5.4 or v10 gas milage - Diesel Forum

PIGGYMAN · 06-04-2003, 07:53 PM

Could someone tell me what kind of gas milage i will get on the v10.I am ordering the new truck in a week and cant decide wheter to get the 5.4 or V10. The salesman told me i will get 12 miles in the city and 16 on the highway with the 5.4. I am ordering a 250 crew cab lariet,and i wont be towing nothing over 3000lbs. So i was thinking if the v10 gets 11 in the city and 14 on the highway maybe i should get the v10, so at least i will have the power if i need it. I also understand that both engines and tranny are verry reliable so that part is not an issue. I also plan on keeping the vehicle for 15 years,and do most of my driving in the city(you know stop and go). so any input would be greatly accepted before i plop down $3500.00. Thanks for the replys in advance.

1MutCJ7 · 06-04-2003, 08:53 PM

Get the V10 if you are getting a crew cab. I've got the 5.4 in an xtra cab and it has just enough power to do what I need it to do. I've had mine for a month and I've been getting 11-13 with my 5.4 and I think a V10 is only a 1-2 MPG difference. Either way, you'll still have a bad ass truck. I love mine!!!!

ohski · 06-04-2003, 09:40 PM

Get the V10... I would have if they had one on the lot when I bought mine. I do like the V8 though, it has no problems moving me around. I tend to only get 12mpg avg, no long road trips unloaded yet so I'm not sure what just highway would be.

Conocoan · 06-05-2003, 08:46 AM

V-10 all the way!
We get 12 in town and from 14 to a high of 15.2 hwy at 70 mph with the X in my sig. Plus the V-10 is sooo smooth.

Not dissing the 5.4 guys. (I've owned 3 of them and they are great engines) but lets look at what everyone's offering for base engines:

Chevy 2500HD comes with a 6.0 / 325hp
Dodge 2500 comes with a HEMI / 347hp
Ford F-250 comes with a 5.4 / 260hp [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

I think these are the base engines. If I'm wrong I feel sure someone will correct me. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]
If I'm correct then it would appear that the Chevy & Dodge feels that it takes a little more power to move these heavy trucks. That's why I feel resell would be poor with a 5.4 powered truck.

Actually I have a good friend that ordered an F250 4x4 Supercab with a 5.4 and 4:10's. He loved truck until he started working it. He just didn't have the power he needed and his was fairly rough of fuel. Then he rode in a PSD and was blown away. He never rode in a V-10 but I think he would have been almost as surprised. At any rate, it wasn't long before he traded up and took a hell of a loss.

Have fun shoppin'

spoon · 06-05-2003, 09:15 AM

The current 5.4L is a good motor, but best suited for the 1/2 tons or if you never plan on hauling anything in the much heavier F250/350.

Get the '10. Best $600 you'll spend on two pistons, and you'll get it all back at resale. The resale on a SD with an 8 is dismal.

I get 14.5-15.5 hiway at 70mph, 12 in the city, 9-13 towing 5000#.

Want good mileage? Get a Jetta diesel. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Solo2puller · 06-05-2003, 09:19 AM

I've got a complete fuel log for my V10 crew cab. PM me if you're interested, I can email it to you in MS Excel format.

A quick summary:

Lowest tank mpg : 10.5
Highest tank mpg: 14.1

My lowest was all city driving, most of it pulling my car around (5000 lbs with trailer). My highest was mostly highway, pretty much empty. I'm certain if I took it on a trip I'd get over 15 for an entire tankful, probably very close to 16 or a little better.

I've only got 5000 miles on it, and it seems to be getting a little better with time. In 4830 miles I've used 586 gallons of gas for an overall avg of 11.8 mpg. My situation is similar to yours - my commute to work is only 7 miles, all stop and go. The 5.4 would've pulled my current trailer fine, but I'd like to move up to an enclosed trailer in the future. Like you, I plan on keeping it for a while so I went with the V10 just in case I do get a bigger trailer later on.

Definitely get the 3.73 rear end if you get the V10. Plenty of grunt, and it will help a bit with your fuel economy. The economy (seems like the wrong word here) of the V10 is tied very closely to your driving style. Romp on it and you'll be rewarded with great accelaration, sweet engine sounds, silly looking grins and low mpg.

Idling a lot produces a similar effect. At 60 mph it's spinning less than 1000 rpm faster than idle speed, but you're getting a whole lot of motion for that rpm. Let it idle to warm up/cool down alot, and the mpg suffers dramatically. Idling gets 0 mpg (or less).

jstrauss · 06-05-2003, 09:39 AM

Definitely get THE TEN. The 5.4L is going to get you, maybe, 1 more mpg. It ain't worth the power you give up.

