give some opinions.

Again, I'm open to all suggestions, not just the ones I mention here.


Exhaust:

Okay, on the exhaust I have no real influences. I do however, like a low rumble with a roar when on the throttle...but I HATE the whole glass pack sounding exhausts. Magnaflow seems to have a good sound but I don't know. Just give your opinion.


Programmer:

Basically two names on this one. Justin or Mike? Haha. I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna go with the XCal V3 but any other suggestions are fine. The wait isn't that big of a deal so just show some unbaiassed opinions.



Thanks guys and I hope to hear a whole bunch of opinions. FYI the truck is an '01 5.4.


Also, what order should I get the upgrades in? Money's a little tight and I don't feel like draining my accont. I was thinking CAI, then exhaust, and last a programmer. CAI and exhaust will prolly come in a pair. Again, opinions are welcome.

 

Programmer first. X-cal is the best way to go. Obviously I use the tuner that is in my sig so I am not going to reccomend Justin or Mike.

Exhaust. 2.5" pipe with magnaflow mufflers. Do a true dual system with an X pipe. 2.5 pipe will handle up to 650 hp with no problem. If you want it loud I have the 14" SISO mufflers. They have a slight offset, but OMG they are loud as hell, but nice and quiet at idle and cruising speed. No drone in the cab either. They outperform Flowmaster.

I have the K&N cai, but the AF1 seems like a good one too.
2 other intakes did not add any HP to my truck over the K&N. Plus K&N has been doing it longer than any others that I know of, so in my humble opinion have one of the best grasps on what works and what dosen't. I do not like the fact they are plastic, but plastic will not hold the heat like a metal tube does.

 

Well I was thinking programmer last so I could get it tuned for the CAI and exhaust. Still think I should get it first?


And as far as the exhaust, are we talking red-neck hillbilly loud...? Or a good powerful "purr of a 5000lb cat" loud?

 

i agree with everything he said, safe for the fact that the exhaust isnt something i have used, so i cant suggest them, just what i run...but its not loud so i cant help you...

the intake, if you do get a 77, get some heat wrap and wrap it...theres your heat loss effect and your going to get some thermos effect going...hot stays out...cool stays in

and get the programer first...im personally a fan of taking the truck to a in house dyno and getting a real tune for my particular truck

 

exhaust is not going to make your program different. That is what i was told by troyer performance. I emailed them as to what i should do first and they recommended programer first because you will see good changes right off the bat, then the other things... he told me as long as i was going to go with a good aftermket exhaust everything would be fine with going programmer first.

 

Troyer is wrong. I did the CAI first and the truck leaned out a little, not enough to worry about, but it did. Then when I put the exhaust on it went a little rich, so I brought it back to a perfect 13.1

 

So programmer first then?

 

the pre '04 EECs do NOT need tuning for an intake and exhaust like the newer trucks do, getting a tune to work with some type of cat-back system and a tube and filter wont do much. Also, unless you are changing the MAF to something like a 90mm LMAF of '02 GT 85mm MAF, intake tweaking is a bit fruitless.

 

Well glad I don't have to give you my standard line. Doing these mods will definitely give you a better running vehicle.

This is the one I'm running and really like it alot. I would highly recommend it, but I recently heard that the price went up for it though.

For my exhaust I went to a muffler shop and just had them bend me some custom pipes and add a magnaflow muffler to it. It sounds pretty good, but wish it were a tad bit louder. If I had to do it all over again I'd go with true duals instead of SI/DO.

Yeah Justin and Mike are the 2 biggest names out there. I've been running the Xcal II and Troyer tunes for over a year now and have been very happy with them. I recently purchased an 87 & 92 performance tune from Justin though and plan to get them both dyno'd hopefully next week. I imagine the numbers will come out pretty similar, but we'll see. Up to this point I'd recommend Troyer simply because he's been doign it alot longer than Justin and he specializes in tuning the F150's. The numbers may paint a whole new pictures or confirm my thinking to go with Troyer, but that's why I went ahead and spent the $99 to order Justin's tunes.

I'd recommend getting your other mods before the tunes simply so the tunes can be dialed in for your mods. I've also heard it doesn't matter when you add the exhaust (it does matter for the CAI), but why not just get the exhaust first since you're planning it anyways.

 

Bump