ok so its goin to be a play toy work horse and a daily driver i want something with good low end and good gas mileage and great highway speeds while pullin a trailer could some one give me the pros and cons of both or a great build for them?

 

i bet nearly everyone on here is going to recommend the 300 and bash the 302. however, i have a 300 in my truck and 5.0 HO in my car and i can say the 300 isnt half the motor that my HO is (both are stock). granted, you cant get an HO in a truck, but at least with a truck 302 you get the biggest aftermarket known to man, and more power at higher revs, which will help for highway. 300s are good with the low end torque thing, which is great for getting a really big, heavy thing moving. however, redline is 3000 or 3500 rpm, so they run out of breath quick, and NP435s (4 speed manual granny first) dont exactly put the engine in its powerband, so highway speed isnt great. even unloaded in mine (which has 3.55s) loses speed on hills. I cant imagine what its like trying to tow that big, heavy thing at 70 mph with a 300 and an NP. in the 80s, traffic probably went 50-60 mph, and that would probably be ok for the 300, but nowadays everyones going at least 65, if not 70+. the 300 simply doesnt have the revability that the 302 does. basically, with the 300 youre trading in the last 2000 rpm of power up top for slightly better torque for the first 500 rpm. dont let people tell you 302s are totally worthless down low. theyre fine, just not AS torquey from 1000-1500 maybe. better for getting your trailer moving at first, i'd say, but past 20 mph itd be all 302. especially if your 302 has a granny first behind it i would say it hardly matters at all that the 300 is better down low. but, thats just me and my opinion. i know the 300 guys are gonna rip me apart for this and tell me how stupid and ignorant i am, but fortunately, i dont care. I believe that for the average joe who is looking to tow a trailer and get good mpg (both will get 20+ at 70 mph if you gear them right and take care of them. my 300 has got me a best of 23. the 5.0 in my car - which i know is not a big truck - has gotten 27 mpg before) and maybe have some fun with hsi truck, the 302 is the better choice. For a farmer or construction worker or something, someone who rarely pulls big heavy things at more than 10 mph and does alot of WORK, the 300 is the better choice.

good luck

 

i've had big block v8's and the 300, the 300 is a torque monster, but doesn't rev high and the efi's are limited in how far you can juice it up. obviously the 302 has a very large aftermarket and you can do anything you want mild to wild. but if i was choosing between a 300 and v8 i would go with a 351 not the 302. i love the 300, and will love it even more when i tear it down for a rebuild and pep it up with what is available in the aftermarket. it sounds cooler to say you have a v8, and the gas mileage isn't much different with the 6, but i'm happy making switch from v8 to straight 6. the fact that the 300 doesn't rev very high adds to it's durability.

 

You cannot compare a 302 in a truck to a 302 in a mustang. Drop the 302 HO into the truck, wiring and everything, and I bet the 300 would win the drag race if you were pulling a heavy load on a trailer.

 

you do realize the HO revs twice as high, has almost twice the power, and more torque, right?

 

Yes, that's why I think the 300 would win. Sure, if you changed the gearing and possibly put a little bit of a stall convertor in the truck when you install the HO, it would probably win. But just putting the HO engine in and doing nothing else will not give you the results you would expect. And after doing all that, I do not think it would be as user friendly as a daily driver with those mods. It's all a compromise and you have to look at the entire package.

 

ive had 300's in the past and there just plain tuff. throw on an offy intake with a good carb some headers and itll do pretty much what ya want.ive got a 302 now in my 1/2ton and its a freash reman rite from ford (only about 15000mi) what a sick usless pup.ive said it in the past the only truck that souldve come with a 302 shouldve ben a ranger other wise a 300 or 351 and bigger.hmm just imagine if they'd come out with a 351 6cyl

 

gm did come out with that monster 8.1 v8 instead of a v10. i wish ford would have stuck with the big straight 6. a v6 has no place in a truck, you've got no torque or horsepower. at least with the 300 you had torque. and with the aftermarket you can get horsepower too. a 351ci 6 would be cool, but i'd bet a serious gas hog. and i also agree with you wizzard that not putting the 302 in the ranger was a big mistake by ford. i'd bet the sales could have almost doubled with a v8 option.

 

alright i got it im puttin a 351w in it going to cost me about 1700 for it 3 year 150k mile + i gotta buy a intake, pipes and a carb but at least i can pick what i want... about 2200 for all but it will be a very nice motor and hope it will hold up to towing along with a 351 the truck is gettin a new c-6 tranny and thats about 1100 its self so a grand total of about 3300 and then alot of time under, on and around my truck so what u all think good set up or not?

 

what is the year of truck and what kind of tranny does it have right now?? the e4od would be a better tranny in that you would have overdrive when not pulling a trailer, and the e40d also has a lower first and second gear than the c6. but it's electronically controlled. the 351 is definately a better pick for towing than the 302. where are you buying the motor?? you could shop around some speed shops, they've got deals all the time on motors someone had built and couldn't afford the bill. i could of bought a mean 440 couple years ago guy had all kinds of work done and then couldn't afford to get it out of the shop. but i didn't have anything to put a dodge motor in.

 

The 351w with a c6 is what I have in my truck, and it's an excellent all around package. The high tech e4od would have od, but I like the simplicity and proven track record of the c6. It's a very good tranny.

 

300 fer grunt
302 fer speed
351w fer grunt and speed
460 just because

All are basically gonna get the same low mileage so the motto applys of "no replacement fer displacement".

Adrianspeeder

 

ive had both and i like both of them. either is a good choice, you cant go wrong.

 

They're both good motors but if you want to do work on the get an 8 yes there are aftermarket parts for the 6 but for every part for the 6 theres 100 for the 302 and those parts are cheaper.