So I've had my '15 for 3 weeks now and before last night I have not hauled anything but a$$. My father happen to have a dump trailer full of wood (oak) hooked to his '12 Screw 5.0 w/6.5' bed & 3.55 gears. After chatting for a while he says why don't we do a comparison. Of course I jumped on it. First up with his since it was already hooked up and ready to go. He estimated with the trailer it was about 6,000 lbs.

Took a 18 mile round trip with a valley and a 2 degree (according the the truck ap) descent and ascent. Coming up the hill the truck was in 3rd and slowly gaining speed and when we pulled back into the drive way the dash said 10.9 MPG. The trans temp peaked at 201 degrees and was back down to 195 when we parked it.

Up next is mine. '15 Screw w/5.5' bed, 3.5 eco, and 3.31 gears. Going up the hill it held 4th gear at 2200 RPMs and a steady speed. I asked it to accelerate so it dropped to 3rd which caused an immediate increase in speed. When I pulled back into the driveway the dash said I had got 10.8 MPG and the trans temp was at 206. What surprised me is that the trans temp didn't drop back down below 200 degrees the rest of the night (I made a couple more trips unloaded). I did manage to catch 2 lights on the trip with my truck where the trip with the '12 I had green lights.

So my thoughts. Other than I needed to increase the tire air pressure in the '15 which we didn't think about until after we took off. I think my Father said his tires were at 50 psi and mine were at 37. I could really feel the sidewalls moving around. The trucks them selves handled the trailer very well and I couldn't tell much difference. However the eco's torque definitely shined but didn't sound as good. The 5.0 didn't feel sluggish at but you could tell it was working (music to my ears) where the eco was like, "Whatever" and quietly did its job. I think it's pretty amazing that running down the flat stretch of highway at 60 MPH it was in 6th gear at 1400 RPMs.

All in all it was a fun night and a complete waste of gas.

 

Interesting comparison, thanks for posting your detailed thoughts. The EcoBoost engine pulls like an animal...no high revs or drama, just bears down and does what you ask.

The transmission temperature sounds quite normal to me. These transmissions have a thermostat that regulates their temperature, and it should hold around 195-200 if I remember right. You're not getting full flow to the coolers even at 200*, so it doesn't surprise me that it stayed right around there. No need to worry about transmission temps until they start rising above 230*.

 

Good to know about the trans temps and it being normal. I assumed it was ok since the gauge stayed within the normal zone of its sweep.

All in all I'm pretty stinking happy with my truck.

 

I'm just amazed by the 3.5 EB's ability to tow. And "Whatever" is a good description of its attitude. Granted it doesn't have a pretty sound, but I can overlook that for the ability it has. But, if you want a real comparison with any NA engine, do like I did and tow at altitude. The EB doesn't care, and the NA is gasping for air.