new towing vehicle

[aurora]

i am thinking of getting a new Ford F150 super crew. I noticed that at this point they only offer a 3.55 gear ratio or a 3.55 limited slip. Will these work for towing or is it better to have the 3.73 ratio. I will tow an 1800 ProV. Will the Super Crews eventually have the 3.73 gears as an option. thanks

[RON]

I JUST PICKED MY SUPERCREW LAST FRIDAY. I PULL A RANGER 620 WICH WEIGHS MORE THAN YOUR PRO V. I HAVE THE 5.4 WITH TOWING PACKAGE. IT HANDLED IT FINE. ON MY PREVIOUS SUPER CAB I INSTALLED A POWER CHIP TO HELP WITH TOWING I PROBABLY WILL REINSTALL IT IN THIS ONE HOWEVER YOU COULD DO W
WITH OUT IT.

[arrowhead]

I have the same basic setup F150 supercab 5.4 with taller gear, 4X4 with 17in. wheels I just towed my new 1800 Pro V saturday. The truck will tow the boat no trouble. I would go for the limited slip rear end it always good to have and it a cheap up grade.

[Chester]

I don't have a truck, but was strongly looking at buying the same truck this spring. With the 5.4 you will have enough towing capacity to tow 7000 pounds. I can't image your rig coming close to that. I also agree with a previous post about the limit slip rear-end, it should be a must.

Can someone tell me more about the power chip? I talked to one dealership and mentioned about installing a computer chip like the one used in the Lincon Navigator. That engine is the same displacement but has 300 hp where as the truck as 260 hp.

Thanks

Chester

[Chester]

I don't have a truck, but was strongly looking at buying the same truck this spring. With the 5.4 you will have enough towing capacity to tow 7000 pounds. I can't image your rig coming close to that. I also agree with a previous post about the limit slip rear-end, it should be a must.

Can someone tell me more about the power chip? I talked to one dealership and mentioned about installing a computer chip like the one used in the Lincon Navigator. That engine is the same displacement but has 300 hp where as the truck as 260 hp.

Thanks

Chester

[cmb]

can't help with the towing ? but, those supercrews shure look like a great truck alternative and I just may get one when my lease is up. the full sized back seat without adding to the wheelbase is a great idea. and the bed is still biger than my rangers which is bigenough for me:)

[cmb]

also, I was once told to make shure it will tow your rig but, consider the trucks daily use. If you only tow occasionaly or say 100 miles one day a week don't wory about higher gears. It may not tow as nice but will be better 90% of the time.

[Gearhead]

Ford has always built nice trucks. The 5.4 with 3.55 limited slip will do you just fine. Personally, I like the turbodiesels for pulling grunt, but the noise and inconvenience of finding fuel can wear on you. I live in a ranching community where every station has diesel, but in the city, you have to pick your stations. Now, let's address "power chips". Be very selective about which chips you choose. Most brands offer timing and fuel management changes only at Wide Open Throttle (WOT) and do nothing for you in the midrange where you need it. Some chips do reprogram the engine management systems over the whole power band, but these products will not comply with most EPA, state and local air district regs concerning vehicle emissions. Some of the best performance gains can be gotten by smoothing intake flow using aftermarket airboxes like the K&N or Banks systems, and by using free flow exhaust systems. Most of the new trucks use high tech catalytic converters to help attain emissions performance but these can still be retained by the use of systems provided by Borla, Gibson, Banks, etc. I do some fairly heavy hauling with my dually's out here on the west coast where I routinely encounter elevation changes from sea level to over 10,000 as I cross the Sierra Nevada. I have found these little performance gains from easier engine breathing to be beneficial to my power, speed and mileage while towing under these conditions. Good luck in your endeavors!

[Gunga Din]

Had a buddy just install a chip and exhaust replacement on his new 4-door F350 diesel. When I asked him how he liked it he was all smiles. It increased fuel economy and towing capacity. Now he can pull his heavy 20' custom welded river boat with 250 ob and full-size cab-over camper up mountain passes at 8,000' faster than most sedans can go at WOT.

[GregK]

I own a new Toyota Tundra. This has been the best tow vehicle ever. The power is terrific and the braking is excellent with the load on.

[Tim/Iowa]

I am looking to buy a new truck and can't decide between chevy or Ford, I have a GMC now but am not happy with it when I pull my 620. 11 MPG isn't getting it. what kind of mileage are you getting with your Ford?

[Gearhead]

11 mpg on a 6.2 liter? I'm assuming you have an older one. I have four 1 ton dually GM's with either the 6.2 or 6.5. The two 6.5's have turbochargers as does one of the 6.2's. The other 6.2 has no turbo, but aftermarket three inch exhaust front to back. Towing a 10,400 lb race car trailer on the flat and level gets me 16 mpg. Mountain driving can knock it down to 10 mpg. Towing my 2500+ lb boat is a 18 mpg affair. If you plan to keep the GMC, I suggest you have your injector pump fuel feed rate adjusted. You're probably too rich. Also have the pump timing optimized. The addition of free flow exhaust is a must with diesels. You'll stand to benefit greatly from it. Banks Engineering has many options for both the 6.2 and 6.5 liter engines. If you have a 6.5 T/D and get only 11 mpg.....then you really need to put it in a good diesel shop and have them look at it. My 6.5's get well over 20 mpg on the highway and about 19 mpg towing. All four rigs have been retimed and fuel feed rates reprogrammed. Had to search high and low for a good diesel shop who knows what they're doing. But finally stumbled across one who knows injector pumps inside and out. Good luck!

[Kip#1]

The Navigator engine has 4 valves per cylinder. I'd love to have that engine in my '97 Expedition.

Re. other posts about chips, most of the power is gotten thru extra timing as evidenced by the need to run premium fuel with the good chips. You can get almost all this power w/o the chip just by using premium fuel and let the two knock sensors do the rest. I've measured 5-6% increase in HP (+14 HP) and TQ (+17 ft. lbs.) with the fuel switch on 5 5.4L Expeditions, though they were all the 230 HP versions. You can buy a 180 stat and pick up at least a couple ponies as well.