Just how good are the cylinder heads that top the Coyote 5.0-liter V8 engines in the latest Ford F-150 pickups? Dave Localio from HeadGames Motorworks found out by pulling apart a Gen 4 cylinder head from a Ford F-150 and putting it to a flow test.
Some of the differences were immediately apparent. The spark plug tubes are incredibly tall, and the holes are much smaller than what he saw on the Gen 2. But the exhaust side is where things get interesting. It features a unique design that looks suspiciously like the high-revving Shelby engine. “I’m thinking it looks a lot like the Voodoo,” Localio said.
The intake side was a bit more standard, mirroring the Gen 3 almost exactly, but Ford engineers changed the maintenance game with this generation. They switched to removable cam towers rather than casting them solid, which means you can replace them without buying a new head. They also upgraded the hardware. The intake valves jumped up to 1.510 inches, and Localio pointed out “how big of a back cut they put on the Gen 4” straight from the factory.
Once they figured out a fixture for those tall tubes, the HeadGames team ran the Coyote head flow test. The results explain why the latest trucks are so fast. The exhaust side pushed a steady 202 cfm at .600 lift. The intake side was even stronger, hitting 330 cfm.
Localio noted that the strong midrange is “exactly why these things respond well to boost and cam.” After this testing, he shipped the head off to the GSC Power Division for some custom camshaft development. When it returns, he will focus on porting and digitizing the head, but the baseline is already set. Based on this first Coyote head flow test, the Gen 4 F-150 heads look like they are ready to breathe deep with a few mods.
You might also like
First Dark Horse SC Auction Brings In Big Bucks For Charity At Barrett-Jackson
The first 2026 Mustang Dark Horse SC crossed the Barrett-Jackson block. It sold for well over seven figures during the Scottsdale auction.
