Eco-Boost opinions

[jdtractor]

Hi IMO they are overrated, Ive been on the F150 Forum and they have alot of discussions about all sorts of FORD issuses. Several on this topic, from what i gather there are several people who own them and are not overly impressed, with milage or towing. I for one think its overrated , i my self own a 2010, F150 with the 4.6 3v engine , it has more then enough power for me. I pull a 7000lb trailer very well loaded with 6, 1000 lb. round bales. I live in southwestern Pa. with lots of hills etc..... and no problems. The current miles are approx. 15000 give or take few 100 extra. I have driven this truck to the east coast twice in 2yrs. and averaged 19 mpg. Around my local running a speed of 75mph,on the interstate i average 17.6,8,9 depends etc.. pulling nothing. xcept my ***** etc......around. Thats why IMO i say they are overrated , this is my first F150 , I ve owned several trks over the yrs. for my buisness this is 1 of 3 fords , and i might add i like it the best of the 3, Ive had the other 2 were H.D. 1 ton gas engine, all 4x4.This 4.6 3v is very good for milage and power , for what i need, BUT im not 1 for milage, you have to drink water when you need it , and you have to buy fuel when you need it, and Im not going to WALK. just my .02cts.

 

[roamerr]

The only truck on that trip was an issue was the Eco-Boost. It lost a coil-pack in Kansas. The local Ford dealer did not have the part but took one off of a new truck. My friend with the EcoBoost is averaging 17mpg on hid daily driving -- 70% highway/30 % not highway. My hemi gets 13.6 on a similar drive.

 

[slowzuki]

The basic idea is under heavy load like high speed driving or towing its not going to do much better than the V8. Its the lightly loaded commuting that everyone seems to do in their trucks where its supposed to pay for itself.

My F350 struggles to get 12 mpg driving at 55 mph with 80 psi in the tires (5.4 V8) the Ecoboost looks good to me. Of course right now it has 3000 lbs of crushed rock in the bed that a loader just dumped in at the pit, and could have gone 4000 lbs easily. Not gonna do that to a brand new F150!

 

[MossflowerWoods]

My 2001 4-door 2wd F-150 w/5.4 Triton empty weighs 4650.
My 2011 Flex Limited, Eco-Boost V6 AWD weighs 4616 (only 34 lbs less).

I have driven BOTH on the exact same route to my customer inside the beltway near DC.

My Truck on a good day with no traffic jams will do this 150 mile round trip around 16.5 MPG. The Flex will easily average 20.

I have NOT driven either to DC since crashing my Harley in early Nov (been working from home). So with NO distance my truck's avg mpg falls rapidly to between 12.5 and 14. The Flex stays VERY close to 18.

AND, when I do get to drive all of us in the Flex, and I NEED to merge quickly (I LOVE the 355hp) I juice it and merge and if the average is fairly new (like only couple tanks of gas) I lose maybe 0.1 mpg average. If there is 1,000 miles on the calculation it has NO EFFECT on the mileage.

I tend to be a few miles above the speed limit, but not a racer typically.

I REALLY like this motor. I've refused to buy every turbo before this too.

I will say the new 4-cyclinder Eco-Boost (anyone know if it is a V4?) in a NEW Ford Courier sized truck would totally score as my commuter car...

Be well,
David

 

[jeffsw6]

Thats what they are. A new Diesel is about $60,000.

That figure is really a little high.

Even sticker price on a new, loaded Chevy 3500 DMAX DRW LTZ Crew Cab is right around $60k and that's before you do any haggling, and with every major option like navigation screen, back-up camera, heated chairs, etc.

Of course if you don't buy all those gadgets it is much cheaper, but you still won't quite pay $60k even if you buy all the creature comforts.

 

[Johnp33]

My problem with all Ford products and I fix them is that they make a couple of new engines every year.
They make a transmission a couple of years and then the change a few things so it is not usable on an older truck. They change the front end parts, tie rods and stuff all the time, ignition parts on some older units you can not get period. Wheels they make seven stud wheels.
I realise that a lot of you buy a new truck, but when someone buys your old one and has to remove the heads to get the plugs out, has to buy compete ignition system because they can not get a component.
I just priced out a sensor for a 7.3 diesel for the Injection Control Pressure. it is a high pressure oil pressure sensor. My best price is $290.00.
I would not buy any new product for at least a year after it comes out.

 

[Dmace]

Personally, I don't think it's worth it.

If you want a Ford F-150, then I would skip the Eco-boost and go for the V8 5.0l. It has comparable power, real close mpg's empty and better mpg's while towing. It's a MUCH simpler design and more reliable, easier to fix and cheaper to repair. Read up on the Ford forums and you'll see the common problems popping up with the Ecoboost V6. You won't find those problems in the V8 5.0l. If you want a race-truck with questionable reliability, get the Ecoboost. If you want a F-150 with a solid engine that will still be simple and reliable, get the 5.0l.

Of course, DiamondPilot knows someone with one with no problems yet so that means they're all perfect and that one GM/Dodge truck that had one problem means they're all junk.

 

[EddieWalker]

Personally, I don't think it's worth it.

If you want a Ford F-150, then I would skip the Eco-boost and go for the V8 5.0l. It has comparable power, real close mpg's empty and better mpg's while towing. It's a MUCH simpler design and more reliable, easier to fix and cheaper to repair. Read up on the Ford forums and you'll see the common problems popping up with the Ecoboost V6. You won't find those problems in the V8 5.0l. If you want a race-truck with questionable reliability, get the Ecoboost. If you want a F-150 with a solid engine that will still be simple and reliable, get the 5.0l.

Of course, DiamondPilot knows someone with one with no problems yet so that means they're all perfect and that one GM/Dodge truck that had one problem means they're all junk.

Nice to hear a good report on the 5.0 I've looked at a few extra cab, long beds with that engine and I've been wondering if that's a better option. I have the 4.6 right now and don't need any more power, but the newness of the eco boost has me nervous.

Eddie

 

[crazyal]

Is there a price difference in costs between the two engines?

 

[Dmace]

Nice to hear a good report on the 5.0 I've looked at a few extra cab, long beds with that engine and I've been wondering if that's a better option. I have the 4.6 right now and don't need any more power, but the newness of the eco boost has me nervous.

Eddie

Great review from Pickuptrucks.com here: Road Test Review: 2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-liter V-8 - PickupTrucks.com News

Is there a price difference in costs between the two engines?

5.0l is $1000 option, Ecoboost is $2200. Although, last time I priced one out you had to add the Ecoboost with another package which was more money and couldn't get the Ecoboost with a short bed (8ft bed only). I like 6.5ft beds on trucks (8ft with tailgate down), if I need to carry something longer than that, I'll take the trailer.

 

[Egon]

Well, with all those numbers on milage and tow loads I just gotta pipe up again.

!996 Dodge diesel auto extended cab 4x4 hauling a gross of 24000#[15000# bumper pull trailer and the rest truck and camper] over 3500 miles with some up and down[10%] and it averaged 14 MPG.:thumbsup:

It was weighed on Government Roadside scale.

I think it was a tad overloaded though.

Oh- it still has the same transmission in it.

 

[Bob77064]

My previous post I mentioned that the road tests were good. But that is not real world. Until this engine has been on the raod for a few years, you don't know how it will hold up. And replacing twin turbos gets real expensive.

 

[Lt CHEG]

I just wish that they'd put the ecoboost engine in the raptor. I really think that once my house and garage is built I'm going to trade in my F250 for an older regular cab F350 SRW diesel and then buy a raptor crew cab as my regular vehicle. I'll have the space for two vehicles so it will make sense to keep the regular cab truck for work and have the crew cab for fun. I don't like the idea of the 6.2 V8 for an every day kind of truck though. Let's hope we see the ecoboost make it through more of the lineup.

 

[Diamondpilot]

That figure is really a little high.

Even sticker price on a new, loaded Chevy 3500 DMAX DRW LTZ Crew Cab is right around $60k and that's before you do any haggling, and with every major option like navigation screen, back-up camera, heated chairs, etc.

Of course if you don't buy all those gadgets it is much cheaper, but you still won't quite pay $60k even if you buy all the creature comforts.

