If you had to pick just one....

[First Truck]

So, if you had to pick one mod first which would it be?

1. CAI
2. Modified exhaust
a. just muffler, b. full cat-back system
3. Tune

Or which combo first? and why?

 

[SCelebs]

tune by far. Best bang for your buck, next would be tune and intake combo.

 

[BOJANGLES]

I say muffler.

Tune obviously gives you the biggest oomph/wow factor from the drivers seat, but you don't want to do your tune first and then do other performance mods. Other mods should be done BEFORE the tune so that your tuner can take them into account when creating your tune files. That's why I haven't tuned yet.... I don't wanna get a tune, then add other mods, then have to get another tune. You could, but it seems a little cart-before-the-horse to me. Just my $.02

 

[ISFast]

I think hes got this one right. Muffler or in my case a cut out. Its pretty fun to hear the motor and gives me a huge smile everytime.

1. exhaust
2. intake
3. Tune

 

[SCelebs]

I say muffler.

Tune obviously gives you the biggest oomph/wow factor from the drivers seat, but you don't want to do your tune first and then do other performance mods. Other mods should be done BEFORE the tune so that your tuner can take them into account when creating your tune files. That's why I haven't tuned yet.... I don't wanna get a tune, then add other mods, then have to get another tune. You could, but it seems a little cart-before-the-horse to me. Just my $.02

A lot of tuners will just send you an updated file if you add something new like headers or an intake.

If you want a louder exhaust and don't care much for a performance increase then yea go with that.

If you buy an intake before the tune your truck will probably run rich, your not going to get any benefit except for more noise.

 

[Raptor62]

I would have to agree with Bo on this one. Most tuners would like to do a tune once and get is over with. It is more of a hastle than anything else to do a tune, then mufflers, then CAI and another tune. If anything, when you do a CAI, do the tune at the same time and vise versa. You will get more bang for the buck and you also won't have the possibilty to do any harm to the engine.

 

[SPRSNK]

I say muffler.

Tune obviously gives you the biggest oomph/wow factor from the drivers seat, but you don't want to do your tune first and then do other performance mods. Other mods should be done BEFORE the tune so that your tuner can take them into account when creating your tune files. That's why I haven't tuned yet.... I don't wanna get a tune, then add other mods, then have to get another tune. You could, but it seems a little cart-before-the-horse to me. Just my $.02

Mine too. I am waiting for the rest of my parts to arrive/become available and do the full LTH's, dual exhaust, supercharger and CAI all at once then let the tuner have his way with my truck. Paying to have the vehicle tuned every time you make a change just sucks up the cash that could go towards other mods.

 

[SCelebs]

Mine too. I am waiting for the rest of my parts to arrive/become available and do the full LTH's, dual exhaust, supercharger and CAI all at once then let the tuner have his way with my truck. Paying to have the vehicle tuned every time you make a change just sucks up the cash that could go towards other mods.

Yeah that would suck, especially if your getting it tuned for each and not just getting a canned tune.

 

[First Truck]

Does the tune void warrenty?

 

[BOJANGLES]

A lot of tuners will just send you an updated file if you add something new like headers or an intake.

Yeah, if you can get an updated file without paying for it then that is a different ballgame.

Does the tune void warrenty?

Different dealers seem to have different stances on this. Some don't mind while others are willing to blame the leak in your moonroof on your new tune.

My advice would be to talk to the service manager away from his superiors and try to feel him out a bit. I did that at my dealership and they were really cool about it. They told me that they wouldn't void warranty on anything they couldn't prove was a result of the aftermarket mod, but I know not all dealers/service managers are straight-shooters like him. (I'm aware that's not a legally binding agreement or anything, but the owner of the dealership is a family friend who would be quick to help me out if there was a problem, so that answer was good enough for me)

The other thing about a tune is that you can "unload" the tune and go back to stock pretty easily. I'm not sure if the unloaded tune could be traceable in the trucks computer, but I betcha Pirate Air, SOCOMech, or one of the other Ford Technicians here could answer that question....