Aftermarket Toys

[Craig Childs]

Hey guys, just a little question for you Trac gurus



I am curious as to what kind of performance gains I can expect from adding all kinds of cool toys to my Trac. I am estimating that the truck has approximately 175 RWHP (according to the FAQs, (172+177)/2 = 174.5, so about 175), and I want to know if my estimations are correct in thinking about all of this:



Throttle body- about 5 HP (info from Zabteck.com)

"Cold" Air Intake- about 6 horsepower (info from K&N.com)

Exhaust (headers, Y pipe, muffler, all that jazz) about 10 HP (my own estimation)

All the pulleys from Zabteck- MAYBE 4 HP? (I have no idea, just a guess)

Coil, wires, spark plugs- MAYBE 1 HP (that is probably a stretch, but it makes sense to me that if there is a more complete combustion that a little more power might be added, just an idea)



So, adding these gains and being modest, that equates to 201 RWHP, if I actually gain all those hidden ponies from all those add-ons.



Also, I heard that Royal Purple could give some hidden horses too, but I have no idea if that will work...



(I have thought about the XCAL, but my parents said no, and they bought it, so...)



Am I correct in guessing this way? Or am I completely over-shooting everything? Any help would be appreciated, thank you in advance

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Royal Purple has to go in the engine, transmission, and differential to show the best gain in performance.



The XCal2 or 3 is a must, period. If you need some support you can do a site search on all of the positive feedback on the XCal2, and also email me for my phone no. to talk to your parents about it.



Skip the coil and pullies for now. Use Taylor-Vortex plug wires. Do add an electric fan (see projects).

 

[Chris McQuay]

My question is why/how your parents could be ok with a full exhaust, TB, and pulleys but not be ok with a little tuner that can be removed in about ten minutes?

 

[Todd Z]

Craig,



With EVERY 4.0 external bolt on for the 4.0 and some other tricks, I have hit a MAX Rear wheel HP of 208 with my 03 4wd.....



IF I add up all the claims of the stuff, I would be close to 300 !!! >LOL.... :lol::lol::lol:



Todd Z

 

[Craig Childs]

So then, what, maybe 190, does that sound reasonable? I am not looking for sports car performance, I just don't want it to be so sluggish



I plan on making all the fluid purple one day, maybe during the summer when I have some money



What will the fan do? I know to cool it down, but I thought the grille opening should do that just as well..



I have talked to my parents about the XCAL, but they won't budge. They are persistent in stating that it will void warranties and all that. Also, they made the claim of if I get in an accident, and the insurance company finds out, then they will drop me or something like that. I don't know anything about our insurance carrier, or any insurance policy, but they won't budge. Also, my dad has talked to a guy who can smoke his tires on a dually diesel with a chip, and the guy says it basically voids everything. It makes sense, but again, I don't know anything about that stuff



Does anyone know if someone makes a camshaft that will fit the Trac? I have heard of guys replacing theirs and making some big increases, but they were running Hemi Dodges (heaven forbid I mention Dodge here ever agin) All the shafts I have seen are for Mustangs and other bigger engines

 

[Todd Z]

if you add cams, you MUST have an Xcal, the stock computer can not Handel them.....



Forget the fan, It is NOT worth the gains.... I got 2 RWHP from my Efan, yes the engine is cooler and the a/c CRANKS !!!!, but no MPG gains and no huge HP gains.



The basic bolt ons will get you near 185/190..... Add the higher mods, MAF, Exhaust pipes , stuff like that you should see close to 200...



Todd Z

 

[Craig Childs]

Sweet deal, thanks Todd, you always seem to have any answer to anything I ask, I appreciate it



good work with the site too, I like the new categories, and I think I'm not the only one...

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Craig, You have mail.

 

[Craig Childs]

Got it, now you have mail



Also, I looked up the Magnuson-Moss Act online, some .gov website, I think this should help my case as well



Again, thank you so much

 

[Kevin Lang]

Why would the electric fan make the engine cooler? I thought it ran less, and though it has a higher CFM rating (depending on the fan) then the basic plastic trac fan, I figured that always on at lower flow would beat that which flows more yet runs less.

 

[Fudged Undies]

An electric fan itself won't do much. The gain comes from removing the clutch fan which will remove some rotating resistance from the engine/pullies. There is a wee bit of performance to be gained but I would be more concerned with the electric fan than with the x-cal, as fan failure is a possibility.



You may be able to use the MM act on your folks but if you do face a real problem with your trac under warranty, it will be useless(for the upgrades). What you want to do with your trac is fine however the MM act is designed to protect the use of aftermarket FACTORY REPLACEMENT parts, not "upgrade" parts. In other words, the MM act permits us to use an alternator from Autozone as opposed to having to purchase it from the dealer. That's it and yes I speak from experience.



If your folks are holding the papers for your trac, just replace your wheels and stereo and leave the performance stuff until the trac is yours. Save your cash to do this stuff once the warranty runs out. Moreover, the xcal will be the upgrade that brings all this stuff together and gives you the real gains.