4.6 or 5.0 any major differences ?

With basic bolt on's I think they're gonna be about the same. If you're planning on swapping H/C/I, the 5.0 will probably be your best bet. It's a lot easier to work on than the 4.6 and you'll get a little better performance from it(more torque). I did see something one time that it costs about the same to get 300RWHP from both cars tho(H/C/I).
 
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Lol at BlueOvalStangGt:D

It is a drivers race between 94-95gt's and 96-98gts.

A 98 5spd Gt is actually faster than all of the other gt's. 225hp and a 3:27 gear ratio.

Drivers race, period.

Sound is strickly opinion. One does not sound better than the other.

A 96-98 gt sounds virtually and literally the same as a 99+. The 99+ is a bit more deeper (bigger heads/etc.).

I prefer the 4.6L sound better...
 
Let me list the disadvantages of buying a 96+ GT

1st - 96+ are OBDII and you cannot read the codes w/o a $250 scantool. :notnice: You can use a paperclip on our cars. And you can buy a lot of boxes of paperclips for $250.

2nd - the block is basically the same as the 64 mustangs w/ the 289, and also similar to the 351, so aftermarket heads are VERY cheap and there is a lot of competition between companies, which makes them manufacture better and better heads. Plus tons of other aftermarket parts, as well as great used parts like exhaust, intakes, etc.

3rd - OHC means 2 cams to replace when you do so.

4th - plastic intake leaks, although it finally had a recall on it and you can get paid to fix it.

5th - Everyone knows how to work on them, so you have tons of people to help you out when you have problems.

6th - you cannot listen to vanilla ice's song about rollin' in a 5 OH.


Advantages - the taillights? the ummm...the ummm, ummmmmmm....:shrug:

And I do think the 99+ GT's sound louder when you stick exhaust on them, which isn't necessarily better. But they have better flowing heads from the factory, so that explains it. But I also think our cars sounds so good when you DON'T put frickin flowmasters on it like the rest of the world. I love my setup....:drool:
Scott
 
Mac-man said:
i dont know bout this one. a 96-04 with a bassani x-pipe and slp catback is one of the most aggressive sounding cars there is. i havent yet heard a 5.0 that had the raspiness and the exhaust note to sound as aggressive as one of those. they might run stronger and be faster when modded, but they dont sound anywhere near as aggressive as a modular under WOT

i agree. i love the sound of my car but i have heard alot of nice 4.6's around here. espically the cobra's.
 
Mac-man said:
i dont know bout this one. a 96-04 with a bassani x-pipe and slp catback is one of the most aggressive sounding cars there is. i havent yet heard a 5.0 that had the raspiness and the exhaust note to sound as aggressive as one of those. they might run stronger and be faster when modded, but they dont sound anywhere near as aggressive as a modular under WOT
Absolutely-without a doubt-The best sounding mustang I have ever owned was my 1996 that I bought brand new and I put a Mac off-road X-pipe with mils and Flowmaster american thunders. IMO nothing comes close to the metallic rasp of the 4.6.
 
You can't beat a cammed 5.0 sound. Or a 418 for that matter.

I think you guys need to worry about the pros and cons between the two engines. I think that was the main question of this thread.

Who cares about the 4.6 exhaust sound?

This is the 94-95 push rod forum Not the 4.6 sounds better forum.
 
bjl95mustang said:
You can't beat a cammed 5.0 sound. Or a 418 for that matter.

I think you guys need to worry about the pros and cons between the two engines. I think that was the main question of this thread.

Who cares about the 4.6 exhaust sound?

This is the 94-95 push rod forum Not the 4.6 sounds better forum.
??? but you just did the same thing??? But I agree we did hijack the thread. sorry pal. :cheers:
 
stang_fanatic said:
ohh $hit thanks for the replies,

it seems both are killer rides , just 5.0 has cheeper parts, but then 5.0 are older cars so there are probably more cost of owning one

one thing left confusing is how come 5.0 and 4.6 have the same hp ?

thanks everyone !!! :nice:
My 2 cents:

The reason the HP rating is close on the 94-95 cars and the 96-98 cars is that Ford pulled a marketing ploy. If you notice, the 5.0 went down in power between 93 and 94. The changes between those years included a different intake and a few other engine changes. But that was BECAUSE they knew the 4.6 was coming out soon. And they certainly could not have HP go down with the new engine. So the 5.0 conveniently goes down in HP. Things that make you go hmmm?

On your original post, I don't think anyone has laid out the differences in stock performance of the 5.0 and 4.6 - just a lot of bits and pieces. So I'll try. The 5.0 develops its power at lower RPM, and has a higher torque rating (I believe). Both power curves on a 5.0 are decisively healthier down at low RPM compared to a 4.6. And those are precisely the type of power curves that you want in a street driven performance car. Anyone here will tell you that torque is what throws you back in your seat, and makes it fun to drive stop light to stop light, or pulling out of a corner. HP sells cars, torque wins races (as they say). You'll probably see similar 0 to 60 and 1/4 times with cars in any of those years (94 to 98), with maybe a slight advantage to the 5.0.

The 5.0 is very reliable (if not on the bottle or modded heavily). So there is probably little difference in reliability between a 94 and a 96 (only 2 years different anyway). I would look to the mileage and condition of the car more than engine for reliability differences.

Then you get to mods and sound, which everyone here is quick to point out the differences on. And I agree with a lot of the above. 5.0 is easier to mod - though a cam swap alone might actually be easier on a 4.6. And there are more parts out there for the 5.0. But the attention in aftermarket parts is clearly shifting to the new '05. As far as sound, I would give the nod to the 5.0. They sound lower, meaner, gruntier. I would take that over "raspy" exhaust any day. But that's me. And exhaust note is purely a matter of personal opinion.

