In this episode of "The Haul," I'm giving you
my top five mods for that 2015 and newer EcoBoost rig at home.
Hey, what's up, guys? Justin with americantrucks.com. And again, welcome
to my breakdown of my top five modifications for your 2015 and newer EcoBoost F-150 at home. Now,
in this video, I've selected parts based off my experience here in the aftermarket at AT,
along with being an EcoBoost owner and enthusiast. Now, at the end of the day, some of you guys might
disagree with my part selection or my choice of brand, and that's perfectly fine because
it's your truck, you can mod it however you want. I do also want to point out that all the
mods selected for this video apply to our 2016 3.5-liter EcoBoost. But if you do happen to be
a 2.7 EcoBoost owner, don't worry, all the parts selected in this video will also apply to your rig
as well. But enough of the yapping. What do you say we talk about our first part?
All right. Now, our first modification here is something that I'm going to recommend
for any EcoBoost owner out there, but especially the pre-port injection 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoost owners
to prevent valve coking and engine buildup. And, of course, I'm talking about some sort of oil
separator or catch can, and they do a great job of eliminating that oily vapor from getting
re-ingested by your EcoBoost engine, and that's the big thing here. You want to keep that stuff
out of your engine and keep it performing at its tip-top condition for many years to come.
Now, in this video, we are featuring the JLT 3.0 here in black for the passenger side. And if
you're not familiar with what these guys do, feel free to check out our what's up with that video on
our channel, all things oil separators and catch cans, where we do a great job of breaking down the
history of the PCV system, what these guys do, and why you actually need one for your truck.
But again, in this case, we've got the JLT in place. We like the JLT here at AT just for its
simplicity of install, quality construction, and just ease of use. Very easy to install, all for
right around 150 bucks. Now, you are going to find a bunch of these here on the site from companies
like JLT, of course, Mishimoto, and others that incorporate maybe some of the passenger and
driver's side PCV. There's really no bad option on the site, but it really boils down to what
you want to do and, of course, your budget. But again, going back to the JLT 3-ounce capacity,
hence the 3.0 name, this time in anodized black, you can also grab it in silver if you like.
I really like the factory style hoses and fittings, makes for a very easy install and
a few minutes tops. I get the question a lot, "Is it too late to install one of these? My truck has
50,000 miles." No, it is never too late to install something like this on your engine
and prevent further damage from happening or further buildup from happening in your
EcoBoost engine. So, probably my top recommended modification for any EcoBoost owner, both new
or old, and something that I have on my personal truck at home. In the meantime, our next mod
isn't too far away, just on the other side of the engine bay. So, let's check out that next.
Up next, we have the most popular modification hands down for any truck owner out there,
EcoBoost or not. And, of course, I'm talking about some sort of aftermarket intake system. Now, the
intake I selected for this video is the Roush Cold Air System, extremely popular here on the site,
well over 100 5-star reviews, and one that I'm personally familiar with
having installed it on my 2017 Raptor at home. I like calling these things the gateway mod because
installing something like this, I feel, gives truck owners the confidence to
tackle modifications in the future because they're very easy to install. On top of that,
they look pretty cool underneath the hood, pick up a little bit of power,
make some cool noises, and in some cases will even deliver some improved fuel economy.
Now, the Roush here, in particular, I dig it, gives off kind of a low key vibe, not a lot of
flash, not a lot of logos. I like that personally. But more importantly, the filter itself is going
to deliver 25% to 30% less restriction over your factory intake or filter. And that's where you're
going to be picking up some extra power, that's where you're going to be picking up some extra
fuel economy, and so on. Now, this is an open enclosure, meaning it's unlike your factory air
box, which is a sealed enclosure. Now, some guys out there prefer the sealed enclosures because
of the heat soak elements that can sometimes come along with an open enclosure. But I do
want to point out that the Roush does a great job of sealing to the top of your factory hood
with the included weatherstripping. Outside of that, no tune required. Anybody can bolt one
of these things up, and speaking of anybody, CARB legal. So, anybody in all 50 states can
bolt something up like this and go without having to catch any flak from the man. So,
big-time fan of the Roush and any intake system for that matter. Pick up a little bit more power,
make some cool noises, and just kind of look good under the hood. But speaking of which,
we have one more mod up front, and then we're gonna move underneath the truck.
