Towing mpg Chevy vs Nissan vs Ford vs Ram - half tons

[ib516]

The players, all towing a 7000# cargo trailer that was 20' long:

Nissan Titan 5.6L - 8.6 mpg
2017 Ford F150 3.5L EcoBoost (with 10 speed auto) - 9.1 mpg
2016 Ford F150 3.5L EcoBoost - 8.5 mpg
Chevy 1500 with 6.2L V8 - 10.6 mpg
Ram 1500 EcoDiesel - 13.3 mpg
2016 Ram 5.7L Hemi (5600# cattle trailer) - 8.5 mpg

Yes, I know it's not apples to apples as the one Ram had a diesel which is almost always going to get better towing mpg. BUT, what surprised me was that the Chevy, with the big 6.2L V8 spanked the Ford EcoBoost, even with the new 10 speed auto transmission Ford has.

It's also pretty comparable to towing an RV as they used a full sized, tandem axle cargo trailer, not a flat deck trailer loaded with flat steel like the OEMs typically use for their internal testing.

CHEVY VIDEO WHERE THEY TALK ABOUT THE OTHER RESULTS

[ShinerBock]

Bionic Man wrote:
No. It says:

For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended.

But you are never wrong. So I am done.

Why are you not posting all that it says?

Here, let me post what you are not wanting to post....

"Your vehicle is designed to operate on regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.
Some fuel stations, particularly those in high altitude areas, offer fuels posted as regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating below 87. We do not recommend these fuels.
For best overall vehicle and engine performance(i.e. POWER) , premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance(i.e. POWER) gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer. See Towing a Trailer. "


Again, it is designed to run on regular, but if you want more power, then run premium. How is this so hard to comprehend?

[Bionic_Man]

No. It says:

For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended.

But you are never wrong. So I am done.

[ShinerBock]

Bionic Man wrote:
SMH. Shiner, I think you would write a three paragraph rebuttal to someone about the sky being blue.

Both Ford and GM recommend premium fuel in the owners manual. It is black and white.

I really couldn't care less who told you what, or where it was at. Going by an owners manual is a sure thing.

Yes, it is black and white. It states that the 3.5L EB is designed to run on 87, but if you want more power than the advertised numbers, then run premium. It clearly states that, and PUTC backed it up.

Gen 1 3.5 EB on regular
365 hp
420 lb-ft

Gen 1 3.5 EB on premium
385 hp
430 lb-ft

[Bionic_Man]

SMH. Shiner, I think you would write a three paragraph rebuttal to someone about the sky being blue.

Both Ford and GM recommend premium fuel in the owners manual. It is black and white.

I really couldn't care less who told you what, or where it was at. Going by an owners manual is a sure thing.

[ShinerBock]

Bionic Man wrote:


Nice. So, you are going with the "I had a guy tell me" theory. Reminds me of someone else on this forum......

Did the "Ford engineer" you spoke with put that in writing like the link to the owners manual?

Actually no this was at WTS(The Work Truck Show) where my company was releasing our new CNG units for medium and heavy duty truck applications. Ford is one of the sponsors of the show and they also had their engineers there to answer questions on up-fitter specs with fleet owners and up-fitters.

What he said was just about exactly what the manual stated(which you posted above) and Pickuptrucks.com stated which is that the engine was designed to run or regular at all times but if you want best over all performance(i.e. more power) then run 91 octane. The added power will be most noticeable when pushing the engine hard like towing. He stated that I didn't have to run 91 when towing or pushing the engine hard because the engine will pull timing and save itself it it began to knock real back. The recommendation for premium is for added power only.

He also said the reason why they did this is because they didn't want fleet customers to feel that they had to run premium fuel. Since advertisement regulations require them to advertise the SAE power rating at whatever fuel they recommend, they posted the 87 octane power numbers instead of the 93 octane power numbers like GM does.

Bionic Man wrote:

Plenty of people talk about using the 6.2 with standard octane as well. Compare apples to apples. Which is what the manufacture recommends in print. Which is in the owners manual. Which is premium fuel for both the EcoBoost and 6.2.

Again, it doesn't say you have to run 91. It just states that if you want more performance(i.e. power), then run 91 and it will bump up the engines power output just like PUTC stated. The truck is designed to run at 87 just like the manual stated, but will have more power than the advertised power rating on premium.

GM on the other hand is the opposite and is designed to run on and its power numbers are on premium fuel which is why it tells you to use premium. However, if you don't use premium then there will be reduced performance, reduced fuel economy, and potential knocking or engine damage. This is exactly what both owners manuals state.

[Bionic_Man]

ShinerBock wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
As opposed to the EcoBoost, which also recommends 91 octane?

For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer. See Towing a Trailer.

F150 Owners Manual

Nope, you don't need to. I asked Ford engineer about this when I had my Ecoboost(perks of working for a company that owns a few Ford dealerships). He said the 3.5 EB will run fine on 87 without knocking even when towing. The advertised SAE power numbers are all on 87 octane. However, as the manual states, if I wanted better performance out of the truck when towing then he recommended I use 91 octane because the higher octane will allow the truck to advance timing without knocking and increase power output.


