HI GANG. I HAVE A 2007 F150 4.6. I PULL A 22 FOOT PARTY BARGE AN NEED A LITTLE MORE POWER DONT WANT DIESEL OR V10. QUESTION 5.4 VS NEW 4.6 3 VALVE. THE HP & TQ IS REALLY CLOSE. PLAN TO BUY NEXT WEEK AND LOOKING AT BOTH. I LIKE THE 5.4 BUT WAS TOLD THE NEW 3 VALVE WAS JUST AS STRONG AND BETTER ON FUEL MILEAGE. I NOW YOU CANT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. THANKS

 

A 5.4 3v will be better for towing than a 4.6 3v. The longer stroke and the heavier crank really improve low end torque. Everything else being equal the 5.4 wins in towing.

 

THANKS BUCKEYE. THE DEALER IS PUSHING THE 4.6. I WENT THERE WITH THE 5.4 IN MIND. CANT MAKE UP MY MIND

 

I'm not saying a 4.6 3v won't do it but the 5.4 will have more "umph" down low. How much does the party barge/trailer weigh?

 

I've driven one of the early 3v 4.6s and I wasn't impressed with it at all and it was all driving unloaded. I do go through a lot of hills and it just didn't want to take them at all. The 5.4 handles them much better. I don't tow with the half tons as I don't have bumper trailers and I don't believe in towing a gooseneck with a half ton. Although I see a lot of people that do it, something about it just doesn't "sit" right with me.

If towing is your primary goal, I would say the 5.4. I wouldn't even have a 4.6 just for DDing around some of the places that I have to deal with, but you may not have that issue except if you travel a good distance with your trailer.

 

When towing, there is no replacement for displacement.

 

That isn't necessary true either. It depends on a variety of factors. That might have been true during the time when everything was more mechanical, as everything as been going to more computer controlled, you would be amazed what can be tweaked.

 

THANKS GUYS, I JUST HAVE LOW MILAGE ON MY 07 AND IT IS A GOOD TIME FOR ME TO TRADE.DONT TOW A LOT BUT THOUGHT I WOULD UP GRADE POWER SINCE I WAS TRADING. DONT KNOW HOW MUCH PARTY BARGE WEIGHS BUT ITS HEAVY AND I PULL A CAMPER SOME AND TRAILER WITH SOMETIMES 4 HARLEYS ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR. I WANT TO BUY AND KEEP 10 YEARS OR SO. AND WANT TO THINK ON THIS HARD. THANKS FOR ALL THE IN PUT

 

I would go with the 5.4l for towing. I pull a 8,500lb fith wheel camper with my '10 and did it with a '07 5.4l before I got the '10. The truck has the max trailer tow and is rated for 11,000lbs. The area I live is all flat and I have no trouble pulling the trailer.

 

Well my take on it is. Well for instance the new Ecoboost engine in the 2011 and up F-150's sounds like its going to be a real towing machine, And I have no doubt it will be. But just imagine if they took the technology they used on this 3.5L engine and applied it to the 5.0L or the 6.2L, The 5.0L being naturally aspirated and lacking direct injection, is only 5hp short of the Ecoboost and 40lb/ft of torque off. The 6.2L outright beats the Ecoboost in peak power and torque. Now I admit the it is impressive that the Ecoboost makes 90% of its torque at 1500 RPMS but that has nothing to do with its small displacement. Its based on it the fact that it has an advanced twin turbo system and computer set up by Ford. So lets say you've got a 6.2L and you add all the technology the Ecoboost has to it, Twin Turbos, Direct Injection, Ti-VCT, Imagine the possibility, The 6.2L would make ton's more torque than the Ecoboost and it would even have that nice flat rich diesel like torque curve that the Ecoboost has. And even though the 6.2L would never match the Ecoboost MPG rating it would still do noticeably better with this technology on it. I had heard (And I'm not sure how much truth there is to this) that the 5.0L saw 1 to 3 mpg gains with the addition of Ti-VCT alone. The only reason I can think of that Ford hasn't added Direct Injection to the 5.0L and 6.2L is for the sake of competition. So this way when GM or Chrysler come's out with something that makes a little more power than Fords 5.0L or 6.2L Ford can easily update the engines with Direct Injection to compete.

My point to all this being...In essence with all things equal there really is no replacement for displacement when it come's down to making power and torque.

