Best ways to gain horsepower and torque?

[Knivesinedc]

Hey all, it's been a while, so hello again! This last December, I bought a 1999 Ford F150 4x4 with the 4.6L V8. Got it for 4k with 123k miles on it. It's a great truck all around and everything on it just... Works. My only gripe about it, is that the 4.6 V8 can be a bit of a dog sometimes and I'm looking for ways to squeeze power out of it. Not necessarily looking at Super/turbocharging, but that may come in the future. I've already compiled a small list of various things people seem to be suggesting, such as: High flow exhaust, cold air intake, larger throttle body and a performance tuner. Those seem to be the biggest and most common things people suggest. Does anyone else have any insight or personal experience with things that increase power? I know the faster it sucks, the harder it squeezes, the hotter it bangs, and the more it blows, the more power I'll get, so, fire away gents! Your input is greatly appreciated!

[Evil D]

It's been a while since I did anything with a mod motor so I can't remember if the 99 had the "P heads" or if they came later but at some point Ford improved the heads a bit and they made more power. Another option would be aftermarket or CNC ported heads and cams, but you're looking at a lot of work and money especially in labor if you don't do it yourself. Probably the easiest way to make power on these engines is with a supercharger, which in the end may not cost you any more than a head/cam swap.

Or, swap the 2 valve out for a 4 valve engine like the new Coyote

[greencobra]

straight pipe, or did you do that already with the high flow install. did a speed shop do the performance tune or did you buy the plug 'n play? i'm curious as to what your truck dyno'd at with that 4.6 and your mods to date. did you get a baseline before the mods?

[holeshot]

Dump the pickup and get a FAST motorcycle. It's all about power to weight ratio and remember, ride hard die free. :)

[Knivesinedc]

It's been a while since I did anything with a mod motor so I can't remember if the 99 had the "P heads" or if they came later but at some point Ford improved the heads a bit and they made more power. Another option would be aftermarket or CNC ported heads and cams, but you're looking at a lot of work and money especially in labor if you don't do it yourself. Probably the easiest way to make power on these engines is with a supercharger, which in the end may not cost you any more than a head/cam swap.

Or, swap the 2 valve out for a 4 valve engine like the new Coyote

That's what I was thinking as far as the S/C. Just wanted to see if there were any other ideas. Thanks, D!

[Knivesinedc]

Dump the pickup and get a FAST motorcycle. It's all about power to weight ratio and remember, ride hard die free. :)

Appreciate the suggestion HS, and I'd love to have a sport bike someday, but It's gotta be able to be a daily driver and off road capable. I'm the co founder of a local off road group so I gotta keep my image up :D

[Knivesinedc]

straight pipe, or did you do that already with the high flow install. did a speed shop do the performance tune or did you buy the plug 'n play? i'm curious as to what your truck dyno'd at with that 4.6 and your mods to date. did you get a baseline before the mods?

Working on the high flow soon. I already have a Y pipe to single out through a Magnaflow muffler but I'll be going to true duals, swapping out my terrible 4 cats for 2 Magnaflow stage cats running through a Borla dual in/dual out XS series muffler to a side exit with resonated tips. I have the gotts mod done on my truck, which expanded the intake opening from 1 1/2 inch to 3 inches and I can definitely feel a pickup from that. Eventually maybe like to do an AFE power cold air intake when I get the induction hood. The tune is a super chips semi custom tune. It's running on 93 octane right now. I unfortunately don't have the hp/tq numbers, but I have felt a significant increase in acceleration with the mods of done so far. Of course it's a 4x4 and it's turning 33x10 tires with 3.55 gearing so it's not an ideal setup as is. Was hoping to get it to 300 NA at the wheels, but I realize now that may be asking a bit much and it would probably be cheaper to just boost it like D said.

[Evil D]

There's a shop in Milford Ohio, I'm not sure if the guy still works there but a fella named Brandon used to have the fastest 4.6 2 valve Mustang in the country so these guys know how to make serious N/A power with these engines. You may want to call them and see what they say.

http://www.finishlineperformance.net/contact/

[Spydy33]

Have you managed to install the truck parts you needed for the mods? Would like to ask your insight about AFE cold air intake. Notice any difference in the mileage and HP?

[Larry_Mott]

Sit down with a calculator and tap in the cost figures for modding the one you have vs buying one with the performance you want.
In my experience the latter option often wins :)

[defenestrate]

I don't know if you have the capability to do this easily, but putting differentials or axles with a higher gear ratio will give you more power at the expense of top speed and milage. A lot of 4wd folks do this to increase torque. Of course, depending on what gears are already in yours, it may or not make much of a difference.

[Knivesinedc]

I don't know if you have the capability to do this easily, but putting differentials or axles with a higher gear ratio will give you more power at the expense of top speed and milage. A lot of 4wd folks do this to increase torque. Of course, depending on what gears are already in yours, it may or not make much of a difference.

Excellent suggestion, and one I've been thinking about for a while. I currently have 3.55 gears turning 33 inch tires, which is pushing it. I will be going to 4.10 gearing as soon as possible and I'm sure it will help a lot. Also looking into getting a better tuner (it's not CA smog legal, so let's keep it hush hush, eh? . Long tube headers are also looking good for torque, and I'm probably going to get my heads ported. I should be able to achieve a solid 350 whp by the time I'm done, which will be satisfactory till I can boost the engine :D