This was confirmed by Pickuptrucks.com when they posted that Ford stated the Gen 1 3.5L EB's power output increased to 385 hp and 430 lb-ft with 91 octane.

Pickuptrucks.com wrote:
We should note Ford tells us that its power outputs improve slightly, measuring 385 horsepower and 430 pounds-feet of torque when using premium fuel, instead of the regular fuel the owner's manual recommends.

Ford vs. GM: Twin-Turbo Showdown

Nice. So, you are going with the "I had a guy tell me" theory. Reminds me of someone else on this forum......

Did the "Ford engineer" you spoke with put that in writing like the link to the owners manual?

Plenty of people talk about using the 6.2 with standard octane as well. Compare apples to apples. Which is what the manufacture recommends in print. Which is in the owners manual. Which is premium fuel for both the EcoBoost and 6.2.

[ShinerBock]

Bionic Man wrote:
As opposed to the EcoBoost, which also recommends 91 octane?

For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer. See Towing a Trailer.

F150 Owners Manual

Nope, you don't need to. I asked Ford engineer about this when I had my Ecoboost(perks of working for a company that owns a few Ford dealerships). He said the 3.5 EB will run fine on 87 without knocking even when towing. The advertised SAE power numbers are all on 87 octane. However, as the manual states, if I wanted better performance out of the truck when towing then he recommended I use 91 octane because the higher octane will allow the truck to advance timing without knocking and increase power output.


This was confirmed by Pickuptrucks.com when they posted that Ford stated the Gen 1 3.5L EB's power output increased to 385 hp and 430 lb-ft with 91 octane.

Pickuptrucks.com wrote:
We should note Ford tells us that its power outputs improve slightly, measuring 385 horsepower and 430 pounds-feet of torque when using premium fuel, instead of the regular fuel the owner's manual recommends.

Ford vs. GM: Twin-Turbo Showdown

[jimh406]

ib516, what's the point of your post? The numbers don't seem to represent similar engines even though similar engines are available from multiple manufacturers.

For instance, Nissan has a released diesel and Ford has a v6 and v8 as other options. Finally, it doesn't mention the gearing chosen which impacts this as well.

So, is it just about the Ecoboost vs v8 comparison? If so, it might be worth finding a Ford v8 vs Chevy v8 vs Nissan v8 vs Ram v8 comparison.

[2oldman]

ShinerBock wrote:
2017 Silverado Owners Manual
"For the 6.2L engine, premium unleaded gasoline meeting ASTM specification D4814 with a posted octane rating of 93 is highly recommended ..

Darn, I wanted to use leaded gasoline.

[Bionic_Man]

As opposed to the EcoBoost, which also recommends 91 octane?

For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer. See Towing a Trailer.

F150 Owners Manual

[ShinerBock]

The bad the thing about the GM 6.2L is that premium fuel is recommended at all times unless you want less performance and fuel economy.

2017 Silverado Owners Manual
"For the 6.2L engine, premium
unleaded gasoline meeting ASTM
specification D4814 with a posted
octane rating of 93 is highly
recommended for best performance
and fuel economy. Unleaded
gasoline with an octane rated as low
as 87 can be used. Using unleaded
gasoline rated below 93 octane,
however, will lead to reduced
acceleration and fuel economy.
If knocking occurs, use a gasoline
rated at 93 octane as soon as
possible, otherwise, the engine
could be damaged. If heavy
knocking is heard when using
gasoline with a 93 octane rating, the
engine needs service."

3.5L Ecoboost(10-speed) towing 100 miles getting 9.1 mpg using AAA US average regular cost of $2.29= $25.16

6.2L Ecotec towing 100 miles getting 10.6 mpg using AAA US average premium cost of $2.82= $26.60



Oh, and in regards to Ecodiesel "haters"... I am still not a fan of it in a half ton regardless of the fuel mileage it gets. As I have said many times. The Ecodiesel is great for fuel mileage, but sucks in the power department compared to the other towing engines which is what I would rather have if the fuel mileage is withing my comfort zone. Just as I would pick a V8 Challenger of a V6 Challenger knowing that the V8 will get worse fuel economy.

[Bionic_Man]

So the diesel gets about 50 percent better mpg towing than the gas sees. Where have the EcoDiesel haters disappeared to?

That size and output engine in these trucks just makes sense. And the upcoming Ford with the 10 speed should get even better MPG.

And the 6.2 winning for the gassers really shouldn't be a surprise. Seems most of the tests for MPG it does well. Just wait until it gets a 10-speed.

[FishOnOne]

Here's the Ike Gauntlet pull with the F150 3.5 EB and the Silverado 6.2.

F150

Silverado

[noteven]

A V10 EcoBoost wouldn't need no 10 speed 🙂

[GottaRunGottaCa]

I have a 2014 F150 ecoboost and consistently get 19 to 20mpg empty, if I tow my 6' x 10' V-nose enclosed trailer it drops down to 10.5 or 11mpg, its just the twin turbo thing