I know there was a poll about a month ago concerning engines, but there has been a lot of discussion about engines lately. I will try to make the scenario fairly realistic, given what information we have at this point.

Pretend it's 2011 and you are buying a new truck. Gas is again $3.50/gallon. The 5.4 / 4.6 engine family is gone. Diesel fuel prices and stricter emissions controls have killed the 4.4 diesel. Here is what you are left with and assume the mpg's are for a 4x4 SCrew or SCab:


5.0 V8 (base): 350 hp/370tq, mpg: 15/20
3.5 Ecoboost (+$1000): 365 hp/380tq, mpg: 18/24
6.2 V8 (+$1000): 425hp/425tq, mpg: 13/18

Which truck do you buy?

Post up why you chose what you did.

 

Good poll. I, like you, wonder about putting the 3.5 EB in the F-150 and it's ability to tow loads reliably and just survive. I think it's going to be a great engine in the cars but wonder about it in the trucks. The 5.0 will be a great engine but I'd put my money in a 6.2. I think it's going to make more torque down low and that's what I'd want for my uses.

 

I voted ecoboost but if it doesn't get those mileage numbers, and I don't think it will, I would vote for the 5.0. My problem with the 5.0 is that I'm worried that it will not make good power at lower rpms like an engine with higher displacement. The 5.4 has a long stroke and that gives the engine it's great torque curve at lower rpms. I am worried that those great 5.0. numbers are only achieved at higher rpms. I hope I'm wrong.

The 6.2 is too thirsty for my taste.

As great as I think these engines are going to be, I think Ford missed the mark again by not having a mid-sized V-8 (5.5-5.8). I know in the past this has cost them sales. For example: in 2002 I purchased a Silverado instead of the S-duty because I didn't feel good about the lower HP 5.4 in that bigger truck compared to the 6.0.

My last 4 trucks:
95 f150 351w- good average engine
02 Silverado 6.0- good engine w/ best towing mileage
04 and 06 f150 5.4 good engine w/ better regular mileage than 6.0 and better towing mileage than the 351w

I think Toyota "nailed it" as far as engines go, but again, I am hope full for the 5.0.

 

One major engine problem out of warranty like, say, blown head gaskets, blown turbos, etc on the Ecoboost may well cancel out the total of fuel savings over 100k miles over something like the 5.0 base engine.

I'm hoping that the Ecoboosts are so reliable as to prove me dead wrong, but until there is a track record there, I like simple.

George

 

I voted 6.2. It gets the same mileage as my current setup, has more power, and 3.50 a gallon is still less than we pay during peak fuel price times in Canada.

 

I went for the 6.2, just cant see the 5.0 having much down low and its a rarity for my engines to ever see above 3000rpm, if i wanted to race i'd buy a sports car. I can't give a good opinion of these options until i have a chance to see the power curves.

 

I don't mean to be a spoiled sport but at a sustained price of $3.50 per gallon, I'm not buying a truck.

Now, with that said I would still get the 6.2L if I were in a must have situation.

The 2010 Flex with the 3.5L EB is rated at 22 mpg. This engine will very doubtfully achieve better than that in the F-150.

Great poll BTW!

Tim

 

I voted for the 3.5 EB though the 6.2 is close behind. I am optimistic that the EB will be durable enough for use in a truck, and if the turbos go out out of warranty then I guess that would be a great time to put some bigger turbos in it. I am one of those people who does not leave my vehicle stock for longer than I have to, and I see a lot of potential for all 3 motors. I would really like to see a small EB V8 for the trucks.

 

I voted for the 5.0L engine. I am hoping (and expecting) that Ford will do better than 15/20 MPG. At the minimum, I would expect 16/21 in a non-SFE F150 given the current 4.3/6SP configuration.

 

I voted 5.0.

Ford has hinted that the 5.0L 4V will return better fuel mileage than the 4.6 3V, not the 5.4 3V as misstated in some articles.

I'm expecting 21-22 MPG HWY from the the 5.0 in 2WD trim, and somewhere in the vicinity of 350 HP and 380 TQ. Good performance/efficiency compromise for a half-ton.

 

Lots of unanswered questions with the 5.0L (tq curve etc) and the EB ( durability and real world MPG) but with the 6.2L, not so many questions.

 

I've been told there is no 5.0 that was by a reliable source. The 6.2 is supposed to be in the Raptor.

 

That will probably be around the maximum for the F150 too. Ford says the EB V6 will have up to 20% better mpgs than the v8. So if you add 20% to the standard 14/18mpg V8 4x4 ratings, you get 16.8 city and 21.6 highway. Notice how Ford says "up to", so real world MPG might be less.

Maybe in regular cab form with 2wd and 3.15 rear end it might be around 24 mpgs or more highway?

 

Per my earlier post, and putting some numbers into it, with $3-4 gasoline, it looks like the Ecoboost may end up saving $3-400 per year in gas over something like the 4.6 or 5.0 engine at the outside. This means that if you have a $2-3000 repair bill for new turbos or head gaskets somewhere down the road (and include the extra cost up front for the engine), your gas savings will have been canceled out. And are we sure the EcoBoost will run on regular gas? How's the EB gonna do if it's overloaded and abused, with skipped oil changes? I just don't see 300-400k miles on one of these whereas the mod motors will generally do that just fine.

I still like simple and would actually like to see a small, new-gen pushrod V8 in Ford's trucks, although this ain't gonna happen. (Imagine how much easier an engine like that would be to service than a mod motor or the proposed EcoBoosts...) And I still like straight sixes, but that ain't gonna happen either.

George

 

6.2 no question. Give me the power, MPG is not my top priority in a truck. The EB is out for me, too much BS that can and will break. 5.0 in your senerio doesn't get enough mileage to go for vs the 6.2 and all the power.

Like mentioned before, I get around 13/18 now with 260/350. I'll take 425/425 with a 6 speed for the same MPG.

As far as the EB goes, I just do not put any faith in Ford to make a durable engine with all those new gizmos like direct injection and twin turbos. Maybe it will last in a low stress, low dirt and off road enviroment like a car, but not a truck. I mean they screwed up spark plugs in two generations of the 5.4 in a row and had problems with the cam phasers in the 3V 5.4! Also in a couple articles that I read the turbos only have a mean lifetime of 150K. I'm sure I'd get the one that melts down at 70K, just outside of the 60K warranty.

Mike