Interesting, to say the least.

First up was a FX4 Supercrew w/ the premium cloth interior, 18" wheels ,3.73 rear end , 5.4 Triton , floor shifter w/ flow-thru console - it even had the power rear sliding window.


I look up & see these latches on the overhead bin & ask what that was. The salesman, Jim Wiseman (helluva guy, too ! He deserves a sale just on how he treated me !), pulls it down to tell me about it. Ok, now I know what they are. He puts it back up & I guess it didn't get latched securely as it fell , causing me to slosh a little coffee on the seat.

D'OH !! The one thing I was worried about, & I did it ...

Had to run in and get a wet towel.

Anyway, I took it out for a ~ 10 mile jaunt - mix of feeder streets & highway.

Steering & braking is excellent - I did find it humorous that the wheel shimmies in response to road inputs exactly the way my SS does. Some people might find that alarming, however.

I was disappointed w/ the power level - it seemed ponderous trying to get off the line & up at freeway speeds.

I mentioned that to Jim, and in fact demonstrated it by taking him over the same route in my '91 4 x 4 Suburban w/ 129K on the old 350.
(Course, it also has a mild cam & a chip, too, but it is certainly no hot rod.)

So, we decide that the best thing to do was to try a different truck - a 2WD Supercab w/ 3.55's & the 5.4.

Whole different world - this one ran like I expected 300 HP to run - nothing to scare our cars , but good for a truck & seemed easier to drive. I guess I had gotten used to them by then, and I did not have any coffee w/ me !!

I'd buy that one no problem - except that it would be a losing deal for me as I'd have to ditch the SS (can't swing 3 car notes) & the Sub which is paid for to get one truck.

(The Sub/any truck won't fit in the garage, and I only have so much room in the drive. It's a right angle jobber that leads to the attached garage and the old lady's car would constantly be blocked - not a good thing. Just ask her. )

Anyway, it's nice to see that Ford is like the F's - different beasts run differently, so drive before you buy.


Britt

 

I'll second that. Though I'm no fan of the modular engines from Ford. We have a F-350 (supercrew/quad cab/whatever the heck you call it) truck. 5.4L in it... and slow as a rock. Granted.. it's a big truck... I don't expect it to fly or anything... but this motor doesn't have much *****, or perhaps it's the gearing. My friend's '99 F150 with the 5.4L is pretty darn weak too, not sure why, as it has the towing package and such. Once it revs up, it seems to fall on it's face. I personally am not impressed at all with ford's current motors. I would assume it has a lot to do with how Ford has the gearing setup.. and perhaps the automatics they put in them.

Now, my job's 2003 Chevy pickup with the 5.3L... that things a little Monster!

I still hold true to what my father told me. (REALLY big Ford fan, for all his life)

"Chevy tweaks a motor, gets another 30hp out of it..
Ford has to go and build a whole new motor just to keep up."

 

The new truck weighs about 500lbs MORE then the previous version--so any power gains are pretty much nullified.

Car and Driver tested a rear drive super cab--it was 260lbs heavier then a last gen 4X4

300hp @ 5000rpm----which also happend to be it's redline!
When was the last time you saw a car that produced maz hp at redline? They usually several hundred rpms (if not lower) below that.

 

I know what you mean. When I first saw the 5000 rpm redline, I though for sure it was a misprint because of someone mistaking the redline for the HP peak. But I've since seen it in other publications so I guess it must be true. Has any gasoline engine (let alone an OHC) been introduced in the last 20 years with such a low redline? Makes GM's OHV engines look all the better .

 

My '92 Z-71 had a redline of 4500. But that was before I dropped the new crate motor in (196/206 @ .050", .460/.480 lift w/1.6 aluminum roller rockers, Vortec heads, Edelbrock MPFI conversion). Now it revs quite nicely to 6000, although considering my tach only goes to 5000, I usually try to shift at what I'm guessing is 5500. Not that I ever race it or anything (Hey, I'm from Texas, what do you expect?) 3.73's and a 5-speed with 33" tall tires and I can ALMOST keep up with my friend's 2001 2WD single cab with flowmaster and K&N. I'm about a truck and a half behind. I'm thinking if the shifter on that thing wasn't 3 feet long and I could drag a manual for crap, I could keep up with him. But anyway, the whole point of this that yes, there have been many engines with redlines less than 4500 in the last 20 years