The problem with people thinking that V8's get bad mileage is that when you do the math on it anything that has to push a 5,000lb+ truck is not going to do that well. Personally I expect even the Ecoboost to do only slightly better than per say...The 5.0L. Modern day V8's can be made to get reasonable mileage. For example (As much as I hate to admit this being die hard Ford) I recently took a Chevy Suburban (Rental) on a long trip about 2,000 miles total driving. The Suburban was a 2010 model with the 5.3L V8 and 6-speed auto transmission. And in the mixed driving I took it threw (80mph Flat Highway drives, Mountain Ranges, and City driving) I averaged between 18 and 23mpg which was to me was pretty damn impressive considering this rig weighed over 6,000lbs. It was fully loaded with 5 passengers and all their luggage. But I know that even the old 5.4L is capable of about the same mileage as the GM 5.3L, And just think these are even old tech V8's. With this new generation of Direct Injection, Ti-VCT, Its not impossible that modern day V8's could fairly easily see 20mpg+ in mixed city/highway driving. And even mid to high teens in reasonable for City driving alone. Lets say you manage 17mpg in the city. And I know it can be done because I've done it before. And you have a 30gallon gas tank. that's 510 miles before another fill up is needed (500 to be safe). And much like I achieved 23mpg with the 5.3L I was able to go about 690miles before I was on empty. That is alot of driving. Its all in how you drive it. On problem with V8's getting a bad MPG rap is you get these younger kids that come from well off family's and their parents buy them a brand spanking new V8 F-150 or whatever big powerful car they want. And turn them loose with a Gas card payed for by mommy and daddy. They don't buy the car and they don't buy the gas. So of course they have no respect for the vehicle seeing as they didn't earn it. And since mom and dad's picking up the tab for the gas They could care less if it gets 10mpg or 30mpg. Now I am pretty young myself. I'm 22 years old. But I have always respect my pickups and driven them nicely and tried to conserve gas. I bought and paid for my own trucks and paid for the gas they used to. It really pisses me off to see kid 4 or 5 years younger than myself abusing their brand new cars and trucks. Sorry if this seems like a rant its not lol. I just got a little side tracked.

As for the 5.4L vs 4.6L3v I would say go with the 5.4L, Its a really decent engine when it comes to towing. As it does make plenty of torque down at lower RPMS. Either way thought I'm sure you will be very satisfied with your new truck.

 

The thing is though, they aren't equal. That's what you have to go by. I don't disagree that if they were the same, turbo, DI etc that there might not be room to argue, but then again maybe so. The fact that the 5.0 and the 6.2 aren't DI and turbo, that's what the people can get and that's what you have to compare them by, not just imagining what it would be like if they had a turbo and DI. Unless you are able to make those changes yourself, or they become available from the factory at some later time, you have to go with what you can get, not daydream about what it would be like if they had those things.

7.3 has more displacement then a 6.0 and yet the 6.0 makes more power. Both are turbo(depending on what 7.3 your talking about, for this conversation, I'll be talking about the later ones that have the turbo and are DI(the powerstroke versions) and Direct Injection. If you were to go by displacement alone, you would think that the 7.3 made more power, it doesn't. Both are DI, both are turbo, both are v8s, hell they even run the same type of injectors. There are differences and those differences allow the 6.0 to make more power with less displacement then a 7.3.

The point is, you have to get into the nitty gritty. Not just Engine specs, but even tranny specs play a part in it.

I'm not saying that if they did DI and turbo on the 5.0 and the 6.2, that they may not blow the ratings away from the EB(in fact I think they would), what I am debating is just going on merely the fact that they have more displacement. Displacement helps, but also the things that support it need to be taking into account as well. Displacement doesn't totaly win it by itself. As you become more efficient, you can get more with less.

 

It comes down to what you want to use the truck for. My primary reason in engine selection was MPG. I don't do a lot of towing- just 2-3 times a year. Therefore I went with the 4.6 3 valve/6spd. I tow a 17' Hi-Lo. Factory quotes 2850 lbs dry (w/o any accessories). More like 3250+ lbs.

Just got back from towing through N Georgia mountains to the beach and back and averaged 14.6 mpg (while towing). Worked for me. If I were towing larger loads, I would have gone with the 5.4.

The 4.6 did amazing and never struggled -- pulled Monteagle grade coming home mostly in 5th. When I'm not towing, easily manage 18-19 in day to day driving. That's as good or better than the Ridgeline my wife has, my former 06 MDX, and much better than my 02 Ram 4.7 Quad Cab. That thing struggled without pulling anything!

Can't wait to see how the new generation engines do.

 

What a minute. The 4.6 I drove couldn't even handle Woodbury unloaded and yours handled Monteagle?

I must have had an anemic one.

 

tex--maybe so. I am amazed at how much "scoot" mine has. I pulled that grade at 60 mph in 5th and it was OK. Granted it was the back side coming home to Nashville. But, even going from Nashville south, I never got below 4th. I have 3:55 gears, but that's the usual setup I think. Don't think they come geared any taller, but maybe yours was.

 

It wasn't mine, it was a loaner. The 5.4 in my siggy is the very first gasser I've ever owned. Driven many, but only have owned the one.