Up next, we have one of the most overlooked options or modifications for the EcoBoost-powered
trucks in my humble opinion. And that is replacing the factory intercooler with an aftermarket larger
option. In place, now we have Mishimoto's aluminum option shown here in black. It's also available
on the site in silver for right around 800 bucks. Now, as an EcoBoost owner, both past and present,
I can personally attest that heat soak is the largest performance killer with these trucks,
especially in warmer climates or during summer months when you're working the truck,
especially hard, towing, performance, or whatever. So, to help combat that is upgrading your factory
intercooler to a much larger option. Case in point, the Mishimoto option is currently
the largest you can throw in the factory location without having to modify anything.
And that's something I really like about this option. Very easy to install. In fact,
you don't even have to take off the bumper to do so. Simply drop the stock right out the bottom,
replace the Mishi in reverse order, and you're good to go. No tune required for this thing. It
is CARB-certified, making it 50-state legal, and also it comes with a lifetime warranty,
which is a really nice thing to point out. Also has a built-in 1/4-inch NPT drain plug.
EcoBoost owners, you probably have heard about some of these problems in the past
with condensation building up in your intercooler, which can lead to a misfire condition.
So, to help combat that, Mishimoto did incorporate that drain plug, and that's another big thing I
do really dig. Now, something like this isn't necessarily going to add horsepower or torque
to your rig, but it will keep it from dropping off dramatically, again, in those warm situations.
Now, there is one thing to keep in mind, though, however, with something like this
is that if you do plan on adding a winch eventually down the road,
this probably isn't going to be your best option because it's just simply not going to jive with
that larger intercooler in the factory location. At that point, you would need to consider
something that's going to move your intercooler up into the grille area from ADD, Full Race, AFE,
and so on. But for most owners out there who just simply want to upgrade the stocker without having
to modify a whole bunch of stuff, the TIG-welded aluminum Mishimoto option is a great choice.
We're just over the halfway point here with our top five list. We've got one more to talk about
underneath the truck. So, what do you say we get this thing on the lift and show you what's up?
Our next mod is certainly going to be the most controversial. And that, of course,
is switching out your factory exhaust for an aftermarket system. In this case, I selected
the MBRP Installer Series 4-Inch System for our 3.5 EcoBoost truck. Now, yes, I know the EcoBoost
isn't Ford's best-sounding engine ever today, but that's not going to change the fact that owners
are going to modify their exhaust for a little bit more sound and a little bit more presence.
Now, I like MBRP's lineup in general, but I really dig the 4-inch system here,
especially the Installer system, very affordable at right around 400 bucks,
thanks to the aluminized steel construction. Now, if you're an F-150 owner or an EcoBoost
owner that lives in the salt belt or the Northeast, you might want to upgrade to
the company's XP or Pro Series system. The XP will give you the 409 grade stainless
whereas that Pro Series will give you a 304 grade stainless build along with a lifetime warranty.
But outside of that, you're getting that massive 4-inch diameter here with this system. It's
going to help your truck breathe a little bit easier. You're getting mandrel-bent tubing,
of course, as well. You might pick up a little bit more turbo whistle with this thing in place,
more so if you end up upgrading your downpipes down the road at some point, but overall,
I really like tone. It's not too loud. It's not too farty for lack of a better word. Nice,
deep tone overall. A little bit of interior noise, but a solid-sounding system for a very affordable
price. Some truck owners out there might encounter a little bit of cutting. That wasn't our case here
with our 145-inch wheelbase truck, no cutting whatsoever, which is always a nice thing. But
if you do have to cut, just make sure you've got a band saw, Sawzall, or something like that on
hand to get it done. But maybe my favorite part is this massive 5-inch tip embossed of the MBRP logo.
