New F150 ecoboost
 

I haven't been on the forum for quite some time. But I have a question about buying a New F150. Currently have an 04 Super-duty and we pull a 28' holiday trailer with it. But as my wife and I get older our recreational needs kind of change. Since the kids are all grown now we prefer to hotel it with some fine dining thrown in there as well. So the plan is to sell the SD and trailer and drop down a size. Still need to pull a car hauler for my FFR Cobra occasionally so I couldnt really see us without a pickup truck. We just don't have the need for a heavy hauler any more is all. One of my sons bought a 2012 F150 XTR and I really like that truck. Good job Ford. This brings me to my question. Most of our driving ends up being highway and we usually keep our vehicles about 10 years. So is it worth it to go with the new Ecoboost engine or stay with the 5.0. Does anyone have any real mileage numbers? Plus would love to hear some experience from some who have the new Ecoboost engine.

Thanks
Gerry
Edmonton, Alberta

I think you'll find that the common wisdom is that both engines are getting about the same mileage. I have the Ecoboost; love it - gobs of power, good mileage, quiet (some will say too quiet).

Test drive them both and see what you think!

Interesting, I was thinking the whole idea behind the ecoboost was better mileage than the 5.0. Kind of makes it pointless to bother with it. I thought it would be better highway mileage.

Gerry

The Ecoboost is EPA rated slightly better than the 5.0 in regards to fuel economy, but they are pretty much a draw in most instances. The Eco can handle a taller rear axle ratio (like a 3.15) with power to spare a bit better than a 5.0 because of it's strong torque, which in that instance would give the Eco a better mpg over the 5.0 for sure. Both engines will handle towing your Cobra, as long as the trailer and vehicle is within the truck's GVWR and tow rating. These F-150's like to work, and I think you would be surprised how nice they ride and how good they are at work.

We have both engines in our work fleet. MPG's are all about your gear ratio. 3.31's in our Ecoboosts have done about 1 MPG better than 3.31's in the 5.0. Since you can get 3.15's in the EB, it will do even better. The low RPM torque of the EB allows it to handle the 3.15's with power to spare. For towing, you can't beat the EB. Even with my 3.15's its rated to tow 8800 lbs. I've had a 7000 lb trailer behind it several times and the power is unbelievable. RPM's rarely get above 2000 even on hills. The 5.0 is a great engine and it tows fine too but it is working harder to do it. BTW, the EB 3.15 truck I drive everyday has about 4000 mostly highway miles on it and it has averaged 20.9 mpg over those miles.

Dad got a 2013 Platinum EB with 3.55 gears in November. Pulled a 24 ft. enclosed car trailer with the '53 Ford Customline inside to Florida and averaged around 8 MPG on the way down. Sold the Ford in Florida so came back home first of March with an empty trailer and averaged 6 plus MPG. Said he was bucking a headwind on the way home and running with traffic around 70 MPH. Truck has around 6500 miles on it now and without the trailer it averages around 15.5 MPG combination driving.
He loves the truck. Says it has great power and handles and drives really well. He did say that while pulling a grade the transmission stayed in 5th keeping the RPMs up for boost and wondered if maybe the 5.0 would have a bit more low end torque, allowing the trans. to stay in 6th gear more, possibly allowing for better economy.

The major draw to the eboost is the power. It offers more power at around the same MPG as the 5.0.

I have been seeing 17-18 mixed driving this winter. I expect 19-20 during the summer. My father has a eboost screw 4x4 3.73 and he saw 21 on all high way trips.

IMO, the EcoBoost drives/makes power like a diesel. The 5.0 drives performs great as well, for a naturally aspirated v8. Drive both & pick the one that you like best.

Here is a comparison from Pickuptrucks.com that compares the 3.5L Ecoboost against the 5.0L on the dyno. Now before anyone takes the numbers to heart...understand how subjective dyno numbers are on any given day...and don't use this one comparison as an end all be all of how they perform. (They explain this in the summaries due to different dynos etc.) It is just an interesting read.

How We Dyno Tested Ford's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and 5.0-liter V-8 Engines - PickupTrucks.com News

Personally I will get the ecoboost for the low end torque while towing. Hose toy you have to go drive them both...and I don't mean on a straight highway for about 5 minutes. The 5.0L sounds great and does have really good power...the ecoboost is deceptively quiet and when you look down you can't believe how fast that speedometer is rolling to the right. Honestly on the street torque is where it's at. The 5.0L will pull your car easily just as the ecoboost will...the question is are you in the future going to pull anything bigger? Besides the low end torque, the ecoboost also gives you more towing capacity.

You could get away with 3.31's towing that weight which will get you better unloaded economy. (Towing up steep grades will most likely need a downshift at this gear ratio...is that a bad thing?)

This makes no sense seeing that the ecoboost has much more low end torque that the 5.0. I'm sure the 5.0 on those same grades would have been in 3rd.

Mark

I agree with Mark. Our fleet truck EB's rarely shift out of 6th on the highway while our 5.0's often shift down to 4th and 5th towing the same trailers. Both are great engines. The 5.0's just work a lot harder towing. Neither get great mileage while towing.

The best way to describe the ecoboost is like having a .22 caliber revolver that can also shoot a .44 mag round. The 5.0 would be a 357 magnum i guess.

My situation is the complete opposite of yours conger. I have a young family with my first kid on the way. I opted for the 3.5 ecoboost 4x4 long bed with 3.55 gears to tow my 27" toy hauler.

If I were in your shoes I would get an ecoboost with a taller gear ratio like the 3.31s so you get the best fuel economy. I think the ecoboost is more fun to drive. The only thing I miss is the classic v8 rumble.

My 2011 ecoboost averages between 19.5 and 20mpg right now. It's most happy at 55mph on flat ground. At 75mph on the highway my average drops to 18.5mpg.

Either engine will do what you need it to. The question is would you rather have a throaty sound of a V8 that will downshift a little more often and tow in a higher rpm range or a whisper quiet engine with a light sound of twin turbos spooling that will tow at a low rpm reaching it's max torque at 2500 rpms much like your 2004 SD. I chose the Ecoboost 1 1/2yrs ago and couldn't be happier!

I disagree....I bought the Ecoboost because it had a lot more power down low where I wanted it for towing. You get a lot more power and a bit better fuel economy, can't get much better than that. :-X22


After I put my SCT tune in I got even more power with no detectable decrease in fuel economy. The F150 with Ecoboost flat out hauls the mail. :-X06

No, the whole idea behind the ecoboost was to be a better towing engine with more power and better fuel economy than the engine it replaced, the 5.4