CAI, SISO and Tuner

[Rooster]

New topic, never before discussed on a truck forum:

I'm not looking for ground pounding, axel swapping power, just improved economy, let the motor, trans and spedo catch up with my slightly larger tires (285/70-17 Cooper Disco ST - 235/70-17 was stock) and, ok, maybe kick a little chebbyazz now and then.

OK, so here's my plan, I need some pro/con feed back:

INHALE: AirForceOne is out of bidness, so I'm thinking AFE or K&N although Granatelli has an interesting setup with a bigger MAF. I'm running a K&N drop-in now.

FIRE IN THE HOLE: Speaking of Granatelli, they make some 60K volt COP's to replace the stock 12-14K (?) volt coils. They make big claims for HP and MPG. That many volts should be enough to light up Nicodemus, Kansas for a week. Apparently they are about $150 less per set than OEMs, too.

EXHALE: from my experience with Harley's, 2-into-1 pipes make the best torque, true duals make the best HP. If the same holds true with cat-backs, I'm looking at a SISO. I don't want to set off car alarms, but a little rumble would be cool. Flow Master? Kit? Custom bends? Other?

KEEP COOL: Dual Electric Fan setup to chill it down at low off road speeds and reduce parasitic drag from the 30 pounds of spinning boat anchor up front.

PACEMAKER: Concern over the notorious lean condition has me thinking more air needs more gas. Also, I hate doing math in my head, so spedo recal, too. Finally, I figure the tune will tie all the other mods together. Who makes a good tuner? canned tunes? custom tunes? dyno tune?

Since one of my primary concerns is economy, I don't want to spend five grand to save a hundred bucks a year in gas just so I can sound cool doing it. What's the best bang to buck ratio of these choices, have I overlooked any other options?

If you've made it this far without falling asleep, I hope I've provided enough info for some good feedback.

 

[CaFordDude]

I say skip the intake. You can do the gotts mod and get as good if not better flow for a minimal amount of money.

I have a Banks Exhaust and have been happy with it.

Here is an excellent tutorial W/pictures on it.
http://dygytalworld.ehost-services139.com/forums/showthread.php?t=340&highlight=gotts

My tuner of choice is Power Hungry Performance out of Georgia.
PHP

Excellent product, excellent customer service and Bill Cohron is not only a genius programmer but an innovator in the industry

BTW I have a 2007 F150 if that helps lend a bit of credibility.

 

[flareside_thunder]

Nope got a good solid start..to get the most out of your money concerning a tune though you'll need to do all the other mods first then a dyno tune would be your ultimately best bet..it'll deal with the combo you have better.Excellent start though and don't think i have anything to add other than gearing makes a huge difference...that and a stall converter.

 

[Skandocious]

I can't comment on some of those newer technologies such as coil packs and custom tunes... But I can touch on a couple points.

(a) I'd shy away from K&N. Period. In fact I'd shy away from all oil-style filters because they will not only foul your MAF sensor but they will flow extra particulate over the stock paper filter. So for that, I'd either stick with a stock paper filter or a good aftermarket dry filter that doesn't boast "FLOWS 10X MORE THAN STOCK!!" More flow = bigger pores to allow particulate through the filter and into your engine. You only need to flow more air if you've got the components ASKING for more air. The stock filter is designed with plenty of buffer room for mods before you will reach the limit of it's flowability. Food for thought

(b) Exhaust is a must. If I'm reading your post correctly you'd like to do dual SISO mufflers for a true dual setup? Sounds good, but I've heard that is often pointless when it comes to power. I've heard a lot of guys say it makes no difference but then I've also heard some argue that it does-- I can't say for sure but make sure you do your homework because a true dual setup can be more complicated and costly, so you better make sure it's worth it. If you DO do a true dual setup, of course you'll need to also make sure to use an strategically placed X-pipe or H-pipe to equalize the pressure between the banks.

(c) Electric fans will definitely yield a little more power and possibly a little more fuel economy, or at least that was my experience. But this is a fairly expensive mod if you don't choose to go the junkyard route like I did (I used a big efan from a 3.8L t-bird). The payoff from something like this may not be equal to the several hundred dollars that you'll pay for a flex-a-lite type fan and some kind of professional fan controller. So that has to be your decision when it comes to "bang for your buck." I'm very happy with my efan mod but it cost me less than $100 because I did a junkyard fan and designed all of the circuitry myself.

 

[Rooster]

Thanks guys,

Aaron - I'd read about the Gotts Mod, but that link finally let it make sense.

JR - Diff has 3.73 R&P. it's open now, but i've ordered a Truetrac for it. The locker seemed a little harsh for my application. Stall converter? again my experience is more with bikes than trucks. I thought the tuner would dial in the tranny too. Aren't stall converters for serious launches?

Chris - actually I was thinking 2-into-one, but had it in my head the there was a Y pipe between the cats and the muffler. Not so? We may need to talk more about wiring for the fans too. ok to pm?

 

[CaFordDude]

Yeah if your gonna talk Efan Chris is gonna be your man for sure.

RE: intake. Speaking with Bill Cohron at length and reading lots of posts about it he just does not think you get much bang for your buck on them, that your money would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[Skandocious]

I thought the tuner would dial in the tranny too. Aren't stall converters for serious launches?

Yeah the tuner should tighten up the shifts a little bit, depending on the tune. I wouldn't recommend a stall converter unless you're planning on taking the truck to the track.

Chris - actually I was thinking 2-into-one, but had it in my head the there was a Y pipe between the cats and the muffler. Not so? We may need to talk more about wiring for the fans too. ok to pm?

Sorry okay that makes sense now. Yeah on my truck the first cat is DISO, so it acts as a Y-pipe. I've got DISO cat --> SISO cat --> straight pipe. I imagine your setup would be similar except with a Flowmaster in place of the straight pipe.

And yeah you can PM me about the fan wiring Or make another thread about it if you'd like.

 

[CaFordDude]

Also if you do a CAI you will HAVE to do custom tunes so you don't run lean. Otherwise you could probably do canned tunes. (At least till you run a custom tune then you'll never go back...)

 

[flareside_thunder]

you can get a mild stall and it'll help with your takeoff but if you've got 3.73 gears you're golden.

 

[Rooster]

Dude, if i was golden, i'd order the 6.whatever raptor & be done with it. I'm scrap metal

 

[flareside_thunder]

6.2 n that biatch is bad...can't wait to see someone drop it in a stang....