Anyone here bought an F-150 Ecoboost?

[LTC8K6]

12 pony's is maybe a hundredth of a second faster in the quarter? Effectively zero in day to day driving.

Has anyone chipped the EB yet?

No one said it was faster, or that you'd notice it, just an example of Ford not requiring premium, but saying it gives you "best performance".

Ford itself says you'll notice it with the EB3.5L, though.

For 2012 the wording for the EB is altered a bit.

Premium fuel will provide improved performance and is recommended for severe duty usage such as trailer tow.

I want improved performance from my boosted engine all the time.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Though it didn't. Really don't care what the numbers indicate.
And that was in a car. Now put that engine in a much heavier truck.
I'm telling you, the EcoBoost fell short IMHO. Just didn't do it for me. I remember posting on these boards in here at the time I actually test drove it. I remember posting that as I was test driving the SHO, I turned to the salesman who was riding shotgun and asked him if he possibly left the car in valet mode by mistake (not knowing if the car had valet mode or not). That is how unimpressive the EcoBoost was to me. No joke. No matter what the numbers say. It FELT like a letdown. And I obviously didn't by the car. No way was I spending 45 Grand on it.

As pointed out to you in that thread, you tested one with an automatic and you're whole basis was your "butt dyno" (which have been proven to be ridiculously unreliable) compared to your manual Camaro. The noise difference alone could probably account for a major difference in "feel" too. Most manual Camaros like yours that I've ridden in also gave a pretty significant "feel" to the shifts (give a strong jerk as it shifts and you get back on the throttle), something you almost definitely would not get in an auto SHO Taurus.

Not to say you're impression isn't valid to you not liking it, but its a very different car and is aimed more at luxury and overall smoothness, which is about the complete opposite of an F-Body. You seemed to have gone in expecting it to be some AWD speed demon (have you checked out an Evo? I think that would be up your alley and more what you were expecting).

I also bet you'd have had a better experience if you were in an F-150 with a manual.

If you buy the dodge, then you buy one with a cummins turbodiesel.

You never buy a dodge. You buy a cummins. A friend of mine tows larger trailers (large travel trailers for motorcycle racing) and has added tune, intake, exhaust, and water injection. He claims 1000 ft/lbs. I can't verify that, but god doe that motor torque.

The 5 liter and the 3.5 ecoboost are pretty comparable motors. The ecoboost is more torqey down low where it matters, and only slightly better on fuel economy.

A lot of people cite the ecoboost's durability as a worry point, but Ford has been putting smaller boosted engines in european vehicles for a long time. It isn't new - it's just new in the US.

Either way, they are fairly nice vehicles.

Considering what you're towing, you would be fine with the 5.4L in a truck a year or two older. I got my '08 for $24ish with 16k miles. It all comes down to what you want to spend.

The Cummins diesel is pretty crazy when it gets tuned. My dad has a friend that's owned one and its ridiculous. I think it was a dually as well.

However he did also have issues with it and he had to have it towed like 200 miles to get to a mechanic that could even work on it. It was a fairly minor issue (something to do with the fuel system) but was recurring (and made the truck unusable) and required a shop with proper equipment to resolve (the dealer he bought it from couldn't actually service it, had to get it to another dealer). Needless to say he was not happy. When they finally got it sorted out though it was a beast.

Anyone citing Ecoboost reliability needs to read up on Ford's testing of that engine and how well it performed.

 

[exdeath]

So where is the Ecoboost twin turbo 6.2?

 

[LTC8K6]

No manual trans F-150's any more...

The SHO ia a big, all wheel drive boat. It's fast, but it feels slow.

 

[Zivic]

Throughout most of the EB 3.5L engine's life prior to sales, it was listed as requiring premium fuel. This was on the Ford website and in press releases. It was only right around release time, that Ford altered the wording a little. This was most likely merely to prevent loss of sales with high premium fuel prices.

Besides, once you know you will get better performance, and you will know after a couple tanks of premium, you aren't going to go back.

IIRC, all of Ford's new engines get a nice HP boost with premium fuel, boosted ones just get more.