Look at this thing, man. Totally ridiculous. I like to call it the grapefruit shooter,
but it does look awesome underneath the bumper here of our 3.5 rig. Now, I know it might not
be everybody's favorite mod for this video but one that I thought was very worthy of the list.
Last but not least, we have our most potent modification of the list, and that is a custom
tune along with a handheld tuning device. Now, we have a lot of killer options here on the site
from a lot of great tuning companies, but for this video, I selected the Lund Racing 93 Octane Custom
Tune using the SCT X4 handheld tuning device. Now, Lund is just one of the best in the biz and
have tuned some of the fastest cars and trucks in the land. And I have some great experience
working with them in the past. Now, anybody who owns a tuned EcoBoost F-150 can attest that not
only do you get more horsepower and torque when tuning your rig, but you also get things like
improved drivability and killer throttle response. Now, I can talk about this stuff all day long,
but what do you say we get to the dyno and actually show you some of the results?
All right. We just did a few dyno pulls, guys. So, let's break down these numbers.
Just so you all know, all of these runs done here today were done in third gear. Why? Well, because,
yes, I know fourth is technically a little bit closer to 1:1. However, the factory speed limiter
would not allow for a clean baseline run in fourth gear. And honestly, I'm not very comfortable
spinning these 35-inch mud tires up to 140, 150, 160 miles an hour in fourth gear with a 3.55 gear
ratio truck. So, that being said, we've done it in third. We got 93 octane in the tank. We've done
all of our runs here with the 35-inch tire. So, let's break everything down. Baseline run here,
guys, with 93 octane, 315 horsepower, 349 pound-feet of torque at the rear wheels.
With that 93 Octane Lund Racing Tune only, the truck made 347 horsepower and 407 pound-feet of
torque at the rear tires, pretty healthy gain of 32 horsepower and 58 pound-feet of torque peak
and really nice numbers under the curve. We're looking at 111 horsepower up high
around 6,000 RPM and 64 pound-feet of torque down low underneath the curve.
Now, we had all these modifications on the truck. We had the tune uploaded. We figured,
what the hell, let's run it one more time and see if this thing picks up even more
over those tune-only numbers, and guess what? It did, to the tune of 363 horsepower now
with the tune and the modifications and 417 pound-feet of torque. So, over those
baseline numbers, that's 48 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque peak and just ridiculous
numbers under the curve. We're looking at 125 horsepower, again, up high around 6,000 RPM
and just monstrous curve numbers in torque, 149 pound-feet. Let's break these numbers down,
where they occur, and why. Now, bone stock, a lot of you EcoBoost owners probably know that feeling
of your truck feeling pretty healthy out of the hole, but then just nose diving hard after 5,000
RPM, and you can even see it here with our dyno graph. It just really falls off a cliff. Well,
now, with that Lund Racing Tune in place, you can see it just keeps going up where it used to
fall off and just really kind of edges over around the redline at 6,500 RPM. And that's where you're
getting that huge curve gain in horsepower. You're seeing this number here up top in green. That's
your after horsepower number and your baseline number, and look at all that real estate between
those two lines. That's what's called curve gains. That's what you're really going to feel
up top. Same can be said down low. You're looking at your torque numbers right here at baseline.
That's that 149 pound-feet of torque underneath the curve. Monstrous gains out of the hole.
This thing is going to feel like a completely different monster red light to red light. And when
you're staying in it through the RPM range, it's just going to freight train real hard. So, I'm
always a big proponent of tuning these EcoBoost engines, and the proof is in the pudding. I mean,
these dyno numbers don't lie. They respond extremely well to modifications and tunes.
Pretty easy to see why you should add some bolt-ons and a tune to your EcoBoost at home.
Hey, that's gonna wrap up our 2015 and Newer Top 5 EcoBoost Mod video,
guys. We hope you enjoyed it. As always, get involved in the discussion. Leave us a comment.
What mods are you picking for your truck at home? We definitely want to hear about them and why.
In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to our channel for more cool content like this,
and keep in mind, for all things F-150, keep it right here at americantrucks.com.