I was going to say, holy smokes, my 05 GMC gets 12 to 13 towing a 2 place with salt shield. I certainly thought the eco boost would get better than that.
Ford Ecoboost towing
- Thread starter scoobydoo
- Start date
I don't care what truck it is, stock, when you are pulling anything, you get crap mileage. If you are pulling into the wind, it's even worse.
My buddy has a 06 Dodge 3500 crew cab, 4x4, dually, Cummins, 4.10 gears. Heading to Tog last Friday into the wind, 4 place open, two sleds on it, 69 mph, 10 mpg. On the way home Thursday, wind behind us, 14 mpg.
My buddy has a 06 Dodge 3500 crew cab, 4x4, dually, Cummins, 4.10 gears. Heading to Tog last Friday into the wind, 4 place open, two sleds on it, 69 mph, 10 mpg. On the way home Thursday, wind behind us, 14 mpg.
Sounds like a Dodge thing or problem buddy. Buy a Ford or Chevy!! haha! Have a cold one for me tomorrow.
anonomoose
New member
While the turbo is nice, I am not sure you EVER recoop the cost to pay $900 extra for the turbo boost. Ford is throwing this engine in a bunch of their machines. When you compare the stock engine mileage to the eco...it is minimal at best. I suspect that Ford is pushing this motor so that it qualifies on the credits that go along with smaller displacement engines. But that's just my guess. I do believe that turbos will find their way into more and more of the market. Given the life of a turbo, cost to buy it and potential repair costs, I am not sold on them yet.
On a sled...whole different story...fun factor is well worth the costs.
On a sled...whole different story...fun factor is well worth the costs.
I think if you look at the history of turbo's you will find they are not a maintenance issue at all. You can find issues but like anything you see the bad but don't hear about the many
In this case you get so much usable power both low end and over its entire RPM range.
Just think most big rigs have turbo's and put hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Many farm tractors and heave equipment.
I think if it fits your need the turbo reliability is not an issue. JMHO
In this case you get so much usable power both low end and over its entire RPM range.
Just think most big rigs have turbo's and put hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Many farm tractors and heave equipment.
I think if it fits your need the turbo reliability is not an issue. JMHO
Not really a Dodge problem. My 2001 Ram 1500 gets 13-15mpg on open road, down to 9-10mpg pulling my 7x12, and last time I had a 30mph headwind, it got down to 7.1mpg. That was a pricey 6 hour trip home.
Like Skylar said, no matter what your pulling or what your pulling with, mileage is gonna suck.
Thanks for the info. With my two place inline, I am still considering the Ecoboost. I used to have a 2001 Duramax and miss the torque. One more question. When you are going up hill at 60 and need to pass, do you have the torque and power to do so comfortably, at least close to a diesel? I know it is not a diesel, and I should not expect equal, but when you stated earlier you felt it was about 90% as good towing, I wanted to clarify a bit. Thanks again. Maybe we could all try your truck out just to be sure it is right for us
I have not towed out west yet but any hill that I have encountered in the midwest or UP the truck pulled fine. Plenty of acceleration and ability to pass when climbing. I actually did pass one person on the hill south of Rockland last time I pulled the trailer. Like I said before, about 90% of my previous diesels.
The ecoboost engine tows well because the twin turbos pump up the low and mid-range torque. This engine makes a lot more torque at lower RPM's than the Ford and Chevy gas V8's, which is why it feels much more like a diesel when towing. All the horsepower in the world is not much help when it comes in at 5000 RPM's and you're towing at 2800. Higher torque at lower RPM is the key to towing power.
On the other hand, the key to higher MPG's when running unloaded is less cubes...it just takes more fuel to keep more cubes turning (for example at a stoplight). So the ecoboost V6 will out-MPG the V8's in a similar vehicle when running unloaded.
Bottom line, the more time you spend running empty, commuting, etc the more beneficial the ecoboost engine will be from a MPG perspective......the only towing benefit is the awesome torque (for a gas motor) but don't expect a MPG increase.
On the other hand, the key to higher MPG's when running unloaded is less cubes...it just takes more fuel to keep more cubes turning (for example at a stoplight). So the ecoboost V6 will out-MPG the V8's in a similar vehicle when running unloaded.
Bottom line, the more time you spend running empty, commuting, etc the more beneficial the ecoboost engine will be from a MPG perspective......the only towing benefit is the awesome torque (for a gas motor) but don't expect a MPG increase.
anonomoose
New member
I'm not a mechanic, or engineer, but I do understand the principles of a turbo and I like my turbo sled....that said, if you are trying to buy a turbo to get "better gas mileage" and spending an extra $900 to get that engine which is extra and over and above the 3.7 liter engine, I would question whether you could ever make that money back again over the life of the machine. (That's more than 200 gallons of fuel at todays prices) As others who have them have suggested the mileage hauling is not that good because the little 2 liter engine is working pretty hard. And as anyone who has a turbo sled will tell you, the more you hit the gas peddle the worse your mileage will be.
While turbo's have been around for quite awhile, they by nature get extremely hot (they glow red hot at times) and trying to get 150,000 miles out of a turbo may not happen even if they continue to cool after the key is shut off. Turbo's make the engine work much harder requiring some major beefing up of parts and those details along with cooling of the turbo may not prove to have the same life expectancy as a normally aspirated engine.
Once this gasoline turbo gets out there for a few years, we will know how it "holds up"...but until then I would be reluctant to be the test pilots unless you don't mind some healthy repair costs, or you trade it in while it is still young.
