4.0 SOHC vs. OHV

[iceman7329]

So Ive heard the OHV has 165 HP vs the SOHC with 210. Im pretty sure thats right. Now Ive driven a ton of SOHC explorers and I know for a fact my OHV would easy run on any of them. The OHV pulls much harder nearly the entire power band to me. So whats the deal with that? Maybe my HP numbers are way off or something.

 

[mounty71]

Are you sure about this? I don't think the OHV will keep up with the SOHC. My old 92 ex was a dog compared my friend's 4.0 ranger, which is right up there with my 5.0.

 

[iceman7329]

Yes I am. I put a NEW SOHC in a 01 last week and it didnt have the power mine does. Now mine is a junkyard motor, so I have no idea if anything internal has ever been done to it. But I highly doubt that. The 5.0 in the explorer is a dog for a V-8 IMO also.

 

[rob17san]

You would have to supercharge the OHV in order to get to the Stock power of a SOHC. So, my guess is that the engine you "put in" is not tuned correctly, or something else is in error. Its a known fact that the OHV is a weaker motor. Also on another note, the 5.0L Is one of the best motors ever made by ford IMO.

 

[Nocturnall]

The ohv wouldn't keep up with a sohc. 2 engines in the same vehicle, 1 with more hp and torque then the other one...the one with more power will win...simple common sense. Maybe yours is tuned better or something or the sohc just doesn't FEEL like it's that fast put if you timed them both 0-60 the sohc would win.

 

[iceman7329]

Well Im ordering a g-force meter after christmas so Ill run it in my truck and then in a SOHC and see what kinda numbers it shows as far as 0-60, HP etc.

Or does anyone here with a stock SOHC know what theres will run 0-60?

 

[96eb96]

So Ive heard the OHV has 165 HP vs the SOHC with 210. Im pretty sure thats right. Now Ive driven a ton of SOHC explorers and I know for a fact my OHV would easy run on any of them. The OHV pulls much harder nearly the entire power band to me. So whats the deal with that? Maybe my HP numbers are way off or something.

Gearing has a role too. My 4.10 rear seems to give the truck nice takeoff.

 

[Silver X]

Too bad you're so far away. I'd be happy to compare your OHV to my SOHC. There has to be someone on here who can meet up with you locally.

Sounds like the SOHC you're comparing to has some problems.

I have no idea what my numbers are, so can't help ya there.

 

[96eb96]

the 5.0L Is one of the best motors ever made by ford IMO..

The 5.0 pushrods are very similar to the 80s mustang/crown vic/marquis/towncar motors. I've seen them with well over 250K miles, and I know people who keep the station wagon version of those cars till today because they prefer it to an SUV and there is no replacement. I've seen some fail from jumping time after those amount of miles, pop in a new chain and you are good to go. It was rare to have a headgasket or other serious issue. The ex was the last vehicle to have the 5.0. It was phased out in 2000. I bet the ex has the HO version of the 5.0 from the towncar or mustang.

 

[CDW6212R]

The 95-01 Explorer 302 is as good or better than any 302 made by Ford, except the Boss 302. The 93-95 Mustang Cobras had the same GT40 heads, GT40 lower intake, the Explorer came with truck type tweaks for more bottom end power.

The SOHC V6 is much better than an OHV, but tuning and minor modifications can bring them very close, or push them farther apart. I'd bet on every SOHC truck in testing though. Regards,

 

[iceman7329]

Well, I ran 0-60 right around 9 seconds tonight. That was with a bad take off.

 

[tc11362]

best move

When I purchase my truck in 97, I felt one of the best decisions I made was to get the SOHC motor. The OHV was just too underpowered and although I considered the V8, I prefered the new SOHC vs the old tech V8. Ten years later, it's my opinion the the SOHC motor is one of the better ones Ford has ever put together.

 

[Willard]

I raced my friends ranger with an SOHC in his '04 Ranger with my '94 X, and I beat over an extremely short distance. The only thing the OHV has in it's favor is that it's torque comes sooner than the SOHC's does. I think the OHV's jump off the line better, but once you get the SOHC wound up, it scoots much faster. I only have 3.27 gears, too.

 

[celly]

I've owned 4 Explorers (one 1st gen, thee 2nd gens). One with OHV, two with SOHC and one with V8. The OHV is a slug compared to the SOHC. SOHC and V8 are definitely comparable, and they're both in a completely different class over and above OHV.