Big block engines

[lynn]

How may people have big block engines (360/454) and what are your thoughs on them? Do you think they are needed to pull
trailers?

[olderthandirt]

nothing beats cubic inches for power. No I don't believe you need them to pull get the right gearing and you can tow with a 4 banger.

Mac

[rob1325]

The more the merrier. Engine doesn't work as hard and lasts longer.

[Flex-Deck]

Love my V10 - 8 liter. - Smoooooth and Poooowwerful

[Avery]

The big blocks are big on power but they are gas guzzlers. Better off with a diesel IMO.

[BrianK10]

I agree with Avery. Gas mileage is a killer.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Don’t think it’s considered a big block, but I have a ’90 Ford F250 with a 351 V8 EFI, 5 spd manual and 3.55 gears. About 10-11 mpg towing my lawn trailer in town. I know guys with brand new Chevy 2500 trucks with 6.0 Liters and automatics that get the same mileage. Hmm… either Chevy is 14 years behind or Ford outdid themselves, or maybe both :p LOL
It’s all in the gearing honestly. As mentioned any engine works as long as the gears are right. Are we talking about a half ton, ¾ ton, 1 ton or smaller, bigger, what? If we knew what type of truck you’re asking about we could help more with engine and gearing.

[Avery]

Not to start the Ford/Chevy debate but that is one arguing point you will lose every day of the week. Ford has never gotten as good a fuel milage. I have had numerous of both brands.

As for a Ford 351 getting the same as a 6.0 Chevy. I would say Chevy is ahead. That is a 383 cu/in motor getting the same milage as a 351. More power and same mileage. Looks like a win for Chevy on that one. :)

[olderthandirt]

Originally posted by Avery
Not to start the Ford/Chevy debate but that is one arguing point you will lose every day of the week. Ford has never gotten as good a fuel milage. I have had numerous of both brands.

As for a Ford 351 getting the same as a 6.0 Chevy. I would say Chevy is ahead. That is a 383 cu/in motor getting the same milage as a 351. More power and same mileage. Looks like a win for Chevy on that one. :)

Not a fair comparison your talking about a 12 yr old engine to a newer design. Now if you want to campare the 351 to a 350 More power and same mileage. Looks like a win for Ford on that one.

Mac

[Avery]

I was just clarifying the comparison he started. Using his figures. :)

And again a NEW 351 will not get the mileage of a NEW 350. If they still made a 350.

[olderthandirt]

They quit making the 351 long time ago also and I had to many of each. 351 would beat the 350 in milage with the same gear ratio and out pull it everytime,

[Metro Lawn]

There's no replacement, for displacement... But I use Cummins diesels.

[UNISCAPER]

We have a 454 in a truck that had a 350. Gas milage improved because we do not have to keep our foot into the wood as deep.

The downside is it gets the same loaded or empty.

There is NO substitute for cubic inches, and anything measured in liters is a cheap imitation of what can never be replaced...The CUBIC INCH!

[FrankenScagMachines]

Avery, my point is, technology (in theory) improves over the course of time. Therefore, in 14 years of designing and engineering, surely a slightly larger motor (Chevy 6.0) could get at least a couple more mpg than a much much older, slightly smaller engine (Ford 351/5.8). If as you say, Chevy is so good then why couldn’t they get any more fuel mileage out of it? If you think about it, .2 Liter is not much more displacement.
Also in defense of my Ford, it’s got 192,500 miles on it and is getting alittle tired. Worn out? Nope, doesn’t burn a drop of oil. But it’s a little bit tired (still pretty good for the miles and years). AND, I have disconnected the EGR system which in theory adds to the fuel mileage because it picks up unused gas that goes through the exhaust system, and sends it back to the engine to be reburnt. And I took off the catalytic converter. So therefore, I could probably get better with all that junk on it and hooked up. I can get 13.5 mpg on the highway. Not great but not terrible either IMO. What do the new Chevy 6.0’s get on the highway?

I’m not trying to start a brand war. I was just stating that Chevy’s fuel mileage with the 6.0 L is not really impressive. I will hook up to a heavy trailer next to a new Chevy 2500 2wd, 6.0L, 5 spd with 3.55 gears with equal trailer and load and it would not bother me a bit. I’m not saying the Chevy is a junk. I just think that in 14 years they ought to get alittle better fuel economy. I don’t know what current comparable Ford’s get, but I think it’s alittle more than that. Need I tell you what kind of mileage reports I have heard with the Chevy 454 vs. Ford 460? And honestly, I don’t care what kind of mileage I get. It’s worth it to be able to out-pull any “comparable” Chevy :p

Ford does not still make a 351. I think it went out with the previous body style of trucks.

Metro, those Cummins are great engines. Take a lickin and keep tickin! BTW, my town is Cummins world HQ and my dad works there (as well as 1 out of 4 people you would talk to in my town LOL).

As for Uniscaper’s situation I would have to guess that either his 350 was overloaded or he had his foot “in the wood” too much.

Not to sound like a know-it-all but it’s all just my opinion on things. Hey if you all can post your opinions, so can I. haha. Again I am not brand bashing, I’m simply comparing what I know to what other people who own these Chevy’s tell me. Why would they lie about gas mileage and tell me how bad their truck sucks gas?

