Anyone who goes through the SD forum has probably seen that I put together a little comparison between my '08 and some other trucks. Due to unforseen events, a couple of the guys who were going to be bringing SDs weren't able to come, so I ended up with my '08, Monster-4's '00 V10, and my dad's new F150. Here's a direct copy of what I posted about the results...the new F150 gave us all quite a surprise!

This is from the thread found here:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/n...eply&p=8025105

The day was a bit of a bust compared to what I was hoping for. For various reasons many who expressed interest were unable to come, but it was a fun time anyway.

My mom drove my dad's new 2010 F150 up, and this was the only new vehicle we had today. Monster-4's 2000 V10 F250 and my '08 F250 were both present as well.

My trailer was loaded very similarly to the way we had it last time. I borrowed my mother-in-law's Isuzu Ascender for the bulk of the weight we needed. This was loaded backwards this time to avoid overloading the tongue. I then threw 1000 lbs of wood pellets I borrowed from my parents in the nose, and another 200 lbs in the tail. This ended up with us having around 10,000 lbs overall, with somewhere between 1,000-1,200 lbs on the tongue. Here's the weight ticket with the trailer attached to my truck. 3/4th tank of fuel and myself in the truck...



We were unable to use my WD kit for both Monster's F250 and my dad's F150, as I used a locking hitch pin to attach it to my truck and forgot the key. So we used a conventional straight drawbar on these two trucks without incident.

My dad's truck is an extended cab 4x4 STX truck with the 4.6L 3V V8. This also had the 6R80 transmission, which is vastly different from the 4R75E the F150 in our last test had.



The new 6-speed transmission and 3V heads made a HUGE difference here. The engine was able to stay right where it needed to for peak power, and the truck never felt overwhelmed by the trailer. Because the truck only had 500 miles on it we did not do a standing start on Buffalo hill. We did attack it from a roll, and the little 4.6 did a commendable job. 1st gear felt relatively easy, all the way up to it's 6,000 RPM redline. 2nd gear didn't work as well during the steepest parts of the hill, as the engine was unable to maintain speed. Once we got past the first crest 2nd gear seemed to work very well and we were able to finish the hill at nearly 40 MPH. The 4.6L, 6-speed combo handled the trailer considerably easier than my '07 F150 did. The really short 4.17:1 first gear combined with the closer spacing between the remaining gears really made a difference. The tow/haul mode seemed to want to upshift too soon, but the downshifting during braking was a welcome change. Honestly I can't say enough how well this truck handled this much weight!

Monster's F250 handled the trailer every bit as well as it did in our last test. As before it felt that the 4R100 had a tough time putting the engine where it wanted to be, but the V10's great torque curve made it pull just fine. This time we didn't push it quite as hard as we did before up the hill and it stayed in 1st gear without undue hardship. We proved last time that it would pull it in 2nd, but since we weren't doing any serious number crunching we didn't feel it necessary to flog the truck unnecessarily.

When we had mine out I stumbled across a dirt road that winded up into the hills. Monster told me that we wouldn't get into trouble going up there, so I put it in 4-lo and went after it! I actually had all 4 wheels spinning for a few seconds getting around those corners, and we all had a great time! We stopped near the crest of the hill for a photo op:








My truck as before did a good job with the trailer. Off the line Monster's V10 and my dad's 4.6L V8 actually felt quicker due to the well known lag upon takeoff with the 6.4L PSD. Once it built boost it pulled very well, but interestingly enough it didn't seem to pull much harder at WOT than Monster's V10. It definitely felt like it had an easier time in the lower RPMs under part throttle, and it certainly didn't have to downshift as much. Once both trucks were given full throttle the difference between the two narrowed considerably. That V10 sure likes to sing...

When my dad's F150 was pulling it I made a demonstration on why you need trailer brakes! I turned the brake controller all the way down and hit the brakes hard. All 4 locked up, the ABS kicked in, but we certainly weren't stopping in a hurry! It was no more than a light to moderate deceleration until I turned the trailer brakes back on. Had Monster not brought his brake controller this entire test would have been way to unsafe to even attempt.

In conclusion all 3 trucks felt great with that much weight. The new 3V 4.6L engine proved to be an extremely capable combination, even when loaded down past it's rated capacity. I am still really interested in getting a 3V V10 up there to try, as based on what we saw today I think it would do a really impressive job. A 5.4L 6R80 F150 would be fun to try, as well as a 5.4L F250. We'll have to try sometime next spring. I'd like to thank Moster-4 for coming out, and I hope we can do this again soon with more people!

 

Crazy001, thank you for posting this in this area. I would have missed it otherwise.

Heading over via your link to check out the entire thread- Thanks again.