Post your question over on the 4.6 tech. It would be interesting to see how they respond.

Oh and BTW, don't defeat the curse filter by typing "$". The filter is there for a reason. "Sh**" is preferable.
 
GRGT1994 said:
My 2 cents:

The reason the HP rating is close on the 94-95 cars and the 96-98 cars is that Ford pulled a marketing ploy. If you notice, the 5.0 went down in power between 93 and 94. The changes between those years included a different intake and a few other engine changes. But that was BECAUSE they knew the 4.6 was coming out soon. And they certainly could not have HP go down with the new engine. So the 5.0 conveniently goes down in HP. Things that make you go hmmm?

On your original post, I don't think anyone has laid out the differences in stock performance of the 5.0 and 4.6 - just a lot of bits and pieces. So I'll try. The 5.0 develops its power at lower RPM, and has a higher torque rating (I believe). Both power curves on a 5.0 are decisively healthier down at low RPM compared to a 4.6. And those are precisely the type of power curves that you want in a street driven performance car. Anyone here will tell you that torque is what throws you back in your seat, and makes it fun to drive stop light to stop light, or pulling out of a corner. HP sells cars, torque wins races (as they say). You'll probably see similar 0 to 60 and 1/4 times with cars in any of those years (94 to 98), with maybe a slight advantage to the 5.0.

The 5.0 is very reliable (if not on the bottle or modded heavily). So there is probably little difference in reliability between a 94 and a 96 (only 2 years different anyway). I would look to the mileage and condition of the car more than engine for reliability differences.

Then you get to mods and sound, which everyone here is quick to point out the differences on. And I agree with a lot of the above. 5.0 is easier to mod - though a cam swap alone might actually be easier on a 4.6. And there are more parts out there for the 5.0. But the attention in aftermarket parts is clearly shifting to the new '05. As far as sound, I would give the nod to the 5.0. They sound lower, meaner, gruntier. I would take that over "raspy" exhaust any day. But that's me. And exhaust note is purely a matter of personal opinion.

Post your question over on the 4.6 tech. It would be interesting to see how they respond.

Oh and BTW, don't defeat the curse filter by typing "$". The filter is there for a reason. "Sh**" is preferable.


nice ! :owned: I will try to get the 5.0 then !
 
I recently made a similar choice. I went with a 95 5.0 for two reasons; in stock form it was faster than any of the 96-98 GT's I tested and more importantly for me it was pre obdii. I live in a state that has obdii emmission's testing, but only safety/visual emmission's testing for pre obdii. This makes it much easier and cheaper to mod a 95 and older over a 96 and newer vehicle.
 
bjl95mustang said:
You can't beat a cammed 5.0 sound. Or a 418 for that matter.

I think you guys need to worry about the pros and cons between the two engines. I think that was the main question of this thread.

Who cares about the 4.6 exhaust sound?

This is the 94-95 push rod forum Not the 4.6 sounds better forum.


BET!!!!!!
 
It is a drivers race between the 94/95's and 96-98's. With the 98's being the quickest of them all.

The 4.6L makes the same amount of torque 100rpm higher than the 5.0L. You know how long it takes to get that extra 100rpm? maybe a 1/10th of a second. Do you really think your going to "feel" that.

I prefer a cammed 4.6L sound;)
 
i'm probably not mentioning anything new here that wasn't already said. but.... of course everyone on the 94-95 board is going to be biased toward the 94-95, equally right with the 96-98 guys. Already pointed out the givens... any '96-'98 is going to be newer, less miles, and probably a little bit better shape. I bought my 94-95 last year and i was opting for a '96-98 for a while there too. Generally they are a little more expensive for 97 and 98s. My friend just sold his '98 GT with 43k miles on it for near 10grand. Anyway, to make a long story short. Since you want a convertible i'm taking it you don't care tooo much about performance. Maybee just a little but not going wild or anything? Keep in mind that the '96-'98cars will be easier to find a better shape convertible top. I had a hard time findind a decent top in a '94'95 until I just gave up and said i'll stick with a hard top.
 
95CobraMike said:
i like my 5.056L the best :)





just a guess at the size of a 306 :shrug:

Did you know that a stock 5.0 is actually a 4.949? :D It's true. There's roughly 61.08 cubic inches per liter, which comes out to 4.9499 liters or so. Even ford says the infamous "5.0" has only 4949 cc displacement, which can be read 4.949 liters. But who wants a 4.9? :shrug: So your 306 is actually just a 5.0. 5.009 to be exact, lol.

To the original poster: I'm not gonna bad mouth any 96-98 GT's. My g/f's 98 AUTOMATIC GT is running 14.8's with just pro-dumps and a PI intake. That's a stock tranny, with stock gears out back. But the 5.0 is cheaper to buy parts for. :) And they usually respond to mods a little better too.
 
yellowstang1994 said:
i'm probably not mentioning anything new here that wasn't already said. but.... of course everyone on the 94-95 board is going to be biased toward the 94-95, equally right with the 96-98 guys. Already pointed out the givens... any '96-'98 is going to be newer, less miles, and probably a little bit better shape. I bought my 94-95 last year and i was opting for a '96-98 for a while there too. Generally they are a little more expensive for 97 and 98s. My friend just sold his '98 GT with 43k miles on it for near 10grand. Anyway, to make a long story short. Since you want a convertible i'm taking it you don't care tooo much about performance. Maybee just a little but not going wild or anything? Keep in mind that the '96-'98cars will be easier to find a better shape convertible top. I had a hard time findind a decent top in a '94'95 until I just gave up and said i'll stick with a hard top.

Hey, dont rag on fast conv's.