[Avery]

I don't know why they would lie. Maybe they are getting that mileage. Maybe something is wrong with their truck. Who knows. I am just speaking from experience. I have had plenty of Fords. They will pass everything but a gas station. Worse milage vehicles of any I have ever owned. I have had every engine from the in line 6 300 to the 351. None came close to a Chevy gas economy. But it has been years since I had a gas burner. All diesel now.

[GLS]

Even if chevy's 6.0L gets about the same mileage the old 350 did, the power has increased significantly.

6.0 L -
300 HP (325hp denali, 345hp ss)
360 ft-lbs torque (380 in the ss)
I've heard average mileage (city and highway) about 12mpg.

My 350 only has about 210hp and gets 9mpg with 4.10 gears. '96 and later 350s had 265hp I think. Not sure what the torque rating is.

My point is, mileage is not suffering for the horsepower you are gaining in chevys new motors. If you want better fuel mileage, you better go with a diesel.

[olderthandirt]

I don't want to debate chevy ford dodge what ever floats your boat. But this crap on horse power from all three co. is just that bs. Where they rating it at flywheel or rear wheels. get into a 69 gto and feel what 300 hp feels like, or mustang mach 1 thats hp. I have no idea how the big 3 come up with these figures for HP.

[Avery]

flywheel I am sure.

[Gravel Rat]

Why would you want a gas truck if you are going to be hauling heavy loads especially so with 1 ton dually trucks that can carry 2-3 ton.

My old 88 F-Superduty 1.5 ton truck got a whopping 4-6mpg loaded or M/T because the 460 gas was a thirsty pig sure it had power but consumed gas like a alcoholic consumes booze.

I went to a truck with a 7.3 IDI N/A its slow and reliable but the best part my mileage increased to 10-12 doesn't matter if its loaded or M/T.

Once you go diesel you never go back to gas if you into hauling heavy loads. I carry loads upto 3.5 ton on my truck I need some thing that has decent power and mileage this truck is my daily driver she weighs in at 8000lbs with full tank of fuel. With a tare weight that heavy it almost weighs more than a F-250 legally loaded.

My old 1980 F-350 2wd with 351m power 4spd with the same wheelbase and deck size as my F-Superduty the F-350 only weighed 6800lbs so 1200lb difference in tare weight :D

[J.Gordon]

I have a friend that has a ½ ton 4-wd Ford 5.4 liter that gets 10-11 Mpg. My Stepfather has a ¾ ton 4-wd Chevy that gets about 13-14 MPG after he installed a steel flatbed with a bail loader on it. As for Ford jumping ahead of the others, I don’t think so myself. I think there is a lot of room for improvements with all the full size pickups. (Especially in the fuel mileage department.) In my experience I have received more power and better fuel mileage with the G M pickups than Ford. But I do like my 4-wd F-250 even with its 10-12 MPG. If it will do what you need it to do and be reliable who cares what brand it is?

[UNISCAPER]

We do not overlaod trucks. The situation where we run out of is rolling hills, and 5-8% grades to where we are going. With a small block, or engine that is measured using liters, they just can't do what the 454 can do. When I began calling the 460 cubic inch Navastar diesel that and stopped calling it a 7.3, it got more power.
I also had to educate the salesman at Ford when we ordered the new truck. Ours will have a 366 cubic inch diesel, not a 6.0. 6.0 rather than 366 sounded cheezy...Since the automotive induistry cannot make up it's mind weather or not to go metric, I just did for them...This is America, so they need to act like it....LOL

On flat gounds, a small block would probably work fine, out here it will not. They over work, heat up and won't pull what a big block does. Besides, when you bolt on a set of Flowmasters, there ain't no better sound than a big block winding up, lugging up a hill.

[Gravel Rat]

If you live on the West Coast you need a truck with decent power because we have steep hills to climb one of the reasons why our trucks get poor fuel mileage.

Where I live we don't have very many flat straight stretches where you can just cruise. The longest straight stretch maybe 1km long (.6 of a mile) the rest of the highway consists of twists and turns along with hills.

Our trucks get about 18,000 miles out of a set of steer tires (1 ton duallys)

[BOTURF]

i own 2 gas thirsty big block horses The chevy 454( 7.4) is a 2 wheel drive dually and its get anywhere from 9 to 12 mpg depending on the situation . The dodge dually is a 4 wheel drive with the v-10 488 ( 8.1) and it gets anywhere from 6.8 to 8.0 mph, if you got one of these big daddys you sure shouldnt be worrying about mpg and if you are why in the heck did you buy it . WORK OR PLAY YOU ARE GOING TO PAY What is it they say ? sucking gas hauling a$#

[Gravel Rat]

For me when I was hauling material like gravel with my 88 F-Superduty I charge 35 dollars for delivery the truck burns 5-10 dollars in fuel todo the delivery :(

With a gas powered truck you will have a really tough time trying to make money with it. I did one job hauling about 12 yards of material into a site where a 5 ton single axle couldn't go my old 88 burned about 40 dollars in fuel about 15 imp gallons in 3 hours.

I hauled 3 yards of wet heavy topsoil around 9000lbs worth in my old 88 it was a 40km 25mi trip with the load the old girl guzzled back the fuel. I started with a fuel rear tank by the time I got to the destination she was down to 1/4 or so :D

Keep in mind it was 25 miles down with a M/T truck and 25 miles back with the 3 yards of soil. Climbing the hills back to the desination was a slow ride 2nd gear was used alot I couldn't get the truck into 4th on most of the trip back.