Ford F-150 EcoBoost review

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Pickup trucks are rollover prone. Made to carry a payload, so that is the trade-off. And geared to run the highway from 55-65/mph.

Over 60 is speeding when it comes to fuel efficiency and there is no realistic time savings on a trip of under 300-miles; if one is keep the vehicle 150k and establish habits to keep it new as long as possible then 60-62 works fine from all standpoints.

(I run my truck at 1,725-rpm @ 58-mph solo or towing, for example, this is how the CPM figures in my sig were deduced.)

The order for comparisons in re MPG, is:

1] Vehicle spec
2] Climate
3] Terrain
4] Driver skill

If one can sort these, then MPG comparisons might be made. Travel speeds in excess of 65-mph are just thrown out as meaningless.

.

Sorry I have to disagree with #4)Driver skill, it should be Driving style.

Example: Nascar Spint Cup drivers are highly skilled but don't normally get as high as 5 MPG in a car while working.

[iowaroots]

I wonder if the computer with the variety of settings of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15& 30 minutes to reset has anything to do with the different readings. Of course the rear axle, load, 4x4 and size of truck matters but my Ford Dealer told me that the only way and best way to identify mileage is by writing down the miles, record it at fill up and divide the gallons into the miles on refill. Old school? Yes! Most accurate. Yes. Do this for about 3 fill ups and you will know exactly what the mileage is.

[Ramble On]

Originally Posted by Gene

Thanks for the explanation mojo. Still seems like a big difference between versions. Glad to hear there are no reported valve problems anywhere. I think someone wrote a while ago the advertised mileage is for the most basic, stripped down version.

Ramble, I get the best gas mileage (aside from leaving it at home) at 45 with a Tundra, but other than driving winding and hilly roads, I can't drive that slowly. Those are pretty impressive mileage numbers for highway driving with all the options. What also intrigues me is the big difference between towing and not towing. Towing mileage is a little over 50% of not towing, but with our truck it is 65-70%.

Gene

I get the best mpg driving at 55-60 mph. The speed limit is 60 mph on my daily commute. I think 12-13 mpg is acceptable for a gas engine towing 7300 lbs. What does the Tundra get towing, and how much are you towing?

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by graysailor

Lots of reviewing going on about the Eco Boost. I guess the jury is still out. Some are getting outstanding fuel milage and others are not. Still undecided myself. I just would hate to have to get a big diesel for everyday use.

Ahhhh, perhaps you should try it first... to each his/her own ... our diesel truck interior rivals that of our Corvette! There is a premium cost for fuel & lower city fuel economy, however (until warranty expires and it is re-piped). Where we live, the "big" (marginally larger/heavier than 1/2 ton) diesel makes good sense even as a daily driver.

Towing, we calculate better fuel economy than RambleOn and we really appreciate the tow/haul mode, torque, and compression braking when it comes to mountain passes ... which are negotiated driving any direction from where we live. We pulled with gas Fords for nearly 40 years and wouldn't go back at this point - fuel economy is only one consideration. We looked seriously at the EcoB, but then decided on another option. Locals around here are not getting EcoBoost fuel consumption figures any where close to those advertised or spouted on the internet... perhaps it is the altitude. YMMV

[Gene]

Ramble, we have towed a 25' FB (maximum wt. 7,300 lbs, but I don't think we load it that much) around 45,000 miles with the Tundra. Mileage ranges from 9.5 to 14—This reflects a variety of altitudes, wind, and speed. A 40 mph tailwind on a flat interstate is the best of all worlds, even at 65. The usual numbers are 10.5 to 12. This is slightly less than the reported numbers for the EB. We, like mefly2's diesel, have tow haul mode, lots of torque and engine breaking going downhill (but not exhaust braking which is maybe what he means).

The EB's mileage advantage appears to be without towing, though as has been noted, it varies a lot. Since most people use pickups like cars, this makes some sense. I don't know if the EB has the torque the 5+ liter gas engines with higher rear axle ratios have.

