My friend has had several I6 4.9 F150's. His current is a super cab '96 5 speed. Nice trucks, excellent low end power. Wish my V-6 had a little of that low end torque.

However, I get a chuckle reading about the drag racing prowess of the I6. Sorry, but the thing will not rev out at all and is a dog in an acceleration contest!

We have never raced, but I have driven my friend's truck and there is no way it would stay close to my V-6 auto in a drag race. In fairness, my V-6 has a few minor mods that really helped performance.

If you love low end torque and incredible reliability, get the I-6. But for straight line performance, it is a dog.

 

Maybe there's something wrong with his engine...my neighbors 5spd 4.2 barely beats me in the 1/4 mile, he usually get's me in the last 20 feet.(He's got an intake and exhaust)

Or maybe there was something wrong with the Auto 4.2L I raced but I doubt it, off the line I was infront of him easiely by 5 trucks(thanks to the low torque) and before I went into 3rd he was slowly gaining but not even close to beat me in a 1/4 mile race.

 

Sounds like you have a very strong running I-6. My friends is a SuperCab, so that adds some weight and slows it down.

Also, if the V-6's you have raced have the standard 3.08 gears, that is a pretty slow combo. I think most have the 3.55 gears.

Finally, the stock Ford shifting on the automatic is horrible! There is a huge delay as the computer makes the shift 'smooth'. Just the shifting improvements alone of a Superchip makes a big difference with the automatics.

When I bought my 4.2, it was annoying at first that I had to rev it up to get it to do anything, but now I am used to it.

 

I had a I6. I got it in 94 new and ran it till this June with no problems and 130,000 miles. I think it will be good for another 130,000. That was my best truck ever... had to get rid of it because we are having kids and I needed the extended cab. I used to get 17mpg in town and 23mpg on the hi way with a 4X4! I got the new V8 150 4X4 and I'm lucky to get 14/18mpg! I will always miss that truck!


Edit: One more thing I can tell you having the new 5.4 the I6 I had was not a dog.

 

That's what everyone who used to have a 4.9L always say's...it's the one's that never had that call it a dog.

 

That’s true. I had a couple of friends that had the I-6 with a carb and they were not as fast or snappy as the I-6 with FI by the seat of the pants meter, maybe that’s were it comes from?????? Of course with all the gearing tire size ect. who knows what could be the reason for there statements.

 

That's really strange, because the speed density systems are usually faster until you add some serious mods.

Hmmmmm

 

I always thought mass air and speed density were about equal on a stock engine. Mass air is definitly better for a performance engine since it actually measures the air flow instead of just taking an educated guess like the speed density systems.

-Jon

 

Speed density systems do a lot more than take an educated guess: they know. They work off a set of computerized fuel/spark/RPM/load maps for a given engine and read sensor inputs for temperature, manifold pressure, throttle position, vehicle speed, ect. to define the EXACT spot on the map at which the engine should be operating. For a stock engine they are much more precise than mass air systems and produce more power. When you modify the engine, you change the curves that create those computer maps but the PCM still drives the fuel/spark settings to the old values. This means you gain less performance from a given modification than you should and in some cases can cause drivability problems. Mass-air systems are less precise but are more flexible in their ability to work outside of expected values and will give more benefit and fewer drivability issues when the engine is modified.

 

Then why is a Mass-Air 4.9L produce higher toque and HP ratings then a Speed-Density 4.9L with the same spec's?

 

I wasn't aware of any difference in spec between the 95 and 96 model years for HP or torque, but it wouldn't matter if there were. If it exists it's more likely to be related to the simultaneous change from batch fire to sequential EFI. Peak numbers rarely tell the tale anyway, you need to see the entire curve to know what's going on.

You need to realize that ALL published HP and torque numbers are essentially meaningless. They serve advertizing or other corporate agendas and have at best a tenuous connection to any numbers seen on the dyno.

 

StrangeRanger here's what I got back from Ford after sending them an email with my VIN:

According to our records, your vehicle's HP is 148 HP @ 3400 revolutions
per minute (RPM). Your vehicle's torque rating is 257 FT.LB @ 2200 RPM.

When compared to my buddies my HP and Torque were both higher. I'll see him Monday at school and see if I can get his ratings. I just remember mine being highers, Both trucks being 2wd short box, reg cab, 5speed. His '94 has no mods and my '96s only performance mod is the FIPK.
I can seriously feel quite a bit of difference when driving his, feels much more slugish.
I only speak the truth!

 

Well, the FIPK made the single biggest difference in my '95. Rather incredible difference, actually.

Take care,
~Chris

 

Guy's on "other" sites with a 4.9LspeedDens and paid the $200+ for the K&N FIPK claim they didn't see much of any of a differnce, I always link them to your gallery to see how you did yours LOL

 

You can look at these 3 engines in a couple of ways. First, you can say "Well, if you want durability and low end punch with decent gas mileage, go with the I-6. If you want the best performance with little regard for mileage, go with the 351." Or, you can look at it from this standpoint, "If you want decent gas mileage (relatively speaking of course), good reliability, and decent performance with plenty of performance potential, go with the 302." I have the 302 and around town, I love it! Granted, I have a few mods. but I also have 35" tires. I drive my truck very hard but the 302 is a good block and can take some punishment. Also, it might not have the same low end grunt as the 300 right out of the gates, but it's peak torque comes in at a very respectable 2400 RPM, and the aftermarket provides a wealth of options thanks to the 5.0 Mustang. It's a dog in OD on the freeway (thanks in large part to my tires and my aftermarket intake manifold that actually lowers my hp in the 2000-3000 rpm range), but if I give a my accelerator a little nudge, it downshifts and accelerates quite nicely for a large, lifted 4x4. If stock performance or towing large loads is your key concern, try and find a 351. Gas mileage will be a b!+ch, though. But I think that you'll find a lot more 302's and 300's available, and I think the 302 is a nice compromise between the qualities of the 300 and the 351. Just my .02.