2017 F150 EcoBoost vs 2016 Ram EcoDiesel Towing MPG Review

[FishOnOne]

Here's the TFLT test review.

Link

[2112]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
Add the fact that Ford recommends 91 octane fuel when towing ... Don

Recommended for peak performance. I tried premium a few times while towing and found no advantage. I've been using nothing but 87 for over five years now.

[Bionic_Man]

According to fuelly, the 3.5 averages about 16 MPG. The 2.7 comes in at 18.


The Hemi comes in at about 15 MPG. And the EcoDiesel comes in close to 23.

Pretty clear who is still the fuel economy leader.

[Fisherman]

If I were purchasing a new 1/2 ton truck today it would no doubt be a gas truck since the performance is so much better over the diesel and getting over 20mpg is very respectful.

If you want maximum fuel economy in a gas truck get a F150 2.7 EB.

Hahahaha, and you'll get to meet every gas station owner as soon as you tow more than a bag of groceries.

[FishOnOne]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
🙂 Hi, yes Ford recommends premium fuel for loaded or towing, but it's not required. My truck went cross country, over 13,000 miles while towing my 6,000 lb. trailer and never once had premium in the tank. Do the test again with regular in the tank and show us if it's better or worse. Will it beat the Dodge Ecodiesel? No; We already knew that. Will this video convince me to buy a Dodge or Ford 1500/150 Diesel. Hell no!

If I were purchasing a new 1/2 ton truck today it would no doubt be a gas truck since the performance is so much better over the diesel and getting over 20mpg is very respectful.

If you want maximum fuel economy in a gas truck get a F150 2.7 EB.

[hone_eagle]

The next thing they need is "hill knowledge" like some big rigs ,a GPS database with hill length and height and distance built into the transmission.That will stop unnecessary shifting and anticipate down shifts.
very neat ,like a driver would do using his eyes.

[4x4ord]

One thing I often dislike about reviews is that they place the truck in drive and let it do its thing rather then get to know the truck and it's capabilities and report on that. So in the case of a long downhill descent a truck that will drop three or four gears right away without any driver input and hold the grade at a constant 55 mph will likely score high. Unfortunately that truck will behave the same way on all the short little coulies as well. I think I would prefer having my truck requiring a touch of the downshift paddle to get it to fully hold back on the long descent that way on the little hills I can easily let it gain a few mph on the downhill to help carry it back up the uphill.

[brulaz]

Although they haven't posted the review yet, in a preview TFLT says they were disappointed in the 10 spd on the downhill, holding the trailer back. http://www.tfltruck.com/2017/01/2017-silverado-6-2l-or-new-f-150-3-5l-twin-turbo-with-10-speed-trann...

Not sure what they mean by that. The 3.5L Ecoboost doesn't have much engine braking, which is an issue, but I was hoping the 10 spd would at least allow you to find a better gear for descents.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, yes Ford recommends premium fuel for loaded or towing, but it's not required. My truck went cross country, over 13,000 miles while towing my 6,000 lb. trailer and never once had premium in the tank. Do the test again with regular in the tank and show us if it's better or worse. Will it beat the Dodge Ecodiesel? No; We already knew that. Will this video convince me to buy a Dodge or Ford 1500/150 Diesel. Hell no!

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

As for the GM 8 speed you might want to read this TNuzs
The GM Shake

Granted so far it is only a small percentage of trucks but this is what is truly unsettling (note GM replaced his 2014 with a 2016) "After some discussion (with the dealer), the tech said he would call GM and see what they want to do," Seewald said. "They did not write a repair order on the vibration so I requested documentation. Two weeks later I'm still waiting ... no call and no repair order." .

This was the very same thing a Ford dealer was doing to me. They tried to say "we are using the old repair order until we get it fixed". In fact the dealer had closed the old order out and was just not writing any repair orders at all. Thank God the SM assistant called me and told me to make sure anytime the truck comes in they write a new order and get a copy before picking up the truck! The truck turned out to have been wrecked when it was being delivered during a dealer trade.

Some dealers do this to get around most states lemon laws (number of times in the shop clause). They are banking on getting it fixed under the 30 mark. Do the manufactures encourage this, they might.

