Opinions on trucks

[WH401]

Hey Canoetrpr, you were sure to stir up controversy with a thread titled as this one

All I will say is that I'd take a nice shiny new truck from any of the big 3 or Toyota or whoever with whatever engine and be laughin' and scratchin'

We all have our experiences and preferences and whatever we like and are happy with, that's good enough.

I agree about controversy always being linked to this kind of thread, but I'm also amazed at the fact that after 31 pages of discussion that there really hasn't been any insane shouting matches to speak of.

 

[Builder]

I'll be the first to say that I don't know squat about truck engines or torque curves.

I drove both the Sierra 5.3 though and the F150 5.4 and I could not tell any real difference in power / acceleration etc. I wasn't towing a load behind either. Aren't the specs of these engines pretty similar?

Without a doubt, I can understand why one would want the 6L vs the 5.4 in the Ford if one were towing a lot. Trying to figure out why one would believe that the 5.3 Vortex qualifies as being good enough to be put in a 1/2 ton but the 5.4 Ford underpowered.

One of the strengths that the 5.3 GM engine has is the active fuel management and I can imagine that the slightly better fuel economy numbers might be attributed to this.

Much of the debate I think is a bit subjective. Each truck has its loyal fans and each has a lot of units in the field being used as workhorses day in and day out. It might be your opinion that the truck is underpowered for whatever you might want to do with it, however, given the number of sales each has, none seem to be underpowered for whatever applications their owners are using them for. And honestly, I see all three trucks being used for about the same applications across the continent.

Also bear in mind that a LOT of the buyers of these 1/2 ton trucks chose smaller V8s than the ones we are talking about to begin with.

YMMV - my $0.02 is that all three are fine trucks - the best they have ever been - and will satisfy the VAST majority of their owners who are putting them to work doing the things that trucks were meant to do.

Here is an interesting twist that I thought I would share - wrt. how we all value things differently. I probably would not have purchased the F150 (not this year anyway) if Ford had put a newer and bigger V8 in it and replaced the 5.4. I took comfort in the fact that while the 2009 F150 was a new design, the engine stayed the same and so it would be unlikely that there would be major quirks as a result. A brand new engine design with ANY manufacturer is one I'd rather avoid. I might have either waited till 2010 or gone with the GMC. So an additional 30 hp might have made a Ford owner out of one person and made a GMC owner out of another.

I think the minor point we're trying to make is that GM offers more (much more) available HP in their 1/2 ton than Ford. Nobody offers even close to 400+ HP.

No doubt you made a good choice. Any of them are good trucks. I'm not trying to disparrage your decision.

 

[Dmace]

Nobody offers even close to 400+ HP.

I don't know why I keep coming back to this thread but stuff like this ruffles my feathers I guess. Last I checked the much smaller 5.7liter HEMI made 390hp/407lb.ft torque whereas the much larger 6.2liter GM makes 403hp/417lb.ft. torque. To say this is not "even close" is just plain ignorance. Gimme a break, is 13hp and 10lb.ft. of torque even noticeable especially when you need more then 0.5 liters just to get it? The real kicker is the 6.2l GM engine is only available in Crew Cab models, even the extended cab only gets the 6.0l, plus you can only get the 5.3l (315hp/338lb.ft.) engine in the regular cab truck, the HEMI 5.7l is available in every model and cab variation of the RAM.

 

[canoetrpr]

All I will say is that I'd take a nice shiny new truck from any of the big 3 or Toyota or whoever with whatever engine and be laughin' and scratchin'

Well said.

HEE.... HEE...., scratch, scratch, scratch.

 

[canoetrpr]

I think the minor point we're trying to make is that GM offers more (much more) available HP in their 1/2 ton than Ford. Nobody offers even close to 400+ HP.

Builder - the point is valid.

When I tried out the GMCs I thought to myself that if towing something big like my tractor was of importance to me, I'd pony up for the 3/4 ton Duramax before the 6.2L gas. Not suggesting the 6.2L isn't a good engine - just that if towing at the high end of what can be done with a 1/2 ton was important enough to me, I'd be in a diesel.

I think that the 3/4 ton GMC is one sharp truck. Too bad fuel economy has taken a hit with the DPF. That said, around here, diesel is about 50 cents a gallon cheaper than gas.

 

[LarryRB]

I think the minor point we're trying to make is that GM offers more (much more) available HP in their 1/2 ton than Ford. Nobody offers even close to 400+ HP.
QUOTE]

This is simply not true,, my new hemi half ton, 5.7 is 390 hp...

 

[Builder]

I don't know why I keep coming back to this thread but stuff like this ruffles my feathers I guess. Last I checked the much smaller 5.7liter HEMI made 390hp/407lb.ft torque whereas the much larger 6.2liter GM makes 403hp/417lb.ft. torque. To say this is not "even close" is just plain ignorance. Gimme a break, is 13hp and 10lb.ft. of torque even noticeable especially when you need more then 0.5 liters just to get it? The real kicker is the 6.2l GM engine is only available in Crew Cab models, even the extended cab only gets the 6.0l, plus you can only get the 5.3l (315hp/338lb.ft.) engine in the regular cab truck, the HEMI 5.7l is available in every model and cab variation of the RAM.

Man, there's some touchy Mopar guys around here. Alright, you got your dig in to me. The Dodge is close at 390HP.

I couldn't give a rats azz if they do it with 1 litre or 8 litres. In fact, I'd rather have the displacement.

 

[dodge man]

That's O.K. builder, it's called HEMI envy, us Mopar guys are used to it. When everyone else is driving second best, we're used to it!

 

[LarryRB]

As I said in a previous post, first gas motor for me since 89. I like it so far and it is doing admirably (I guess) for brand new, out on a 7 mile stretch of interstate that I travel each day... Anywhere from 16 to 17 and change, When I go into Southbridge, slow and hilly small city,,, it drops immediately to 12 and below to 9 depending how traffic is moving. Reading the book, this is normal... I got on it once from a dead stop.. It'll go quickly, but how fast is quick when all you ran were diesel pick ups, diesel tractor trailers and diesel tractors for so many years? I'm not going to mess with it,, No computer enhancements, no hot rodding, nothing... Leave it bone stock, drive it, and enjoy it for a change.. And, Builder is right... I am partial to Dodge, like them, even though this month I tried GM's-Chevies, and Ford 150's, and still stayed with Dodge,, We had this discussion months ago over DPF systems and Dodge's, and I said then and maintain today, one Dodge web site doesn't speak for all,,, I've been reading a couple of GM/Chevy pick up sites and it is the same thing... One site has mechanical problems to deal with and the other, paint and odd things to deal with,, Just the nature of the beast and which site hits your fancy...

 

[dgl24087]

From PickupTrucks.com:

By late 2010, the new standard engine for the F-150 will be a 5.0-liter, four-valve, naturally aspirated V-8, developed under the code name "coyote." This eight-cylinder engine (described as having "huge heads") will be shared with the new Ford Mustang. Power figures are said to be approximately 400 horsepower and 400 pounds-feet of torque. Fuel economy is expected to be comparable to the current 5.4-liter engine.

In an interesting reversal of tradition for trucks, the premium engine for the light-duty F-150 will be a V-6. The new rear-wheel-drive version of the 3.5-liter, six-cylinder EcoBoost gasoline turbo direct-injection motor will occupy the top slot. Ford has officially said the EcoBoost engine will arrive next year with improved fuel economy and low-end torque with a broad, diesel-like torque curve through most of its power band. Our sources say it too will be rated at approximately 400 hp and more than 400 pounds-feet of torque. Gas mileage is expected to be at least 23 mpg on the highway.