The difference in the Mustang GT is 12 horses, for example.

the thing I noticed in cars of mine that "recommended" premium fuel is that not only did the performance increase, but so did the MPG. And it did so to more than offset of the cost premium of the higher octane fuel

 

[superccs]

That's a very depressing piece of information. My next truck was going to be an EB engine. Having to run 91 octane fuel might be deal breaker for me.

Runs fine on 87, 91 is up to you.

 

[DVad3r]

I'd get a Ford with the Ecoboost 100 %. The rest don't even compare.

 

[rdp6]

I picked out a 2011 Fled with Ecoboost for the wife. Smaller turbos than the F-150, less torque. Still is cartoonishly fast. Getting about 20 mpg, have about 8K miles on it so it is still breaking in.

p.s. She loves the Flex. Limited, with vista roof. Sill comments how much she likes it after 6 months now.

As for 87 octane vs premium, I told her to fill it with 93 octane whenever possible. Don't know if there is a huge difference with the Flex, but there is enough of a difference with my direct-injected 2.0T FSI VW that premium is the way to go for this type of engine. Also, why in the world would someone consider paying extra for the EB engine then go cheap on gas? Not like you can drain a whole tank of 87 octane and replace with 93 on demand when you decide you need the extra power NOW.

Edit: Torrie McPhail http://www.unleashedtuning.com/ offers tuning for the Ford 3.5 EB, at least in the SHO and the Flex. Looks like an easy 60HP for those of us with the smaller turbos, don't know what to expect for the F-150. Also, somebody at FordFlex.net forums reports seeing 30 mpg with a custom jeckyl & hyde tune, but it sounds like he is treating the happy pedal like a landmine. Still, it is nice to hear that it is possible to realize some better fuel economy.

 

[Qub3d]

I'd get a Ford with the Ecoboost 100 %. The rest don't even compare.

I agree! :thumbsup:

I've owned Dodge with the HEMI, 2008 and 2010 and the F150 really does outperform both. The torque for towing (and passing) in some cases the HEMI can't even touch.

I looked at buying a Cummins but for the amount I tow I couldn't justify the costs associated with maintenance. I test drove a F-350 with the Powerstroke for 2 days and liked it but again the maintenance costs didn't justify it as well as the new DEF fuel additive seems to be a PITA. If I was towing more consistently I would buy a Cummins hands down. They're bullet proof.

Didn't look at GM / Chev - I've owned a 2500 with the 6.1L and I got 8MPG towing - won't do that again.

Two things to get used to with the EcoBoost:

• lag in acceleration from the turbo's.
  • I wish Ford would spool them up a bit higher so that it would decrease the lag time but I think it's got something to do with possibly wearing them out prematurely.
• No throaty noise from the exhaust (HEMI has LOTS of.. and I loved it) especially when you hit the gas.

Other than that - would highly recommend it. Tow's my trailer like a dream! (it's a 30 foot travel trailer)

I don't have any comments on the Tundra but I did look and test drive them. The guy's at the dealership did offer me to bring my trailer down and hook it up to it and see how it towed but I couldn't get over how bad the fit and finish of the interior of the truck. Engine / performance wise I've been beside them at lights and have had no problems pulling ahead of them.

Just my 2 cents - but do the research and go out and test drive some. That's the only way you'll know for sure.

 

[LTC8K6]

You would think they would have ironed out turbo lag by now. Especially with a twin-turbo engine.

 

[joutlaw]

I'd love to have EB F-150. I drove a 2012 F-150 CC EB Platinum that was fully loaded. I even got on it a bit. It had a bried lag, then accelerated quite strong.

I think a tune would do wonders for the lag.

 

[WackyDan]

Well... Seeing as someone reincarnated my thread... Let me give you all an update.

I took delivery of my F-150 Super Crew FX2 with the 6.5 bed in January. It is 2WD with the locking rear axle(I didn't need 4WD and the locking axle may come in handy on some back roads and campgrounds while towing). Went with the taller 3.31 gears for the MPGs and am pretty happy with that decision. Truck has plenty of power regardless. I chose the 5.0 over the 3.5 eco boost... Real world mpg is essentially the same and the EB was $850 more. I can tow 8000# with with my config which is plenty of overhead as my trailer I'm ordering max weight with load is only 7100# and in reality will probably be only a bit over 6000#.

