My ecoboost drive experience
 

Good day all! Did I have a great drive or what?! I took tons of pics but this damned system won't let me upload them. So, here's my report.

In a group of words; Oh My God!!!!!!!!!!!

The truck has 17,XXX miles on the odo.

The subject was a 2011 F-150 King Ranch 4x4 157' WB. That's an Screw with a 6.5' box. She has the max tow package with 3.73's and 20" Scorpions. She has all the bells and whistles to include Nav, TBC, man step, moon roof, heated / cooled seats, blah, blah, blah.

My wife and I with the Ford rep left t he house at 20:20 and stopped by my daughter's high school as she was on lunch break. She and her friends checked it out and naturally it created a great deal of buzz on school grounds.

The we headed for the interstate. I got up on I-64 and before i knew it, I was doing over 90 mph. This damned thing pulls like nothing I've EVER driven. My wife even commented on that from the back seat! I drove about 13 miles and then turned the controls over to my loving bride for the ride home. She hammered it pretty hard while I was playing around int he HUGE back seat reading the F-150 brochure.

My bride was cheezin' from ear to ear, this will make getting my new truck much easier. :)

Ok, time for details.

The truck as it sits has a 1551 payload capacity and an 11,200 tow rating compliments of the ecoboost engine.

I asked about MPG's. From Detroit to Virginia travelling 70-80 mph, he said he was averaging 17-19 mpg. I didn't even look during my drive as it's irrelevant.

Ecoboost engine in a RCSB truck is uncertain but definitely possible.

26 gallon fuel tank is here to stay but no reason for that.

Future 4.10 axle availability? Unsure

Trim level availability will stand for now.

Fuel requirements: UNLEADED REGULAR FUEL. No need for premium fuel and I forgot to ask about E-85. Sorry guys.

Oil requirements: 5w-30 oil with a 10K mile change. The oil sump is 6 quarts NOT 8 quarts like we all thought.

This engine requires no more maintenance than a normal aspirated engine would. The warranty periods are all the same, no more and no less.

Future direct injection engines are coming, no details.

On the 2009 / 2010 models you had to buy a regular cab 4x2 truck to get the maximum tow rating of 11,300 lbs. This is no longer the case due largely to the new light weight steel and frame strengthening that occurred for the 2011 models. This truck as she sits carries an 11,200 tow rating.

The same transmission is used with all four engines. Adjustments have been made to the trans so it isn't as finicky as the 2010's.

The engine is very quiet while driving and with the hood open idling. It has a very distinct light ticking noise and the rep made it clear that the ticking is the injectors and NOT the valve train. Nature of the beast.

So at the end of the drive, the rep handed my wife three (3) F-150 ball caps and thanked me for an unusually inquisitive experience with well thought out questions and intelligent comments.

I told him I have people. :-drink

I hope this helps to some degree. I'm sold and very little else matters when you get behind the wheel of this well mannered beast.

I figured you might respond this way. :)

This engine will more than likely power my next F150. Even though I traded a perfectly good 2005 for my 2010 ( for the great incentives), I starting to question myself if I made a good decision and maybe should have waited for the 3.5. Thanks for the real world info. I always look forward to everyone's comments on their new F150 experiences.:-X22

Thanks for the great write up! I was thinking about the 26 gal tank and I'm taking a guess that it has to do with fuel economy. I think there is a set fuel level (like 1/2 tank) required when they do the EPA testing. That's a lot of extra weight to pull around.

I knew you'd love that Engine. It's a no brainer if you are thinking about a new F150.
The MPG's are going to be as good as they say and 17-19 MPG at 75 is B.S.

Did you ask them about the big hole up front?

The big hole will stay according to the rep. Why do you think that 17-19 at 70-80 mph is BS? Show me another 6500 lb truck that can beat those numbers. But the real success here is the new higher payload and towing numbers that the Screw has been assigned. Gone are the days when you had to get a reg cab XL 4x2 truck to have a real working vehicle.