To gain the small towing advantage and the apparently small non-towing advantage with comparable trucks by buying a new truck is a money losing choice. By comparable I mean a Tundra with either the double or crew cab and 5.7 L. engine, 4 wd and tow package. I do not mean the regular cab with a small engine and 2 wd. Same for the EB which comes in a wide variety of versions.

Whether it is a car or truck, buying a new one for gas mileage alone, even with very significant differences, does not pay off until you are done* with the gas hog. Of all the expenses of motor vehicle ownership (maintenance and depreciation for this comparison), gas expenses are not too significant unless you drive scores and scores of thousands of miles a year.

Turbo and direct injection are one way to go and Ford has chosen that. More transmission gears are being worked on by Ford and GM (and others). Toyota has long had a dealer installed supercharger that can be installed on the smaller V8 and may get mileage like the EB, but Toyota doesn't promote this add on and it costs a lot. They don't seem to want to go this way. I don't follow the Tundra websites generally, but when I look around, it seems there's a lot of speculation that has been wrong in the past.

Every truck, at least those of less than 8,000 lbs., has to make significant improvements in mileage pretty fast. I hope Ford succeeds and everyone else does too. Trying different things is how you find out the best one or ones.

Gene

*Done doesn't mean: "I wanna a new truck now! I can't wait until this one has some miles on it".

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Wazbro

Sorry I have to disagree with #4)Driver skill, it should be Driving style.

Example: Nascar Spint Cup drivers are highly skilled but don't normally get as high as 5 MPG in a car while working.

Skill really is the operative word when we speak of a given use of a vehicle, solo or combined. There are those who can do the exact same work with the exact same vehicle, but using less fuel. Same relative speed. This is from studies by big truck and engine manufacturers. The skill spread is a one-third lower amount of fuel burn from the worst professional driver to the best. Skill acquisition benefits any driver, new or old.

More on FE from this post I made a few days ago, and I've made others on the same subject. Having real-time feedback with a simple device and keeping a fuel log are big aids. Slowing down is the first step, the beginner step.

And, to get closer to the subject of EcoBoost fuel economy, the only real number is the average mpg (after one has sorted through the categories above). As it is difficult (how many keep records of all gallons over all miles? Almost none), sticking with EPA numbers is still the best gauge of comparison (as the SAE testing is the same).

Take the EPA highway number and deduct 30-40% for flatland Interstate at speeds of 60-mph for towing.

No matter the vehicle, this is a reliable rule-of-thumb. And has been since the RV magazines started reviewing rigs about 50-years ago.

.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by slowmover

[I]
Take the EPA highway number and deduct 30-40% for flatland Interstate at speeds of 60-mph for towing.

No matter the vehicle, this is a reliable rule-of-thumb. And has been since the RV magazines started reviewing rigs about 50-years ago.

.

And that is exactly the range for our Tundra. It is the EB that has a much higher deduction (maybe close to 50%) and that may have consequences—perhaps excessive engine wear. Time will tell. Anybody to 100,000 miles with an EB?

Gene

[Ramble On]

I re-checked my gas mileage this morning on my way to work. Short commute of about 15 miles highway. I reset my fuel economy estimator when I got on the highway and I checked my results when I came to first stop light after exiting the highway. 27.9 mpg at 55mph. I looked at a topo map and start elevation is about 541' and end elevation is 550', essentially flat. Light winds.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Ramble On

I re-checked my gas mileage this morning on my way to work. Short commute of about 15 miles highway. I reset my fuel economy estimator when I got on the highway and I checked my results when I came to first stop light after exiting the highway. 27.9 mpg at 55mph. I looked at a topo map and start elevation is about 541' and end elevation is 550', essentially flat. Light winds.

The gauge referred to is generally "off" by a percentage factor. At that speed mine would be reading high by about 3/4-gl. That is the same mileage my 8,000-lb truck does at that speed, so my "actual" would be right at 27.

