Ford F-150 Drivers - need some engine assessments

blackheel

Twelve Pointer
We currently have a 2013 F-150 with a 5.0L V-8 that has just under 77k miles. For the life of the truck, we have averaged 19.4 mpg for this truck and are very happy with it. We have driven it in all conditions from interstate to highway to city and over the mountains (plus living on the Outer Banks in its fair share of wind). I have been looking at the Ford engine options and curious what people have been getting with any of the EcoBoost motors vs. the V8? I have been reading and reviewing online and in many cases the EcoBoost just barely outperforms the V8. Any input would be appreciated.
 
Ldsoldier

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
If you're referencing the V-6 they're using now I've always been wary of a V-6 in a full size truck. When I was doing mechanic work we'd generally see those in at lower miles than the V-8. Working harder to pull the same load, gonna wear out faster. That's my $0.02.
 
Wildlifer

Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
I just went with the 5.0 for a few reasons. The first being the longevity of a boosted engine. The eco is rated to tow more but at the expense of having to add boost. From the reports I read the eco actually gets worse milage towing than the 5.0 does. I guess the last reason is I prefer the sound of a v8. So far I have pleased with the milage and power of the 5.0
 

HotSoup

Old Mossy Horns
5.0 is much less complicated, if you want more power id suggest a tune in the truck you have. A 93 octane tune is good for about 40hp plus trans and throttle settings are improved.
 
Mr.Gadget

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
I kind of look like it like this.....
Buy the motor needed for the person needing it and location..

For me I could never buy the eco 6 just due to towing and hauling.
They can be great if you plan a sport truck and dont tow or haul.
just my feel and gas turbo as the past they never lasted like a normal motor.

They do turn up great, are light, fast. That said if it was in a short box, standard cab 2wd it would run great. It may be my pick over a v8 and it would all go to feel if I was just using as DD with no load.
 

JPJ II

Six Pointer
I went from the 5.4L Triton to a 3.5L Eco and was worried at the start that I wouldn't like it but now I'm glad I got it. Fuel economy is not so much better that that should be the reason to buy one but I do like it over the 5.4 in terms of torque. It is fun as hell to play with. I have 4 wheel drive and towing and it's still frisky as hell. As for towing, I only tow a 14.5 foot trailer with a mower and/or a 4 wheeler and it feels effortless to tow. Towing up hill it feels like it doesn't have to work as hard to pull the trailer often I would wait for it to downshift to get it up the hill but it don't. It just pulls great. For my uses, which does not involve hard heavy towing I wouldn't hesitate to go with the 3.5 again. A bud of mine says the same about his 2.7. It just doesn't sound right to say I have a V6 in a full size truck still.
 
dobber

dobber

Old Mossy Horns
my work truck is the eco, a bit gutless when you want that extra punch
Personal truck is the 5.0 lots of power when needed and better mileage

This weekend going onto the interstate had to punch the gas, burped, coughed and ended up with a flashing check engine light for about a half mile, not the first time this has happened and always when i need the power
 
beard&bow

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Our 3.5 eco boost just turned over 100k. This weekend I towed around 8k lbs between the 20ft deck over trailer and the tractor that was on it. When I initially loaded it with all the implements it came with, I had too much weight on the tongue. I rushed, was racing the storm. Not the greatest driving experience, but it was definitely operator error. Not the trucks fault. Went up to Danbury the next day with the tractor, loader, and 72 inch cutter(redistributed the weight) with just over 7500lbs and I was impressed with how well it did. Never lost speed going uphill, only gained speed. Much better driving experience than the day before. I used the manual shift at times, and let auto do its thing at times. The trailer brakes really helped going into turns. I'd be a little leery of that much weight with no trailer brakes on that terrain, in those curves. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again and plan to next week. Good luck with your decision. I know it's a tough one.
 
Crappie man

Crappie man

Six Pointer
Just bought one also and went with 5.0. Just can't imagine getting that much power from a V6 could be good over the life of the engine. Just an opinion definitely not an engineer.
 
