2015 Ford V-6 Ecoboost vs V8

[mfoster711]

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/

Am I reading this correct? It appears the 2015 Ford F-150 with a 3.5L ecoboost engine has more towing capacity that the same vehicle with a V-8 engine.

Looking at a 2015 SuperCrew with 3.5L it has a GCWR of 16100 where as the same vehicle with a V-8 has only a 14200 GCWR. Why is that?

I am planning to buy a F-150 soon to replace my 2007 F-250 and I need to make sure it can still handle my camper. I have an Outback Terrain 250TRS that has 5483lbs empty weight and 2017lbs Carrying Capacity. Roughly 7500lbs total weight if fully loaded.

[Samsonsworld]

Texas is a BIG state.

[IdaD]

http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_elevation_mean.htm

Texas is ranked 18th by average elevation, so there's some vertical in the state. It's the guys back east who are sliding by easy with all that flat terrain.

[Fordlover]

milo wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

Samsonsworld wrote:
You mean no trouble? I tow over 9k and have no trouble maintaining 65mph up hill and bucking winds.

They have hills in Texas? Come on out to Oregon. I think my driveway is steeper than the hills in Texas. 🙂

Hills ... what stinking hills in Texas & Oregon.... DW & I pull our little 5er up, over & around a few little hills out here in the Rockies of Southern Colorado with our little Ecoboost and it doesn't flinch a bit.

May not be the Tetons or the Rockies, but I spent a week hiking/camping the Davis Mountains, and at >8,000ft above sea level I respect them. You can look down on the mile high city from up there :B

[brulaz]

Groover wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:
Get the new F-150 with the EB 3.5, heavy payload and max towing package and you will be surprised at just how capable some of these newer properly equipped "1/2 ton" trucks are. Of course they cost as much as a 3/4 truck designed to do the same job and way more stable doing it.

I have been told that I cannot get one until February. I own a 2013 Eco-boost without max payload package and will vouch for how well it pulls but I find it a bit soft for trailer pulling. I plan to get one with max payload package as soon as it is available. Max payload requires that you order a 6.5' bed on the crew cab. That is not available yet either and I want both so I wait. Now that Ford has contracted Tower Industries to make frames these options should get moving.

Well, the soft suspension and P rated tires can be upgraded. Many have done it, including myself. And it really can turn a grocery-getter into a tow-truck. But that doesn't fix the low rear GAWR (I'm a couple of percentage points over).

So the HD Payload option is cheaper and a better solution overall. Too bad it's not yet available with the new F150s.

[Groover]

fla-gypsy wrote:
Get the new F-150 with the EB 3.5, heavy payload and max towing package and you will be surprised at just how capable some of these newer properly equipped "1/2 ton" trucks are. Of course they cost as much as a 3/4 truck designed to do the same job and way more stable doing it.

I have been told that I cannot get one until February. I own a 2013 Eco-boost without max payload package and will vouch for how well it pulls but I find it a bit soft for trailer pulling. I plan to get one with max payload package as soon as it is available. Max payload requires that you order a 6.5' bed on the crew cab. That is not available yet either and I want both so I wait. Now that Ford has contracted Tower Industries to make frames these options should get moving.

[tragusa3]

alexleblanc wrote:
I pulled a 7K/30ft TT for three summers with my 2011 F150 Ecoboost Max Tow and it performed flawlessly - it was too lightweight for my new trailer though.
I will say that the EB pulled my new TT nearly as effortlessly as my 6.7 Diesel does although at about 1/2 the fuel economy. If the EB was available in the F250 as an optional engine I'd opt for that over the diesel simply for reduced maintenance costs and similar performance at a much lower cost of entry.

I'm 100% sold on the Ecoboost 3.5 as a proper light duty towing engine.

That's incredible testimony. I hope I can find it and re-read when I get the bug for a diesel.

[blt2ski]

Samsonsworld wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

Samsonsworld wrote:
You mean no trouble? I tow over 9k and have no trouble maintaining 65mph up hill and bucking winds.

