I agree. We have 2 brand new 06 Screws at my work location, but they have the 4.6. One of them feels like it has a 6 cylinder in it, while the other at least has some punch. These are identical trucks that were both recently purchased so they're from the same batch.

 

Well, remember that the shift and throttle control strategy is constantly altered by the computer as you drive. Maybe the previous owner of that '05(or previous test drivers) were very light on the throttle. I know the first '07 I test drove jumped off the line when I first hit the gas, but it also had 211 miles of abusive test drives on it, too. The one I bought was much milder off the line, but only had 21 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.

If I had bought the first one, I'm sure the throttle would have "calmed down" over the course of a few trips.

CWC...in practice, what you said is very true. In theory, however, HP is the true measuring stick of an engine. BUT, it is NOT PEAK HP! It is how much HP is available at low-mid RPMs. Lots of low end torque = lots of low end HP.

HP = (Torque x RPM)/5252

Therefore, 300 lb-ft of torque at 1500 RPMs = 85 HP just off idle. THAT's why our trucks pull better.

A common heavy duty truck diesel makes 1650 lb-ft at 1200 RPMs. That's 350 HP! So...all things being equal... a modded 5.4, producing the same HP would pull as well at redline as this engine would at 1200 RPMs.

1650@1200RPMs = 396@5000. Equal power, but the gas V8 wouldn't last long at 5,000 RPMS!

 

The new Saleen S331 F150 comes with and without a supercharger. Without, Saleen does a new airbox and exhaust and claims 325 hp. Not sure if there's a chip in there too, but since it still carries the factory warranty, I would guess no. If there was more easy power to be had, I'm sure Saleen would find it.
Ford tunes for a flat torque curve with most of it available at low RPMs. It's the same things they've done for years, just look at the 460 vs. 454, 4.9 I6 vs. 4.2 V6. GM and Dodge like to promote HP ratings, it helps them to sell trucks.
Mine felt slow too. I was worried about holding up traffic when pulling out onto a 65 MPH road, then I looked in my rearview and found that I wasn't. You can't really tell how fast these trucks accelerate from the feel or sound of it. It's so quiet and well isolated, it feels like you're barely moving, but the speed will sneak up on you.

 

Exactly. So 25 more ponies over stock, and that's at the crank, not the wheels.
Lets say 20% driveline loss for an auto tranny and you have around 20 extra horsepower at the wheels.

 

One thing I have not seen is this thread is the 5.4 takes a long time to break in. After about 7000 miles there was marked improvement in performance and mileage in my truck. It might be worth the time to see if the dealer has a used one with a similar drivetrain; you may be surprised.

 

If your concerned about how fast off the line you are.....why'd you buy a truck?

 

thats true...everyone is always jumping on the HP wagon complaining about this and that.....i think the trucks do very well...i'll put it up agains any truck on the road 1/2 ton....doing truck work and i bet the F-150 out works them all...

 

I didn't buy my truck to be jumping off the line and going fast. You can see my go fast car in my sig. I do however despise it when people say the thing is underpowered and slow. Alot of it is that adaptive transmission. You have to train it for the quick starts and acceleration stuff. But then you lose MPG...go figure.

1. why yes I have. Ever seen the Trucks episode where they take an 06 SuperCrew FX4 with 33" tires on 22" rims? It had a 3" Coil-over lift and otherwise stock drivetrain. On the dyno, stock, it ran 202 rwhp and 234 rwtq on the dyno. I don't know what the % is, but the smaller tires/rims guys should see even better #'s since they'll have less rotational mass.

here's the link. I just wish it was the entire episode, not just the 1st 2 pulls on the dyno.
Trucks 2006 Supercrew FX4 Dyno Run and Mods

2. I admit I was a little eager to get 60 hp gain. Here are some REAL WORLD results though for you. Using a Banks power pack, they got 227 rwhp and 251 rwtq with a tuner/cai/exhaust. +25 rwhp

After revising the tune, and slapping shorty headers on it, they got 245 rwhp, and then they slapped a Banks supercharger on there that got them 335 rwhp.

Banks F-150 Power Project

3&4. the bolton's are nice, but the true power adders for this was the Tuner. Ford has these things very conservatively tuned. By juicing up the A/F mixture and taking advantage of the motors better breathing, I think +43 rwhp for ~$1300 is a great buy IMO.

