Just got an 07 F159 4.6 3.55 gears, how well does it pull I have a boat around 3,000lbs. I was thinking about a chip, any thoughts?

 

i had a 4.6 L 5 speed with 3.55 gears...i had 33" tires so that made a difference but i go soooooooo tired of towing with it i sold it for my 07 with the 5.4 and 3.73's...

tows much better than my 4.6 did...

3,000 lbs i would think you will feel the weight a little....prolly slow down quite a bit on hills and such but it will do it and get better mpg empty when compared to the 5.4

 

My buddy has a chip that he is wanting to get rid of.

Its a jet performance chip

Contact only1lee on this site

 

I love my 4.6, and I won't bash it...

you can take a look in my gallery and see what i've towed with my 4.6, and yes, while i knew it was back there, it did the job fine...

I don't have mine chipped, but I probably will once the warranty runs out...

The only difference is that I have a 3.73:1 rear diff, not 3.55s...

 

For someone like me that will (only) tow my Drag Boat a few times in the Summer, the 4.6 sounds like the right option.
Fuel mileage w/not towing is a BIG factor for me. 355 rears all the way

 

I had a '97 with the 4.6L and 3.55 gears. I regularly towed 3000# plus with it and it wasn't bad as long as you popped it out of OD.

My '06 5.4L w/3.55's will walk all over the '97 with a load on, but that's not to say the 4.6L was a slouch towing 3000#.

If you only do it occasionally, I wouldn't think it would be too big of a deal.

BTW, my '04 5.4L consistantly got almost a full MPG BETTER mileage than the '97 4.6L it replaced...this was averaged over 15k and 75k miles respectively. Same gearing/set-up/etc, except the 97 was a super cab and the '04 a Screw. FWIW....

 

You're saying the 5.4 got 1 MPG better than the 4.6...Towing or not?
Maybe it's in part because of the bigger engines newer design being more fuel efficient ?
Did the 4.6 have 410 rears?

 

Yes, that's exactly what I have found.

How I calculate mileage.......every mile, every drop of fuel...... towing, interstate, city, winter, summer, you name it. Each tank gets recorded individually and then they get aggregated in an Excel spreadsheet.

'97 F-150 4x2 4.6L Super Cab, auto, 3.55LS

Average MPG over 70,588 miles = 15.91
Best single tank = 18.38
Worst = 11.49 (3500# trailer in head wind)


'04 F-150 4x2 5.4L Super Crew, auto, 3.55LS

Average MPG over 19,636 miles = 16.36
Best single tank = 18.52
Worst = 12.32


'06 F-150 4x2 5.4L Super Crew, auto, 3.55LS

Average MPG over 8524 miles = 15.41
Best single tank = 18.39
Worst = 13.53


My experience with the 5.4L is that it gets equal to, or slightly better mileage than my 4.6L did for my driving habits, etc. I was really surprised at the numbers, but since they are over such a large sample size I know that they are accurate. I have not owned a post '04 4.6L, so I can't say if any improvements have made some of my comparisons less valid (considering the model year difference between '97 and '04), but in my trucks, the 5.4L seems to be just as good on gas, if not better.

The '04 was totaled in Oct with right at 35K on the odo, so the new '06, with only 8500 miles on it currently, has seen nothing but cold weather winter driving. I suspect that it's MPG numbers will grow as the block gets fully broken in and the weather warms up in IL. The last few tanks have already shown improvements now that the temps are out of the deep freeze.

 

BTW, I'm a mechanical engineer and I can't resist keeping data like this (even though it's nerdy...) It's actually interesting to watch how seasonal temps and fuel blends change MPG and the difference between towing and unloaded, etc.

FWIW, each of the above trucks had/have Access bed covers and Ford factory towing packages, stock tire size, etc.

And, my memory was off a bit. As the numbers show, it's more like a 1/2 MPG better mileage, but still BETTER...and it's calculated over a large enough sample size to take out the effects of tank top-offs, wind/no wind, weather (drove the '04 for almost exactly one calandar year before it's early demise), etc.

 

Good info thanks.
I would assume a 4x4 will also drag mpg down a tad.

Anytime I see someone with a newer S-Crew I always ask what king of mpg their seeing...the responce, "it's not good". lol

 

I beg to differ, from my standpoint my mileage has improved greatly since I've had my 4x4 s/crew. Of course, I was driving a 1990 E150 conversion van prior to it. It got between 7-10. Early returns have me getting around 15-16, driving like a grampa pigeon. So to me it's like I got an Escort now!!

 

thats what i thought too....then i had my 4.6....5 speed....put 33's on it and when i towed my one quad up the hills in central pa it was a total dog.....well, not total dog....it didn't do to bad but now with the 5.4 i have now it barley comes out of OD when i go up the hill....75% of the way up then it goes down one gear.....with my 4.6 i was in 3rd for 1/2 the hills....


in the end it's up to you.....the 5.4 will tow better hands down than the 4.6 will....

 

33's w a 4.6 might be asking a bit much...now if you also had 355 rears, that's like starting out in OD all the time.

Maybe a 4.6 standard size tiree and 373's might be a all round better ratio for the tow.

 

don't take this the wrong way, but the guy just bought the truck, he's not gonna go buy another truck just because of this...

to the original question, most users on the forum would recommend the edge programmer for the F150, and I know you can get it from Discount Power Parts cheaper than anywhere else, and no i haven't bought one and no I don't work for them...

and mileage wise in my truck, if i keep it at 65 on the highway, I can get in the 20's...

 

WOW...!
Comment in general, one of my old girlfriends had a 99 Expedition with the smaller V-8, that thing was in the high teens towing a Motorcycle Trailer down and back to Fla from Philly. I also couldn't believe how good it was around town with MPG.
I would venture to think the 4.6 with Edge (putting some snap into it) could be a nice way to go.