Hard to choose between 5.4l or 6.2l

[dajohu]

I just called in today and I'm number 2 on the pre-order list at a dealership. I know it's a little early and much of this will be just guesses but that's fine with me. I wanted to get some expert opinions on the pluses and deltas of the engine choices. I was leaning towards the 6.2 simply for more power, but I'm second guessing it now.

Will there be more options for beefing up the 5.4, or are there already tons of options if any of the existing 5.4 stuff is compatable? Will there be, or will existing S/C work with the 5.4 in the raptor? I'm not sure I'd want to S/C a truck like this anyway since I like the idea of a high output N/A engine wiich is kinda why I wanted the 6.2 originally.

5.4 pluses
more power adders already on the market
more options since there are many vehicles already with similar engine
cheaper up front (can use that 3000 for beefing up engine)
get it sooner (I know, I know, very silly)
maybe a tiny bit better milage P)

6.2 pluses
more power stock

I need your input! I don't want to make a hasty, uninformed decision. I love my Sport Trac but I've been waiting over 2 years for a S/C and none ever became available, so i gave up on my own version of the Adrenalin that never was. I don't want to go into this picking "the wrong" engine for the wrong reasons.

Thanks!

 

[ON D BIT]

the power adders are there for the 5.4. i believe whipple has one out already.

the 6.2 will be a monster. heads, cam, and long tubes will make it really happy.
if you have the money the 6.2 can be reworked to 7.5. the heads are big enough to go dohc. we are talking about 750hp with no power adder!!!!epper:

 

[mmoore1545]

+1

 

[meaty mac]

There's no choice in my eyes

 

[dajohu]

I guess I should have mentioned that since I'm only shooting for 500hp and nothing too extreme. I don't think that would be an issue for even the 5.4. Do you think the 5.4 could make 500hp N/A without too much difficulty? If not then I'm not against S/Cing it, it's just my 2nd choice.

Is the tranny in the raptor completely new or an existing one? I wonder if it will be an issue getting it to work with a S/C? (I beleive that is why none of the existing 4.6 S/C would not work with my Trac, wouldn't shift right)

Am I worrying too much? I mean will likely be so much support for both engines that I will have plenty of choices? I'd hate to get 5.4 and this ends up being the only year they put it in the truck. I'd also hate to get the 6.2 and it's totally changed the 2nd year, 4V, more power, etc.

 

[ON D BIT]

I guess I should have mentioned that since I'm only shooting for 500hp and nothing too extreme. I don't think that would be an issue for even the 5.4. Do you think the 5.4 could make 500hp N/A without too much difficulty?
Is the tranny in the raptor completely new or an existing one?
I'd also hate to get the 6.2 and it's totally changed the 2nd year, 4V, more power, etc.

5.4 you would be looking at 200 more hp. this would most definitely need a power adder. once you add this your warranty is toast.
getting 500 crank hp out of a 6.2 would be fairly routine. 500rwhp would be more difficult but very doable.
the raptor r had the 500 crank hp and ran baja on the stock 6 sp auto. the tranny is fine for those power levels! ford has put far too much time expense and energy into the 6.2. it will be built in its basic form for a few years if not more.....:beer:

 

[GTSpartan]

we are talking about 750hp with no power adder!!!!epper:

Who in the hell has done that? That would have to be an all out racing motor.

 

[dajohu]

I always thought the rule of thumb was that you can usually get about 100hp per liter going the N/A route. I am no expert and I know every engine is a little different. That is why I was hoping I could maybe squeeze 500hp (at the crank) out of a 5.4l without replacing every engine part.

I know the 6.2 is a little bigger and little more powerful - in reality it’s .8l larger and about 80hp and 40 tq. Is that small gain worth waiting another 6 months for if you don’t plan on making a 750hp monster? That is the question I am trying to answer for myself. I want a nice, mean, off-roadable, daily driver. I don’t need competition worthy HP numbers or anything like that.

Large engines (by themselves) do not impress me anymore, I’ve owned several 8.0l engines and while they were great and reliable, stock they put out less hp than my little 4.6 does and got about half the MPG.

 

[ON D BIT]

I always thought the rule of thumb was that you can usually get about 100hp per liter going the N/A route. I am no expert and I know every engine is a little different. That is why I was hoping I could maybe squeeze 500hp (at the crank) out of a 5.4l without replacing every engine part.

you are asking to go from 320hp to 500hp with no power adder? thats almost a 40% increased power over stock. without a full rebuild of the engine or a power adder i dont see how one can do that?

 

[dajohu]

you are asking to go from 320hp to 500hp with no power adder? thats almost a 40% increased power over stock. without a full rebuild of the engine or a power adder i dont see how one can do that?

Well basically yes that is what I was getting at. Stock horsepower (or torque) has little to do with the the max hp you can get out of an engine. I had a 5.7 that was 160 hp stock, also 8.0 that was 300, and a 4.6 that was 300 stock.

