Avalanche 5.3 shames F250 5.4 ?

[flyguy1]

Hi guys !

I have been towing my 391v (guessing no more than 3500 lbs)with my 02 f250 5.4 superduty supercab and have not been impressed with the towing power ! My wife and I went on vacation and used her 02 avalanche 5.3 and it put my big f250 Man truck to shame !!!
What gives? The avalanche weighs 6000 lbs, my truck shouldn't be much more !
F250 is 260 hp with 360 torque and avy is 285 hp with 340 torque . Talk about being bummed !
So I guess I switch to Chevy's 5.3 ? Any input would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks

Mark

[TRCM]

I went from a 97 1 ton Dodge Dually CTD 5 spd w/300 hp & 800 ft lbs to my 08 1500 Silverado auto w/315 hp & 338 ft lbs.

Yes, the Silverado is slower with a load or not (depending on the conditions), but it rides a little better (not much BTW), and it gets better mpg, towing or loaded (again, not by much).

So I feel your pain, but hey, no more shifting and it's easier to back up an empty trailer now.

[CatFan]

Rear axle ratios?

I towed my boat a lot of miles with a Chevy 5.3 w/3.43 before switching to a Ford 5.4 3.55. Both Supercab 1/2 tons. The Chevy may have had just a bit more, but the Ford is 4WD and the Chevy wasn't.

[tcesni]

Axle ratios and/or weight. I'll bet that F250 has 500 lbs. over your Avalanche.

[Skeet'r89]

In 2004 I test drove a F250 w/5.4 and I drove the Chevy with the 6.0. I will flat out say that the 250 w/ the 5.4 was a slug. My 2500 is not the HD and has 3.73 gears and has way more guts.

[transamz9]

Don't get me wrong because I'm not a Ford fan by no means (Cummins all the way) but my boss at work has an 2002 250 with the 5.4 and has tow stuff the whole life of the truck.He was towing 8000# to a job today that is about a 100 mile run, so he pulled in the shop for me to do a quick check of fluids and when I got the miles off of the truck for my paper work it has 390,000 miles on it. Yes it as the original motor with nothing done internal. It is on its third trans though. That thing still purs as smooth as a kitty.Wouldn't pull a flee off of a dogs azz but is still trucking.

[CWCW]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by flyguy1 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Hi guys !

I have been towing my 391v (guessing no more than 3500 lbs)with my 02 f250 5.4 superduty supercab and have not been impressed with the towing power ! My wife and I went on vacation and used her 02 avalanche 5.3 and it put my big f250 Man truck to shame !!!
What gives? The avalanche weighs 6000 lbs, my truck shouldn't be much more !
F250 is 260 hp with 360 torque and avy is 285 hp with 340 torque . Talk about being bummed !
So I guess I switch to Chevy's 5.3 ? Any input would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks

Mark</td></tr></table>
You have to understand that Ford screwed up when they put a 1/2 V8 in a 3/4ton truck. That 3/4 ton weights quite a bit more than the 1/2 ton. The 5.4L in the F250 is very underpowered, thats why they made the V10 available for Superduty owners that didnt want a diesel.
Chevy did right by having the 6.0L in their Superduties, more displacement means more power. Also, Ford tends to have heavier built trucks than Chevy when you compare apples to apples.
2010 F250 Supercrew 4x4= 6950lbs
2010 2500 supercrew 4x4= 6401lbs
2010 Avalanche 4x4= 5586lbs.

That means your looking at a 5.4L V8 that is supposed to be a 1/2ton V8 in a 3/4 ton truck that weights 1300lbs more than a Avalanche with the similar size motor. So if you put 1300lbs of weight in the bed of your wifes Avalanche and then pulled the boat, it would probably feel like pulling the boat with the F250.

Thats why you see more gas powered 2500's than F250's out on the road. Most that bought F250's went with the diesel motor and a few bought the V10.
Hopefully you will see more gas powered F250's with their new 6.2L V8.

[PowerFish]

I had a 5.3 Avalanche and did plenty of performance mods... Had to whip that thing like a tired pony to pull my 07 Nitro 929... Went to a dodge ram hemi and power problems went away... Fuel mileage died though... Went back to a ford 5.4 triton. Not as powerful as the Hemi but put the Chebby to shame...

Just my two cents. The 5.4 in an F-250 is a dawg though...

[JohnM]

My 5.3 Avy pull just fine. I have the 3.73 G80 rear end which makes a big difference.