They have hills in Texas? Come on out to Oregon. I think my driveway is steeper than the hills in Texas. 🙂

:h

One will not back nor go forward up a grade like this per the J2087 specs. I had a clients driveway that was 33%. Needed to get a bobcat up and down it. Unloaded bobcat and drove it to the part I was working on. My truck at the time loaded to its 12K gvwr would not go up the hill. Too steep for the gearing it had. BUT< the truck would pull the 12K trailer and truck up a 3% grade at 50 or so. Meanwhile. my 3000 lbs rated lower rig, WOULD pull the trailer up the 33% hill, only go about 40 up a freeway grade. So which rig should be the higher rated truck? The one that gets you to job site faster, but a block away? or the one that is a bit slower, but literally gets you to the job site, or camping site? I'll take truck #2 thank you very much!

My dads driveway appears on par with that one, just a bit shorter. Sister lives on an 18% grade road.......

marty

[alexleblanc]

I pulled a 7K/30ft TT for three summers with my 2011 F150 Ecoboost Max Tow and it performed flawlessly - it was too lightweight for my new trailer though.
I will say that the EB pulled my new TT nearly as effortlessly as my 6.7 Diesel does although at about 1/2 the fuel economy. If the EB was available in the F250 as an optional engine I'd opt for that over the diesel simply for reduced maintenance costs and similar performance at a much lower cost of entry.

I'm 100% sold on the Ecoboost 3.5 as a proper light duty towing engine.

[waltah]

owned a 2011 5.0, sold it for my EB. 5.0 was a huge mistake towing heavy (at its limit). Towed a 6300lb TT with it and it was brutal.

[Grit_dog]

FishOnOne wrote:
There's a group of guys at FTE that have a get together to pull a 15k lb trailer up a very steep hill somewhere in Ohio and video the event. The EcoBoost truck actually performed better than a 6.2 V8 and a V10.

I believe that. I think my '11 5.0 out pulled the 13&15 6.2 F250s I've had.

[milo]

goducks10 wrote:

Samsonsworld wrote:
You mean no trouble? I tow over 9k and have no trouble maintaining 65mph up hill and bucking winds.

They have hills in Texas? Come on out to Oregon. I think my driveway is steeper than the hills in Texas. 🙂

Hills ... what stinking hills in Texas & Oregon.... DW & I pull our little 5er up, over & around a few little hills out here in the Rockies of Southern Colorado with our little Ecoboost and it doesn't flinch a bit.

[CantCampEnuf]

tragusa3 wrote:
OP, I tow almost the exact weight you do. Loaded with a family of 4, it uses a fraction of its power to tow. I'm on a six hundred mile trip right now and am averaging 11.1 on this trip. Of course I keep it at 58mph on the highway. I'm in flat country right now, and with cruise set, I'm at 1600rpm at that speed.... Feels like it is idling. My wife commented yesterday that as a passenger, she notices no difference with trailer and without. I wouldn't go that far, but it is close!

Anyone that doubts the EB really needs to find an opportunity to try it.

I have had a similar experience in our F150 ECO. Pulling >9k, mpg is great (up to 11.5, 8.9 into 30mph headwind) power is substantial, and like yours, my wife says she feels no difference. She even wants to try driving it (not sure I am ready to give that up yet!) Seriously, she drove our 32 ft class c no problem, might be a nice break! I dont think you really can understand, until you tow with the new 150. Awesome!

[ugh]

Samsonsworld wrote:

Lance72 wrote:
In defense of Texas being flat. 90% of the state is flat with some long gradual hills here and there.

I kindly disagree. If you've spent time around Austin and San Antonio, there is nothing flat about the Texas hill country. While there aren't a lot of long steep grades (there is a long 7% grade on I-10 I've been up many times), there are a million smaller steep grades.

X2 I live in Austin area. Just mere minutes to west of Austin, we are in hill country and it is no mountain, but plenty of hills for trucks to work hard.

[carringb]

I think with the upcoming power increases with the 3.5L, we'll be looking back and laughing at how badly "detuned" the current 3.5L is, just like we all do with the 5.9L Cummins 🙂

[rhagfo]

I think if I were buying an F150 without question I would get the EcoBoost. There is no comparison between a normally exasperated engine and a forced induction.
I believe some one posted that the 3.5 EcoBoost, was at least the equivalent of a 7.0L NA engine, likely even more as you go to higher altitudes.

The biggest question with the EcoBoost when it was first introduced was longevity, I have not heard any thing of EcoBoost all dropping dead at 150,000 miles, and I am sure there are many out there now with that many miles.
I would love to see the B10 and B50 numbers on the EcoBoost, they may surprise the naysayers, (myself to a degree on longevity).