GM 5.3 vs. Ford 5.4

Ford 5.4L makes about 30 more lb-ft of torque than Gm's 5.3L. GM's 5.3L makes about 30 more HP. Both seem more than adequate, but I suspect the 3.08 gears found in many GMs makes it feel quite slow. The GM's tend to use less fuel though.

Lessmore wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

msgross wrote:
I've had 2 Tahoe's (5.3) and Suburban (5.3) and a Ford F-150 (5.4). The 5.3 is a great engine in the Tahoe, seemed a little under powered for the burb though, and I wasn't towing. They make a 3/4ton burb with the 6.0, that would be great. Or a Denali GMC YukonXL with a 6.0.

If you are towing over 5,000lbs then I suggest a 6.0 Chevy.

That is what I meant by the 5.3. While as a matter of fact, The 5.4 has plenty of power for well over 6000lbs.

My understanding is that while the 5.4 is reliable and durable....it's not very powerful.

The Ford 6.8 V10 addresses the power deficiency of the 5.4, very well. But not sure if the 6.8 was an option, or was a common option for the Expedition.

Last version of the 5.4L made 300 HP and 365 ft lbs of torque and provided max torque at a lower RPM than the 5.3L. The 5.4L had a much larger cooling system also than the 5.3L. I towed an 8k+ TT with an F-250 powered by the 5.4L with the 5 sp Torqshift and a 3.73 rear quite handily. It just didn't like that much weight in OD and wanted to shift down frequently. It would have been less of a problem with a 4.10 rear gear. Now my 6.8L 5sp/4.10 will hum along at 1950 RPMs in OD with that 32' TT behind it.

Terryallan wrote:

msgross wrote:
I've had 2 Tahoe's (5.3) and Suburban (5.3) and a Ford F-150 (5.4). The 5.3 is a great engine in the Tahoe, seemed a little under powered for the burb though, and I wasn't towing. They make a 3/4ton burb with the 6.0, that would be great. Or a Denali GMC YukonXL with a 6.0.

If you are towing over 5,000lbs then I suggest a 6.0 Chevy.

That is what I meant by the 5.3. While as a matter of fact, The 5.4 has plenty of power for well over 6000lbs.

My understanding is that while the 5.4 is reliable and durable....it's not very powerful.

The Ford 6.8 V10 addresses the power deficiency of the 5.4, very well. But not sure if the 6.8 was an option, or was a common option for the Expedition.

Never owned a Ford 5.4, but we have liked our Suburbans. Our '05 was a good vehicle, towed OK w/ 4.10 gears.

Our 2010 is much better, however -- the engine has a bit more hp, is much smoother to the point you don't mind letting it rev a bit, and the 6 spd transmission is a major upgrade over the 4 spd. We test drove similar year Expeditions as well, seemed similar, but we liked the GM better. Seemed to drive and ride a little smoother, plus we were familiar with it. In all, our 2010 Suburban is one of the best vehicles we've ever owned.

Driving '10 and '11 Expys and Suburbans back to back, it didn't seem to me that one outperformed the other from a power standpoint.

If you get the Suburban with the right equipment, it has decent ratings -- our 2010 is rated to tow 8400 lbs or something like that. Deals with our 6k lb travel trailer just fine. It is a bit hard to find, though -- the volume seller seems to be the 3.08 gears and a paltry 5000 lb tow rating.

That said, I'd wait for the 2015 Expedition EL Ecoboost! More than likely will be our next family hauler.

Owned a 2004 Suburban 1500 with 5.3/3.73 4 speed for 9 years. It was an excellent family rig. It towed our 6,000 lb trailer just fine. I used a reese dual cam and always towed in 3rd gear. Climbing the mountain passes here in WA, I held the pedal to the floor and let it sing all the way up to the top. While we only towed a few times per year and within 500 miles round trip, it handled great. Traded it in last year on a 2013 2500 Suburban 6.0/3.73 6 speed. We will see how the new rig handles our new 8,000 lb trailer soon.
Good luck.

The 5.4L makes more torque at lower RPM, so the HP band is not a "peaky" as the 5.3L. It just makes the power more usable, especially for towing. Also, the 5.4L has a very robust cooling system. You will not ever have to shut off the A/C while towing in the desert.

Both the half tons are very similar as far as capability. Depending on year I have preferences. Ford with with the 6-spd trans in 2007+, GM in 2009. So if you want a 2007-2008, get the Ford. But GM's 6-spd offers better towing programming IMHO. Ford does not have Select Shift until 2015 which limits the trans from using higher than desired gears or 3rd gear tops, not 4-5. Ford includes 3.73 axle on all Expy EL, GM 3.08 and 3.42 optional for Suburbans and the trans gears are almost the same so 3.73 is "better". The Expy supposedly has higher payload but I have not personally verified that.

I don't know that the huge majority favors the Expy for towing. Owner of properly equipped 6-spd trans GM SUV owners love them.

I don't understand why you say the Suburban has "no tow capacity". The tow ratings for the half tons are inappropriate for RVing, especially with a family on board. The difference is about 8000 pounds to about 9000 pounds with each manufacturer's HD towing package. AT 8000 pounds you will likely exceed both receiver ratings which are about 900 pounds for the Ford and 1000 pounds for the GM.

And GM did offer through 2013 a 3/4 ton Suburban with 9400 pounds tow rating, 2000+ pounds of payload, 6.0L/6-spd/3.73 axle, but that same 1000 pound receiver limit.

GM sells about 4 times as many full sized SUVs and Ford. The Ford offers some great things, but clearly the GM isn't so bad.

If you are looking at a 2015, I really, really, really like the 3.5L Ecoboost!

falconbrother,

What do you intend to tow? A 1000# popup or a 9600# travel trailer?

What model year vehicles?

I loved our 2005 Suburban that had the 5.3L. It towed the trailer in my signature just fine with more than enough power. I only upgraded to a larger vehicle for the payload.

msgross wrote:
I've had 2 Tahoe's (5.3) and Suburban (5.3) and a Ford F-150 (5.4). The 5.3 is a great engine in the Tahoe, seemed a little under powered for the burb though, and I wasn't towing. They make a 3/4ton burb with the 6.0, that would be great. Or a Denali GMC YukonXL with a 6.0.

If you are towing over 5,000lbs then I suggest a 6.0 Chevy.

That is what I meant by the 5.3. While as a matter of fact, The 5.4 has plenty of power for well over 6000lbs.

So, my question is: Who thought it was a good idea to build a Suburban that has no tow capacity?

A huge majority seems to agree that the Expedition is a far better tow vehicle than the 5.3 Burb. I would prefer a Burb but, I have owned sucky tow vehicles before and don't wish to do that again. Back when we were pulling a travel trailer the best tow vehicle we owned was an F-150. Then I thought a Jeep Grand Wagoneer with the V-8 would be the bee's knee's. Wrong!! Then my father-in-law gave me a Landcruiser. It was even worse.

All things being equal, Ford seems to make the best tow vehicles.

I like the Chevrolets but, for my money it looks like Ford is the ticket. I retired from a city that owned thousands of vehicles. When I retired the Ford's were better than the Chevrolets in every way, especially the amount of time that they spent at the garage. Fifteen years earlier it was GM that was superior.