Increasing the horsepower on a Ford F 150 4.2 liter V-8 engine can be done easily by making a few simple engine-related modifications. One of the easiest steps to make is to swap the factory-installed air filter in favor of a high-flow, or high-performance, air filter. A high-flow air filter is made to allow more air flow into an engine, a process that increases engine horsepower by increasing engine combustion. K & N, an automotive company that specializes in high-flow air filters, sells a wide variety of high-flow air filters that may be installed on a Ford F 150 4.2 liter V-8 pickup truck.
Basic, factory-installed engine spark plugs are fine for normal, everyday automotive use. However, if increased engine horsepower is desired, switching from factory-installed, or stock, spark plugs to high-performance, or SplitFire spark plugs, which have two spark plug diodes as opposed to one, is a quick and easy way to gain horsepower. High-performance spark plugs do a much better job of igniting an engine's air-fuel mixture, an occurrence that increases engine horsepower and gas mileage simultaneously.
Synthetic motor oil, which offers increased engine lubricating properties, is a quick and easy way to increase engine horsepower. By increasing engine lubrication (above and beyond what normal, standard-grade oil can do), synthetic motor oil increases engine horsepower by reducing engine friction and allowing engine parts to move more effortlessly. A Ford F150 pickup with a 4.2 liter V-8 engine would gain a significant horsepower boost with the use of synthetic motor oil.
Most Ford F 150 4.2 liter V-8 pickup trucks come with a factory single-exhaust system. By switching to a dual exhaust system, which uses two exhaust pipes to drain burned exhaust gases from an engine, a Ford F 150 pickup with a 4.2 liter V-8 would realize a significant horsepower boost, between 15 and 25 horsepower. A dual-exhaust system allows burned exhaust gases to exit an engine much more quickly than a single-exhaust system, a process that reduces engine back pressure and frees up additional engine horsepower.