This gauge type IS quite an aid -- once one knows the correction -- in seeing the effects of different speeds, different gears, changing winds, etc. Quite useful, in fact, for spot checking.

And it's an eye-opener to see how fast MPG drops when one is just sitting/idling. Takes many miles to achieve the highest MPG, and then all is lost in 15-20/minutes of idling over the course of a day.

As Average MPH also drops one is more aware of the relation between the two averages, of speed and fuel consumption (use Engine Hour function which may be connected to Odometer operation).

Still, it really blows me away that a big ol' pickemup can get the kind of mileage we all once associated with crackerbox Japanese cars.

.

[GinMame]

Originally Posted by Gene

Ramble, we have towed a 25' FB (maximum wt. 7,300 lbs, but I don't think we load it that much) around 45,000 miles with the Tundra.

Gene,
Just out of curiosity, what does your tongue weight usually come in at? It seems to me that is perhaps a bigger question for most of the people considering a F150EB / Tundra / Chevy / Dodge, etc. 1/2 ton trucks, rather than can the EcoBoost pull the weight, as overloading the truck's rear axle is a recipe for disaster. I've read in the forums where one user went out and purchased a F150EB with the max tow package only to take his 25FB loaded to the scales to find out that he was over the truck's limits. Yet other users seem to do just fine. I know from reading your other posts in the forums that you are a big believer in not exceeding the manufacturers specs. So I was just curious as to where your 25FB and Tundra came in at and how much safety margin do you leave yourself and reserve cargo capacity do you have left?
Cheers,
Rion

[aireseneca]

Originally Posted by JFScheck

The good thing about these discussions is hopefully others are recognizing the fact that one just should not hook up a trailer and take off down the road blindly, but that there is more to the equation for “safe towing practices” to include hitch weights, the impact of said weight upon the tow vehicle’s overall capacity, wheel base, engines, cooling….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMrYUloMcA

An illustration to your point....

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by GinMame

Gene,
Just out of curiosity, what does your tongue weight usually come in at? It seems to me that is perhaps a bigger question for most of the people considering a F150EB / Tundra / Chevy / Dodge, etc. 1/2 ton trucks, rather than can the EcoBoost pull the weight, as overloading the truck's rear axle is a recipe for disaster. I've read in the forums where one user went out and purchased a F150EB with the max tow package only to take his 25FB loaded to the scales to find out that he was over the truck's limits. Yet other users seem to do just fine. I know from reading your other posts in the forums that you are a big believer in not exceeding the manufacturers specs. So I was just curious as to where your 25FB and Tundra came in at and how much safety margin do you leave yourself and reserve cargo capacity do you have left?
Cheers,
Rion

Rion, if you can find a link to the referenced post it would be helpful to review. The tongue weight of the FC 25 FB is 837 and the 25 SS is 835, I towed a 25 SS with my EB and was never close to overloaded. I tow a 28 and still not overloaded. The 28 is has a Tongue weight of 976 mine Sherline scale tell me mine is at 840 with a Hensley in place. I keep my tanks M/T most of the time. I have not made it to a Cat Scale, I think that I need to do check out the trailer at a Cat Scale to be sure I am not living in a dream world.

Jim

[Gene]

Rion,

I've never weighed the tongue. To figure out what we could do with this setup, I used a bunch of guesses and weighed many items on a bathroom scale when we bought the trailer.

I took whatever Airstream said was the tongue weight, added for spare tire and propane and then some more because Airstream underreports some times. I figured out just about how much we would take in the trailer, weighing clothes, food, etc., and then adding several hundred pounds to see we would come up pretty far below gross wt. for the trailer. A history of backpacking helps you think light when traveling.

I figured the payload by taking the Toyota numbers, subtracting options (tonneau, running boards), our weight and weights of stuff we take and tongue wt. adjusted for wt. distributing hitch. We came very close to payload.

