2002 F250 Supercab, SWD, V10 RPM Testimomy - Diesel Forum

hlozanoF250 · 05-26-2005, 10:03 AM

Hi, I'm fairly new to posting on this forum. To start off let me say this is an excellent forum. I've found alot of useful information here thus far.
Just a little history with truck and towing.

I owned my first truck back in '95 (Used '94 Dodge Dakota 318 v8). Shortly after purchasing the truck, the wife talked me into buying a used 1984 24' 4000lb travel trailer. Of course the RV sales person convinced us the truck would pull it. Boy did I get suckered, it pulled it alright, on level ground, not to mention it felt like the RV was in control of the truck.

So I went to a used '96 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L V8 in '98. Not a bad truck should've kept it. Anyway decided to upgrade the RV to a '99 28' 5500lb. Not a bad setup until I decided to change the tow vehicle to a new 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport 5.9L V8. Bad move!!
After 17k miles that engine crapped out. Of course Dodge blamed it on my K&N cool air intake and refused to cover it under warranty. After that it never towed the same again and the MPG went downhill (not that it was great in the first place).

After being frustrated with the Dodge and listening to it struggle everytime I towed, I decided to go with a '02 Ford F250 SD 2WD V10. I love this truck!! After going to this truck we upgraded our RV to a 7500lb '03 28' 5th wheel. I thought it would be too much for the V10 but it doesn't feel any different then the lighter TT in tow. Impressive!! MPG unloaded I'm averaging around 14mpg mixed driving city/hwy. Towing the 5th wheel, I'm getting between 9mpg to 11mpg. This Ford gets better MPG then my Dodge Rams. This is truly a solid truck and up for any job I have for it. I now have 37K miles on the truck and no problems, knock on wood.

My experience has grown much since my first truck but I have a long way to go so I turn to you more experienced guys. It seems to me the powerband on my truck is above 2k rpm. If I drop below that it doesn't feel like the torque is there. I like to tow in the 65 to 75 MPH range. Should I lock out OD and let it run in the 2500 to 3K rpm range? I've read in this forum that the V10's like running in the higher RPM range. Also what would be the most economical upgrade I can make to the truck that would benefit towing and MPG? I'm a little paranoid since the mishap with the 2000 Dodge Ram on upgrades.

Sorry for the long post..............

Ford F250 XLT Supercab 2WD V10, Stock

doczenith1 · 05-26-2005, 02:04 PM

I would recommend intake and exhaust upgrades. They are relatively inexpensive and in my experience yield decent power gains for the money. I have run my truck for over 20K with the mods listed in my sig and have not had one single problem. If I did it over again I would go with the Flow Master 70 series muffler. The 50 series can get somewhat loud at WOT.

Al

Kennard04 · 05-26-2005, 02:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hi, I'm fairly new to posting on this forum. To start off let me say this is an excellent forum. I've found alot of useful information here thus far.
Ford F250 XLT Supercab 2WD V10, Stock

[/ QUOTE ]

I am new here too, and find it an informative, helpful place to find information. I also visit;

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=49

It's dedicated to the V-10 Ford and has been a blast to be in, Ken

Solo2puller · 05-26-2005, 02:09 PM

With the 3.73 rear end you should be right around 2K rpm at 75 mph IIRC. This is assuming you have the auto. Not sure about the manual. I forget where the HP peak is, but it's somewhere north of 2K, maybe even 3K. Torque peak is lower than hp, but I can't remember exactly where (2200 rpm?). Someone will chime in with the exact numbers soon.

Lots of guys say the best bang for the buck is a cat back system. I haven't done it yet, so I'm no help with first hand experience. After that, you start getting into chips, headers, etc. Gets expensive quickly, and I don't think the gains will ever justify the cost.

Mine likes to run below 2K with my open car trailer and race car on it. I'm in a pretty flat part of the country so that helps, and I'm usually a bit under 6K lbs. I regularly get 12-13 towing that setup around here. Speed it up and the mpg goes down quickly. Pulls great, but uses more fuel.

I'd love to do headers and the full banks exhaust, but it's mighty pricey. A couple of guys on here have done that, and reported better fuel economy and power. I don't think they saw enough of a gain to payback the cost of the system though.

doczenith1 · 05-26-2005, 02:26 PM

Hey Solo, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the stock exhaust 3" pipe which is the same as what the cat-back systems come with? That being true the only thing your getting with a cat-back system over just a muffler replacment is a better looking tail pipe.

