Thinking of Purchasing Ford F-150 - Some Questions

[jejeosborne]

I can honestly say my gmc 6.2 with 3.73 gears is only getting 1-2mpg worse then what I have been seeing reported here by the ecoboost. I average 17-18 all day long with the mix driving I do. When I tow it's about 11-13. I'm being as honest as I possibly can about it too! Its really worth the upgrade over the 5.3 and now I see why GM plans to stick one of these in the hd's next year.

That is very good for that engine. The EPA sticker shows 14 mixed. Consider yourself lucky. Are you running the recommended premium fuel to achieve those numbers?

 

[RollingsFarms]

Sometimes. If I run 93 I get high 18's and if I run 87 I get mid 17's- low 18's. Most of the time though I will fill up with 93 as its only $4 more per tank.......usually. I've noticed some stations like to crank up the price between 89-93 compared to usually only a $.10 difference between 87-89. My truck LOVES real gas when you can find it and had rewarded me with 19 mpg on the hwy, bumping 20 mpg at one time. It hates e85 but the power is very good with it. If I know I'm going to be towing I'll run 93. If just driving around I'll have 87 in it.

 

[dodge man]

I've had my Challenger on a dyno, and yes, with an auto transmission, its almost impossible to get a dyno reading below a certain RPM because it will just downshift. If your used to a diesel, a hemi will sound like its screaming towing a heavy load, but its not going to hurt anything turning 4000 rpms for a few seconds bringing a load up to speed. If you put a unsilenced air cleaner on one, it sounds like sweet music to my ears.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Sometimes. If I run 93 I get high 18's and if I run 87 I get mid 17's- low 18's. Most of the time though I will fill up with 93 as its only $4 more per tank.......usually. I've noticed some stations like to crank up the price between 89-93 compared to usually only a $.10 difference between 87-89. My truck LOVES real gas when you can find it and had rewarded me with 19 mpg on the hwy, bumping 20 mpg at one time. It hates e85 but the power is very good with it. If I know I'm going to be towing I'll run 93. If just driving around I'll have 87 in it.

I have heard good things about the 6.2L GM. I even have one in my boat and for what it is I am very happy. It does a good job of replacing the old Big Block motors with equal power and torque and a nice weight savings.

Are you checking the dash computer to the real numbers by hand calculating the MPG at each fill up? I know my Nissan and Ford are very very close but I have seen some trucks off 3-4 mpg when hand checked. My neighbors 07 Dmax has always been off about 2.5 mpg.

These new 6.2L motors from both Ford and GM are winners. Its really making he argument for a diesel a tough one now days.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I've had my Challenger on a dyno, and yes, with an auto transmission, its almost impossible to get a dyno reading below a certain RPM because it will just downshift. If your used to a diesel, a hemi will sound like its screaming towing a heavy load, but its not going to hurt anything turning 4000 rpms for a few seconds bringing a load up to speed. If you put a unsilenced air cleaner on one, it sounds like sweet music to my ears.

High RPM's in a car is fun for short burst but in a truck where you need to hold that power for a length of time is just not the best setup. Last summer we took 40 people to lake Norris in Tennessee and took somewhere between 15 and 20 boats. I took my Titan pulling my 9,700# boat and on I75 with grades of 7% or more it never went above 3500 rpms and held 65 to 75 mph no problem. My buddy Rick pulls a similar sized boat with a 2009 1500 4x4 Hemi and I was passing him on the grades and could hear his motor whining over my truck and the wind. One thing you learn on these trips with multiple boats and trucks is as a rule the Fords get less mpg but get up to speed much more quickly than the GM's, especially when merging onto the highway and passing. The Dodges with the Hemi really work and drink the fuel but the one older (maybe 2002?) Dodge 1500 4x4 that my Buddy Dean has with a 360 does a real nice job of towing a 8,500# boat.

Chris

 

[jejeosborne]

Sometimes. If I run 93 I get high 18's and if I run 87 I get mid 17's- low 18's. Most of the time though I will fill up with 93 as its only $4 more per tank.......usually. I've noticed some stations like to crank up the price between 89-93 compared to usually only a $.10 difference between 87-89. My truck LOVES real gas when you can find it and had rewarded me with 19 mpg on the hwy, bumping 20 mpg at one time. It hates e85 but the power is very good with it. If I know I'm going to be towing I'll run 93. If just driving around I'll have 87 in it.

There are two stations that sells pure gas in my town. I purchase it for all my aircooled engines and motorcycles, and boat. I tried one tank through the ecoboost and came up inconclusive with that tank. It is hard for me to compare with my driving habits. Each tank is too variable, I have three trailers and never get completely through a tank without towing one of them. Ethanol free is about $0.35 more per gallon and ruled it out as being cost effective.

 

[Dmace]

I appreciate your schooling me on James Watt but I am already very familiar with a watt. I am a NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) Certified Reliability Coordinator for an electric utility. I monitor your electric grid and use the word Watt (MegaWatt) daily. I do appreciate the refresher coarse though because I only average 100 hours of training on the subject each year. We use 746 watts per HP because we round up the .6999.

Too funny, no wonder you and DP get along. You both feel like you need to puff out your chest and state your education as if it gives you more credibility. I'm surprised DP hasn't mentioned his Aerospace degree yet or did I miss that...?
So you study electricity but still think

HP is not measurable!

