Looking at a getting a earlyer superduty. I am wondering which engine I should look at the 6.8 v10 or the 5.4 v8. I tow sometimes. Only about 10 percent towing at less tha 10,000 lbs. 90 percent just driving. I want a crew cad with 4x4. I only drive about 60mph most of the time. my old truck gets about 15 mpg. Iam guessing the v10 will tow better. Is their much difference in mpg between these two engines? Can you also tell me what is common in gears? I was thinking I want the 3.73.
thanks for your help
wendal

 

5.4 will do better when not towing, but not by much. Expect low to mid teens on the highway and less in the city with either. V10 will get better mileage than the 5.4 when towing.

Do a search on the V10 forum and you'll find a few mileage polls.

 

Both the V10 and V8 get about the same mileage. The V10 is a bigger engine, but has to work less hard than the V8 to move the heavy truck, so the gas mileage even right out. Personally, I love my V10. I have the 3.73 gears and towing around 10K lbs. is fine, but you just have to get a running start up the hills. I tow every week, so you shouldn't have any trouble. I get about 14 MPG on the highway running 70 MPH with my V10. If you drive around 60 MPH you should do better than that.

 

wow, you get 14mpg on the highway? Must be the 4.30s on my truck that let me get, at most, 11.5mpg on the highway. Doesn't make much sense, but my mpg should go up a tiny bit once I get 35's. The 5.4 V8 might get a couple of mpg better than the V10 unloaded, but the power is just lacking with the V8. my .02

Joey

 

ive hered less stories of the v8 blowing the spark plug out. ive wittnessed a v10 blow out 6

 

I love my V-10 and wouldnt want any other motor. I average about 11.5 mpg in mine and unless the previous owner changed them I have 3.73 gears. I tow a 8,000 pound trailer and it gets a few miles less then.

 

my v8 pulls 20k no problem, go for the v8! expect to see 11-14mpg you'll love it...it sounds so much better than a v10 with pipes on it too...just another reason for the ole eighter!

 

I've heard that the gearing makes a huge difference with these big engines.

 

2003 V10 I get 11-14 depending on time of year. I get less in the winter and more in the summer. I have the 3.73:1 gears.

Plug issues are in all early version modular engines. 4.6L, 5.4L, and 6.8L. Late 2002 the issue was addressed by Ford. 2003 and ups have seen no issues. Most of the issues seem to be the 99-00 trucks.

 

 

did u just say you pull 20k no problem? you meant 20lbs right???...i love my truck but i wouldnt try to tow even 10k with it

 

It's very unlikely you will get 15 mpg with either motor. Heck my 4.0 ranger only got 16 mpg!

 

Actually the mpg with My 02 V10 std cab 4x4 with 3.73 is 10mpg. dont ever expect anything more/less than that period. And to boot I usually drive a light foot.

 

the best ive gotten city was 13.4...extremely east on the go pedal...worse was high 10's

 

To me the big differance with the two is, one has gobs of torque and the other is best served in a half ton. They make compairable mileage depending mainly on the driver, configuration, climate, and geographical location.

If your looking for great mileage Ford isn't the best answer. They never really had great mileage. If your looking for the toughest trucks on the planet that more often than not do it better , you've come to the right place.