Same is true for any vehicle. You can get them just about any way you want and haggle. You can get a 1/2 ton for less.

Chris

 

[JasG]

My previous post I mentioned that the road tests were good. But that is not real world. Until this engine has been on the raod for a few years, you don't know how it will hold up. And replacing twin turbos gets real expensive.

Bingo!

That was why I asked the question. I have been reading road tests since I was a kid. Be it cars, motorcycles, ATV's etc. and testing over even a few months isn't the same a real world by different people under different condition.

My current ride is an 03 F-150 and I really thought it would be my last Ford. Didn't like the truck as much as my 95. Now I see all of the improvements Ford has made to the whole brand. I am leaning towards Ford again, it just may be a little while before I buy one. $35-40000.00 for a new truck is huge amount, but seems to be the going rate.

Thanks to everyone who commented.

 

[JasG]

I just wish that they'd put the ecoboost engine in the raptor. I really think that once my house and garage is built I'm going to trade in my F250 for an older regular cab F350 SRW diesel and then buy a raptor crew cab as my regular vehicle. I'll have the space for two vehicles so it will make sense to keep the regular cab truck for work and have the crew cab for fun. I don't like the idea of the 6.2 V8 for an every day kind of truck though. Let's hope we see the ecoboost make it through more of the lineup.

I have read it's coming, but so was the f-150 diesel. I really like the way the raptor looks.

 

[BillP603]

Bingo!

That was why I asked the question. I have been reading road tests since I was a kid. Be it cars, motorcycles, ATV's etc. and testing over even a few months isn't the same a real world by different people under different condition.

My current ride is an 03 F-150 and I really thought it would be my last Ford. Didn't like the truck as much as my 95. Now I see all of the improvements Ford has made to the whole brand. I am leaning towards Ford again, it just may be a little while before I buy one. $35-40000.00 for a new truck is huge amount, but seems to be the going rate.

Thanks to everyone who commented.

There are some on f150online.com that have almost a year of real world driving in commuting, towing, or work truck use of the Eco-boost. Some have had a few issues, some have been fine, the gas mileage improvement over the 5.0 V8 is miniscule from what I've been able to compile. I have driven both on test drives and the 5.0 would be my choice when I'm ready for a new truck. (you still can get a decent extended cab 4x4 for ~$33K if you tone down the luxury items) But my 2000 F-150 still runs great with 230K mikes and has been paid off for 7 years!

 

[ToaDisco]

I was seriously considering the ecoboost when I was shopping for a new truck, but I found a great deal on a 5.0 powered truck and decided to give it a second look. I ended up buying it 4 hours later:laughing: I currently have a little over 12K miles on it now.

I have been more than pleased with the 5.0. I usually run a mix of 60% highway/30% rural two lane roads/10% city driving and I'm averaging 17 mpg's with 3.55 gears. I typically run 70+ on the highway and mileage doesn't suffer all that bad either. Compared to my V10 F250, I'm pretty happy.:thumbsup: The truck has more than enough power, and should have no problem pulling the same trailer the F250 did. (I may need to add airbags or a WDH setup though)

The only area the ecoboost may come ahead of the 5.0 would be towing at altitude, but since I live on the East Coast and don't plan on making many trips towing out west, I should be fine. I figure I'm giving up 1-2 MPG's with the 5.0 over the Ecoboost, but I can live with that since I'm not dealing with the complexity or extra parts associated with the EB.

 

[sparc]

I know the motor is not available any longer (Triton 5.4l) but just for comparison my 05 F-150 Reg. cab 4x4 short bed has averaged between 15.5 and 17.4 mpg since day one and it has over 100k on it now. I log and calculate my MPG every fill up. In the summer with the AC on the MPG drops a bit of if I am hauling something in the bed or dragging a light trailer then I'm in the ~15.5 MPG range. Empty back and forth to work (18 miles of country roads one way with few stops and no highway driving) I get 16 to 17. Haven't done any long hauls to know what it would do under those circumstances, the truck rarely wanders more than 25 miles from home.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Real numbers for the Eco-Boost.

"Ford F150 EcoBoost V-6 turbo truck review towing trailers."

Chris