What difference does it make? The guy wants to know why his truck doesn't tow as well as he expected.

 

5.4 has a flatter torque curve, it makes peak torque at the same RPM as the 460, and maintains that power further out into the power band. The 460's torque starts dropping off rapidly because of the restricted heads and exhaust. The 460 just has more torque because of its displacement.
You got it backwards. Torque does the work. Horsepower is how fast you do that work. Your example proves my point perfectly.You got the better launch, but by the end your buddy was going faster. That means if you were already moving and encountered a hill with a load, your buddy would beat you.

Also, the exhaust is one of the most choked up things on a 460. Headers, exhaust and intake on a 460, you're probably close to ~270-280HP at the crank. So the overall power was probably a lot close than you think.
So let me get this straight, you didn't bother reading my post where I used basic high-school math and physics to prove my point, then you have the audacity to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about?

 

uhomebody, your truck should be doing better, why it isn't I can't say. Time to take a good look, at timing, FI health, etc.

Torque vs HP ehhhh, it really comes down to one factor that lead head ignores. Lead head has a point IF one thing were true, he assumes a frictionless transmission. But in the real world as RPM increases and gear ratios increase numarically drag in the transmission increases exponentially. This will more then eat any potential gains in power and makes for a very enefficiant drivetrain. Add to this the unreliablity in how HP numbers are generated and it throws this whole discussion out of whack.

 

Gear ratio also has nothing really to do with frictional losses in the transmission. For example, The ZF8 automatic transmission has 98%> gear efficiency in every single gear, and it's ~4.8:1 1st gear is actually more efficient then the old ZF6's ~4:1 1st gear.

There is no unreliability in how horsepower and torque is measured. All manufacturers follow quite strict SAE Guidelines on how to test it. You can even opt-in to have an SAE member present during the dyno testing.

To the OP, sorry for junking up your thread, let's try to get back on topic now.

 

I also have a 96 F250 4X4 crew with short bed and 460. The last I checked I was getting 8 mpg around town. When it was new I got 10 mpg towing or not. It now has 125,000 miles and needs headers because I have a gasket leak at the exhaust manifold. The most I ever got was 12 mpg towing a small trailer on flat ground with the wind behind me. If your getting just 6 mpg you need a good tune-up.

 

what the hell was all that about the guy asked whats wrong with his truck
i also agree a tune up compression check code check etc something isnt right
we used a 460 for awile to tow our 10k lb race trailer it wasnt fast by any means but im pretty sure it was getting around 8 mpg running the hwy

 

Back on topic. I would remove the cat if you don't have emmision checks. Then like said do a full tune up feul filter, air filter, look up deleting the air horns its easy might not gain you much but can't hurt. Plugs wires cap and rotor. I would also put a high flowing muffler on it does't have to be loud just high flowing. I like magnaflows. The exhaust if it has been worked hard can plug up killing performance especially the cat. Do this and see if it helps any.

 

To the OP, what is the gear ratio on your truck? I've got 3.55's in mine and it doesn't go fast towing my enclosed trailer (6k loaded) up a steep hill but it does get it up the hill much easier than my Dodge Ram does. I get close to 12 mpg empty and roughly 9 when towing my trailer.