I have my F150 back, I wanted to wrap up this thread and my wife wasn't home so I ran some acceleration tests with the trailer to compare the 3.5 Ecoboost with the F250 and diesel combination.
I will go ahead and confess that the diesel will outrun the 3.5 Ecoboost, at least at speed.
I made three runs up the same hill as I did with the diesel.
The first was a little slow off the line but I was concerned about breaking the tires loose and was a little reserved getting on the gas.
The second I threw caution to the wind and just stomped the go pedal. There was a little tire slip and it didn't feel as strong as expected but I matched the launch of the diesel (which I complained about earlier). This probably best represents an ordinary keep up with traffic launch capability.
The third I used to 4wd to be sure that I used the full capability of the Ecoboost. I did this partly just to see what the engine can do but can justify using 4wd in the F150 and not the F250 because the F150 has automatic 4wd that can be used somewhat safely on pavement. Plus, the F250 never spun its wheels anyway.
The variations in the runs seemed in line with the adjustments that I described so I felt no need to waste my time and further abuse my truck by repeating the tests.
Bottom line, the Ecoboost held its own up to 20mph then started dropping off. The maximum speed in test strip was 10mph slower than the diesel. To me it is more than adequate for this size of trailer and the driving that I am doing with it. The F150 is adequate up to its rated capacity and probably performs better at rated capacity than an F350 does at its rated capacity. The 2019 model should outperform my 2016 model. I can understand why people regularly pulling trailers over 12,000lbs would want the diesel.
I will go ahead and confess that the diesel will outrun the 3.5 Ecoboost, at least at speed.
I made three runs up the same hill as I did with the diesel.
The first was a little slow off the line but I was concerned about breaking the tires loose and was a little reserved getting on the gas.
The second I threw caution to the wind and just stomped the go pedal. There was a little tire slip and it didn't feel as strong as expected but I matched the launch of the diesel (which I complained about earlier). This probably best represents an ordinary keep up with traffic launch capability.
The third I used to 4wd to be sure that I used the full capability of the Ecoboost. I did this partly just to see what the engine can do but can justify using 4wd in the F150 and not the F250 because the F150 has automatic 4wd that can be used somewhat safely on pavement. Plus, the F250 never spun its wheels anyway.
The variations in the runs seemed in line with the adjustments that I described so I felt no need to waste my time and further abuse my truck by repeating the tests.
Bottom line, the Ecoboost held its own up to 20mph then started dropping off. The maximum speed in test strip was 10mph slower than the diesel. To me it is more than adequate for this size of trailer and the driving that I am doing with it. The F150 is adequate up to its rated capacity and probably performs better at rated capacity than an F350 does at its rated capacity. The 2019 model should outperform my 2016 model. I can understand why people regularly pulling trailers over 12,000lbs would want the diesel.
I picked up my repaired F150 and returned the rented F250 today. Anticipating this I have been trying to figure out how to quantify the perceived power of the two engines. More specifically, the feeling that when you are pulling onto a highway from a stop with traffic approaching at 100ft/sec and stomp the go pedal the diesel has to think about it for a second or two while the EcoBoost seems to have a much shorter delay. I had been noticing that when pressed the diesel seemed to pull harder in 2nd gear than it did in first. One interesting bit of information was that I could not get the diesel to spin its tires on asphalt while I have to really work at not spinning tires with the EcoBoost. The diesel does pull very strongly from 2nd gear on but by then the anxiety of getting hit by oncoming traffic has diminished quite a bit. Passing power felt very impressive but that is not something that I do a lot on the roads around here. The data in the charts may shed some light on that when I get the tests completed.
The first element in analyzing this was to choose a suitable place to run acceleration tests without being dangerous or grossly breaking the law. I found one near my house in the form of a low traffic highway with straight section about 1/2 a mile long and a steady 3.5% grade to keep top speeds within reason. My GPS showed about an 80ft elevation increase from the starting point to where I reached 70mph. Plus, it features a 65mph speed limit and no place to hide a speed trap.
The sign in the foreground seems to make a good starting point. It is just before the climb starts and that could help get engine rpm and therefore the turbo to speed up quickly.
The second element was data collection that was both cheap and easy to use. I found an app called Drag Racer that seems to fit the bill. You just turn it on, stop, wait for the app to say that it is ready, then stomp the go pedal and the app does the rest.
Here is the data from 3 runs with the diesel. I will try to get some runs with the EcoBoost in the next few days. The speed indicated in at the top was just my speed at the instant that I took the screen shot. The data in the chart below it is what is important.
I got cut off on the second run and could not reach 70mph but kept it because it helps confirm the repeatability of the other two runs. I was amazed at how repeatable the data is. While it may or may not be accurate it should be good for comparing the two engines.
