2011 Ford F-150 with EcoBoost puts down the power [modern V6 = V8 power + 23 mpg]

autoblog ^ | Sep 22nd 2010 | Jeremy Korzeniewski

[Kickass Conservative]

I bought a loss leader 2011 Mustang with an automatic for a little over 20 grand. (My Wife can't drive a stick).

My worst MPG was 18.5 with the first tankful. My best so far is 24. Both were mixed driving with a bit of hot rodding thrown in. I have yet to take a road trip, but I expect to get over 31 MPG easy. At 80 MPH, the engine is running 1800 RPM.

I owned a 99 Mustang Cobra that had 320 HP and burned 91 Octane. My current ride is more fun to drive and it has gobbs of power, especially when you hit the mid RPM range.

I swore I would never buy another Ford after the issues I had with the Cobra. Now, I'm waiting for the 2012 Boss 302.

[wita]

I can visualize it, but not with a fifth wheel RV attached.

[wita]

but not with a fifth wheel RV attached.

Well, maybe I can visualize that as well. The outcome might not be driving in the opposite direction.

[SoldierDad]

I understand completely. My wife's siblings (some of them) are behaving the same way regarding their mother, and it is very sad to watch. Their father passed away last December at the age of 86, and the family living closest to them (N.D.) were simply aweful in their behavior. The saddest thing IMHO is that their parents really do not have much in the way of inheritance. But, that won't stop these people from fighting over it anyway. My father died estranged from all his children except me. But, they showed up at his home after his death looking for whatever they could get. I went to his home to see my step-mother and console her in her grief. I didn't expect a single thing out of my father's estate. When I learned that my father bequethed me his truck, fifth wheel, and some of his tools, I was flabbergasted. I also received a small amount of money - again, I didn't expect that. My siblings have never forgiven me for receiving these things. Like I said, I'd give them back in a heartbeat to have my dad back.

As for my siblings, they gave up any rights to expect anything when they turned their backs on their father (simply because our mother poisoned them against him). I chose to have a relationship with my father, and am very happy I did.

My children got to know who their grandfather was, and were able to bring him joy. I loved watching him and my children playing together. He also was able to meet two of his great-grandchildren, and see his youngest grandchild serve in the U.S. Army in Iraq - of whom he was extremely proud of. I so very much miss him, and wish he could be here to meet his other 4 great-granchildren.

[IYAS9YAS]

Well, maybe I can visualize that as well. The outcome might not be driving in the opposite direction.

Or right side up.

[TSgt]

Well, I was accused of misappropriating my uncle’s estate by my half-sister before he was even buried.

All because I suggested that we pool our small inheritance together to buy my mother a car, her car was POS, so she could get my grandmother, my deceased uncle’s mother, out more often to the store etc.. They were the two most impacted by the loss, his mother and sister.

I was contacted by his employer and found out that he had a small insurance policy with my mother as the beneficiary so as it turns out my suggestion wasn’t necessary and everyone got their, “fair share.”

Still, how shameful of me to suggest such a thing like giving up my inheritance to help his mother and sister?

Shameful I tell you...

[SoldierDad]

Such a greedy individual you are/s.

My father was very smart. He had homeowner’s insurance that would completely pay off his mortgage in the case of his death. Plus, he had a term life policy that would also pay off the mortgage+. Thus, my step-mother now lives without a lot of bills to deal with, and has a new vehicle (paid in full). Unfortunately, her own children (namely her son and his family) have been a huge burden on her - constantly attempting to drain away her savings. She is no longer on speaking terms with her son and daughter-in-law, but still has contact with her grandchildren (who have been poorly raised and constantly get into trouble with the law). My step-mother is not in good health, and has heart problems. I hope they don’t drive her into a premature grave.

Looks like we share some things on common with respect to family issues.

[macquire]

Auto horsepower is just a calculation of Torque energy. You need a LOT of torque to push a truck with a gear ratio set to maximize MPG at the cost of Torque energy to the wheels. It may get 23 MPG on a quiet day but the peddle will be to the metal to keep it at 70 MPH against any wind at all. The physics just aren’t there for it. It is hard enough to push a vehicle against wind on a calm day & still get MPG, much less when you have another 20 MPH or more coming at you.

[macquire]

“Ford F-150 -— The highest selling, most popular vehicle in American history.”

Starbucks sells a lot of coffee to the same people....

[UNGN]

Auto horsepower is just a calculation of Torque energy. You need a LOT of torque to push a truck with a gear ratio set to maximize MPG at the cost of Torque energy to the wheels. It may get 23 MPG on a quiet day but the peddle will be to the metal to keep it at 70 MPH against any wind at all. The physics just aren’t there for it. It is hard enough to push a vehicle against wind on a calm day & still get MPG, much less when you have another 20 MPH or more coming at you.

I'm afraid you have very little idea what you are talking about.

Here's the torque curve on an Eco-boost in the SHO:

Once the Turbos spool, at around 1800 RPM, you are at max torque and the torque is only limited by the computer. If the Computer thought the transmission could stand 500 lbft, it would let you have 500 lbft. On the truck motor, it lets you have 420 lbft, because that's what the trans can take. Such is the magic of turbocharging.

If you drove one of these new ecoboost F-150's, you would say it is flat out the most powerful pickup you have ever driven (even if you had driven one of those Viper Powered SRT10's), because it makes peak torque right off idle.