I get 12.5 with mine. Doesn't seem to matter how or where I drive, it is twelve point five. Just to give you an idea of the kind of reserve this motor has, I have put on bigger tires (285s) and added about 500 pounds of FER, headache rack, and rear pipe bumper, and the mileage did not change a bit.

But when you punch it, it GOES. Plus there is just the cache of the V10 badge.

You won't be sorry. I sure wasn't. You are not going to hear any stories of 5.4L guys getting any better mileage than you are to make you question your decision.

Rugby3 · 06-07-2003, 05:17 PM

I have the V-10 with a CC LB and 4x4. I get 13 MPG average regardless of how I drive it. That IMHO is awesome mileage compared to the 5.4 for the increase in motor. I think it is always better to have to much motor and not need it than not enough when you do. I traded up to this beast from a 97-150 with the V-6. I will never own a "it'll do" truck again. Get the 10!

03psd4x4 · 06-07-2003, 07:13 PM

The resale value is remarkable on the V10. Untouchable by the PSD. In the May 2003 Southwestern Edition NADA Official Used Car Guide the V10 options add the following values by year (retail):
1999 $550
2000 $600
2001 $650
2002 $700.

You get whatever one you want don't let us talk you into it. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

RocketRacing · 06-09-2003, 05:38 PM

I have a 5.4, Get the V-10.

The 5.4 is just enough power to take care of the truck, not enough to haul anything. It is actually too little if you get heavy winds, etc as it like to shift down because it does not have enough power. And I am lucky to get 11 mpg on the highway with it. Go with the 10.

6spd · 06-10-2003, 11:18 PM

I have a 5.4 6-spd. Have averaged 12.8 for the first 6000 miles (full mileage records). The truck is not a daily driver. Other than break-in, all miles are either towing my 4000 lb. trailer or off-roading.

The truck pulls well, but if you are thinking auto instead of 6spd I would go with the V10 - just my 2 cents.

cphilip · 06-13-2003, 11:39 AM

I had a F250 5.4L in a Super Cab 4X2 3.73 configuration. Consitent 14.5-15.0 MPG average to work and back and 18-19 unloaded highway and about 11 towing a 5800 pound TT.

The "gestimate" of 2MPG difference is about right. It sort of depends on "foot" affect. I suspect the V10 would get about the same towing as my 5.4L did. Just a guess.

Before that I had a F150 SC lariat 4X4 weighed in at 5460 pounds (6600 GVWR) and the above Super Duty 4X2 (8800 GVWR) wieghed in at 5600 pounds with similar tanks of fuel with no occupants. Both short beds. Sort of close and you can see why there are some configurations of Super Duties it's a good choice for.

Gives you some idea.

And as metioned the resale on a V10 incomparison is almost exactly what you pay extra for a V10 ($600? Right?) so that realy doesn't kill ya or anything. At least it's not a detraction of value.

SUPERDUTYSPV · 07-08-2003, 04:07 PM

get the V-10, I am getting 12.5 around town and 14-16 Highway. Get the V-10!

Mack_Daddy · 07-08-2003, 07:38 PM

Get the V-10 and get the 4.3 rear. The lower gearing will help with grunt, and while you may only be towing 3000lbs now, I've found that it's always best to get more truck than you need right now because your needs might change. That said, consider an F350 as well for the added 1100 lbs of gvwr. I had a CC, 4x4, V10, 4.3, AT and I got consistently around 11mpg city type driving, and 13-14 on the highway. I loved it- was a great truck, but when I decided to get a camper, I needed the added capacity of a dually, and because I was looking for a used truck, I had only PSDs to choose from. Not sorry about that at all, even though the V10 was a great motor.

m1guy · 07-13-2003, 01:22 AM

If you plan on keeping something 15 years, I dont think you should consider resale value in your buying decision. Its not going to be worth anything, anyway. If you're going to keep it that long, I think you should consider forgetting the gas engines altogether. Somebody that will keep a truck that long could benefit from a diesel. But then, I don't think I would buy a Ford with a 6.0 right now. Maybe the problems are not as bad as they seem on here, but just by reading this forum, you get the feeling that there are a lot of them. Maybe they will iron them out soon. And then, I wouldn't be getting an automatic, if I planned on this truck lasting 15 years. And, ( maybe I'm a little biased here, but I think there's some truth in it) not a Ford with an automatic, anyway. Read on here and look at how many people have problems with the 4R100 transmission. Honestly, if I had to buy a 3/4 or 1 ton truck today, and planned on keeping it 15 years, it would be a diesel with a stick shift and probably not a Ford.