4.6 vs 5.4
 

i have a 97 reg cab 4.6 v8 f150 and a friend of mine just bought a new ext.cab 5.4 f150 and hes telling me that his f150 will smoke mine by like 4 car lengths.does anyone know how much faster his 5.4 is in the 1/4?

5.4 liter really only has a longer stroke than the 4.6

watch out
 

look you will get smoked buddy, i have a 97 4.6 and i have had to do plenty of mods to run with the 5.4's...finally i can outrun the ones that i know...so dont get jumpy.....that about 40 HP you are in the hole

"5.4 liter really only has a longer stroke than the 4.6"

....and that longer stroke makes it alot faster in quarter mile. Or any other "start-off" situation as well as in torque.

Think of it as a comparison of 2 bicycles. One with long pedals and one with short pedals. You could start off much faster on the bike with the longer pedals and could pull a heavier load easier as well.

let me answer before some a-hole shows up and tells you its a truck, you cant race it.
race him as soon as possible, if its new it isnt broke in and his trucks weight is a lot more. even if he beats you,it a new truck with a bigger engine so what the h$ll.

The 4.6 I had before the SC was much faster than the 5.4. Oh, wait, maybe that's because it was a Mustang:D!

Seriously, I test drove a 4.6 and a 5.4 SC, and there really is no comparison. The 5.4 pulled much harder out of the hole and throughout the power band. I didn't buy mine for racing though, I got it for the pulling power. My bro-n-law has an Expedition with a 4.6, and it only took him 3 weeks after an attempted towing trip for him to start wishing he had got a more powerful engine. Luckily, I was able to benefit from his revelation and I was sure not to make the same mistake.

But that was an Expedition. The 4.6 is probably much better suited for towing in an F150. I just didn't want to take any chances. The little extra gas it uses concerns me, but not nearly enough for me to regret my decision.

Good luck.

My brother in law has a 97 4.6. I drove it alot before buying my 99 5.4, there is a BIG difference in power. To me, the 5.4 is better from a stop, has much better mid range acceleration, and I won't even compare the two for overall towing. It all depends on what the truck will be used for. If it is just a daily driver with trips to Home Depot on Saturdays, a 4.6 would be OK. But, if you tow and want the extra power, the 5.4 is the one.

With modification, the 4.6 "may" run competitively with a 5.4. The problem comes when the 5.4 adds some power :D . You may even run into a very light version like mine (regular cab, XL/stripped down version).

Boy I wish it wasn't such a complicated process switching engines, the 1 thing I kinda shrug over is the fact that 5.4's werent being built when my truck was......

i forgot to say my f150 is an xl and his is a xlt

Go with the 5.4l without a doubt. I had a 97XLT xcab 4x4 with the 4.6 and it was way underpowered. Now I have a 99Lariet Xcab 2wd with the 5.4 and WOW what a difference. Granted the 97 was 4x4 which made it a little heavier but man that 5.4 kicks butt and I am seeing about the same gas mileage.

nace19
Do the words "DEAD MEAT" mean anything to you? My first F150 ('99) had a 4.2 auto and I beat a buddy's '99 4.6 auto (in all fairness my 4.2 was chipped :) ). I'm now running 5.4 chipped, and it pulls (my boat all over South Florida)!

Referring to the first post-----

Doesn't the guy with the SC 5.4 weigh in about 1,000lbs more than the guy in the Reg. cab 4.6???

I guess I am suprised that everyone is saying he will get smoked?

I would think it to be a close race (gears being equal)


Now I wish I would have gotten the 5.4L



Oh wait...I just remembered that this is only a truck and I could care less. Just race him and let us know how it turned out man!!!! ;)

most of you guys were wrong,i just raced him this afternoon and we were dead even at the end he pulled ahead right away at the line but i pulled alot harder in the mid and we ended up dead even.so the 5.4 does not smoke a 4.6 at all.of course one being a ext.cab and one reg cab.thanks

remember, if its new it might not be broken in. race him again after hes got a few thousand miles in the odometer and see if you get the same results.