5.0 or 4.6?

I am trying to decide what engine would be better to buy in a mustang, either a1996-1999 4.6 liter or a 1994-1995 5.0liter. I looking to buy this model but cannot decide what will be better to add upgrades to or which is the better motor. I have a 86 5.0 Conv that I am selling and that engine is pretty stout. Any ideas or opinions are welcome, thanks.

if you want cheap parts, 5.0...if you want better technology 4.6

well if 1999 is truely an option, then get that. i think that was mistake though, i think you probably meant 98, 99 is a new generation. but if your lookin at the 94-98 generation, go with the 5.0

I'd get the 5.0, or the 99 4.6 if thats what you meant.

If you get the 5.0 you can-work on the car yourself, have a ton of aftermarket parts to choose from, have plenty of room to work under the hood, and the parts you get for a 5.0 will be INEXPENSIVE NOT CHEAP!

If you get the 4.6 you can-do SOME of the engine work yourself (who wants to mess with 2 cams/chains just looks like a mess, maybe I'm not looking close enough but, I can't even see where the plug wires go to change the wires and plugs), have a few aftermarket parts to choose from (although it's getting better), have less room to work under hood, and pay an arm and a leg for parts.

They are both good engines, one nice thing about the 4.6 is that you don't have a distributor, intead it has coil packs. Obviously I'm biased but, I would get the 5.0. If you must get the 4.6 make sure it's 1999 and up. The 96-98 wasn't as good. Had all the technology but had no more power/torque than the 5.0. In 99 it had 260hp stock.

do you want an SN-95? if you dont mind a fox body get a 87-92 because they have forged internals, dont waste your time with an NPI 4.6 and just go to a PI 4.6 if you can afford it

Do they have forged internals or is it just cast cast parts? I know people like them better for supercharging because they don't have the aluminum pistons like the later years did.

Do they have forged internals or is it just cast cast parts? I know people like them better for supercharging because they don't have the aluminum pistons like the later years did.

do what have forged? only the 87-92 5.0s that i know for sure, they might have earlier, a 4.6 wont handel much more then 10 psi on the same side, if you want though you can get a V-6 and run 17 psi through a stock motor

do what have forged? only the 87-92 5.0s that i know for sure, they might have earlier, a 4.6 wont handel much more then 10 psi on the same side, if you want though you can get a V-6 and run 17 psi through a stock motor

17 psi on a stock 3.8 would be pushin it some. its all in the tune though. usually the rule of thumb with that engine is 12 psi. with new rods though, the engine is bullet proof. the limit of it still has not been reached.

yeah i know about justins car, but do you know how reliable it is for everyday use with that kinda boost?

Justins car is a track car, not a DD.

well he did say its very driveable on the street, but my question is still whens it gonna break running that much boost.

Its definatly streetable, but he still doesent use it as a DD.

87-92 mustangs did not all have foged internals. 87-89 5.0's came with cast cranks, cast rods, and hypereutectic pistons. 90-92's came with with cast cranks, cast rods, and forged pistons. IMO forged pistons are not considered forged internals, and forged pistons will not allow you to run more boost, they will allow you to run nitrous safely, beefier crank and rods will strengthen your rotating assembly- more psi is possible

87-92 mustangs did not all have foged internals. 87-89 5.0's came with cast cranks, cast rods, and hypereutectic pistons. 90-92's came with with cast cranks, cast rods, and forged pistons. IMO forged pistons are not considered forged internals, and forged pistons will not allow you to run more boost, they will allow you to run nitrous safely, beefier crank and rods will strengthen your rotating assembly- more psi is possible

I'll second that :)

I'll second that :)


Are you guys sure?! I always thought 87-92 had forged pistons and 93-95 had hypereutic pistons.

Anyway, it's simple on these engines.

5.0s = torque monsters that are fun for cruising
4.6s = high rev highway machines

For the kind of driving I'd be doing, I'd take a 5.0 (which I do). I like to cruise around and take it "easy."

Now if I liked to do 120 down the highway a whole lot I'd take the 4.6.

