ok i have never found that to be true. i have a 5.7L suburban and tahoe, niether one gets 20 mpg. they get about 14 on average. now my friends 5.3 gets a little better, around 16.

 

This is all just heresay so I don't know if its true or not. I know my 5.7L in my '94 2500 gets 16MPG on the Interstate.

I don't have a 5.3 but my buddy does and he gets 19MPG on Interstate. I don't know if his is the exception or the rule but, according to him, it does great on mileage.

 

I've had a lot of Chevy "buddies" that claimed the same thing. When you actually take a trip with them and pin them down on it they end up getting about 16 or less if you are hauling the mail. Anyone who says their 5.3L Chevy gets 20+ mpg just needs to swap vehicles with me for a week. If it gets 20 mpg when I drive it, I'll pay 'em a grand. If it even gets 1 mpg better than my Ford, I'll pay them.

 

bigsnag,

I think both engines are rated at 15 city, 19 highway are they not? Why do you consider it impossible, for Ford or Chevy, to get slightly over the mileage indicated?
Since your comments said that you would pay even if it got 1 MPG over your Ford, then you must believe that the 5.3L could at least be equal in fuel mileage. If they ARE equal in MPG, does that mean the Ford is just as good as Chevy or that Ford is just as bad as the Chevy when it comes to fuel economy?

 

It doesn't really mean either one are good or bad on fuel economy. It just means that all those guys out there spouting off about how their 4X4 extended cab Chevy with a 5.3L gets 22 mpg are full of ******.

 

yea, probably are. i like my 9 mpg. no one really argues with that!

bigsnag, i love the looks of your truck by the way. i want one just like in with a short bed. very clean looking.

 

Thanks. I would have preferred a SWB, too. But I came across this one '75 Ranger XLT loaded with 460 automatic and very little rust and I couldn't help myself. I just "had" to restore it. I am actually thinking about selling it though.

 

I have an 2002 Ford F150 with the Fx4 package and the 5.4L 2v engine. This engine is still rated at 260 Hp and 360 torque. It has 40,000 miles on it. My friend has a 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z71. Both trucks are extended cab and have the 3.73 rear axle ratio. Both are stock and have had nothing done except the silverado had some of its recall work done to it. We raced them against each other at a top light and the Ford spanked him. Its sad that if since StompGo claims my truck has less than that because of a lie that I can power brake it easily while the silverado can't and it has more supposedly because of them lying. When my friend bought a 30 ft trailer and tried to pull it up a hill I had never seen an engine bogg down before. This is true he was pulling it fine and the rpms dropped and he put it to the floor to keep it moving and the truck slowed to a stop and still didn't even spin the tire! I hooked up to pull it the rest of the way to out hunting camp up the hill and didn't even have it half way down. The 5.4 is a true performer and now with those new heads it is definately a bad lad. Case closed.

 

my buddy and i went up a 7% grade for about 3 miles. me w/ a '05 fx4 scab 4x4, 5.4 w/3.55 ls. my buddy w/ a '04 chev/hd 6.0 4x4 extcab. we were neck and neck for the whole mountain, they both shifted about the same points and came up at about 90 mph. we both agreed on them being equal. also, tq and hp crosses at 5252 rpm for the record.

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts!

…..See you on the boards.

 

Lets all get go carts and say the heck with it. The the question will be briggs, honda, techumsa. ha ha ha . I'll start off and say honda.

 

I'd have to go with Kohler.

 

welp i had a 97 laraite scab 4x4 w/ 5.4 that i traded for a 05 fx4 w/ a 5.4 4x4. right after my wife bought her a 04 fx4 w/ a 5.4. my 97 has never been out worked by any chevy or dodge for that matter. but to answer this queston will i guess i did didnt i. seeing how i owned three 5.4s. i really think that if you want to make a showing w/ chevy against the f150 w/ a 5.4L then you really need to step up to a 350. come on i've seen a few of these 5.3s work and i cant help but feel sorry for the owners. what was chevy thinking?
you look at the torque curves you'll see that fords has it when you need it most. on low end, getting mass into motion is when you need torgue after the mass is in motion you dont need as much to keep it going. so take these hill climbs yall been talking about for example. i dont about yall's 5.3s but my 05 fx4 runs 75mph @ 2000rpms which by the way is 4000rmps less than my 97. at a good start on this grade my truck will down shift, hitting about 3300 to 3500 rpm very fast look i'm peaking torgue keeping my mass in motion. the numbers is there just read them. i dont where it came from that you build torgu than fall on your face that just aint true. yea your ft/lbs decline but not a straight drop and after mass is in motion you need as much. remeber running out of gas and pushing the car at first you got to strain to inch the car but after the car was rolling it got easier just costing along this is how torgue works for you. if you had to work the same thru the whole curve of pushing the car you would'nt get a few feet and run out of steam. for me my ford works the way i need it to.

 

I'd have to agree with the original poster about the 5.3 getting great gas mileage. My best friends 99 seems to sip gas no matter how hard we drive it-he thinks its a race car. We'll go out for the day and he'll race from stoplight to stoplight all day long (against himself) and the needle never moves. BUT for towing, I really wouldn't want that engine. Down low it really is gutless, and doesn't really shine until high RPM's-when towing or hauling heavy loads, the tranny is shifting down all the time. If you set the cruise at 65mph, it will slowly loose speed, then downshift to get back to 65mph then slowly loose speed again with the slightest incline. I'd choose the 5.4 over it because of the big torque advantage.

 

anybody have the stock hp and torque curves for both the 5.3 and the 5.4? i want to see this.