Mr.Gadget

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
beard&bow said:
Our 3.5 eco boost just turned over 100k. This weekend I towed around 8k lbs between the 20ft deck over trailer and the tractor that was on it. When I initially loaded it with all the implements it came with, I had too much weight on the tongue. I rushed, was racing the storm. Not the greatest driving experience, but it was definitely operator error. Not the trucks fault. Went up to Danbury the next day with the tractor, loader, and 72 inch cutter(redistributed the weight) with just over 7500lbs and I was impressed with how well it did. Never lost speed going uphill, only gained speed. Much better driving experience than the day before. I used the manual shift at times, and let auto do its thing at times. The trailer brakes really helped going into turns. I'd be a little leery of that much weight with no trailer brakes on that terrain, in those curves. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again and plan to next week. Good luck with your decision. I know it's a tough one.
Click to expand...

was that a guess or what on the weight? My 20 trailer is almost 2500 lbs and deck overs can weigh more.
Must be a light tractor, or higher weight.

Friend towed his camper about tye 7500 lb range from hunt camp to home and his ran great. Then towed on a trip and said he would never do it again.
He said it had the feel it was pushing and moving the truck around too much and was worried it would not handle if needed for fast lane change or emergency stop safe even with trailer brakes.
 
beard&bow

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Mr.Gadget said:
was that a guess or what on the weight?
Click to expand...

Nope. The trailer weighed 3990. The tractor is a compact. 3032e. Had a loader, 72 inch mower, 58 inch rotary tiller and a scrape blade.

A weight distribution hitch may help with his camper issue. When I had the tongue overloaded it pushed the truck around. When I redistributed the weight, it did excellent with the pintle hitch.
 
Mr.Gadget

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
That was my thought.
he had sway control but not sure if he had a WD hitch

I always use them above 5k. Just makes it handle so much better.
Had friends saying it does nothing but after they tried one they loved it.
 
ibgreen

ibgreen

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I am waiting delivery on a 2017 F150 screw with 6.5" bed and eco/10 speed. This will be the first time driving/riding a 10 speed since I was 12 years old. I will let you know how the hype stacks up. I think anything now will have more power than my 2005 gmc 5.3 (290 hp when new).
 
Ldsoldier

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
That said, I'll bet that eco-boost V-6 would be badass in the Ranger (if they made them still) or a midsize.
 
ibgreen

ibgreen

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Mr.Gadget said:
Did you get the sun roof so you would fit?
Click to expand...

Ha! nope, I can lower the seat enough for it to work. Being so tall, I never use a sun visor. If the sun is an issue, I just raise the seat a tad. I have a sunroof in my current truck and never use it.
 
beard&bow

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Mr.Gadget said:
That was my thought.
he had sway control but not sure if he had a WD hitch

I always use them above 5k. Just makes it handle so much better.
Had friends saying it does nothing but after they tried one they loved it.
Click to expand...

I've never towed a camaper. That may be a completely different scenario, even with a weight distribution hitch. I have the understanding though, that there isn't much "moving weight from front to back," or the other way around for a better tow.

I didn't use a wd hitch this time around, but imagine the ride could only improve with it.

If I were to tow that much on a daily basis though, I'd most certainly move up to a 250 or 350.
 
alt1001

alt1001

Old Mossy Horns
JPJ II said:
A bud of mine says the same about his 2.7
Click to expand...

That little Ecoboost is a tank and seems to be earning a good reputation in the now much lighter F150 (700lbs down from the previous model).

I always love these guys videos. They test all new truck models in towing at 11,000' elevation along the Eisenhower pass in Colorado.

[video=youtube;iQQGYJCG65E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQQGYJCG65E[/video]
 
Last edited:
ABolt

ABolt

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I have had my 2016 F150 crewcab 4x4 with the 5.0 for a year now. Here are my thoughts:

The 5.0L is a Mustang motor. It needs to rev to make power. The EB motors get their power at much lower RPMs than the normally-aspirated V8.

