F150 Ecoboost vs F250 Diesel mileage

[Groover]

I have been pulling my equipment trailer for my business with an F150 3.5 Ecoboost for 3 years now and averaging about 8.7mpg on 87 octane. I got rear-ended last week and the Ecoboost will be in the body shop for at least two weeks so yesterday I rented a brand new F250 diesel to fill in. Does anyone want to hazard a guess on the what my fuel economy with the diesel will be? I am sure that I will find it very interesting.

The trailer is a 22' flatbed deckover with 60hp tractor, stump grinding attachment and front end loader. The tires are water filled. I have never weighed it but I am pushing the 11,200lb tow rating of the F150. I mostly drive 2 lane county roads with rare forays on the interstate and then only for a few miles.

Both trucks are crew cabs with 6.5ft beds and 4wd so fairly even there. I am going to try my best to drive the same. The EcoBoost was never power limited and don't expect the diesel to be either.

[ShinerBock]

Lantley wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

Lantley wrote:
ShinerBock I agree with what your saying for the most part.
I interpret the manual to say For optimum performance use premium while towing.
Why would one not want optimum performance?
How can one accurately compare Ego Boost performance to the F250 diesel unless the Ego Boost is delivering optimum performance?

Ego Boost? Is that a spell check typo?

Why would one not want optimum performance? Because it may not be needed. If you can tow the weight you need while being able to maintain the speed you want to and have no issues getting up to speed then why would you want to pay extra in fuel costs for more performance that is not needed? Now if you are one that just wants the best performance all the time or actually need that extra 15 hp to maintain speed while towing then they have that option. With the truck empty and/or under light load, you will likely feel no difference in the gains with 93 octane since the gains are mostly at peak.

Although, if someone wanted better performance in an Ecoboost and still wanted to run 87 then I would recommend a 5 Star tune. Removing all of the emissions programming brought my old Ecoboost up another 60 hp and 100 lb-ft on my 87 tow tune which is way more than 93 octane will add on the stock tune. The engine has a lot of emissions nannies holding it back and even do more harm to the engine is some cases.

The title of this thread is Ego Boost vs. F250 Diesel.
What's the point of the comparison if you are going to handicap the Ego Boost with cheap gas.

Ah, so Ego boost is not a typo and is a passive aggressive kindergarten way of making fun of the OP's vehicle. Got it.

The point was that Lynnmor told the OP, Groover, that he needed to run premium in his Ecoboost in which Groover responded that he never needed to. I was backing up the OP based on my own experiences towing with multiple Ecoboost trucks that there is no significant difference in running 87 over 93. You really aren't going to notice an additional 15-20 hp and 10 lb-ft unless you are running at wide open throttle and counting every millisecond. There is also not a significant fuel mileage difference either from my old fuel records.

[Lantley]

ShinerBock wrote:

Lantley wrote:
ShinerBock I agree with what your saying for the most part.
I interpret the manual to say For optimum performance use premium while towing.
Why would one not want optimum performance?
How can one accurately compare Ego Boost performance to the F250 diesel unless the Ego Boost is delivering optimum performance?

Ego Boost? Is that a spell check typo?

Why would one not want optimum performance? Because it may not be needed. If you can tow the weight you need while being able to maintain the speed you want to and have no issues getting up to speed then why would you want to pay extra in fuel costs for more performance that is not needed? Now if you are one that just wants the best performance all the time or actually need that extra 15 hp to maintain speed while towing then they have that option. With the truck empty and/or under light load, you will likely feel no difference in the gains with 93 octane since the gains are mostly at peak.

Although, if someone wanted better performance in an Ecoboost and still wanted to run 87 then I would recommend a 5 Star tune. Removing all of the emissions programming brought my old Ecoboost up another 60 hp and 100 lb-ft on my 87 tow tune which is way more than 93 octane will add on the stock tune. The engine has a lot of emissions nannies holding it back and even do more harm to the engine is some cases.

The title of this thread is Ego Boost vs. F250 Diesel.
What's the point of the comparison if you are going to handicap the Ego Boost with cheap gas.