I've heard that without getting too nuts you can usually get 100 hp per liter without S/C or T/C. I don't know if it's true or not but I've seen it used as a guide many times. Hey if it's totally out of line on this motor that is exactly the question I was looking for an answer for.

I don't know what cams are available, intake mods, exhaust, throttle bodies, or availability of tuners and have never had this engine. I'm just asking since I have limited experience. I bet the issue is how far would I be willing to go. Well I don't really know that myself but the biggest thing would be money - I have access to a mechanic who would be glad to help me for free, but I'm not willing to strip the engine down, bore it out and put new forged internals in or anything like that.

Maybe this would help me more than anything else. How far would 1k in parts (no labor) get the 5.4 if you had to guess, how about 2k?

Those two things would help me a bunch since I really don't want to S/C.

Edit:
I thought "power adder" was used for S/C and T/C, if cams and the above mods are considered power adders then that was my mis-use of the term.

 

[ON D BIT]

Well basically yes that is what I was getting at. Stock horsepower (or torque) has little to do with the the max hp you can get out of an engine.
Edit:
I thought "power adder" was used for S/C and T/C, if cams and the above mods are considered power adders then that was my mis-use of the term.

the stock horsepower has a lot to do with max horsepower. simply adding an intake will not add lots of horsepower just because you have a big motor.
mods and money is what you make of it. meaning i have seen custom headers sell for close to 1k by themselves.
you also have to realize that the 5.4 is designed and tuned for great low end torque. yes you could rebuild the engine(at great expense) to get much more power but you would lose all that torque below 2k rpms.

you can have a great raptor with the 5.4 and intake, and full exhaust with a custom tune. or you can wait for the 6.2 and simply have more power. its up to you.

power adder means forced injection or forcing more air and fuel to the engine to create power. blower, turbo, and nitrous are power adders. heads, long tubes, cams, etc are not what you would call forced injection or power adder.

 

[CGoeschel]

Well for what its worth...I ordered (4) special order 5.4L Raptor's today.

 

[dajohu]

Thanks all, I appreciate the input. I'm still on the fence but I think I see the differences a little better now. If I do get one, I will either end up with a 6.2 and do minor upgrades or maybe the 5.4 and probably end up with a lot more upgrades and possibly even a S/C if I still want more power.

When I talk to the dealer I will ask about pre-ordering the 6.2. If they say I will lose my place and have to go to the end of some “new” waiting list then I may still go ahead with the 5.4.

I think either motor will be fine for what I want. I just won't get the bragging rights of the bigger motor if I go with the 5.4 :-D

 

[blksn8k]

I realize this might seem like a minor point but does anyone know if the design of the spark plugs on the 6.2 is different from the 3V mod motors? This has become a bit of a sticking point for me. On the 3V 4.6 and 5.4 the spark plug is a two-piece design and can cause major headaches if there are carbon buildups on them when you try to replace them. I have heard of cases where a head had to be pulled to get pieces of the plug out of the cylinder because the end of the plug snapped off when it was being removed. I know they make special tools now to avoid that problem but if I have a choice between an engine that has two-piece spark plugs and one that doesn't you know which way I am going. If Ford has wised up and started using one piece plugs in the 5.4 then it is a moot point. If anyone knows of a one piece replacement I would appreciate them passing that on as the two piece POS's are in my Sport Trac. :shrug:

 

[PC Doc]

dajohu - you get the 5.4 and I'll get the 6.2 and we will do our own comparison review.

 

[dajohu]

dajohu - you get the 5.4 and I'll get the 6.2 and we will do our own comparison review.

That's fine, I like being the underdog. Like the time I beat your S/C Cobra with my little ol' GT oke:

 

[PC Doc]

That's fine, I like being the underdog. Like the time I beat your S/C Cobra with my little ol' GT oke:

You must have been dreaming... :dw:

You did have a nice launch. ;-)

 

[Dan Schoneck]

The 6.2 can be made as large as over 8liters, A 427 cube can be obatained by a 3.8 stroke crank and 4.250 bore. With small cams on e85 these motors have made over 800flywheel hp. I can't emagine ford offering a 4 valve head as there would be no need as the stock head is a very good piece already. I cannot wait to have a procharger f2 on one with 427cubes on e85, it will make 1200rwhp no problem.

Another food for thought would be todo a Gt500 motor in one of these, It would be a wiring nightmare to get everthing to work as a gt500 and a 5.4 3valve have different cam sensors, Gt500 has 1 and 3 valve has 2, not saying it wouldn't work but it would take some work.

Dan

 

[meaty mac]

I can't emagine ford offering a 4 valve head as there would be no need as the stock head is a very good piece already.

Next gen Cobra?

No matter how good the SOHC is, the DOHC will always represent the Blue Ovals finest. :beer:

Besides, stretching the 6.2 to a 7.0 will require additional airflow. Not saying that the current heads wouldn't work, but you have to admit a N/A 427 4V would be a sexy combo. HUGE potential one would think :bowdown: