I'm new here and this might have been covered here before, but if you wouldn't mind indulging me. Have any of you had to tow or do any significant amount of driving with either and what was your impression? I've got a 97' 250 Heavy duty 4x4 with the 460 and think that it kicks the chevy's butt hands down. Just wanted to get some more opinions so I can show my buds who the real king of the big blocks is. Don't be shy.

 

The 1996-2000 Vortec 454 kills the 245hp version of the 460. But it should too, it has a better EFI system and better heads. The 460 kicks the TBI and Carbed versions of the 454.

It's actually interesting that if Ford would have revised the 460, it would actually have more power than the current 6.8L V10

 

If you check out the Jegs online catalog under crate motors, the best 460 spanks all the 502's for HP ratings, even the Ram Jet 502. Of course, the torqus rating is a bit higher, but at almost $3k less, I'm sure more torque can be found.

 

Can't really help your cause, since I only do small blocks. But, of the two friends I have with tow trucks, they have owned all of the big three. Came down to gm and ford(go figure). They both seemed to think their 454's pulled a little better than the 460. They liked the ford diesels better and liked the ford truck itself better. Theeir opinion not mine.

 

Its my understanding that 454 engines were prone to break downs of the major kind so i f you bought one you better bring your sails.

 

I can't say enough good about the 460. We have one in our 1990 F350 Crewcab and I have one in my 1994 F250 Reg Cab, and I just have to say that thats all the power I need. I really got on it in my truck the other day and I was sucked back in my seat. Impressed me. I haven't driven a 454, but I definitely like the 460.

 

Thanks everybody, not exactly the replys I was lookin' for but facts is facts. Oh well I still love my 460 and wouldn't trade it for a crate full of 454's. Keep the comments comming.

 

Your not gonna want to hear this but too bad.
I need to be honest here with you-so I'll learn ya a bit.

The 454 is a truck engine-slow and dull.
The 460 is a lincoln engine -fast and exciting.

Ford dint want to have to dump the money into R&D to compete with the 454-so they just stuck a big car engine in a pick up and called it the answer.
It is not.
Lot's of HP and high end torque do not make an engine great for trucks-I hear you guy's say this all the time bout Dodge and Chevy-so it must also be true for Ford-unless that is, the same laws of physics simply dosent apply to them....

Just like the 5.4 got the Chevy 6.0 beat in low end grunt-so it is with the 454 to the 460.
The 460 is big and fast....but 50% of it is WAY up there.

Also-not that you asked,but have you noticed that lots of new Powerstrokes are havin strokes?...lol. That's Ford's answer to the Duramax...the new Powerstrokes are so scared of the Duramax's they see hauling loads that they kill themselves(that's what you get for making an engine too smart)....
Shoulda stayed with the 7.3-don't fix whats not broken-Chevy needed a new and better diesel than they had-Ford did not.

In the meantime the Cummins just keeps cummin and hummin right past all the new PSD's that have had heart attacks...lol.

Regards.

 

Who's side are you on? The 460 makes its peak torque at 2200rpm, my father's 454 makes its peak at 4500rpm--it's a known fact. The 454 is not a truck engine. The 454 is a "RAT" engine designed for racing. The 460 has had several design changes that make it a truck engine. The Lincolns had different heads than the Fords. You have to just about blow a Chevy engine to get the power out of it, and just about the same with a Dodge.

And the Cummins time is coming, it flunks most current emissions tests. And I won't be looking into a Dodge anytime soon until their transmissions are right. Not that I'd be interested in one anyway.

Also forgot, they oughta call the Duramax the Crapomax. I can't even remember how many I've seen stalled out unloaded. I was taking some trash to the dump last month and there was one in the bottom, couldn't keep it running, every time he put it in gear, it would cut off, it just couldn't take the combo of mud and a steep grade.

 

First off-I like Chevys-and I like Fords-I may as well come clean all the way-I like Dodges too!
I've owned all three-worst piece of crap I've ever owned was a Ford truck,(2 of them are tied for that spot)
But-the best truck I've ever owned yet is also a Ford!

All have pro's and cons to them...I'm pretty handy at times with repairs-but certainly NO mechanic...lol.
All I have to offer are real life experiences with all three.

As far as the 460-454 thing goes...lol...I'm bustin ***** bro.

I've never owned either-just lookin to stir the pot a bit...lol.

I re-read my post and realized I prolly offended some fellow truckers with my sarcastic remarks bout the PSD "having a stroke"-my apologies-It's really NOT a funny thing to have happen when you buy a new truck you trust in.

As far as the Duramax goes-I don't like the idea behind it either-but they WERE desperate for something-anything!
Ford already had the #1 diesel in America-the 7.3 PSD-why change it?
I'm sure it'll turn out to be a fine motor in the long haul,but how many guys are going to experience the same/more problems in the future till all the quirks are worked out?

Sure I can understand a few motors come out just plain bad from the get go-but this seems pretty common from what I've read so far.
I'm not sure I really want one now...
Where's all the pre market testing gone to?
As far as the Cummins goes-from what I've read around -you are right-but at least I know it's proven itself time and again in reliability,and it's still the same ole motor,so if I were in the market for a new diesel-it'd prolly be the way to go-as the duramax still hasint proven anything to me yet-that thing needs double the caution before you buy time because of the aluminum heads they utilize.

Back on to the 460 vs 454 thing, -thanks dude you taught me something....lol.


Regards.

 

I think some specs are a little off here. The 454 LS6 or whatever making 450HP may have made peak torque at 4,500rpm but not the truck version. I don't know the peak torque number of the 454 so I will give it a lame rating of 425ft. lbs. If the "truck" 454 makes that much torque at 4,500 rpm then it also makes 364HP at 4,500rpm. Which in turn it will continue to make more HP as rpms increases (HP doesn't drop off with torque in the curve). You are looking at a peak of 450HP minimum. Never heard of that in a truck. The 454 has a longer stroke and smaller bore which makes it better off for making low end torque than the 460. However, the 454's heads flow quite a bit more than the 460 truck heads. This gives it lower intake velocity at low rpms and will produce a less grunty feel. I have driven both and was far more impressed with the 460's low end punch. The 460 by design is a truck motor period. It was brought out in a lincoln (heavy car) and naturally made its way over to the trucks. While it can be made into a serious reliable race engine it wasn't intended for it from ford until recently in crates.

HP=TQ X RPM / 5252

 

Emissions regulations coming up here vey soon will require even more efficient diesels. The 6.0L is an awesome engine, it pulls better than the 7.3, its cleaner and more efficient, its quiet, it has awesome acceleration and even pretty good low end torque. The 6.0L is better than the 7.3L. I know because my dad has both and I drive them regularly.

 

the 396,454 chebby engines are lame..my dad tells storys of him and his cousin smoking them in a '69 mach 1 (428cj) ..I have driven a tow truck one ton chebby with a 454 it was pertty torquie..and didnt complain when asked to work..I have never driven a ford with the 460..I would think they are pretty close

 

From my personal experience, the 454 (the one I drove anyway) is the most dissapointing for all the hype. I thought it would have been fairly descent, it was an early motor, before emissions, so it had a higher compression, a 4bbl, and dual exhaust. What a joke. The 460 I drove was in a 94 ford 1 ton ex. cab, and it was fairly impressive.

 

Since I have owned both a 88 F-350, and now a 97 F-350, both with 460 and 4x4. I can say that the 97 is hands down a better motor than that of the 88. I know that the 88 was the first year for the efi in the 460 and 97 was the last, more years, better results. Anyway, I have driven a 454, not impressed! I have also pulled my 88 460 with 102,000 mi on it at truck pulls against the 454 old and vortec. I crushed them handily. No comparison they were not even close to me in the end. The 460 has much better low end grunt and the hp comes in nicely too. The years that I was doing the truck pulling was in '96-'98. so I came across many of the competitors. I spanked the dodge v-10 bad and the 454ss. Also before the turbodiesel's started going chip crazy, I would beat them too. The 454 might rev higher, but that dosen't nessecarily mean that it will run better. Bottom line is that the 460 stomps the 454 24/7/365!