does this really suprise anyone? isnt that what all the gigantic SUVs get? dont they weigh as much as the moon.............

 

**'04 SD 5.4 3.73s pulling empty 18ft long trailer got 7mpg

ive got a 2000 5.4 with 4.10s and the worst milage ive ever gotten pulling an 18 foot trailer with a 3500 pound car on it is 13.5. and that was stop and go driving taking the car to the track, without driving anywhere else. averages 16 mpg without towing. so something is wrong somewhere if it couldnt do any better than that.

** never went over 65mph, mostly average driving, not a lot of stop and go, had to drive with overdrive off most of the time because it would just shift back and forth, not enough power to hold the gear, very disapointed,

your problem there is you werent going fast enough to warrant using overdrive. the 5.4 pulls best between 2200 and 2500rpm and with 4.10s i only turn 2000rpms doing 60. so youre probably not even close to getting her in the powerband with 3.73s. my cousin has to take his 460 out of overdrive if hes doing below 60 too, so its not the 5.4s inability to tow. the 5.4 wont pull with a diesel or a v10, but it does just fine when compared to other v8s when they are both equipted the same, including the 460. it has more horsepower and torque than the 4.6, 4.9, 5.0, 5.8 and is only 40ft/lbs torque behind the 460, but has 50 more horses. sorry for the rant, but tired of people expecting the 5.4 to out pull a powerstroke and saying its a piece of crap when it wont.

 

**(5.4)not very much power

its best to compare trucks that are identically equipted to determine which engine is more powerful, but to do a comparison of similar trucks...

my truck-2000 f-250 superduty with 5.4, 4.10 gears and 5 speed.
my cousins truck-1991 f-350 dually crew cab with 460, 4.10 gears and auto.
both trucks weigh within 100 pounds of each other and have the same gearing.

5.4 stock-260 horses and 350 ft/lbs torque at flywheel
460 stock-215 horses and 390 ft/lbs torque at flywheel

subtract 10% for mine for stick shift-234 rwh and 315 rwt
subtract 15% for his auto-183 rwh and 331 rwt

my tranny first gear 5.72+ rear end 4.10=9.82 final drive ratio
my tranny second gear 3.3+rear end 4.10=7.4 final drive ratio
his tranny first gear 2.70+ rear end 4.10=6.8 final drive ratio

we both pull the same weight car and trailer to the track every week and follow each other over there. and who do you think gets theirs moving faster when we get stopped at red lights on hills, who gets 13.5 mpg towing while the other gets 9 mpg without towing? we both downshift out of overdrive at the same spot(speed limit drops to 45 and goes uphill). yet the 460 was considered the "king" of towing in gas engines before the v10 and people say the 5.4 shouldnt even be in a superduty truck.

 

iBf250- I am glad I am not the only one! I am VERY happy with the power of my 5.4. It never feels under-powered to me and I traded in a 2001 Mustang GT for it!! Granted it does not have the acceleration the mustang had, but the mustang did not weigh 6,000lbs!

 

I have a 2002 F-250 with 3.73's and a standard cab. I drive 7 miles to school and about 10 miles in town driving a day. My last tank was 12 mpg, that's empty! I don't really drive it hard either I just put it around. The best I ever got was 13.0 on a 250 mile trip, avg speed probably 65 mph. The worst I ever had was 10.0 in winter, in snow. I to installed a K&N air filter and did not notice any great change. It has plenty of power for me so I'm not complaining about lack of power, just the mileage. Any help would be greatly appreciated on how to help me improve my mileage. Thanks.

 

blackf250-no, the 5.4 isnt a fast engine. if someone wants a fast truck they should buy a lightning. but wait, isnt that a 5.4 too in my opinion trucks werent meant to be fast anyways. my dad has a 5.0 truck, my cousin has a 460, his dad has a 5.8 and another one of my uncles has a 4.9 and we've compared them just about every way possible. towing, gas milage, up hills from stops, etc. and the 5.4 out pulls all of them and gets better gas milage doing it. granted, his 460 would outpull mine if he had a manual, but it doesnt. but is that 40 extra torque worth getting 7-8 mpg with the way gas prices are now?

 

My 04 f350 4x4, auto, 4.10s has 420 miles on it ,first tank 10.6mpg, 2nd 9.5 mpg , never had over 2500rpm ,shifts at 2200 rpm, tachs 2000 rpm at 65 mph,with stk 265 bfg tires, hoping to get 12 mpg when broken in?