Not to stir up controversy I write this to get people to think. Lately I have been reading a lot of comments about the lightning/Harley Davidson trucks. I drove a Lightning. This is what I thought of it. It had power. Was I impressed? NO
Consider what a lightning has to add performance. A roller OHC and supercharger.
Is a pickup a wise vehicle to have this? Fact-A pickup is high profile. It is not weight proportioned. Yes you can drop the truck to gain speed but your suspension will suffer. Unless you like the lumber cart effect. Yes you can put stones in the bed but if you racing you want to be as light as you can. Unless you like the tank effect.
Lets look at the nature of the motor. It is a 5.4L lets not b.s. each other. This motor is fords versions of the Chevy 305. Small piston long stroke this engine is not ideal to rev up fast. Its more like a diesel trying to go. I personally own a 4.6L I am not impressed.
Lets go back in time. The 360, 302, 351, 400m. I personally owned a 400m in a f- 250. I put high top pistons and a racing cam in it. I swear the truck would pull a live oak tree out roots and all. This 97 I have now would not stand to it. It would fall apart if I tried that.
Summery: Older is better. If I put a supercharger and had the OHC on this old motor I would have something to brag about and it would outperform the 5.4L motor. Maybe I am wrong about the Lightning. Maybe it’s a status symbol. Maybe its child like dreams being fulfilled. If you can afford it go get it but there’s people that think “who cares.” I think its better to fix up one of those older trucks. You know when they were metal. P.S. I can afford a lightning I just wont get one.

 

Few old trucks, no matter how hopped up, would do 13 seconds in the 1/4 mile. And the Lightning is not merely lowered, it has a specially tuned suspension and can out-corner many large sport cars.

 

i'd have to agree....the lightning in my opinion is the ultimate sports vehicle. When i test drove one last summer my gut feeling was that it was every bit as fast as a corvette, handled very comparably, and was more versitale. think about it....you can tow your boat to the lake in the morning..pick up your kids sandbox sand in the afternoon....and still make the drag strip in the evening.....all in one truck. Lets see ya do that with a vette.

 

Does the corvette have a supercharger and ohc. When GM puts this in a stock Corvette and the Lightning beats it then I will be impressed. For right now ,What the Lightning has in it should pull better times. This engine is not performing in my book.

 

Fine then, nobody is keeping you here. Don't be a troll, this site is for people that like Ford vehicles and you aren't going to change anybodys mind. If I had $37,000 laying around I would buy a Lightning, actually a Harley because that one is a CC. Older is better because you can add more to them. However gas mileage really sucked.

 

Lets see what the weight difference is between the vette and the lightning......then lets see engine displacement.....now which motor is working the hardest.

 

Rick LAY THE CRACK PIPE DOWN BRO!!! You are trying to compare a vehicle that can work or play any way it's owner wants it to a plastic toy that rich middleaged balding men buy to make up for what they lack up top (and prolly down below too). You make it sound like a Lightning has to live up to what a Corvette can do. Well the day a Corvette hauls a load of lumber home in the morning and whoops tail at the strip in the evening then & only then will a Corvette be As Good As a Lightning. Because i seriously doubt any Corvette owner has ever gone grocery shopping & stuffed their vehicle full of groceries. Yep the whole 1 bag that'll fit in a 'vette

 

The lightning is very easy to mod and can hit 12's with about no effort... All u have to do is make sure u get a custom chip and sum manely rods and u can add over an extra 5 pounds of boost and with a new converter with a higher stall and all that ur set for mid to low 12's... But of course u can't doa nything to this engine to make it perform... Oh and the corvette thing... The corvette is in no way near the lighting the lighint is 30 times more versitle almost as quick and for the extra 5 grand u would spend to get one u can make it faster than one easy... Also its not Fords fault that GM doesn't supercharge it...

 

It's like those people who say that forced induction is cheating...................to me, horsepower is horsepower, not matter how you break it down.

And by the way, has anybody peeped out the new lightning concept? Sheesh! 5.4L DOHC supercharged. 500hp and 500tq! Now that's what I call an improvement on an already sweet truck.

 

Look, here's how I see it. Even if Corvettes had 700hp and ran an 8second 1/4 I'd still buy the lightning, why? I like trucks it's that simple. If I was gonna get hit in something I'd prefer a truck that weighs over 5,ooo lbs. For the guy who own's the 4.6 f150 and complaining about the 5.4; take a look at the cobra R which on a good day will give any vette a run for the money 1/4 mile or track. If you don't like ford motors go out and by a dodge or chevy or something.

1993 lightning, red
lowered w/nt450's, edelbrock heads, pro-flo mass air, flexfan, compucam, flowmasters nascar exit style, shift kit, chip.
Bring on the 93 vett's boys

 

Come on its a truck..there awsome...Bottom Line..Not even the same to compare to a Vette come on guys...Now lets comapre Imports shall we..Its a truck YES full size ttrucking running 13s thats awsome...



Ryan

 

I think sport trucks hit perfection with the 454 SS. I don't trust anything that makes the kinda power the Lightning makes AND gets better than 8mpg. Something seems fishy, could it be that Ford engineers actually did careful research and planning rather than stuff a 1 ton truck motor in a half ton truck? Basically dude the Lightning is one bitchin truck. It's worth every penny and I think it's cool that Ford built such a vehicle with modern emissions laws. While I actually do like the Chevy 454 SS better (I like it for nostalgic reasons. It was sort of a throwback to the muscle car era when big engines ruled) the Lightning is a much better truck all around and I would love to have one sitting in the driveway.

 

The only way I'd buy a lightning is if Ford brought back the SOHC 427, supercharged it, fitted it with all the new electronics, fuel injection, and put THAT in the lightning. I'd be first in line. But of course that'll never happen, with the emmissions laws the way they are. It's got too big of a bore. If they could find a way to do it, though, I'd be right there to buy one.

That said, I've got nothing against the new lightning. I believe it is a good, useful, powerful truck. But for what they want for it, I think they can do better. Until then, I'll stick with my old truck. Sure, it nickel and dimes me, but they dont add up to as much as a new truck.

 

so i've got a friend thats kinda like that. He won't buy a ford cause you can't buy a big block v8 in it. So instead he's going to buy a 8.1 vortech chevy. I don't understand it. Whats the difference if its got a big block or a small block but it puts out the same power. You can rev a small block higher, which i thinks a plus in a sports vehicle. He also won't buy a v-10....same thing..its not a big block...who cares...it puts out power just the same. If you asked me i'd rather have a 500 hp 5.4 (next lightning hopefully) than a 500 hp big block. Some one explain it to me why ya have to have a big block to be a cool motor...cause i just don't get it. The weight difference alone is plenty to convince me.

 

Ok, I'll explain it. I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the SOHC 427 was rated at 600 (conservative) horsepower. I realize that might be a little lower with a streetable cam, but can you imagine what that thing would put out with modern fuel injection, a supercharger, and all the latest electronics??? It'd be a beast! It'd handle revs great too, even better than the 5.4. Like I said, I got nothing against the current lightning or the 5.4. I'd just rather see Ford building a big block. I know that they would do it right, whereas chebby just puts the N/A 454 in theirs. That's why I want a big block in the lightning. Nothing wrong with a little wishful thinking, eh?

BTW, I never said I wanted to buy a chibby. Ford all the way!