Don

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

The issue Ford and GM will have with their 9 and 10 speeds will be holding the vehicle in those last two gears. Just like FCA is having with the 9 speeds. Customers do not like having their vehicles shifting in and out of gears.

That would be why Ford (haven't seen any reviews on the GM twin) has softened up the shift to where you can no longer feel them. They even commented on the fact that "you can't even feel it shift". A soft shift can only be done by slipping into the next gear. OK for lower HP and TQ vehicles not so much for higher HP TQ vehicles.

ZF has no plans to build a ten speed transmission.

MOTEGI, Japan -- Stefan Sommer, CEO of German supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG, says his company won't follow rivals in pushing for 10-speed transmissions.

Automakers have been adding gears to their automatic transmissions in a bid to boost fuel economy. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors have unveiled plans to jointly develop 10-speed transmissions for use in cars, crossovers, pickups and SUVs. Volkswagen AG also has confirmed a move to 10 gears.

But Sommer said ZF's offerings will top off at nine speeds. The head of the company, one of the world's leading transmission suppliers, spoke this month at a Japanese racing event here, just north of Tokyo.

Fuel efficiency, he said, is derived from the range of gear ratios covered, not simply by the number of gears. ZF's range is wide enough now that incremental gains are difficult.

"We came to a limit where we couldn't gain any higher ratios. So the increase in fuel efficiency is very limited and almost eaten up by adding some weight and friction and even size of the transmission," Sommer said. "We will not go for 10."

Don

[travelnutz]

alexleblanc,

FYI,

Who likes their 8 Speed? - 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 Chevrolet ...
www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/187450-who-likes-their-8-speed/

May 14, 2016 - 15 posts - ?9 authors
I will trade it in on another GMC Sierra.. and I want the 6.2L again. As you know, this sticks you with the 8 Speed transmission.

[alexleblanc]

BillyW wrote:

alexleblanc wrote:
forgetting the MPG side of the equation for a second, I'd be willing to bet that the 10 speed makes much better use of the available torque at all times, making for a much more pleasant towing experience. I'd love to have a 10 speed coupled together with my 6.7 Diesel!

That's exactly how I feel about my 8 speed. I'm always in the power band.

the few 8 speed ram's I've been in seem to work quite well, i don't know why Ford and GM have waited so long to do more than a 6 speed.

[TurnThePage]

alexleblanc wrote:
forgetting the MPG side of the equation for a second, I'd be willing to bet that the 10 speed makes much better use of the available torque at all times, making for a much more pleasant towing experience. I'd love to have a 10 speed coupled together with my 6.7 Diesel!

That's exactly how I feel about my 8 speed. I'm always in the power band.

[alexleblanc]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
So the ten speed only picked up 0.6 mpg over the six speed in towing!?!?!? Not anywhere near what I would have thought for the new ten speed! Add the fact that Ford recommends 91 octane fuel when towing and the Ecodiesel is still hands down the MPG champ. Now when Ford brings their own 3.0 diesel to the market in the summer of 2018 I think you will see a shift in Ford's favor. But Ram has a lot of new things coming for the 1500 in 2018 also so we will have to wait and see how it all pans out.

The one thing that ten speed will do is make an already wicked fast truck even faster! No doubt Ford has some nice vehicles. GM and FCA had better get on the ball or they are going to get their lunches ate!

Don

forgetting the MPG side of the equation for a second, I'd be willing to bet that the 10 speed makes much better use of the available torque at all times, making for a much more pleasant towing experience. I'd love to have a 10 speed coupled together with my 6.7 Diesel!

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

So the ten speed only picked up 0.6 mpg over the six speed in towing!?!?!? Not anywhere near what I would have thought for the new ten speed! Add the fact that Ford recommends 91 octane fuel when towing and the Ecodiesel is still hands down the MPG champ. Now when Ford brings their own 3.0 diesel to the market in the summer of 2018 I think you will see a shift in Ford's favor. But Ram has a lot of new things coming for the 1500 in 2018 also so we will have to wait and see how it all pans out.

The one thing that ten speed will do is make an already wicked fast truck even faster! No doubt Ford has some nice vehicles. GM and FCA had better get on the ball or they are going to get their lunches ate!

Don