What are the pros and cons of a V6 vs an I6, and how come I see more I6's in trucks rather than V6's? Ive been wonderin bout this for a while and decided to as the gurus here.

 

Well because the I6 was used in trucks from the 40's(Flathead, possibly earlier) through the 300 which was last used in 95(I think). Thus they had a longer lifespan. I6's offer better low end torque #'s than V6's do, and in my opinion the I6 lasts a lot longer. I have a 3.0 V6 and it has 150,000+ miles on it, so I cant complain, but the durability, ease of working and the power that the I6 offers, there is no comparison. Just my $.02

 

Thanks biggieou, Ive heard they put out more tourqe than V6's but wasnt positive, what about hp though? Are the numbers generally the same there?

 

I6's esp the 300, which I have the most experience with, dont put out great HP numbers, but they arent built for that. I think when the 300 run ended the HP # was only like 120 or something like that. Somebody help me if I'm wrong, but amazingly the 300 was originally designed to be a stationary motor, and was never intended to be in trucks(Or at least thats what I was told). The 300 was replaced because it was 30 some odd years old, wasnt emissions friendly and it couldnt fit under that bubbly hood of the next body F-150's. Plus I think it was a conspiracy, the motors last too long, so Ford did away with them

 

The official Ford line for killing the 300 was the hood of the new '97 truck was too short, causing that LOOONG block to be pushed too far into the passenger compartment in a head-on collision.

It always kills me when people talk so much about horsepower, then you ask them what it is and does, and they'll say, "well, it makes the rear wheels spin when you floor it at the stoplight!" Folks, that's TORQUE! Horsepower is great on the race track, but it's torque that does all the work. Someone needs to teach the Chevy and Dodge ad guys that fact.

 

lol yea nowadays seems like there are more conpiracys. Im growing up in the "conspiracy age". They will never get our trucks. They already got after market exhaust, now I heard their tryin to get brush gaurds .
Ive also heard of people gettin 400+ hp out of an I6, naturally aspirated, is that possible? My uncle has an 1980 280Z with an I6 (stock), dunno the numbers on it but it hauls ****...but this kid dont believe me that its fast, and it is very quick.

 

My buddy who has a 600+hp Boss 302 has a 70 something 240Z that will haul *****. Its the naturally aspirated straight six, 4spd. 300's can put out alot of HP numbers, but it depends on how deep your pockets are There are alot of guys in the Inline six forum that have forgotten more than I'll ever know, so they are a good group of guys to ask questions.

 

I 've seen the I6 everywear from snowcats to the tugs at the airport

 

Actually Ford is the only one NOT building an I6 right now (unless Dodge dropped the 4.0 I6 and the Cummings diesel). Chevy has a new I6 that is currently in the Trail Blazer and is destined for the entry level full size market - at some point. Ford is still trying to pass off 4.2 (ever hear people brag on that engine?) as a good base engine. It fell embarrassing short when we compared the Chevy V6 full pickups to the Ford V6 full size pickups for our company in both power and gas miileage. As for the adds - Ford plays the same game.

Ford threw away one of the best engines ever produced for the light truck market when it dropped the 300 I6. Instead of taking it's basic design and letting a few bright engineers improve it, it tossed it on the scrap heap and joined the V6 crowd. Never heard about the entire design team being fired for designing the front of the 97 F150 to short for company's base engine - it was a concision effort to move into the V6 market.

One of the reasons for the longevity of most I6s is lower vibrations and achieving max horse power at lower RPMS - both of wich result in less engine wear.

 

Actually, I recall seeing a HP chart (in a Ford service manual) for truck engines of the early '90s. I was mainly interested in my '90 302 at the time, which was around 185(?)hp, but the 4.9 I6 wasn't far behind, maybe 10-15 hp less.

The 4.2 V6 they put in the fullsize trucks and vans is a joke. My biz partner had a '98 E150 work van with the 4.2 V6. I drove it about 4 hours once on the interstate through some wind and calm. I thought we were going to die in the wind, and I was constantly having to get it to kickdown out of OD to maintain 70 on the slightest of hills (with not much of a load, either) on the stretches of road where there wasn't much wind. As an aside, the seats stink in those vans, too. I'm 6' tall, and felt like I could barely see over the steering wheel. Manute Bol wouldn't hit his head driving one of those things.

Jason

 

Its a shame, but if you honestly look at the newer 1/2 tons, they really arent made to work like they used to be. The are more for moms who want to sit higher in the air than everyone else. Its really, really sad that Ford sold out and joined the V6 market and dropped one of, if not the, best engine they ever produced

 

Just to clarify. The Traiblazer's engine is an I5.

And no "g" on the end of Cummins.

I would say Ford dropped the venerable 300 so that the Modular concept could take root within their factory walls. And packaging & emission concerns with the vehicles of the time probably played another large part.

 

I see what your saying, but the old saying used to be, theres no replacement for displacement. Well thats changing, as the technology gets better. I think they had a great base motor to start with, and with some engineering, they could have taken the old iron head pushrod motor and made something even more special out of it. But today its all about HP numbers, not torque. Most people dont know what HP does, thats true, but they know as long as they have more of it then someone else, that other person will be trying to outdo them. The 300 never had the HP numbers and I do think its true that they wanted to step away from their past and more towards the Mod motors.
Its sad that Chevy and Dodge still have inlines, and Ford doesnt. I keep hoping one day I will wake up and read that Ford has decided to bring back the 300 in a 1/2 ton w/manual hubs and a manual transmission. But as of right now, the only time that exists is BEFORE I wake up.

 

I believe that a 95 F-150 with a 300-6 is around 160hp and 265ft lbs. A 2000 F-150 with a 4.2 V6 has 205hp and 255 ft/lbs.

Yes the 300 is a lower reving motor, and yes the 4.2 is a higher reving motor.

A gain of 40 hp at a loss of 10 ft/lbs.

Times change an so must companies to stay in buisness.

 

I think the EFI 300 that's in my 95 F-250 was rated at 155 hp, but it's maximum torque and hp kick in at a pretty low rpm range and mated to the 5 speed manual it has it pulls a lot better than my new truck with the 5.4L and an auto trans. I broke the shifter in my 5-speed once and lost 3rd and 4th gear, I drove the truck about 30 or 40 miles like that with a huge cab over camper on it with 1st, 2nd, and OD. I would wind out 2nd to about 40 mph, throw it in OD, and the rmp's would drop below 1000 and that 300 pulled it's way all the way to 70mph fairly easily.... I think the 4.2 V6 would probably have just puked it's pistons out into the road and died.

I posted earlier that if I could find a new 1/2 ton truck with a descent v-8 and manual tranny I would trade the 01 - F150 today... well, If I could find a new truck with a stong Inline Six and a good manual tranny I would think I had died and gone to heaven. I have the 300 in my Bronco also, and it will still turn my 35" tires if I dump the clutch and lay into it... (providing that my u-joints hold). The 300 I have in it has twisted my axle's and drivelines in two a couple of times, why would you want a V-6 or a V-8 that wouldn't make that kind of torque until 4500 rpm's when my I-6 will do it at 2500.

Ford just doesn't seem interested in making the new F-150 into a real TRUCK anymore, it's more of a grocery getter... an expedition with a cargo bed. I love what they've done with the Super Duty's but they've really left the F-150 behind in ruggedness and durability...if they offered it with the 300 and a 5-speed manual it would be the new work truck for everyone. I bet 90% of them would be white, no frills, rubber mats... you get the picture, but atleast it would be a TRUCK. I.M.O.