[ShinerBock]

Lantley wrote:
ShinerBock I agree with what your saying for the most part.
I interpret the manual to say For optimum performance use premium while towing.
Why would one not want optimum performance?
How can one accurately compare Ego Boost performance to the F250 diesel unless the Ego Boost is delivering optimum performance?

Ego Boost? Is that a spell check typo?

Why would one not want optimum performance? Because it may not be needed. If you can tow the weight you need while being able to maintain the speed you want to and have no issues getting up to speed then why would you want to pay extra in fuel costs for more performance that is not needed? Now if you are one that just wants the best performance all the time or actually need that extra 15 hp to maintain speed while towing then they have that option. With the truck empty and/or under light load, you will likely feel no difference in the gains with 93 octane since the gains are mostly at peak.

Although, if someone wanted better performance in an Ecoboost and still wanted to run 87 then I would recommend a 5 Star tune. Removing all of the emissions programming brought my old Ecoboost up another 60 hp and 100 lb-ft on my 87 tow tune which is way more than 93 octane will add on the stock tune. The engine has a lot of emissions nannies holding it back and even do more harm to the engine is some cases.

[Lantley]

ShinerBock I agree with what your saying for the most part.
I interpret the manual to say For optimum performance use premium while towing.
Why would one not want optimum performance?
How can one accurately compare Ego Boost performance to the F250 diesel unless the Ego Boost is delivering optimum performance?

[ShinerBock]

Lynnmor wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:


Lynn and I had the conversation many times before, but he insist that the EcoBoost requires premium when pulling anything or the engine will explode. I am not sure if Lynn is based on real world experience or off of his own perception of what the manual states.

I simply copy and paste from the Ford manual, but what do they know about the EcoBoost engine? My post was a direct copy & paste once again. I never said "explode", so don't put words in my mouth. Read the manual and use your own "perception."

Exactly, your perception of what the manual states. You perceive is as stating that you have to run premium when towing, but most Ecoboost owners perceive it as stating that premium is recommended IF you want the best performance possible which is true since the power increases by about 15hp/10lb-ft when using premium and is most noticeable when loaded than empty. However, you don't have to run premium if you do not need or want the added performance, and running regular when towing will not hurt the engine.

The engine will not blow up or or reduce longevity if you don't. You will just not have the highest performance output of the engine available. This holds true for all variable fuel engines that can change their power levels based on the octane rating or knock prevention of the fuel used. If you look in the manuals of all variable fuel vehicles, it will basically say the same thing as Fords manual. For example my wife's Infiniti recommends premium, but says regular can be used, however, engine performance will be reduced.

I really don't know how many times I have to explain this. How many Ecoboost have you towed with that blown up, got damaged, or just plain won't run when you didn't use premium while towing. I am going to guess none.

[Lynnmor]

ShinerBock wrote:


Lynn and I had the conversation many times before, but he insist that the EcoBoost requires premium when pulling anything or the engine will explode. I am not sure if Lynn is based on real world experience or off of his own perception of what the manual states.

I simply copy and paste from the Ford manual, but what do they know about the EcoBoost engine? My post was a direct copy & paste once again. I never said "explode", so don't put words in my mouth. Read the manual and use your own "perception."

[ShinerBock]

Duplicate post.

[ShinerBock]

Duplicate post.

[ShinerBock]

Groover wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
Of course when selecting 87 octane fuel, just completely ignore the owners manual:

We recommend regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octanerating of 87. Some fuel stations offer fuels posted as regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating below 87, particularly in high altitude areas. We do not recommend fuels with an octane rating below 87. For vehicles with EcoBoost engines, to provide improved performance, we recommend premium fuel for severe duty usage such as trailer tow.

I am satisfied without the "improved performance". I have not heard of anyone suffering ill consequences from running 87 octane in an EcoBoost. The only reports that I have seen from users that tried premium fuel were that no performance changes were noted and MPG declined slightly. They went back to 87 octane. My 2013 Ecoboost that my daughter uses for pulling her gooseneck horse trailer has gone over 100,000 miles so far with no issues whatsoever and has used nothing but 87 octane. If anyone has different first hand information I would like to hear it.

Lynn and I had the conversation many times before, but he insist that the EcoBoost requires premium when pulling anything or the engine will explode. I am not sure if Lynn is based on real world experience or off of his own perception of what the manual states.

I have the same experiences as you with my old EcoBoost. It did need premium when towing heavy, but it did effects performance slightly. I hardy ever ran premium even with a tune. We never run anything other than 87 in all of our Ecoboost parts deliver trucks and they tow all the time while easily lasting past 150k when we austion them off.

[Groover]

LanceRKeys wrote:
I don’t think you would realize the power difference between the two till you get a big load with wind resistance rolling down the highway at speed.

Since the EcoBoost returns better mileage when empty but I am seeing that the diesel does better with my trailer I fully agree with your statement. The point is that I am at or near rated capacity for my Ecoboost and unless I get a bigger trailer I am satisfied with that solution. I have at least another two weeks with the diesel and hopefully several more years with the EcoBoost. I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.

[Groover]

Lynnmor wrote:
Of course when selecting 87 octane fuel, just completely ignore the owners manual:

We recommend regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octanerating of 87. Some fuel stations offer fuels posted as regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating below 87, particularly in high altitude areas. We do not recommend fuels with an octane rating below 87. For vehicles with EcoBoost engines, to provide improved performance, we recommend premium fuel for severe duty usage such as trailer tow.

I am satisfied without the "improved performance". I have not heard of anyone suffering ill consequences from running 87 octane in an EcoBoost. The only reports that I have seen from users that tried premium fuel were that no performance changes were noted and MPG declined slightly. They went back to 87 octane. My 2013 Ecoboost that my daughter uses for pulling her gooseneck horse trailer has gone over 100,000 miles so far with no issues whatsoever and has used nothing but 87 octane. If anyone has different first hand information I would like to hear it.

[LanceRKeys]

I don’t think you would realize the power difference between the two till you get a big load with wind resistance rolling down the highway at speed.

[Lynnmor]

Of course when selecting 87 octane fuel, just completely ignore the owners manual:

We recommend regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octanerating of 87. Some fuel stations offer fuels posted as regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating below 87, particularly in high altitude areas. We do not recommend fuels with an octane rating below 87. For vehicles with EcoBoost engines, to provide improved performance, we recommend premium fuel for severe duty usage such as trailer tow.

[Groover]

JIMNLIN wrote:

The fuel cost per mile is about a wash so far but I will have the truck for about another 3 weeks so I collect more data. All of my trips are different but this one was fairly typical.

Just a observation.
Fuel costs per mile is best found using several tanks of fuel and use the average mpg for those tanks.

Computer mpg will vary between truck brands so I wouldn't even bother with what two different truck brand computer is saying about mpg issues.

When I had LDTs on the road I and my drivers kept a mileage log for each truck to keep us tuned to actual average fuel costs which could be broke down per week/month/same trip/yearly/etc.

To those that saw my immediate response I apologize for getting a little irritated. This was not advertised or even meant to be a scientific experiment. In fact, I didn't mean to do this at all but the guy that hit my F150 thrust it on me so I decided to make the most of the situation and maybe have a little fun while doing it. If anyone wants to send me several thousand dollars to do a "proper test" please feel free to do so. It might be more that I a few thousand as I really should have a 2019 F150 to do a proper test.

I have never seen any comparison between these two engines doing the same job so I thought that there might be some value in this data even though it is flawed. Currently, I am a bit disappointed in the economy and power of the diesel and really have to question whether I would ever pay $9k for it unless I had to have it to get a truck rated to pull my trailer. Not that the diesel isn't powerful, it just isn't that much more powerful than the EcoBoost.

[JIMNLIN]

The fuel cost per mile is about a wash so far but I will have the truck for about another 3 weeks so I collect more data. All of my trips are different but this one was fairly typical.

Just a observation.
Fuel costs per mile is best found using several tanks of fuel and use the average mpg for those tanks.

Computer mpg will vary between truck brands so I wouldn't even bother with what two different truck brand computer is saying about mpg issues.

When I had LDTs on the road I and my drivers kept a mileage log for each truck to keep us tuned to actual average fuel costs which could be broke down per week/month/same trip/yearly/etc.