Need help with 4.6 performance!

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 21, 2004

#1

• Dec 21, 2004

• #1

One small difference, its a triton. Does anyone know what will bolt up off of the mustang 4.6? Whats the difference in the two motors? Ive looked all over for truck performance forums, but not many people try to make the 4.6 fast, just lightnings. Its a 99 reg cab, 5 speed. So it has potential. Just need to know what things work well on the 4.6's. Thanks!

 

Green4.6GT

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Dec 21, 2004

#2

• Dec 21, 2004

• #2

what year is it??? anything from any 4.6 will bolt to any other 4.6.. hence the name modular... i would assume that the diffrence is the intake, just grab one off a stang and you should be off and running.. cams may be diffrent also, but i think they are the same... i'm sure someone will chime in and let you know...

basically you need to get it back to a performance powerband, not a truck towing powerband....

after that, IMO

your best bet considering its in a truck is to buy a supercharger kit from these fantastic people www.modularfordpowerhouse.com.. comes with everything you need, fuel system upgrades, tune etc... bolt it on and go...

but thats just my opinion, what do you want to do with the truck?? for example some guys want to stay N/A, others dont mind nitrous, cheap and packs a punch).. give us an idea on your taste and we can help you build a monster

 

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 21, 2004

#3

• Dec 21, 2004

• #3

Thanks for the welcome, even though Im in a truck. Sorry, Its a 99, I want to get this thing as quick as I can n/a, then probably go the nitrous route. Thats a good link, lots of stuff. I should be able to pick up a factory intake cheap, off of someone who uprgraded. Im still not sure what tune Im going to go with nelson, jdm, predator.....

 

Green4.6GT

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#4

• Dec 21, 2004

• #4

cool, alright so it will have the PI heads, wich is good...

heres where id start...

PI intake off a stang
short throw shifter
gears(depending on what the truck has stock)
trac-loc kit (if the truck is currently a peg leg model)
exaust (longtube headers, x pipe and duals out the back (assuming its a single exaust now)
cams (vt stage 2's are schweet, if you do a search, a couple guys have posted sound clips they are badass)
tune (check out the above link, they have the best tune avaliable)
nitrous kit(100-150 shot).....

that will definately get you buy for now, then you can save up for whatever else youd want to do, forged bottom end, ported heads etc...

the 4.6 is good to about 400-450 rwhp before you start to get on borrowed time the stock pistons and rods cant take much more than that...

keep it shiny side up
peace.

 

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 21, 2004

#5

• Dec 21, 2004

• #5

Thanks man, lots of very useful info. I will be getting 26" slicks to help out the gearing it has now, which is 3.55.

 

Green4.6GT

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#6

• Dec 21, 2004

• #6

you can do that, or get gears, i like having the gears as opposed to a shorter tire, since i can still have the look i want

from what i've read 4.30s are the optimal gear for a 4.6s powerband, alot of guys say those are too steep, but those guys are weiners since you have 3.55s already, i wouldnt mess with anything less than 4.10, 4.30 or you wont really see an improvement.

 

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 22, 2004

#7

• Dec 22, 2004

• #7

Ok, after doing some research, I dont the the 4.6's in the trucks got the PI heads until 2001....I might be wrong. But If I was to put on the PI heads wouldnt my compression go up? The guys on the truck forum acted like this was a bad thing. What gains are expected by putting PI heads, intake, and new cams in a non PI motor?

 

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 22, 2004

#8

• Dec 22, 2004

• #8

Also, Im not really worried about towing, When I do haul something its not over 800lbs.

 

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UNVMATT

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Jan 15, 2004

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COLUMBUS

Dec 22, 2004

#9

• Dec 22, 2004

• #9

Well a 99 4.6 triton was only rated at around 210hp.. A 4.6 stock with mustang PI intake, PI cams, and PI heads is 260hp.. If you swap heads and intake from the stang it will bolt up..Throttle body will work too.

If I were you I would just get a supercharger.. By the time you get the PI stuff and the labor you could have much more power and not much more expense. Kenne Bell makes an awesome charger for your truck!

 

Green4.6GT

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#10

• Dec 22, 2004

• #10

you will get about 5 hp more than the stock PI mustangs(260) with all of the same PI parts, due to the bump in compression.. goes to about 9.5 :1 wich isnt bad by any means, if you do swap the heads, you wont be able to supercharge the car because the pistons wont like the compression with forced induction.. however, nitrous LOVES compression.. so if youre going that way thats the way to go.. you'll have to run higher than 87 octane gas, but who cares the truck guys sound like they are sissys...


almost all of the 96-98 mustang owners that get seirous about modding swap to the PI heads/intake.

the only other thing you have to keep in mind with the PI headswap is your cam selection, the VT stage IIs that i mentioned above will cause your valves to hit the pistons with the PI heads on a NPI motor, however, the stage Is still fit...

