5.0 vs. 4.6

[final5-0]

I gotta throw in my .02 on this one.

I say PUSHRODS FOREVER and this is why.

Best friend had a 99 Cobra and I drove it many times. Every time I drove it I could not get over the fact that it had NO low end torque. Sure on the big end it pulled hard and all but by the time it started to pull my little 290 hp gt would have showed it's tailights to the big bad Cobra from a good bit farther down the road.

Again to be fair, given enough road the Cobra would have caught me.

The 4.6 NA bad boy was just not as fun to drive as my mild combo 5.0 gt.

When you think about it, Ford had to put a blower on the Cobra to prop up the weak low end.

I will now climb down from my soap box.

Later
Grady

 

[TheDamned]

one more question, the GTS...is that a car made by ford, or is it a car that once was a V6 that somebody dropped in a V8?

yep... i have one.. i have cruise control, thats it.. manual windows\seats no foglights.

 

[Rootus]

Again to be fair, given enough road the Cobra would have caught me.

Not unless he's been modded . A stock 99 Cobra puts down less than 290 to the wheels, you would have kept pulling no matter how far you went...

The 4.6 NA bad boy was just not as fun to drive as my mild combo 5.0 gt.

I second that opinion. I've had three 5.0L Mustangs (a '90, '94, and then the last one is my '95 I have now). And I've had three 4.6L's in between -- a '97 GT, '98 Cobra (in chrome yellow ), and a '99 Cobra. I bought my '95 about a week after I sold the '99 Cobra, and even with the '95 mostly stock I was astounded -- I had forgotten how much more grunt a 5.0L has, especially compared to a DOHC modular.

Dave

 

[mo_dingo]

If you go with a modular motor, get a 4V. Otherwise you are stuck with the crappy heads and PLASTIC intake manifold. There are ported stock heads out there, but they are very expensive and not worth it IMO.

But, take a 4V, throw a blower and exhaust on it, and you have over 400hp to the wheels, without removing the VC's.
Some see around 450hp.

So get a 4V cobra or mach1, or a 5.0L. Either will be a good decision.
Scott

 

[BnGRacing]

"Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races." -Caroll Shelby. Hands down, the 5.0L motor has more torque. However, the 4.6L mod motor is the future of Ford. So go out and drive a 5.0, a 2v and a 4v and you'll know right away why the 5.0 guys are saying what we are saying...the pushrod Stangs are just more fun to drive!

 

[Venom351R]

5.0 are cheaper but like mentioned they are also 10yrs old thing are going to need replacing..

It Depends on what yr 4.6 hes looking at, wont be much of a diffrence if hes thinking of a 96-98 VS the 94-95. The 98 has 3 yrs on us as far as being newer but w/ the quality of the 5.0 it dosent seem to be an issue. Mine has 125,XXX Miles and its still very healthy.

 

[94Five0]

yup. i know an 88lx w/ 245k miles on it..not jus that, but hydrolocked it, several trips to ffw in commece, Ga..b&F from NC 4 times.. yup. of course we have a theory, thats its simply possessed.

only thing he's replaced is the waterpump

 

[95YellowGTbeasT]

Get an 03" or 04" cobra and be done with it . Im a 5.0 guy and all most of my friends have 4.6s and i can pretty much wipe the floor with all the mustangs around here except for 1 95 gt and an 03 cobra. Also about the low end torque didnt the MIRC help the cobras produce low end torque from 96-98 and why did they take them out??

Nick

 

[95snoozer]

ls1

 

[Rootus]

ls1

Get a 2002 Z06 ... easily turned into an 11-second daily driver.

Dave

 

[98_stang_guy]

Get an 03" or 04" cobra and be done with it

im a 17 year old kid, i can bearly afford a 94-98 stang, let alone a '03 or '04

 

[95snoozer]

find a 95 hard top

or a 96-97 and do the PI headswap instantly.

it makes a nice foundation

 

[5spd GT]

Well I test drove a 2001 GT before I bought my 94. And having drove the 94 first the 01 GT did nothing for me. The 01 just could not match the torque of the 5.0 The difference in the seat of the pants was unbelievable.

On top of that there are tons more parts available to mod the 5.0 and parts are going to be alot cheaper than the mod motor.

I hope your "test drive" was compared to your modified 5.0 or was your 5.0 stock when you drove the 01 GT because that would just make me if you think the seat of the pants difference was unbelievable...

Just to put it in perspective...I'll compare a stock 94-95 5.0 to the "pig" 96-98 4.6L...

5.0 = 285lbs of torque @ 3400rpm
4.6 = 285lbs of torque @ 3500rpm...big difference huh?...lol...

And everybody should know that the 99+ Gt is considerably quicker than the 96-98 Gts so unless you were comparing it to your modified gt then you don't have a very good SOTP...

99+ Gt's can trap upwards of 99-101mph...stock 94-95 (or stock 96-98gt)...around 93-97...

There is a very discreet difference in performance between the 94 5.0 and 96 5.0...

5.0 is easier to work on...4.6 is newer technology and will be better in the future if not already...

 

[5spd GT]

Get a 2002 Z06 ... easily turned into an 11-second daily driver.

Dave

I'm kind of liking that idea

Just get some sticky dr's and your set...

 

[Rootus]

SOTP meter is highly inaccurate. Personally I don't find any 4.6L motor to be all that impressive in the torque department, including the 03 Cobra (when bone stock). Any modded 5.0L will feel faster through your butt.

Dave

 

[Zero Signal]

SOTP meter is highly inaccurate.

Still, if you want to have fun driving, then that's all that matters. I know my car is slow, but hey, it's torquey so it's still fun to drive! I drove some 4.6's before buying the 95 and I didn't think they were so bad. I wouldn't buy one only becuase of how easy our motors are to fix and cheap to mod.

 

[5spd GT]

The 4.6 has almost exactly the same amount of torque as the 5.0...it's just the 4.6 has a deceiving powerband and opens up when the 5.0 is starting to gasp for air...so makes the 5.0 feel much quicker on the bottom end but actually is not...

The 03/04 Cobra's (just as the previous DOHC 4.6's) have a redline @ around 7k so again the deceiving takes place even though a 03/04 Cobra would waste a stock 5.0 from a dead stop or roll...gears become a big factor in that determinant...

 

[BlackVert]

i have owned both a 4.6 (1996) and a 5.0 (1995).

i sold the 4.6 to buy the 5.0 because modding it was so expensive. the 96-98's are the slowest of the bunch (either 5.0 or 4.6). that said, if you want a 4.6, get a 99+.

it is pretty straightforward to put in a stroked 302 (up to 347 ci) or a stroked 351 (up to 408) in a 5.0 based engine.

imo, the 4.6 responds better to supercharging, but the 5.0 is also good for that. you can get more out of a 5.0 naturally aspirated.

my 2 cents,

chris

 

[red ink]

I'd probably get a newer car just because sweaks and rattles bug the **** outta me on cars. I test drove a mach 1 and wasnt too impressed with it. I thought my cobra sucked till i drove that car. But after i got back in my cobra i was totally in love with it all over again. It's just funner to drive. But in all honestly I'd take a newer mach 1 or cobra over the old car, but not anything less. I wouldnt Not take a 99gt over a 95gt. The reason for this is because if that mach i drove woulda had a 4.10 gear ratio it would flew, because of my buddies 99gt with 4.10's will snap your neck back way harder than my cobra. I'd thow a novi 2000 on the mach and take most ls1 cars anyday. :spot

 

[stang_gt_1994]

BTW the Mach 1 runs a 13.1 @ 106 stock on street tires, pretty inpresive if you ask me.