Al

adrianspeeder · 05-26-2005, 02:41 PM

Sounds like you found the light! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]

At least with the 4.6L which is almost identicle to the 5.4 who is almost a twin of the V10 (less two cylinders), I have found it loves to rev. Our 4.6L pulls like crazy up above 42 to 4500, course we have a manual that lets us hold that and I have outpulled 5.4V8 autos with it. So, let em rev [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img], bring your gas card [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img], and happy motoring. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Adrianspeeder

Solo2puller · 05-26-2005, 03:28 PM

I've never measured it..... but it's pretty big already. The way I understand it the restriction is supposedly in the muffler, so yeah - if your other pipes are in good shape you could probably get a high flow replacement muffler and get many of the same benefits as an entire cat-back.

JBradley · 05-26-2005, 05:22 PM

Biggest bang for your buck, that you will actually feel, would be to change the differential gears to 4.10 with stock to 33" tire or 4.30 if you have 35"-37" tires. The 05's all have 4.10s and it makes a difference, puts that motor right in it's sweet spot, which is around 2200 rpm or so. The 2V motor revs just same as the 3V so that's not an issue. Fuel milage would probably increase too.

hlozanoF250 · 05-26-2005, 11:15 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Solo, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the stock exhaust 3" pipe which is the same as what the cat-back systems come with? That being true the only thing your getting with a cat-back system over just a muffler replacment is a better looking tail pipe.

Al

[/ QUOTE ]

If they are 3" pipes then it sounds like I need to just add a flowmaster 70. Unless the catback systems have a smoother airflow then the stock. Do I just go to a muffler shop or do I need to find a performance muffler shop? Who do you recommend for the air intake. I know K&N has them but I feel like your paying for the name.

Thanks for the replies.

hlozanoF250 · 05-26-2005, 11:35 PM

What do you guys think of the Brute Force Air Intake. I've had the K&N on my Dodge and the PVC ended up cracking.

robsd · 05-27-2005, 11:14 AM

I ran the numbers a while back and if I recall a 2.8" pipe equals the flow volume of 2 2" pipes. I think mine has the 3" pipe, at least the muffler they just put on is a 3 in and a 3 out. So if the cat backs are 2.5" you would probably gain some volume. Maybe not much. I think I might have lost a couple HP by removing the flowmaster and going with a stocker. Only reason I think this is there are a couple hills on my weekend commute that the truck goes from OD to D that I didn't recall before. Even if that happened the less noise is worth it. I was considering headers but decided it isn't worth it on my lightly loaded truck.

Rob

doczenith1 · 06-01-2005, 02:52 PM

I ordered my flowmaster online and had a local shop intall it for $60. I know it was 3" on both ends but can't remember if it was offset-offset or offset-center. A quick peek under your truck will make it clear.

hlozanoF250 · 06-01-2005, 08:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I ordered my flowmaster online and had a local shop intall it for $60. I know it was 3" on both ends but can't remember if it was offset-offset or offset-center. A quick peek under your truck will make it clear.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you order directly from flowmaster's website? Which one did you go with, 50 or 70? Let me know what you think of it once you get it installed........

doczenith1 · 06-02-2005, 02:15 PM

I did not order directly from flowmaster. I can't remember where I ordered it from off the top of my head but it was one of the online 4x4 retailers. I've had the 50 series delta flow installed for over 10k miles now and if i did it all over again i would go with the 70 series. I like the sound of the 50 at idle and under light acceleration but it gets pretty loud at WOT, which, unfortunaly for my wallet, happens quite a bit. The 70 series is what flowmaster recommends for the v10 and is quieter than the 50 series. I think that the recommendation is mainly based on geometry since the 70 series is roughly the same length as the stock muffler. The 50 series is shorter so the muffler shop had to add a piece of pipe. Hope that helps.

Al

Kennard04 · 06-07-2005, 04:49 PM

I actually followed a guy into an RV park and to his campsite to ask him which muffler he had. Of course it was the wife, the husband who put the muffler on was in town, she had dropped him off but said she'd ask him for me. Well, I never saw them again of course, so I made the mistake of buying a Holley AeroTech or something. I hate it, once I did follow a couple V-10 owners and asked them what they had that had a sound I liked they both said FM70. So that's next for me, anybody want a barely used Aerotech Afterburner CHEAP ???