TOPIC: 2003 Ford f-150 Super Crew USA 5.4 Triton

Just Grooved an '03 Ford 5.4 Triton in an f-150 Super Crew pickup. Single barrel, cable drive TB.
Med. bit, went full depth. Also shaved/shaped downstream edge of throttle blade on Groove side.
Wasnt real happy w/ this Groove, got full depth, but got sloppy despite best effort at keeping bit steady. Guess I'll never be a Sculptor! Prob. next time I do a Med. bit Groove, I'll slow things down some. I epoxied full outside radius of TB outboard of Groove area, but never went thru.

Disconnected batt. + cable, put jumper clip wire from + loose cable end clamp to batt. - terminal, key to run posit., headlights on, this drains out ECM adaptive memory. Left this way last night while Grooving/throttle shaping. Reinstalled TB this afternoon, re-connect. batt. + cable w/ lights off key out.

My computer relearn goes like this: Start engine, foot off gas, let warm up 10 min. Key off. re-start, watch idle RPM go up (IAC function) then settle down to curb idle. Let run 2-3 min, key off. Re-start, observe how RPM behaves, engine getting warmed up now, so RPM comes down sooner. Let run min. or two, key off. I keep repeating this, paying attention to RPM, seeing how it settles down watching for anomolies. I strictly avoid touching gas pedal AT ALL while I do first part of re-learn in driveway. When engine is fully warmed up, and Idle RPM settles down to curb idle speed w/o issues, and I've started 8-10 times, it's time to start driving.

first-back out driveway, turn down street no more than 10 MPH, pull over in about 100 ft. put in Park, lights/key off. Wait few secomds, re-start, go to corner only 10 MPH no faster, pull over turn off. Start up turn right go maybe 50 ft now no more than 15 MPH. first time to "feel" Groove! Pull over, stop. Start go to corner maybe 15 MPH, stop. Start, turn corner start on 15 MPH sections. Do 3-4 15 MPH's turn around top of street, pull over. Long block, so can do 2 or 3 25 MPH sections. And so on this way, working around area going stairsteps up in speed 10-20-25-35-45- MPH picked out route to allow for increasing speeds like Ron says. Finally onto freeway up to 65 MPH go a mile get off next exit, coast up hill to stop, to gas station where safe to stop. Re-start, go out get back on freeway up to 65 MPH maybe 70 MPH, watching traffic go like 4 miles to exit where I can turn around and stop. Get back on, this where the FUN comes, 'cause this next part is uphill--when traffic is clear, Hammer Down Baby! This run in this Ford, only got to go full throttle in 2 bursts, first one maybe 1/2 mile, second only 10 seconds due to traffic watching out for Mr. Law. This Ford really growls w/ Groove at full boogie! .
Brought it back home, re-checked w/scantool data streams, O2 crosscounts got significantly quicker, short-term FT's going -3 -4 a lot. O2 1 bank 2 was real sluggish before Groove now switching wider range and much faster too. I've advised my freind Sam who owns this Ford he will need to replace O2's soon, 68K orig. miles.

Looked at PCV but this one is weird, has multiple ports on PCV valve base and multiple Man. Vac. connections, may try later w/ more research. Left IAC alone for now.

Lastly did the Tailpipe Sniff--Hot Air just tiny trace of odor! Yup, we'll take That TOO!
I think this will be another Groove Success. will share more when I have it.

Tracy G

I has a few questions what was the increase on the mpg for this truck? Do you think I can get similar results on an 2003 ford lighting with v8 5.4L supercharger?

before we get into that, what kind of shape is the truck in overall? what modifications from "stock" are there already, knowing that this is far from a stock f-150 with the supercharger on there? Have you poked around on this site and read through some of the forum posts? Are you looking for more "go" in considering this mod, or is it from the fuel economy perspective?

The extent of my knowledge about superchargers is: the SC pumps more air into the engine to combine with more fuel for more HP. The Groove - my thinking, based on some investigation of what it does and how it works - mixes air and fuel together better, giving us better mileage (and performance) and cleaner emissions from less fuel used.

I'll defer to TracyG on whether he thinks the groove will work in harmony with the 'charger, or if it would interfere. Theoretically, based on my understandings, if the SC is prior to the throttle body, a greater amount of air at higher pressure is presented to the throttle plate/groove combo, so the amplitude of the effect could end up being greater...but the SC only kicks in at a certain time/place, so that timing might need to be adjusted to interact best with the Groove for both power and economy. then again, to get the SC working sooner (and presenting a load to the engine, causing it to work harder) could eat all of the gains from having grooved it, resulting in no net increase in economy...

Rather than going in circles trying to reason it all out, I'm gonna step back and watch for Tracy's response...

Hi blast13, Welcome to the Forum!

Well as for the Ford that is subject of this thread, I work w/ Sam daily, and he's pretty happy overall w/ results. Several months ago he mentioned he finally replace the original spark plugs, and got a nice response from that. I wish he had mentioned it before he put 'em in, as I would have advised increasing the gap. Sam has never given me exact MPG#'s, but he did say after being Grooved, that it did better while hauling a loaded utility trailer than pre-Groove. I also did do a PCV re-route to this engine, it was more involved due to having more hoses than usual.

I'm going to say that MPG gains for your Ford will depend largely on how you drive it. We have a small but effective arsenal of additional mods you can use along with the famous Gadgetman Groove, to increase gains in all areas. I saw in your other post the pics of the engine, and the TB. I LOVE Grooving the Ford 2 BBL TB's! I've done a couple of that style , but on the Triton V-10's. both got excellent results in all respects. Greg (Heysoundude) has addressed much of the technical aspects and theory already. I would say common-sense-wise, The Groove, plus a few of the other "tricks" should broaden the power band, and give increased MPG potential, at lower throttle settings. IT always is a case of "carrying the Big Stick, and using it sparingly". I have seen no posts I can recall here, and I have not yet done, a Supercharged Ford. I have Grooved a supercharged Toyota Previa, and while I never got feedback on MPG's from the out-of-state Owner, I can attest to a significant low-end torque increase on it. From about 25 MPH, going 3/4 throttle was like hitting Hyper-Space!

I'd think that overall, your F-150 has very good power as is. In general, it seems that vehicles that already have sufficient power, seem to get the best gains. Then it's a matter of driving habits, and right foot discipline! Present vehicle condition is a factor, of course.

Tracy G