The 5.0L is NOT less complicated than the EB motors. This is not the 5.0L that Vanilla Ice sang about in 1990. The Coyote 5.0 is much more complex than the old 5.0, and shares almost nothing in common with it outside of displacement.

I bought my 5.0 to 'play it safe', and I love the sound from even the stock exhaust. That said, I don't know that I'm any 'safer' with it than an EB.

I test drove all the full-size pickups out there, and nothing (I mean nothing) could begin to keep up with the 3.5L EB in terms of all-out performance. The Chevy 6.2L was the closest competitor.

My mpgs are similar to my neighbor's 3.5L EB in a similarly-configured F150 (19 mpg). A guy at my office has a 2.7L crewcab 4x4 that routinely logs 21+ mpgs.

If I were going to tow regularly, I would have opted for the 3.5L EB. If I were more of a risk-taker, and going to commute and tow occasionally, I would have opted for the 2.7L EB.

The guy I coach baseball with has a 2011 F150 with the original 3.5L EB. He's a regional sales guy, and just topped 200K with no issues.

Love my 5.0, and feel it will last me a long time. However, if I were going to buy again today, I'd likely go EB. The in-town driving experience is just much more enjoyable, due to the low-end torque and power made quickly in the low rpm range.

Jeff


Ldsoldier said:
That said, I'll bet that eco-boost V-6 would be badass in the Ranger (if they made them still) or a midsize.
Click to expand...

Ford is coming out with the Ranger again in 2019. Word is that there will be more than one EB option for it. Hopefully one will be the 2.7L EB...
 
Last edited:
alt1001

alt1001

Old Mossy Horns
ABolt said:
If I were going to tow regularly, I would have opted for the 3.5L EB. If I were more of a risk-taker, and going to commute and tow occasionally, I would have opted for the 2.7L EB.
Click to expand...

I bought the 2.7 after a lot of research, have owned it for a year and I love it. The reason I bought it were based on a culmination of things. I needed a full size because I am 6'5 and need the leg room. I felt like I was driving a go-kart in my '12 Tacoma. However I drive quite a bit daily for work and needed the MPG's. I tow a handful of times a year, and don't tow anything of meaningful size. (Mainly a Yamaha Rhino, Harley, Boat).

After one year, I've logged 24k miles. As a daily driver I normally average around 22 to 23mpg. In towing it is much more powerful than any other V6 I have owned and does just fine towing a 12' trailer up and down these mountains loaded down with Rhino and Polaris 4wheeler. It may not have the power of a 5.0 but I didn't need the power of a 5.0. Gas mileage and room is what I needed and that is what I got. I've been very impressed.

I've talked to a fella over near Gerton who bought one when they were first released. He has cattle down in Rutherford County and he's logged over 100K on his in nearly 3 years. No loss of power, no issues, gas mileage is still steady. He loves it too.

It's all based on need.
 
Last edited:
Ldsoldier

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
I'm glad ya'll have had good success with it. The mechanic in me will always be skeptical. As the saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement. They make all this power from the smaller engines through tuning electronics and adding things like turbos. The more complex it is the less reliable it will be. They've gotten much better in the last decade, but there will always be issues. As far as the 5.0 being a Mustang engine, well, not really. They've been putting the 5.0 in everything for decades. My 1977 F-150 had a 5.0 in it. That's been Ford's go-to small block since it was first designed. That said, Ford engines have always been built for higher rpm. They have large cylinders and a short stroke (as opposed to GM which builds smaller cylinders and a longer stroke). Each method has it's pros and cons. Hank can probably explain that better than I can. I haven't researched the ecoboost engines that much, maybe they changed the formula for them. I don't know. I'm still skeptical, though.
 
alt1001

alt1001

Old Mossy Horns
Ldsoldier said:
As the saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement.
Click to expand...