 

Glad you enjoyed reading about it!

Seriously, I can't say enough about how impressed we all were with the new 4.6! I have to say I would honestly prefer that engine/tranny combo over my '07 5.4 and it's ancient 4-speed box!

 

Here is something I found very interesting.

Superchips now supporting 2009 F150 V8's - F150online Forums

The stock dyno numbers are nearly identical for the 3v 4.6 and the 5.4. Granted, the curve is much different but the 4.6 really lays it down for what it is. Or, the 5.4 is just weaker than I already thought it was. I am so glad new engines are coming but you sure cant fault the 4.6 3v for what it is. Fords smaller V8's have always been strong and this proves it once again. I seriously would probably buy the 4.6 3v for my use if I bought right now but I do acknowledge the 5.4 would be better under heavy towing no doubt. Still, you really have to wonder why the peak dynos are identical. Something is amiss here.

Im not sure whether this makes the 4.6 look like a hot rod or the 5.4 to look like a slug.

 

They are the same motor, the 5.4 has a 50mm deeper stroke.
Or, at least that is what I have been told.

 

You're exactly right. The Modular V8s share a common architecture. A 5.4L is a stroked 4.6. The 4.6 was first made in 1990, and in '97 they stroked it and put it in an F150.

I'm pretty sure the redline is higher in the 4.6L, my dad's truck goes to 6,000 RPMs while my '07 5.4L would redline at 5,000. That combined with a different cam profile to optimize torque at higher RPMs is what makes the 4.6L have nearly as much HP as the larger 5.4L.

There's no doubt that the larger 5.4 would be the better towing motor, though. I remember from my last truck that the 5.4L pushes an amazing amount of torque down low. The 4.6 clearly didn't have the low end grunt, but the great high RPM performance and the 6-speed transmission did an amazing job hiding that fact...

 

Look at the difference in torque at 2500 RPMS. That is where the difference lies, power off the line.

 

Ya, pigger is rite torque is what moves the SOB!!!!!

 

crazy writes:
I'm pretty sure the redline is higher in the 4.6L, my dad's truck goes to 6,000 RPMs while my '07 5.4L would redline at 5,000. That combined with a different cam profile to optimize torque at higher RPMs is what makes the 4.6L have nearly as much HP as the larger 5.4L.



These engines are capable of 10K RPM, they are controlled by the computer controlled rev limiter. Just chip the SOB and you will see a hugh differance as it changes all these friggan settings. Mine pulls like jack the bear 5.4L with the little mods lol.

 

10K? I have a chipped 4.6 and I have never gone over 7100 RPM. ( I did it one time only, friend bet 10 bucks the motor would grenade if I wound it up like he does his civic)

You ever actually try 10,000 rpm out of a stock motor?

I have seen race cars made for that lose motors at lower revs...

 

In another world I built race engines, seeing many times a box stock small block chebby engine hit 9K with a lot of valve float without any damage, I am sure the 4.6 or the 5.4 3 valve engines are capable of 7K all day long without any damage. I know my 09 5.4L pulls 10K# all day long and never ever complains and still gets 13 MPG doing it lol. In the mountains i have run rite against the rev limiter in lower gears.

 

i had on 04 xlt 4.6 with a programmer. we put it on the dyno at my school i was going to at the time and it actually lost power after about 6200 rpm. first run was stock so it shut me down at 5500. then i set my programmer to the max setting and the rev limiter to 6500. right about 6200 rpm it started to loose power so theres not need to push the engine 10k. yes they are capable of it, but how long with it last like that. ford designed these things to have the power where you need it, between 1k and 5500. not 10k rpm.

 

XLTRUNNER!

I agree totally! point I was trying to make is don't get upset if you wind these engines up at times as it will not destroy them, oil is also better today then it was 20 years ago put in a good syntheric and forget about it. also you are rite the torque of these engines is in the lower RPM's. Unfortunetly the commputer will not allow a decent RPM while towing especially with the 6 speed trans where as manuel shifting on a long mountain pull in a lower gear works well. Every time I hook this truck up to the 5er it purly amazes me, I have owned Ford trucks for 20 years and chebbyies before that and the 09 F150 is by far the best yet for all around use.

 

I am very new to this site and its been about 6 years since I had a Ford, 9 since I owned a F-150. I am now awaiting my new 2010 F-150 sc 4x4 to come from the factory and it was ordered with the 4.6l 3v engine. I ran into a Chevy guy who said I should have gone for the 5.4 engine and that the 4.6 is to small. I was second guessing my decision until I came across this thread and now feel much better in my choice. I have only towed a wood chipper in all my years of driving so tow capability is not high on my list but I do want an engine that will go when I want it to. I think I will be very happy with my new truck.