Everything looked fine. This was more than 5 years ago, so I can't remember all the figuring, but I was satisfied. There are no scales within 50 or more miles of where we live (I looked—the last one closed years ago), and by the time we are on the road, I want to get somewhere and not look for a scale. So I've relied on the estimates, guesses, and things weighed. My experience with 6 Toyotas is they are overbuilt, so being right up against payload doesn't bother me. If you get within payload and use a weight distributing hitch properly, you should be fine on the axles.

I know many say you have to go to a scale, but there's plenty of information available (some by weighing what you take) and you can figure it without leaving your house. Put as much weight as possible between the truck axles and balance from right to left in both vehicles.

Gene

[Jim Clark]

Gene is right on the money, I also have a hard time getting to scales. I have a Sherline Scale (Load Cell) which helps to get an idea of what is going on. I also tow a boat long distance using a different hitch so the Sherline was a good investment for me. The bathroom scale method works fine and you can pick up scales at garage sales cheap if you don't want to you your home scale.

Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scales

[slowmover]

The CAT Scale Locator allows one to find certified, three-segment scales clear across the continent.

1,450 of them. If you've ever travelled the Interstate you've passed a half-dozen per day.

It just doesn't take that long to get a set of weights, or to do a few adjustments.

Verification is the name of the game.

There appear to be Rv'ers who'd rather buy a far more expensive to buy and expensive to operate TV than whom would take the time to set up a better-suited TV. That 90% of rigs are incorrectly-hitched is inexcusable. It includes everyone who hasn't done the verification.

Braking, steering, fuel economy, vehicle longevity, tire & brake life, etc, all depend on those last little bits of adjustment. (Pays cash money, IOW).

.

[Gene]

Lots of scales, but I trust my calculations.

Gene

[slowmover]

It's what most say -- in so many words. I still find it hard to believe (as the difference when it matters is what is at stake).

You all ever come this way and I'll do it for you.

.

[JFScheck]

Originally Posted by GinMame

I've read in the forums where one user went out and purchased a F150EB with the max tow package only to take his 25FB loaded to the scales to find out that he was over the truck's capacity.

Hey, F-150 and 1500 owners - open the door jam and read your max payload capacity. On my F-150 EcoBoost it was 1209lbs. So much for Fords tow guide and it's use. Expensive lesson.

That being said, if you can live with the max capacity, the 2013 F-150 Crew Cab with the new Sony Synch Nav/Stereo, ride, handling, seats and that wonderful EcoBoost engine are great!

Yea - expensive lesson indeed, and that's all I'm gonna say....

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by JFScheck

Hey, F-150 and 1500 owners - open the door jam and read your max payload capacity. On my F-150 EcoBoost it was 1209lbs. So much for Fords tow guide and it's use. Expensive lesson.

That being said, if you can live with the max capacity, the 2013 F-150 Crew Cab with the new Sony Synch Nav/Stereo, ride, handling, seats and that wonderful EcoBoost engine are great!

Yea - expensive lesson indeed, and that's all I'm gonna say....

Ohh? What is the FAWR and the RAWR? That's what is worth paying attention to if there is room past "payload". And the way things were done on cars pulling these trailers back a few decades (and today, with smartest hitch rigging). Hit the scales and spread out that TW.

.

[JFScheck]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

The 28 is has a Tongue weight of 976 mine Sherline scale tell me mine is at 840 with a Hensley in place.

So - let's be gratuitous and say your max payload is 1330lbs...

Subtract 840 for tongue
490 pounds
Subtract 200 for topper
290 pounds
One driver with clothes on 210 pounds
80 pounds till max
And one passenger with clothes 130 pounds
BOOM - 50 pounds over max capacity....

Your Max capacity can be found on drivers side door jam - bet ya it's more like 1209lbs...

And that's assuming you have both axels used under their max capacity and you are not exceeding you OEM rims or tires...