Go for the 1999 4.6L. Big difference in power over the '94-'95 5.0L and the the '96-'98 4.6L. The '99 4.6L torque comes on sooner and stays on later. The 5.0L is much more peaky.

the only thing i dont like about 5.0 is there blocks are maxed out at about 450rwhp, u can run more but you will be pushing the limits of the block. the block wil go out before the internals. you can get a girdle make the block stronger proly 500rwhp safly. 5.0s gona be easier to work on and cheaper parts. there realy easy to free up alot of horse power on since alot of there stock intake/exhuast parts where really restrictive. alot of people can get close or a little past to 300rwhp new h/c/i + ussauly bolt ons. 5.0s are pretty relaible to if you take care of them.

the only thing i dont like about 5.0 is there blocks are maxed out at about 450rwhp, u can run more but you will be pushing the limits of the block. the block wil go out before the internals. you can get a girdle make the block stronger proly 500rwhp safly. 5.0s gona be easier to work on and cheaper parts. there realy easy to free up alot of horse power on since alot of there stock intake/exhuast parts where really restrictive. alot of people can get close or a little past to 300rwhp new h/c/i + ussauly bolt ons. 5.0s are pretty relaible to if you take care of them.

is that dan04cobra, or atleast his car in your sig? cause ive seen that pic b4 on mustangfourms and i notice the both of ya are from mass

Are you guys sure?!

They're as sure as they are wrong.

87-92 5.0 HOs had forged pistons. Some time in mid '92 the switch to hypereutectic pistons was made. ALL smallblock Fords have forged rods and all the EFI engines have nodular iron cranks. In fact, 5.0s before '87 had forged pistons, but I'm not sure how far back. It might have been '85. '85 and '86 did not have valve reliefs in the pistons.

FYI girdles do not make the block any stonger. They just hold all the broken parts in a neat pile.

As far as a 4.6 vs. a 5.0......you will probably spend about the same on each to get the same amount of power.

:banghead: if some of you think that a five o will only hold 450 horsepower i want some of yaws dope that your smokin i have a 302 based 347 thats holding close to 600 horses 10.5 to1 compression 111 octane and runs heads up racing 6.90s and 7.0s when the gates are open with forged internals nitrous ,turbo,or charger 750 to 800 hp is reachable with the right tune and the right octane

:banghead: if some of you think that a five o will only hold 450 horsepower i want some of yaws dope that your smokin i have a 302 based 347 thats holding close to 600 horses 10.5 to1 compression 111 octane and runs heads up racing 6.90s and 7.0s when the gates are open with forged internals nitrous ,turbo,or charger 750 to 800 hp is reachable with the right tune and the right octane


your not a real stang fan till you wear it on your skin

Do yourself a favor if you actually looking into spending this sort of money on a car...Ignore 90% of the people of the forum.

4.9L
Pros

It is a work horse engine and can take anything you give it
You can do most of the work yourself
Maintence is easier, cheaper and less frequent.
Ford built it to a higher standard
Currently has a better aftermarket support
Currently has the greatest potential
Will run regular gasCons

It will never be an overhead cam engine
The body IMO is not as attractive as the 4.6L
Will never have the same tolerances as a properly tuned/maintained OHC
Less fuel economy than the 4.6L4.6L
Pros

It is an OHC engine
It is built to higher performance
More attractive body
Higher HP gain for bolt on applications
Better fuel economyCons

Uses a Ford Designed Camshaft
Requires a high octane gas
A very expensive car to own and maintain
Does not currently have the same aftermarket following as the 4.9L
Bolt on applications tend to cost more
Not a DIY vehicle
The Camshaft is made of powered metal and forged instead of ground.IMO
I prefer OHC engines I considered them mechanically superior to OHV engines but Ford is incapable of making a trustworthyI have owned, two OHC Pintos, an OHC Merkur, an OHC Escort, five OHC V8 SHO/Engines.
They all had cam failures in the exact same way. Even the cosworth was prone in the past to OHC failures. And from what I have been hearing the new OHC Mustangs are having Cam related problems.
I personally would buy the 4.6L but I have no problem with spending the money to have a set of custom cams and a crank done.

your not a real stang fan till you wear it on your skin....I love you...

:banghead: if some of you think that a five o will only hold 450 horsepower i want some of yaws dope that your smokin i have a 302 based 347 thats holding close to 600 horses 10.5 to1 compression 111 octane and runs heads up racing 6.90s and 7.0s when the gates are open with forged internals nitrous ,turbo,or charger 750 to 800 hp is reachable with the right tune and the right octane

It looks like you have the dope.....I'm actually not sure what you're talking about.

