After watching a couple car shows this morning on the TV, I noticed many V-6 engins having 250hp or more...Here many of our F-150s have engines that are below 250 hp. With the 4.6 being a V-8 with overhead cams and what not, why didn't Ford up the technology and put the HP figures higher?? Even the 4.2 could have been pumped up to be comparable to at least the Dodge 3.7 I think without much extra work from the factory...

Even the 5.4 isn't a HP monster, I watched a show where a Mercedes had a small V-8 with 350 HP (I think it was a 4.8 or something), why couldn't Ford have worked harder on their engines??

If you notice, many here are seeking more power-tuners, CAIs, exhausts, turbos, superchargers are all on the menu in these forums. If the domestic companies had thier crap wired tighter, we would be satisfied with our power.

Just my observation for a Saturday morning....

 

Couldnt agree with you more. While Ford has made great strides in quality, safety and reliability, they are getting left behind in HP numbers. I would definitely like to see some better numbers across the board.

 

It isn't just Ford, most of the domestics, are in the same boat. My 04 G35 made 240 at the wheels from a bone stock 3.5 V6, and is now pushing 260 with bolt ons. One thing to keep in mind, though is torque vs Horsepower. Most of these "small" egines are making there power and torque at higher revs. This is great for light cars, and SUVs, but not the idea setup for a 6000 lb truck or SUV. If you tune a 5.4 to make peak torque at 4000 RPM, it is going to suck for towing, not to mention mileage, and lonevity.

 

Just what I was going to say. You can't have it both ways with a NA engine. You either make lots of hp up high, or lots of torque down low. I will take the torque any day. That is why I never liked chev trucks... you tow a load and you have to rev like a nascar racer to keep it in the power band.

 

What they don't say is how bad the mileage is in comparison. Example, some Kia thing with 250+hp but gets 15 mpg city, 20 hwy advertised. Basically what my truck gets give or take. Chevy does good, lots of hp with the best fuel economy usually. Cars and trucks by big Mercedes names usually have crap mileage but lots of fun power so take your pick.

 

In A word... torque

 

Fords always been behind in horsepower. That's just the way it is. They make up for it with low end torque and ride quality.

 

"Ride quality??" I don't know about your F-150 but mine rides like a wagon. I feel every little crack in the pavement.

As far as torque goes, the figures on the V-6s on the car shows I watched had pretty high torque numbers as well.

The domestic market is behind the eight ball on their engine development. Most times they have gone to the imports to make their 4 cylinder engines work-the Focus, Neons, etc...Why couldn't they have followed suit to make the V-8s and V-6s work? There is soooo much potential in both engines that it is not even funny that it wasn't tapped into by the factory.

I must be right in this because of all the aftermarket power adders we are seeking. If our engines were adequate for the trucks we drive, we wouldn't be adding anything to them and almost everyone on here has something added for power.

 

I thik that stock, the engines are adequate. Up to par with other manufacturers, over-the-top? Maybe not, but they are adequate.

 

The reason we modify our trucks is because everyone always wants more power. It's no fun to just leave it stock, that's just boring.

 

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