The 5.0 has plenty of power and I've towed a trailer weighing in at between 4000# and 4500# with out any issues or concerns.

My mileage varies depending on the gas (ethanol vs non) and head wind... But I've taken some longer trips with just the truck and hit 21 MPG on the interstate between fill ups. I haven't towed a long enough distance to determine my towing MPG.

I went with the Ford because of the 6.5' bed on the Super Crew... The Ram only had a 5'7" bed.... which made it less of a truck and less useful to me. The Ram interior was pretty nice though.

So... To sum it up... Very happy with my F-150 and ZERO issues to date.
- 2012 FX2 5.0 331 gears super crew with 6.5 bed (longest in the SCREW)
- Pretty loaded - trailer brake controller, power rear window, backup camera, leather buckets, heated and cooled seats.... tons more stuff.
- The only thing I'd didn't option was the NAV system ( $900 -stupid in the day of smart phones and car mounts), and the sun roof ( like them, but too many issues with pollen clogging the drainage channels here in the south).

I'm generally not a leather guy... but in order to get the tow package and remote start, I had to get the luxury package - which was on discount at the time.

Sticker was near $43k... I walked out the door at $34.5K no trade. Did pretty good!

I added weather techs, mud flaps... and a Retraxx Pro roll top bed cover - expensive but I love it.

I think I would have been happy with either the Ram or the F-150, but I still think I got the best deal, best configuration and better motor out of the deal.

 

[satyajitmenon]

Well... Seeing as someone reincarnated my thread... Let me give you all an update.

I took delivery of my F-150 Super Crew FX2 with the 6.5 bed in January.

*snip*

Pics?

 

[WackyDan]

Pics?

I'll do better.. will try to shoot a vid tomorrow.. Storming out right now.

 

[WackyDan]

ok.. here is a video of the truck seeing as some of you wanted pictures. The roll top bed cover is really the most significant thing I've added so far.

The F-150's really need stronger back up lights, so I'll be adding some light hidden under the bumper to help with vision while backing up..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlZKOkQ-Igc&feature=youtu.be

 

[satyajitmenon]

ok.. here is a video of the truck seeing as some of you wanted pictures. The roll top bed cover is really the most significant thing I've added so far.

The F-150's really need stronger back up lights, so I'll be adding some light hidden under the bumper to help with vision while backing up..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlZKOkQ-Igc&feature=youtu.be

Nice. Now do a vid of your other toy.

Surprised that ford doesn't include wheel well liners as factory standard - especially since the F150 isn't exactly cheap.

Any other mods planned?

 

[WackyDan]

Nice. Now do a vid of your other toy.

Surprised that ford doesn't include wheel well liners as factory standard - especially since the F150 isn't exactly cheap.

Any other mods planned?

Rigid Industries Dually or D2 LED lights for the lower grill pockets. I'm looking at some simpler Rigids for the backup lights, but not sure I want or need to invest that much coin for those...

Just need something to flood more light out the rear and rear sides for backing up at night as the height of the tail light back up lights and the weak output really prevents a good view using your mirrors, looking over your shoulder or even using the backup camera. I'll be putting those on a relay trigger with a 12v feed from the battery.

Might also put some LED strip lighting under the bed rails for some night lighting

Still haven't decided on if I want the vent shades on the side windows yet. I already had the front sides tinted as dark as I could go legally.

Otherwise, there isn't a whole lot that I need to do. Truck is pretty loaded. My focus is on picking up/building a toy hauler this coming spring. I'm leaning towards a Pace American utility trailer as they are optioning electrical panels, HVAC and so forth right from the factory - Looking to build a toy hauler "lite" to keep cost down.

As for the other toy... I do have some videos I posted under my youtube account that you can find. You can also go to http://www.Spyderlovers.com for more info. I love the Spyder... I am an early adopter - mine is a 2008 and I've closing on 30k miles... Getting ready for another 3k to 4k trip on it up through the back bone of Virginia and deep into West Virginia then up into New England.