Un-governed it would run over 140 mph. I'm pretty sure the wind at 70mph isn't going to have much effect on it, no matter what rear gears it has.

[meyer]

I doubt that the actual measured output curve looks quite like that. Yes, I believe that it’ll have a big wide band of high torque, but this curve makes excessive use of the straightedge ruler and insufficient use of multiple data points.

Also, if the computer is the limiting factor in torque and horsepower, it won’t be long before Superchips or Diablo has a tuner out that can overcome that threshold and unleash what’s still available in that engine.

[UNGN]

I doubt that the actual measured output curve looks quite like that. Yes, I believe that it’ll have a big wide band of high torque, but this curve makes excessive use of the straightedge ruler and insufficient use of multiple data points.

The graph is from Fords Marketing dept and not their engineering, but that's is what the torque curve looks like. The motor varies boost to keep torque below a certain number measured by a torque sensor, to keep it from breaking stuff.

Also, if the computer is the limiting factor in torque and horsepower, it won’t be long before Superchips or Diablo has a tuner out that can overcome that threshold and unleash what’s still available in that engine.

There are already 4500lb Ford Taurus's running 12.8@109 mph at the drag strip with the 365/355 version of the motor, that have only had a K&N filter and Computer tweaks, with NO motor mods.

Ford is going to tow an 11,000 trailer around Homestead with a Stock F150 for 24 hours @ 80 mph and race in the BAJA 1000 with an Ecoboost drivetrain.

It that doesn't convince the clueless that 1500 series trucks need "high compression" V-8's and 4.11 gears to be a REAL truck, then they are stuck on stupid.

[Oberon]

I'm aware than HP is Torque X RPM, though thanks for helping me out with that. Horsepower does make a difference in how well you can push a vehicle at speed.

I'm fully aware that 23 mpg and 300+ horsepower is an either/or proposition... you can get one or the other, but not both. That's true for any engine. Still, I think you should go drive one of these before telling me I'm full of manure.

[macquire]

Ah, not a word about the torque that actually gets to the wheels.

This thing aint all that powerful you think it is but run out and buy one if it makes you feel manly.

Maybe thats why gays love Fords..

[dragnet2]

I have no idea what your talking about.

[meyer]

Ford is going to tow an 11,000 trailer around Homestead with a Stock F150 for 24 hours @ 80 mph and race in the BAJA 1000 with an Ecoboost drivetrain.

They'll have to do something like this to convince folks that this engine has the longevity of other engines. Ford has a history of good truck engines - the old 300 cubic inch straight 6 was known to run 200-300,000 miles back when 100,000 was a major milestone for engines. Of course, it wouldn't pull the kind of horsepower we see today, but it had its peak torque available at something like 1200 RPM.

There are also a few duds in the Ford lineup, just like everyone else. I've had a 360 Dodge truck engine that was practically bulletproof. On the other hand, I had a 318 Dodge truck that seemed to burn more oil than gas! It has poor compression and couldn't hack towing like the 360 even though the HP rating was similar.

Anyway, people today expect 150,000 miles out of a truck engine while performing heavy-duty service. If it does that, it will sell for many years.

It that doesn't convince the clueless that 1500 series trucks need "high compression" V-8's and 4.11 gears to be a REAL truck, then they are stuck on stupid.

Proper gearing is very important, and 4.10+ axle ratios, even with a low-revving torquey engine, are a must with very large diameter tires. Manufacturers love to use dog gears (perhaps the worst were the 2.50:1 gears in my 1976 Cutlass) to eek out that one extra MPG on the EPA fuel economy test, but the drivabliity is often compromised.

I had 4.10 gears on my V-6 Explorer, and even that gearing wasn't quite enough when I slapped 32 inch all-terrain tires on it and hit the trails. Fortunately, it had a low range in the transfer case, which had an additional 2.5:1 reduction gearing.

It's more than just keeping the engine turning in it's best torque range. Gears multiply torque, and a 4.10 gear produces 4.10 times the torque on the axle shaft as the amount that is exerted on the input shaft. The idea is to take advantage of that multiplication when needed, but to keep the RPMs low when it is not needed. When you're towing 8000+ pounds, the torque multiplication is certainly needed, even if the engine produces 340 lb-ft of torque at idle.

[KYGrandma]

Don’t know how to how to post a link but you can cut and paste. My son-in-law, an engineer at Ford, has worked on this vehicle. My daughter posted this link on Facebook and I thought I would pass it along.

http://www.thefordstory.com/quality/extreme-testing-of-the-new-2011-f-150-ecoboost-truck-engine/

[wolf78]

First drive / road test: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/27/2011-ford-f-150-first-drive-review-road-test

Journalists were impressed:

No, there's nothing at all wrong with the big 6.2-liter V8 or its 11,300-pound tow rating... except that we'd opt for the EcoBoost every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Why, you ask? Well, there are three major reasons: Power, efficiency and price.

Let's start with power, shall we? While its 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque may look a bit down on paper when compared to the 6.2-liter V8, real-life scenarios prove that the EcoBoost has got the brawn where it counts most: right in the meat of the power band. Ninety percent of the boosted mill's torque is available from 1,700 rpm through 5,000 rpm, allowing it to match the bigger engine's 11,300-pound tow and 3,060-pound payload ratings.