This is all for the Banks system, but I don't see why someone with other components and a custom tune couldn't get comparable or better results. I still say that most of the power gained is from firming up those shifts. Less of the engine hp is robbed by slow shifts and can be transmitted further down to the rear wheels.

 

Yeah that makes sense Tylus. So with the tuner, catback and CAI they netted 25 horsopower and that was at the wheels. Not bad and close to my prediction without ever looking into this stuff on our trucks I was basing my statements from what I've experience with Mustang mods. They can't be that far off.

Is there any info on the type of dyno they used? The reason I'm asking is because 200 rwhp stock seems a bit low from the advertised 300 crank horsepower. A Mustang dyno takes much more off the top compared to a Dynojet dyno.

 

The debate about which has more power/speed/towing capacity etc. can never be won. The arguments are always based on anecdotal evidence and have no statistical merit. Over the last 35 years I have owned Chevys, Dodge, Ford and International Pickups. Some were underpowered (1985 Ford f-150, 1982 Chevy C-10); some were not (1970 Chevy K-5 Blazer (350ci), 1999 Ford F-350 with V-10, 1968 Dodge D-200 (383ci). For any pickup that I owned there were always pickups available with more power and some available with less. Who Cares! I buy the pickup that satisfies my needs at the time that I buy them. I don’t care if someone else doesn’t like my 2006 F150 Lariat as long as I like it. You buy what you want, I’ll buy what I want…we’ll both be happy.

 

you've also got to look at the results from some shorty headers and a better A/F mixture tune. +45 rwhp ain't nothing to sneeze at

I don't know what dyno they were running. I've seen the K&N Dyno charts and it also has ~200 rwhp. I think it doesn't help that that Red FX4 had 33" tires with 22" rims.

K&N CAI DYNO PDF File
K&N actually got 193 rwhp

 

Jeez,
Never intended this to be a whos is better than the other, just was wondering if I was missing something when looking at the specs of the engine compared to my current truck and taking the test drive. From this post/ and others, im gonna gather that most of the problem is the throttle by wire, and 4 speed tranny.
In either case the truck that I drove had a the 2inch leveling kit and I believe they were 305/70/18 tires on it which can contribute to the underpowered feel of the vehicle. In either case that thing rode like a limo even with the larger tires compared to my duddge.
Thanks for all the info guys.

 

Those numbers are on a Dynojet, so I guess they used a Dynojet on the red one with the 33's as well since the stock pulls were somewhat close.

I have a hard time believing that K and N dyno as well. They probably heat soaked the engine (loss of horsepower), did a stock pull on a hot engine to get 193 rwhp, let the engine cool right down, added the K&N cold air kit, and then did another pull. I bet I'm not far off. There are many ways to alter what a dyno produces. They also did the pull in second gear. I've never seen a pull done in second. All I know is 15 rwhp for a cold air intake is just outstanding and I'll be buying a K and N tomorrow..lol

I take all these advertised dynocharts with a grain of salt. Unless I'm there and actually witnessing it, I just have a tough time believing it. A friend of mine has a Dynojet in his shop, and I've watched a lot of pulls happen on that dyno. I know his dyno is calibrated properly and that his particular dyno has a rep around these parts for being accurate. I've also seen a lot of upset people walk away from his dyno after finding out what their vehicle actually makes...lol If you want to have more horsepower, take your vehicle to the guy with the dyno down the road, so to speak, because you'll definitely get more horsepower on his dyno. Not something I'd want.

Yeah, the 45 rwhp with tune and headers on top of the CAI and catback is pretty darn good.

 

I would love to see the dyno charts that show 200HP at the rear wheels?

The Ford F150 has throttle by wire. The ECU actually opens the throttle based on certain parameters. The throttle is actually just an electronic device that inputs it's postion to the ECU. There have been a few ECU updates that have improved the throttle repsonsivness. As with ECU updates for the transmission shifting. The throttle by wire is programmed to not allow a sudden wide open throttle as quickly as one with a mechanical connection. The reason is to use the torque availabilty which this engines produces over 85% under 2,000rpm. This allows the truck to pull/tow and carry load better.

 

Tylus just posted two. One is a vid and the other a pdf. Or do you mean in person?

Again, 200 seems awfully low when the engine is making 300 at the crank, supposedly. It should be making at least 300 at the crank. These ratings are usually under rated for a reason. Ford doesn't want to get sued.