351w vs. 460
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2003
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351w vs. 460
When I was looking for my truck, I was looking for something from 89 to about 92 with 5.8(351W) engine but I just happened to get a 460 even though I wanted a small block.
Obviously, I get abysmal mileage, usually about 11 - at best. And that's a well tuned 460.
Would 351 do much better than that in a full size F250 "HD" (Base 1 ton truck)? I keep hearing that all it can do is about 13-14mpg, a slightl improvement which may not be worth it given that 460 gets much more torque. But I looked in my Ford towing guide for 1990 and the figures for 351W were impressive, it did not seem much less powerful than the big block 460.
PS I currently have C6 but wish I had a manual.
Obviously, I get abysmal mileage, usually about 11 - at best. And that's a well tuned 460.
Would 351 do much better than that in a full size F250 "HD" (Base 1 ton truck)? I keep hearing that all it can do is about 13-14mpg, a slightl improvement which may not be worth it given that 460 gets much more torque. But I looked in my Ford towing guide for 1990 and the figures for 351W were impressive, it did not seem much less powerful than the big block 460.
PS I currently have C6 but wish I had a manual.
Elder User
Joined: May 2003
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From: Wichita Falls
is this truck your daily driver? or do you just use it to hall and tow? anyway surely you have looked at replacing parts on the truck to get better gas milage? exhaust is a good idea if it doesn't have a good system on it already. various other parts replaced should give some better gas milage as well. what type of 351w were you looking at? a performance built engine bought from somewhere brandnew or one from a donor car or truck? for what you would pay for the brand new performance engine i would think it would be worth it to do soem work on the 460 instead. otherwise if your pulling from a donor go that route. but your going to be losing some power by going with a donor engine unless you rebuild it. heck if you rebuild with all stock stuff your still losing power unless you use performance parts. heck ill swap engines with ya! trucks in my sig rofl.
Postmaster
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My vote is keep the 460 if your getting 11mpg in a 3 speed 1 ton truck then your doing okay. If needed rebuilt and apply boost and that thing should keep the mpg and have more hp and tq if needed. You may get better mpg and slightly more power from just an aftermarket cam swap may be worth calling different maufacturers and seeing what kinda claims they have to offer, good luck
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2003
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Thanks, I am more or less satisfied with it even though originally I wanted a small block V8 (from any manufacturer). 460 is a very good engine for 10,000 lbs towing loads but very thirsty.
No, it is not my daily driver, I think if I had a smaller engine, I would use it as a daily driver. Problem is, I would jeopardize its towing capacity for my purposes.
No, it is not my daily driver, I think if I had a smaller engine, I would use it as a daily driver. Problem is, I would jeopardize its towing capacity for my purposes.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: Southern California
Well your 460 get's better fuel economy than my 351w. My F250 usually gets 10 mpg. It gets 8 mpg pulling my trailer. I think a lot of it has to do with the weight of these big 'ol trucks.
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Fleet Mechanic
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Interesting.
Someone told me that if you take a 4-cyl Honda engine and stick in a full size truck like that, base 1-ton, it will get abysmal mileage like 460.
And conversely, if you take 460 and stick it in a subcompact, it will do much better than 11mpg.
Someone told me that if you take a 4-cyl Honda engine and stick in a full size truck like that, base 1-ton, it will get abysmal mileage like 460.
And conversely, if you take 460 and stick it in a subcompact, it will do much better than 11mpg.
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Posting Guru
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From: Still under the hood in O
The biggest thing to consider, to me anyway, is a 351 would have to work harder (RPM) to tow a 10K lb load than the 460.
My Chevy 4x4 has a 350 and once a year, we pull a 7K+ lb travel trailer. We pull it up a dirt road that goes from about 250 ft above sea level to over 5k ft up. It's a steep pull and the little 350 does fine but a big block would be better in this situation due to the temp it reaches. On a side note, the 4x4 gets 12 mpg - loaded or unloaded.
My Chevy 4x4 has a 350 and once a year, we pull a 7K+ lb travel trailer. We pull it up a dirt road that goes from about 250 ft above sea level to over 5k ft up. It's a steep pull and the little 350 does fine but a big block would be better in this situation due to the temp it reaches. On a side note, the 4x4 gets 12 mpg - loaded or unloaded.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2003
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Thanks for the info, that's good to hear.
I pretty much came to the same conclusions on my own. With my nearly 10Klbs load, I am for better or worse in the big-block territory, whether 7.5L or diesel or 454.
I have 350 in a sedan with towing package (3.23 rear) and it does well towing about 5,000 lbs, which is its rating. But, I don't know the rpms and I also don't know transmission temperature.
It does make sense, almost all motorhomes are either 460 or 454 big blocks and 460 seems to be more common.
I pretty much came to the same conclusions on my own. With my nearly 10Klbs load, I am for better or worse in the big-block territory, whether 7.5L or diesel or 454.
I have 350 in a sedan with towing package (3.23 rear) and it does well towing about 5,000 lbs, which is its rating. But, I don't know the rpms and I also don't know transmission temperature.
It does make sense, almost all motorhomes are either 460 or 454 big blocks and 460 seems to be more common.