Why? Because they don't drive that vehicle in that configuaration anywhere nears those speeds to get those ratings. 17-19 at 55 I'd believe.

I know someone who drives it 55-65 and they can't average that. Don't forget those same people just a few months ago were bragging about mid twenty MPG on the Freeway with the EB.

I didn't say there was another truck that could beat those numbers but 18 MPG at 75 is still BS.
They have something aftermarket to protect the IC so there already is a fix.

Thanks for the write up, Tim. Reps sent. Did you need to find a nice home for one of those hats, because I know of one. :-X10

Your wrong on all counts. I'm getting 20 out of my 2004 Expedition cruising 70-80 all day long. Why can't the EB get 17-19 in a 6500 lb configuration?

While 17 - 19 are not the numbers we were all reading about a few months ago when the EB test drives were just starting up. I still think those numbers are pretty dam good for what that truck is. I'm not sure what the curb weight of that 157" 4x4 is but it's not all that light, especially if it's loaded to the gills. Add to that I'm sure it's loaded up with winter fuel and was it cold out? These are all factors that will drag the mpg numbers down. Nothing we all don't know anyway. So, if this were summer, would those numbers be 19 - 21 or ?????

But, this truck has 17K and I'm sure they aren't easy/relaxed miles. It's offering us a real picture of what one of these will give us during the winter months. Heck, I'd jump for joy if my 07 gave me mpg like this. My lie-o-meter is showing 12.1 right now.

While, I'm one who really doesn't like the unsymetrical look of the offset front plate and the 26 gallon tank. I may reconsider a EB if I can come to terms with those 2 items and giving up plowing with the F150.

Thanks for the nice write up Tim.

Thanks for the nice comments guys. Just to be clear on MPG's. The rep made it clear to me that the same truck in a 4x2 version with 3.31 axle is achieving the mid 20's that we were told about. This is in fact a 25% increase over the same truck with a 5.4L.

There are 3-4 of these trucks touring the country and at least one of them is a 4x2 with the more economical ratio.

This whole thing ends this weekend as Ford wraps it up. We'll have to rely on new owners impressions for future information.

The truck is generating a ton of interest. After our drive, I took my bride out to dinner and drove past the local dealer where this fella was heading next. The truck was surrounded by people and was getting ready for more driving.

17K+ miles in about a 4 month time frame with hundreds of drivers is pretty harsh and the whole package felt brand new out of the box. :-X22

Great write-up Tim.;)

That line speaks volumes in my mind. The truck has been driven in many conditions by hundreds, if not thousands, of drivers and still feels brand new. Says a lot about the overall quality of the truck.

Thread cleaned. Let's keep it that way.;)

LOL.......SOmeone get a bit pizzy?


I think you'll be seeing more reports like this in the future. This is an astounding truck. I was privileged in seeing a mule with this combo on our dyno and the figures it made were unreal. Given what I've seen with my own eyes and and after seeing the torture test vids, Ford should be very proud of this truck and it should sell like crazy once more are on the street.:-partybud

After having a day to digest my fantastic drive, I will say a little more.

The 5.0L XLT truck that I drove wow'd me and I mean this thing is the bomb on all counts.

The 3.5L truck that I drove yesterday WOW'd me. The thought of a 3.5L engine pulling like that is astonishing to say the least. Of course, the King Ranch package made things pretty comfy too. :-X22

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that for the fella that doesn't tow or haul much. the 3.5L with the 3.31 axle is plenty of truck. Ford is building plenty of 6.7L superduties with the 3.31 axles and they seem to do fine.

Naturally everyone will want the 3.73's or the 4.10's and then complain like a sailor that this thing drinks gas. Well Duh! Ya think?!

All I can say is this: Be smart and get what you need. I will most likely NOT get the ecoboost truck as bad as I want one for the very same reason that I'm not getting a superduty. I don't need it and I have no one to compete with.