? :laughing:

So your answer to my question is that you believe the Hemi is a better truck engine than the cummins because it makes more HP?

I believe it depends on your needs, 400 lb.ft is plenty of torque to get the load moving. With all other variables the same, the engine with the higher HP will accelerate at a faster rate. Determining which is a better "truck" engine depends on one's use of the truck.

Last summer we took 40 people to lake Norris in Tennessee and took somewhere between 15 and 20 boats. I took my Titan pulling my 9,700# boat and on I75 with grades of 7% or more it never went above 3500 rpms and held 65 to 75 mph no problem. My buddy Rick pulls a similar sized boat with a 2009 1500 4x4 Hemi and I was passing him on the grades and could hear his motor whining over my truck and the wind.

:laughing: Your pathetic stories that come up in every truck thread are quite amusing. As long as we're making up stories, I should mention the time me and 10 buddies were hauling tractors up hill through the mountains and while I passed them at 80 mph only idling I could see the bad torque convertors, loose spark plugs and head gaskets blowing out of the Ford's as I went by them. The Titan was still at the bottom screaming at 5200 rpms trying to make use of that whopping 317 HP. :laughing:

As for hauling loads up-hill, your story is full of holes. Your Titan has MUCH less HP and less TQ and looses every actual towing test there is. Instead of stories, post actual test like this one where the RAM beat all but the Tundra (lower axle gearing) and was even right next to the F150 which was only a reg cab vs the quad cab RAM. :laughing:
2011 $30,000 Shootout: 7-Percent Grade (Loaded) Test - PickupTrucks.com Special Reports

In second place, but struggling a bit under the heavy load off the line (no wheelspin, just sluggish), the F-150 did the run in 17.96 seconds at 77.25 mph. Finishing next was the Ram 1500 with a time and speed of 18.29 seconds at 77.99 mph. The Nissan did the run in 19.24 seconds at 73.99 mph, and the Chevy did it in 19.38 seconds at 70.92 mph, bringing up the rear. Having lower axle gears helped the Toyota, but what was quite impressive was that the Ford and Ram were just a touch behind with much higher rear ends.

With all that's said, I stand by my claim that the Ecoboost does nothing more than most new V8's out there. Decent power and towing capability while averaging 15 mpg mixed and 18-20 empty. The simple proven V8's are still a better choice In My Humble Opinion...

 

[jejeosborne]

Too funny, no wonder you and DP get along. You both feel like you need to puff out your chest and state your education as if it gives you more credibility. I'm surprised DP hasn't mentioned his Aerospace degree yet or did I miss that...?
So you study electricity but still think ? :laughing:

I believe it depends on your needs, 400 lb.ft is plenty of torque to get the load moving. With all other variables the same, the engine with the higher HP will accelerate at a faster rate. Determining which is a better "truck" engine depends on one's use of the truck.

I am only offering my knowledge background after you said you have built hundreds of engines and yet you still don't understand torque and are trying to teach a flawed curriculum. You must own a lot of hemi t-shirts and ball caps to needing justification because you feel the hemi is a better engine than the cummins (and any other engine) in a truck. Put 10,000 lbs behind each of these powertrains and which is quicker to 60 MPH. Acceleration follows the torque curve not the HP curve which is opposite of what you stated. Peak acceleration always happens at the point of peak torque, regardless of what gear you are in. Seems like you still might have torque and HP reversed. You might want to open a book or let google be your teacher because I am failing. BTW you missed that test question, the correct answer was "cummins".

The hemi can do more work because it makes decent torque above 5252 rpms (remember the formula?). Great if you can keep the engine revved up but it falls on it face when it upshifts and rpms drop. That is why low end torque is mentioned in every cummins commercial.....and ecoboost commercial.

Take off you Hemi race car hat and start thinking about what is important in a truck. Not high revving HP....Yes, low end torque.

 

[Dmace]

The hemi can do more work because it makes decent torque above 5252 rpms (remember the formula?).

So the HEMI doesn't make decent Torque below 5252 rpms yet the dyno graph YOU posted shows it's making the SAME Torque as the Ecoboost down to 3600 rpms. So I guess you don't think the Ecoboost makes good Torque either...

Still think you can't measure HP?

 

[jejeosborne]

So the HEMI doesn't make decent Torque below 5252 rpms yet the dyno graph YOU posted shows it's making the SAME Torque as the Ecoboost down to 3600 rpms. So I guess you don't think the Ecoboost makes good Torque either...
<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=273991"/>

Exactly, thanks for bringing this back up AGAIN. Remember I said, just a few posts ago, that below 3700 rpms is where the ecoboost shines and the hemi flounders.
My ecoboost never gets into the 3600 rpm area even towing. It creates peak torque at 2500 rpms and over 400 lb/ft at 1800 rpms. It has a sweet range rather than a sweet spot like you mentioned your hemi has. I don't consider 3600 rpms low. Attached are the dyno curves for each motor as published in each manufacturers brochure. Plot these three engines on the same chart using the same scaling. You will then see what low rpm torque looks like.

I also meant to ask. Could you please explain the basic principles of that lawn mower that makes more torque than a diesel truck you promised you could build? I doubt I am the only one trying to envision your plans.

Also the shoot-out link you posted was Ford's 5.0 liter not the ecoboost.