or there is another route you can go, wich is what i personally think i'm going to do, the NPI heads arnt really the problem, its the intake that causes 90% of the power loss... you can get a PI intake, and adapter plates from livernoismotorsports (sp?), the plates are 299 and you can get a used PI intake for like 50 bucks.. it would gain you about 30 ish hp from what the NPI mustang has stock (225), your truck would be rated lower at 210 because of the intake it has (would be designed to make low rpm TQ, and not HP)

so you'll be 10 hp or so down on a car with the swapped heads as well, but then you still have the ability to use a supercharger if you want, or the more agressive cams (stage II's) etc.. plus the intake swap is a 1 hr job, the heads is a weekend job. you can get cams for the price of used heads, swap those in with the intake and

 

Tom in Tacoma

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Nov 16, 2004

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Dec 22, 2004

#11

• Dec 22, 2004

• #11

Good topic

I've been playing around with Ford trucks for the past few years (even managed a pretty well known website dedicated to Ford trucks for a couple years). I've owned a truck with the 4.6L and liked it quite a bit. Open up the air intake and exhaust a bit and through in a Superchip and it responds nicely.

The triton motors claim to fame is the low-end grunt they're capable of. There's lots of bolt-ons that will gain you a little here - a little there. But probably the biggest gain would come from a blower install. Kenne-Bell seems to be the preferred brand overall. Then you can tweak and tweak to your hearts content from there on...

But I'll give you a word of caution. You state you're running with the 5-speed. That's a Mazda-built unit and won't last long if you're going to be putting large amounts of power through it. Be prepared to deal with that at some point (one way or the other!).

 

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 22, 2004

#12

• Dec 22, 2004

• #12

Ok, Ive been reading all over the place trying to figure out whats best. I have about 2 grand to play with. No charger, I want to go all motor, and then spray. So what would be the best mods to put this truck into the low 15's maybe high 14's without the spray. Would it be a good ideal to skip the stock PI heads and save for some worked ones? Would that intake really wake it up to around 250hp?? So lets say I go PI intake, vt stage 2 cams, pulleys, long tubes, x over, and accufab tb, and sct tune would this put me close to that mark? or am I way off?

 

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Darkhorse845

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Nov 17, 2004

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Dec 23, 2004

#13

• Dec 23, 2004

• #13

www.modularfordpowerhouse.com

 

southernpony

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Oct 27, 2004

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Dec 23, 2004

#14

• Dec 23, 2004

• #14

I had a '99 as well at one time with the 4.6 I also wondered about what was interchangable with the stang'. I got told lil to none but maybe I didnt look hard enuff. I found what I did to mine to make a nice diffrence was the following. FIPK, Pullies, Electric Fans, Tru-Dual & a Chip. There was another thing I did which had to do with the TPS. Really dont think it made much of a diffrence but you set it to a certian ohm I beleive. Been so long. I also did the same mods on my '02 Supercrew and it would beat my buddys stock one with the 5.4 by about a truck. Good luck man and keep us posted. By the way I have a Diablo chip that I used in both my trucks for sell if your interested.

 

Tom in Tacoma

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Nov 16, 2004

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Dec 23, 2004

#15

• Dec 23, 2004

• #15

My current truck mods are similar. The current truck is an '01 Supercrew 4x4 with the 5.4L. Performance mods include:
- Airforce One intake
- B&B Performance Exhaust (Single-in-single-out 3")
- Superchips 'flipchip'
- Flex-a-lite electric fans (there's 11rwhp right there)

The results are that it's improved from 190rwhp to 215rwhp. Those mods (if you buy the same brands) will run you around 2-grand - just to give you an idea.

 

Green4.6GT

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Dec 23, 2004

#16

• Dec 23, 2004

• #16

whitetriton said:

Ok, Ive been reading all over the place trying to figure out whats best. I have about 2 grand to play with. No charger, I want to go all motor, and then spray. So what would be the best mods to put this truck into the low 15's maybe high 14's without the spray. Would it be a good ideal to skip the stock PI heads and save for some worked ones? Would that intake really wake it up to around 250hp?? So lets say I go PI intake, vt stage 2 cams, pulleys, long tubes, x over, and accufab tb, and sct tune would this put me close to that mark? or am I way off?

Click to expand...

that should do the job, guys are seeing low 13's high 12's in stangs with those mods and slicks( and a 6k launch )....

two things i've gotta say again just to make sure you know..
you MUST get the PI intake adapter plates to get those gains, you will get like 5 hp if you swap the intake without the adapter plates, the ports are all diffrent shaped, without the smooth transition the plates give you you wont see much of a gain..

with the VT stage II's you will also need valve springs, anyone that sells them should tell you, but i'll just make sure you know before hand..

happy modding

 

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whitetriton

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Dec 21, 2004

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Dec 25, 2004

#17

• Dec 25, 2004

• #17

Thanks for the help!, I will be ordering the intake next week. I will let you know how the modding goes, and give you some e.t.'s when I get it all done. Ill keep you updated on the monster you helped create!

 

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Darkhorse845

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Nov 17, 2004

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Dec 25, 2004

#18

• Dec 25, 2004

• #18

Congrats!