High rpm edurance racing has caused even sportsman blocks to fail at 450hp. 750hp on a stock block? Maybe a Boss 302, but even 750 is reaching the ceiling. 351Cs can go that high, but start cracking blocks and ballooning cylinders just like a 302.....and the Cleveland has a lot more iron.

Ignore 90% of the people of the forum.
:1:

4.9L
Pros

Currently has the greatest potential
Will run regular gasCons

4.6 has higher potential. its block is much stronger, only problem is it costs buckets to reach the potential. oh yeah, the 4.6l also runs on 87 octane. another thing, how is the 4.6 car so expensive to maintain. it has very high reliability ratings, unless you meant something else.

4.6 has higher potential. its block is much stronger, only problem is it costs buckets to reach the potential. oh yeah, the 4.6l also runs on 87 octane. another thing, how is the 4.6 car so expensive to maintain. it has very high reliability ratings, unless you meant something else.
Yes as a OHC I entirely agree the 4.6L has a greater potential for power increase but I currently belevie the aftermarket is not as well catered as the 4.9L market. As far as the expenses aftermarket parts and common parts; gaskets, belts,sensors...ect (mostly do the adoption of OBD-II tend to cost more than 4.9L, usually the parts must come from Ford. And the manual recommends Premium gas...I personally recommended premium gas on the vehicle because of its OHC nature and high compression ratio.

A couple of things for ya here. First: You say the 4.6 Mustang has a more attractive body. That all comes down to preference. I will agree that they are more sleek and newer looking....well....because they are newer. Second: It's a 5.0 NOT a 4.9!! Yeah, I know, technically the 302 is a 4.9508196L and Ford just rounded it up to 5.0 and that is what the 302 is known as, so please, refer to it as that. Because you may confuse some people when you call the 302 a 4.9. They might think that you are refering to the 300/4.9 straight six that Ford used in there trucks. Or they might think that you're smokin crack like I did at first.

If you guys are wondering how the hell I got the liter/cubic inch conversion. I've know it since high school. Take the c.i. (302) divide by 61=4.9508196 or take the liter (4.6) x 61=280.6 c.i. Let's just say I was board in studyhall so this kept me busy. I hate to say this but the Chevy 305 is the true 5.0. Do the math you'll see.

A couple of things for ya here. First: You say the 4.6 Mustang has a more attractive body. That all comes down to preference. I will agree that they are more sleek and newer looking....well....because they are newer. Second: It's a 5.0 NOT a 4.9!! Yeah, I know, technically the 302 is a 4.9508196L and Ford just rounded it up to 5.0 and that is what the 302 is known as, so please, refer to it as that. Because you may confuse some people when you call the 302 a 4.9. They might think that you are refering to the 300/4.9 straight six that Ford used in there trucks. Or they might think that you're smokin crack like I did at first.

If you guys are wondering how the hell I got the liter/cubic inch conversion. I've know it since high school. Take the c.i. (302) divide by 61=4.9508196 or take the liter (4.6) x 61=280.6 c.i. Let's just say I was board in studyhall so this kept me busy. I hate to say this but the Chevy 305 is the true 5.0. Do the math you'll see.

i dont think rounding up is a big deal actually, everyone does it with all kinds of engines. besides, who cares about the 305, it stinks :p

I agree, every car co. does it.

As for the 305, I also agree, it stinks, however, I drove some IROC's that had the TPI 305 and Monte Carlo SS's in the past. Stock they weren't bad. Ofcourse, they weren't as good or as fast as our trusty 5.0's from the same time period.

Are you guys sure?! I always thought 87-92 had forged pistons and 93-95 had hypereutic pistons.

IMO forged pistons are not considered forged internals, and forged pistons will not allow you to run more boost, they will allow you to run nitrous safely, beefier crank and rods will strengthen your rotating assembly- more psi is possible


This part is true, I was not looking at the forged debate.

IMO forged pistons are not considered forged internals, and forged pistons will not allow you to run more boost, they will allow you to run nitrous safely, beefier crank and rods will strengthen your rotating assembly- more psi is possible


This part is true, I was not looking at the forged debate.


Hey Sky....Where have you been lately? Haven't seen you in here for awhile. Everything you've just said I agree with. I must have misunderstood what you were saying when I read it. Sorry.

Just curious skyline, how do people react to the foxbody over there?