I believe that holds true if one was trying to achieve the same things out of a V6 that they would out of a 5.0. For me, that isn't the case but I understand your skepticism.

What I was told is that the Ecoboost F150 was Ford's answer for the mid-size market. They weren't going to try to compete with Toyota like Nissan and GM are trying to do but instead offer a full size truck, with mid-size power and fuel efficiency and so far they've sold a lot of them. I think that's the biggest issue with some of the thinking here. Nobody is trying to replace the V8 but offer an option for those that don't need the V8.
 
Last edited:
ABolt

ABolt

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Ldsoldier said:
As the saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement.
Click to expand...

Sure there is: It's called technology.

Why do you think that a normally-aspirated 302 cubic inch engine of today generates vastly greater horsepower and torque than engines of yester-year that had over 400 cubic inches of displacement?
 

HotSoup

Old Mossy Horns
ABolt said:
I have had my 2016 F150 crewcab 4x4 with the 5.0 for a year now. Here are my thoughts:

The 5.0L is a Mustang motor. It needs to rev to make power. The EB motors get their power at much lower RPMs than the normally-aspirated V8.

The 5.0L is NOT less complicated than the EB motors. This is not the 5.0L that Vanilla Ice sang about in 1990. The Coyote 5.0 is much more complex than the old 5.0, and shares almost nothing in common with it outside of displacement.

I bought my 5.0 to 'play it safe', and I love the sound from even the stock exhaust. That said, I don't know that I'm any 'safer' with it than an EB.

I test drove all the full-size pickups out there, and nothing (I mean nothing) could begin to keep up with the 3.5L EB in terms of all-out performance. The Chevy 6.2L was the closest competitor.

My mpgs are similar to my neighbor's 3.5L EB in a similarly-configured F150 (19 mpg). A guy at my office has a 2.7L crewcab 4x4 that routinely logs 21+ mpgs.

If I were going to tow regularly, I would have opted for the 3.5L EB. If I were more of a risk-taker, and going to commute and tow occasionally, I would have opted for the 2.7L EB.

The guy I coach baseball with has a 2011 F150 with the original 3.5L EB. He's a regional sales guy, and just topped 200K with no issues.

Love my 5.0, and feel it will last me a long time. However, if I were going to buy again today, I'd likely go EB. The in-town driving experience is just much more enjoyable, due to the low-end torque and power made quickly in the low rpm range.

Jeff




Ford is coming out with the Ranger again in 2019. Word is that there will be more than one EB option for it. Hopefully one will be the 2.7L EB...
Click to expand...

False...the ecoboost is much more complicated than the 5.0 simply due to the turbocharging system. The modular 5.0 is a tank and besides cam phaser issues it will be fine for a long time. Fwiw, I have been around these engines for many years now up to 2, 000 hp its an amazing engine.
 

HotSoup

Old Mossy Horns
Ldsoldier said:
I'm glad ya'll have had good success with it. The mechanic in me will always be skeptical. As the saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement. They make all this power from the smaller engines through tuning electronics and adding things like turbos. The more complex it is the less reliable it will be. They've gotten much better in the last decade, but there will always be issues. As far as the 5.0 being a Mustang engine, well, not really. They've been putting the 5.0 in everything for decades. My 1977 F-150 had a 5.0 in it. That's been Ford's go-to small block since it was first designed. That said, Ford engines have always been built for higher rpm. They have large cylinders and a short stroke (as opposed to GM which builds smaller cylinders and a longer stroke). Each method has it's pros and cons. Hank can probably explain that better than I can. I haven't researched the ecoboost engines that much, maybe they changed the formula for them. I don't know. I'm still skeptical, though.
Click to expand...

The pushrod 5.0 and new coyote only share the 5.0 namesake....thats it.

Also, the intake, cams, and pistons are different from the mustang, it is designed to work better down low
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top