F150 3.5l w\EcoBoost, MaxTow package

WyoTraveler wrote:
My 2008 F250 V10 has about 360 HP & 457 FT LB of torque. Towing a 4500 lb TT I got about 9 mpg. Of course torque developed at higher RPM. Even with about same HP & a little more torque I don't go zipping over mountain grades. I think the new F150 is designed more for east coast flat lands where it probably does very well. Doubt it pulls mountain grades with power to spare. BTW my F250 has a 4.10 rear axle. Towing more than 4500 lbs with the new F150 would be very slow plus actually dangerous on the down grade with a lot less braking power unless Ford has upgraded the braking system which I doubt. After towing and driving in the mountains around WY my safe choice of towing over 4500 lbs would have to be a F350 with a diesel since the V10 with a 4.3 axle is not available. JMHO

My 2013 Eco with maxtow and HD payload pulls my 8,000# trailer with ease on any grade I have encountered here in the west up to 10,000 MSL. I have yet to meet a slope at any altitude that I could not pull at 55 MPH (except those that are limited by windy roads).

As far as the brakes, my Eco has virtually the same size rotors and calipers as the current F250. Braking has never been a problem.

The mileage, yeah it sucks when towing.

WyoTraveler wrote:

...
My 2008 F250 V10 has about 360 HP & 457 FT LB of torque. Towing a 4500 lb TT I got about 9 mpg. Of course torque developed at higher RPM. Even with about same HP & a little more torque I don't go zipping over mountain grades. I think the new F150 is designed more for east coast flat lands where it probably does very well. Doubt it pulls mountain grades with power to spare.
...

You forget that the EcoB line of engines are all turbos. So they don't loose power at higher elevations like naturally aspirated engines do.

As a result, the 3.5L EcoB would have more power than the V10 at higher elevations. There's a formula for % power loss with elevation for naturally aspirated engines that is floating around here somewhere.

We LOVE ours! We just finished a 6,000 mile southwest trip with it, over a 40 day period. Several times we pulled the well known difficult passes in the Rockies.

Granted, our trailer is fairly light, but there was not a single time that I felt I was even tapping into the power. Climbing 8% plus grades at less than 2500rpm is quite pleasant. :)

There is nothing that I want that this truck doesn't offer me.

BTW, I averaged 11.5mpg over that 6k miles (12mpg for the last 1,000). My average for my work commute is 19.1mpg over the last 5k miles. Impressive numbers for the power available.

I loved my '11 EcoBoost too. Great power from that little V6.

I ended up trading it in on my current rig because of the minimal payload (only had 1,400 lbs), and soft suspension when towing. Both of these could have been fixed had I known before hand what I was buying. That was before I knew anything about payload, LT tires, etc. It sure drove nice unloaded though, unlike my F350!

Fuel economy with day to day driving was in the 17-18 mpg range. Towing maybe 7-9. My diesel on the other hand gets 17-18 day to day and 12-13 towing!

mrkoje wrote:
I've heard a lot of people saying the fuel mileage wasn't what they expected or hoped it would be. With that being said - the 3.5L ecoboost looks to have about 360HP and 420lbft torque. Cool thing is the max torque available around 2500rpm which is a big deal when towing. I'm still not a fan of Ford powertrain though mostly because of the 6.0 and 6.4 but even the death tick in the 5.4l - not a good reputation over the last decade or so.

My 2008 F250 V10 has about 360 HP & 457 FT LB of torque. Towing a 4500 lb TT I got about 9 mpg. Of course torque developed at higher RPM. Even with about same HP & a little more torque I don't go zipping over mountain grades. I think the new F150 is designed more for east coast flat lands where it probably does very well. Doubt it pulls mountain grades with power to spare. BTW my F250 has a 4.10 rear axle. Towing more than 4500 lbs with the new F150 would be very slow plus actually dangerous on the down grade with a lot less braking power unless Ford has upgraded the braking system which I doubt. After towing and driving in the mountains around WY my safe choice of towing over 4500 lbs would have to be a F350 with a diesel since the V10 with a 4.3 axle is not available. JMHO

I'm coming up to 4 years of owning mine and still love it.

Pay attention to the payload number when shopping. Payload can be anywhere from 1100 lbs to over 2000lbs and even more for an HD. Generally speaking the more options the less payload.

AlmostAnOldGuy wrote:


As for towing power the EcoBoost has been great. I have never felt under powered. In fact I feel I have power in reserve.

Whether running empty or towing I have come to really like the engine running at 2k rpm or lower. Makes for a more quiet and relaxed drive. The torque is very good and it has never had to search for the right gear.

Here is a run down on the kind of milage I see.
Running empty at 65 is around 19.5.
Towing at 60 is around 9.5.
In town short commute with a lot of stop lights (always out of sync) is 13.5.
Around town where I get to roll a bit between stops and traffic is lighter is 15-17.

Good luck,
Stu

I couldn't have said it better. I love mine as well. Coming from a 5.3 L Chevy, the pulling power increase is HUGE. I will also add that fuel economy is highly dependent upon the right foot (no surprise). Cruising at 55 in gentle terrain will get 21-22 mpg, while cruising at 75 will get 17-18.

Love mine, but I'm only towing a #5000, 22' TT... It's well under all of it's weight ratings and tows this trailer a lot easier than the 97 F150 with the 5.4 did and I thought it towed the same TT great! :)

The MaxTow gets you some additional GVWR (#7700) and the #1150 TW class 4 hitch (with WD) among other things like tow mirrors and 3.73 rear gears.

I'm getting better mpg all around with the Eco compared to the 5.4 and the power of the Eco is so much more than the 5.4, it's not even close...

Good luck!

Mitch

Hi,

Ford is winding down production of the 2014 Ford F-150's and is still making them at the Kansas City Plant in Missouri. . Chances of ordering another one might be slim. Yet the 2015 trucks with Aluminum body will be 700 pounds lighter weight, and able to carry even more weight!

Production of the 2015 F-150 is starting at the other F-150 plant, as soon as they can get it ready to start production! Then production at the Kansas City plant will stop for about 6 weeks, to get all that tooling installed, and Ford will be working overtime to produce as many as possible!

Somehow I think that Ford will break records in 2015 F-150 sales! That is if they can produce that many of them!

Fred.

I've heard a lot of people saying the fuel mileage wasn't what they expected or hoped it would be. With that being said - the 3.5L ecoboost looks to have about 360HP and 420lbft torque. Cool thing is the max torque available around 2500rpm which is a big deal when towing. I'm still not a fan of Ford powertrain though mostly because of the 6.0 and 6.4 but even the death tick in the 5.4l - not a good reputation over the last decade or so.