On the original subject of fuel mileage I ended up with 568 miles of pulling the trailer at 11.0mpg before starting the acceleration tests. I wound up the tests making a 35 run to pick up a boat. The road was 2 lane highway with some moderate hills and a maximum speed limit of 55mph. I held it to 57mph. The trip up was empty and the return trip with the boat in tow. I was very pleasantly surprised with the showing of 23.4mpg on empty run and 14.8mpg with the boat. Both readings are a little higher than I would expect from my 3.5 EcoBoost. My brother had borrowed the boat and reported about the same mileage as the diesel when towing with his 2.7 EcoBoost but quite a bit better empty. His truck is 2wd which gives it a small advantage.
My final observations are that the F150 still has a noticeable edge on ride quality. On sharp bumps and potholes the 250 felt like the tires were bouncing all over the place though they did quickly settle. The 250 was a little more in control of the trailer but not that dramatic, perhaps because I have LT tires and supplemental air bags on my 150. The 250 seemed to be about 3" higher and was a lot more challenging for me to get into. The 250 struggled for traction trying to get up a gravel section of my driveway, much more than any other vehicle that I have owned. I guess that is due to the weight of the diesel engine up front. I could have engaged 4wd but with manual hubs that would have been really annoying.
The first element in analyzing this was to choose a suitable place to run acceleration tests without being dangerous or grossly breaking the law. I found one near my house in the form of a low traffic highway with straight section about 1/2 a mile long and a steady 3.5% grade to keep top speeds within reason. My GPS showed about an 80ft elevation increase from the starting point to where I reached 70mph. Plus, it features a 65mph speed limit and no place to hide a speed trap.
The sign in the foreground seems to make a good starting point. It is just before the climb starts and that could help get engine rpm and therefore the turbo to speed up quickly.
The second element was data collection that was both cheap and easy to use. I found an app called Drag Racer that seems to fit the bill. You just turn it on, stop, wait for the app to say that it is ready, then stomp the go pedal and the app does the rest.
Here is the data from 3 runs with the diesel. I will try to get some runs with the EcoBoost in the next few days. The speed indicated in at the top was just my speed at the instant that I took the screen shot. The data in the chart below it is what is important.
I got cut off on the second run and could not reach 70mph but kept it because it helps confirm the repeatability of the other two runs. I was amazed at how repeatable the data is. While it may or may not be accurate it should be good for comparing the two engines.
On the original subject of fuel mileage I ended up with 568 miles of pulling the trailer at 11.0mpg before starting the acceleration tests. I wound up the tests making a 35 run to pick up a boat. The road was 2 lane highway with some moderate hills and a maximum speed limit of 55mph. I held it to 57mph. The trip up was empty and the return trip with the boat in tow. I was very pleasantly surprised with the showing of 23.4mpg on empty run and 14.8mpg with the boat. Both readings are a little higher than I would expect from my 3.5 EcoBoost. My brother had borrowed the boat and reported about the same mileage as the diesel when towing with his 2.7 EcoBoost but quite a bit better empty. His truck is 2wd which gives it a small advantage.
My final observations are that the F150 still has a noticeable edge on ride quality. On sharp bumps and potholes the 250 felt like the tires were bouncing all over the place though they did quickly settle. The 250 was a little more in control of the trailer but not that dramatic, perhaps because I have LT tires and supplemental air bags on my 150. The 250 seemed to be about 3" higher and was a lot more challenging for me to get into. The 250 struggled for traction trying to get up a gravel section of my driveway, much more than any other vehicle that I have owned. I guess that is due to the weight of the diesel engine up front. I could have engaged 4wd but with manual hubs that would have been really annoying.
Here is a closer picture of the trailer:
The hydraulics bled down so the bucket is 6-12" lower than normal ride height. I just don't see how a 7" wide tractor with the roof a 11' high plus a 6' wide 3' high bucket in the airstream doesn't have wind resistance. Both trucks are in agreement that there is a lot of wind resistance. And I commented that lately I have been in the hilly part of the county where the truck struggles to go up the hill then ride the brakes on the way down. I have hit a few hills here where the F150 has to be put in 4wd low on asphalt to go up. Fortunately I haven't hit any quite that steep with the diesel, the manual locking hubs would be a real pain. But I did have one yesterday that I was surprised 2wd got us up.
The hydraulics bled down so the bucket is 6-12" lower than normal ride height. I just don't see how a 7" wide tractor with the roof a 11' high plus a 6' wide 3' high bucket in the airstream doesn't have wind resistance. Both trucks are in agreement that there is a lot of wind resistance. And I commented that lately I have been in the hilly part of the county where the truck struggles to go up the hill then ride the brakes on the way down. I have hit a few hills here where the F150 has to be put in 4wd low on asphalt to go up. Fortunately I haven't hit any quite that steep with the diesel, the manual locking hubs would be a real pain. But I did have one yesterday that I was surprised 2wd got us up.
