So I'm assuming both trucks have the exact same gearing as well? Shift points also matter a whole lot too. I'm guessing the 5.4 will fall behind once it shifts into 2nd, dumping the engine below max HP speed.

 

yes. both of my trucks are the exact same set up. reg cab, 4.10 gear and 5 speed.

 

Forgive me if you will for my ignorance, but I wonder something about all of this debate.

Regardless of the weight of vehicles, the gearing of the rear end, the gearing of the tranny (which we all know makes a huge difference as well), don't we have to consider when trailering whether the vehicle in question is a half-ton, three-quarter ton, one ton (etc) in addition to the rest?

I question this because many on here seem to have some crazy desire to compare old F 250's with current model F 150s. While certainly vehicle weight is comparable, etc etc etc, isn't there some other subtle things going on to make one a half ton and one a 3/4 ton?

 

My orig question was the power comparison and not a 150 vs 250 To compare the 1/2 ton and the 3/4 ton is like apples and oranges. If you drive "normal" un-modified trucks, there is no comparison.

To say you can pull a 6000lb trailer in the quarter mile at 6.5 sec is not real.

If you can say I can pull a 6000lb trailer at 60 mph in overdrive and only downshift 1 gear on a 6% hill, that is where it counts

This was a question on engine power not trucks, mods, or un-realistic quotes or comparisions.

Like I said several times, I'll know within 10 mins after I hook up my camper to my new truck with the 5.4

 

if you are comparing stock vs stock 5.4 vs 7.5 then what you are going to find is that at cruising rpms the 7.5 will not downshift or struggle where the 5.4 will. yes, peak tq on the 5.4 is 365 and the 7.5 is 390, so its not a huge difference. but at 2200 rpm the 7.5 is making 390 lbs of tq and the 5.4 is making ~325 lbs. you say you are concerned about how they tow at 60 mph, not how fast they will go in a drag race. at 60 mph, in overdrive, what kind of rpms do you think youll be turning? in the 2k rpm range.

yeah, the 5.4 has better flowing heads, can carry its tq curve better up in the 4-5k rpm range, is faster in stock form, etc. but the great thing about the 7.5 is that you may drive 100k miles and never even hit 3k rpm.

 

Like I've said before, you aren't going to find all of the performance parts for the modular motors in a summit catalog. Please do more research into the modular motors as it is pretty apparent that you are not aware of the majority of the parts out there for the modular motors.

 

You will find that you'll miss the 460. If you did not get the max payload package on your new F150, before you hook the camper up to it install a couple of leaves in the springs, or an Add-A-Leaf, or air bags to the rear. It'll make that f150 very stable with the camper hooked up. In most instances, the 5.4L will do well pulling the camper, but going up hills you'll miss the 460 even though the 5.4 will get there. I pull a 6800 20' enclosed car hauler (square front) and get 9 to 9.5 MPG pulling. I am able to run 60-65 on the flat on the highway, but I do lose speed going up long hills. Without a load or towing I'll get 17-17.5 on the highway, something a 460 can only dream about. As much as I like the old 460 and as much as I'd like to find out what it would do with today's engine management, the newer f-150's are great for towing lighter loads. They will do better than an f250 with a 5.4 on fuel mostly because they are lighter and more aerodynamic.

 

since me and you last talked i did a ton of searching on the 5.4 aftermarket. and not just in summit or jegs. the best flowing heads for my 2v 5.4 arent even in the same ballpark as an average set of small block heads. and thats comparing a stage 3 port job on the 5.4 heads to out of the box 5.0/5.8 heads. the biggest intake valve i can run in my 5.4 is a 1.78(1.84 if i bore it to the max), but i can run a 2.05 valve in my 5.0/5.8 with a stock bore. i could move up to best flowing 4v heads, but even those arent a match for a set of afr 225's or victor jr's. and then once you start porting those sb heads, youd be amazed at how much better they flow.

you cant bore a 5.4 more than .030. (from a mod builders mag-This means you can bore the 4.6 and 5.4 engines .030-inch oversize. We strongly advise against a larger overbore). ive never bored a sb LESS than .060. the 5.8 has a bore/stroke of 4.0/3.5 and the 5.4 has a bore/stroke of 3.55/4.16. youre pretty much stuck there with the 5.4. you can stroke the 5.8 to 4.25 and bore it to your hearts content. one of the stroker kits im looking at for my 351w comes with a .155 overbore for the pistons.

the thing that gets me though is when people act like the sb is inferior to the mod motors just because they came from the factory with less hp. different? yes. but not inferior.

 

for the tests we ran the type of truck didnt matter. it was simply about maintaining or gaining speed up a hill with a set amount of weight. my comments/tests/etc arent about which one is a better over all towing vehicle, but merely the capability of the engine. for one of our tests we used an enclosed car hauler that weighs 7k lbs empty and 10k lbs loaded. by empty i mean no car. it had our toolbox, engine lift, welder, spare tires, jacks, etc still in it. we started out at 55mph and saw how far up the hill they could maintain speed without having to downshift and then started from a dead stop and saw how far it took them to reach 55mph.

 

I guess that is what confuses me about the argument in general.

Unless you take the exact same vehicle including rear end and tranny to pull the same trailer you cannot compare any two engines.

Point being, if your comparing the towing capability of a half ton truck with a 5.4 with a 3/4 ton truck with a 7.3 then regardless of horses...the comparison is not equal.

Besides, there should be no question about all this. A BUILT 7.3 should, without question, out horse/torque a BUILT 5.4. Out of the box comparisons might be different.

 

Well, I've had my new 150 for 2 weeks. It has alot of power and the ride is great. It is nowhere as quick as my 1993 250HD XLT with the 460. I'm not looking for off the line speed but good towing, ride, comfort and, gas mileage. I feel it will do all of these pretty well. The towing part I will see in a few weeks. There is no comparison between the two as its like "Apples and Oranges" My 250 was built for towing and hauling with little consideration for ride comfort or gas mileage. The 150 is completely opposite. I'm not degrading my 150 its just the facts and I'm very happy with both and I know what each is built for and capable of.

 

Congrats on your ride. I think you will love it just fine.

 

I've pulled heavy with a 5.4 in an 01 f-250. I've pulled with 460s in an 87 350 and a 92 250. The 01 had a hydroseeder holding 750 gallons, plus trailer and supplies. It was a total dog. Even empty it wasn't impressive. I know its not the newest 5.4 but it wasn't up to the old 351 I didn't think. Lower emissions, yes, better mileage, hell no. More electronics, yes, but that can bite you when they go out. I don't see any mileage difference big enough to offset the purchase price of the new truck. You're talking 1 mpg empty, in my experience, none loaded. The 460 does move the weight easier than the 5.4.

 

The 3 valve 5.4L and the old 2 valve 5.4L engines are not even in the same league. The newer one gets much better mileage and pulls much better. I'm sure some of it is engine and some of it is engine management. Any way you look at ti the 5.4L in a SD is marginal. It just doesn't have enough torque and power for my liking. The V-10 or diesel would be my engine choice for a SD as long as the diesel wasn't a 6.0L. The newer V-10 pulls very well. The mileage should be comparable to a 460.

 

glad to hear that. guess us guys that have actually owned some of the older trucks knew what we were talking about after all