New Truck, Any help appreciated :)

CustomTruckGuy24 · #1 Tue, February 24th, 2009, 06:18 PM

Hey all, I have been working my tail off for a few years now (17yrs old) and I finally bought my truck about two weeks ago. 2004 f150 extended cab xlt
2wd 5.4 L and Arizona Beige in color. I got an amazing deal on the truck and its mint only 36,5xx miles on it, one owner. I have been estimating my mileage and it it looks like about 12 or so. This is just around town cause i go from home to highschool and home to work. Now I DO NOT drive hard at all, barely go over 1900rpm accelerating and usually maintain 1200rpm or below when driving the local roads, no speeding. I'm trying to give you guys as much info as possible to help me. I am hoping to put on a 14" magnaflow si/do in the spring and was thinking about a CAI, but after reading a few posts by some of you guys and Bill, it looks like my driving style would not warrant the intake. If this is the case, it would allow me to purchase a tuner from PHP sooner, and hopefully increase my MPG. I am curious about the tuner and would like to purchase one eventually if it seems like a good investment. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

~John~

CustomTruckGuy24 · #2 Tue, February 24th, 2009, 06:48 PM

3.55 ratio btw

04FX4 · #3 Tue, February 24th, 2009, 08:43 PM

Well I hate to say it but if you buy the tuner, you fuel milage may go down. The reason for this is Bills tunes are great and it is hard to keep your foot out of it.....

On another note on there web site it shows you can save fuel with his tunes 1-3 mpg. If you but one you will not be sorry. Also there is a post on the forums about CAI. I would do the home built version, you will save a few hundred dollars and get the same performance, and with the extra money you can buy the Gryphon and the exhaust.

JWBFX4 · #4 Tue, February 24th, 2009, 09:07 PM

as far as buying a tuner to get better mileage, you may see a small increase depending on how you drive with the new found. Personally I wouldn't buy a CAI, it will never pay for itself in my opinion, plus you can do the cheap CAI mod thats found on this forum and be just as satisfied. But if neither I would just throw in an aftermarket drop in filter.

***88Racing*** · #5 Wed, February 25th, 2009, 12:25 AM

Save some money and do the gott's dwv mod. And get the aftermarket air filter. Go to this thread and read all of it. There are a few different approaches. So the mod $13 + air filter $40 equals $53. That's a whole lot better than $250.
A cai is cool at first but the droning noise can be annoying after awhile.

There is alot of info in this forum. So sit back and read and take notes.

If you don't know just ask.

Lars

SinCityFX4 · #6 Wed, February 25th, 2009, 02:49 AM

Here is the above mentioned thread

http://dygytalworld.ehost-services13...read.php?t=340

CustomTruckGuy24 · #7 Wed, February 25th, 2009, 07:10 AM

I appreciate all of your help. I did read that thread about the cai. I like the idea of it, but I wonder if the dealers will catch it? Cause the truck is still under the factory warranty and I plan on extending it even more. Will that definetely void the warranty and will the tuner void it too?

~John

***88Racing*** · #8 Wed, February 25th, 2009, 09:37 AM

Before it goes to the dealer put the pcm back to stock. As far as the mod or cai they can question it but they can't do anything about it. There is an act/law that prohibits/limits them from voiding the warranty. Magnuson-Moss warranty act. Look it up in wikipedia online.

Lars

***88Racing*** · #9 Wed, February 25th, 2009, 09:47 AM

Some of the common ways around warranties. Excessive speeding, wrong oil, commercial use, and severe abuse. Just some of the ones that I have known about.

Lars

***Jackpine*** · #10 Wed, February 25th, 2009, 12:14 PM

Hi John -

Regarding the homemade CAI, most of the versions are completely reversible in minutes if you are worried about a dealer's reaction to it.

And, I think from your truck's description, you SHOULD be able to get better gas mileage with a tune. I believe mine went up almost 2mpg after I bought the programmer (but I hadn't really driven the truck that much and I was comparing fuel economy while towing, both before and after the tune).

One thing to keep in mind, is that if you do "heavy" mods to your truck, like a commercial CAI, sexy exhaust, fancy wheels, etc., you're probably going to raise some red flags at the dealership if you bring it in to fix problems, especially when they see how old you are. They're going to think you are probably racing it or doing other things that are hard on it.

Now when I bring mine in, with its bug shield, bed cap, dashmat dash protector, eclipse windshield sun shades, stock wheels and tires and they see a fairly bald-headed grandfather getting out

well, you get the picture. Oh, and I've returned the tune to stock and removed the Gryphon before taking it there too.

Anyway, welcome to the forum and congrats on your truck. Everything I've learned on these forums tells me the trucks will last and last if you take care of them.

- Jack