While turbo's have been around for quite awhile, they by nature get extremely hot (they glow red hot at times) and trying to get 150,000 miles out of a turbo may not happen even if they continue to cool after the key is shut off. Turbo's make the engine work much harder requiring some major beefing up of parts and those details along with cooling of the turbo may not prove to have the same life expectancy as a normally aspirated engine.
Once this gasoline turbo gets out there for a few years, we will know how it "holds up"...but until then I would be reluctant to be the test pilots unless you don't mind some healthy repair costs, or you trade it in while it is still young.
I would be very hesitant to purchase one until they were out for a few years & get a chance to work out the bugs. Friend is a service manager at a local ford dealer & says he has never seen so many tsb on any vehicle. He said they represent a very small percentage of total f150 sales. Said a lot of customer avoid them because they fear ford will end up dropping them & it would kill the resale value of the ones on the street. Much like the cars they sold with cvt's tranmissions a couple of years ago.
In comparison my 2010 Dodge ram crew cab hemi averages 16 around town. On the road anywhere from 15 to 22 depending on conditions & has more power than I could ever ask for.
In comparison my 2010 Dodge ram crew cab hemi averages 16 around town. On the road anywhere from 15 to 22 depending on conditions & has more power than I could ever ask for.
srt20
Active member
There is alot of million miles diesels out there with factory turbos yet. They spin over 150,000 rpms and push higher boost numbers than gas engines.. And thats just the ones people leave stock. Look at all the people dumping more fuel and adding boost to stock turbos. I wouldnt be worried about the turbos.
The internals of the ford engine.....I dont know anything about. So I dont have a clue if they will hold up.
The internals of the ford engine.....I dont know anything about. So I dont have a clue if they will hold up.
eagle1
Well-known member
Agree over long haul may not get money back, but so far ecoboost is holding higher resale value over 5.0
As far durability,they did there home work. Forged crank! Here's some details.
http://i.autoblog.com/2010/08/11/ford-f-150-engines-for-2011-announced-includes-ecoboost-v6/
As far durability,they did there home work. Forged crank! Here's some details.
http://i.autoblog.com/2010/08/11/ford-f-150-engines-for-2011-announced-includes-ecoboost-v6/
borderstaff
New member
My .02:
I researched both the 5.0 and ecoboost in the 2011 F150's a lot before deciding to buy the 5.0. I have 5000 miles on the truck now - a 2011 F150 SuperCrew 4x4 w/6.5 ft box and 3.55 rear gears. I drove the truck to West Yellowstone from the Twin Cities last week and, according to the trip computer, I averaged 11.3 MPG over 2600 miles. I was towing a 3 place alum w/2 sleds on the way out (14ft dual axle w/salt shields)~ so about 2200 lbs. Empty miles: hwy only I get about 19mpg @ 70mph and 14-15mpg with mixed driving. These are honest numbers...I know plenty of people fib on them and they may improve another MPG when the engine gets a little more broke in. The truck has plenty of power for my 3-place and I did have 3 sleds on the trailer from Fargo back to the Twin Cities and noticed no difference in pulling or mpg.
I would have liked to have the Ecoboost because if it holds together resale would be better BUT the motor was $900 more than the 5.0 and the 5.0 had a $2000 rebate when I bought it...so I calculated it out based on my driving and it would take 4 years to break even in fuel economy savings. This is of course assuming that resale of both motors is at the same price - if the ecoboost fetches more money then its not worth the savings. But, really, lets see how the motor stands up to 5-7 years of cold starts, stop and go abuse etc. Yeah, yeah, I know Ford abused the Ecoboost in testing but 200 cold starts winter and hot summers with short trips and thousands of heat/cooling cycles can't be reproduced in test settings.
And, if nothing else, the 5.0 sounds more like a truck. When I get on the throttle the motor sounds gooooood.
I researched both the 5.0 and ecoboost in the 2011 F150's a lot before deciding to buy the 5.0. I have 5000 miles on the truck now - a 2011 F150 SuperCrew 4x4 w/6.5 ft box and 3.55 rear gears. I drove the truck to West Yellowstone from the Twin Cities last week and, according to the trip computer, I averaged 11.3 MPG over 2600 miles. I was towing a 3 place alum w/2 sleds on the way out (14ft dual axle w/salt shields)~ so about 2200 lbs. Empty miles: hwy only I get about 19mpg @ 70mph and 14-15mpg with mixed driving. These are honest numbers...I know plenty of people fib on them and they may improve another MPG when the engine gets a little more broke in. The truck has plenty of power for my 3-place and I did have 3 sleds on the trailer from Fargo back to the Twin Cities and noticed no difference in pulling or mpg.
I would have liked to have the Ecoboost because if it holds together resale would be better BUT the motor was $900 more than the 5.0 and the 5.0 had a $2000 rebate when I bought it...so I calculated it out based on my driving and it would take 4 years to break even in fuel economy savings. This is of course assuming that resale of both motors is at the same price - if the ecoboost fetches more money then its not worth the savings. But, really, lets see how the motor stands up to 5-7 years of cold starts, stop and go abuse etc. Yeah, yeah, I know Ford abused the Ecoboost in testing but 200 cold starts winter and hot summers with short trips and thousands of heat/cooling cycles can't be reproduced in test settings.
And, if nothing else, the 5.0 sounds more like a truck. When I get on the throttle the motor sounds gooooood.
Last edited:
