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3.5 Ecoboost

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Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 2:45am
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Topic: 3.5 Ecoboost
Posted By: jato
Subject: 3.5 Ecoboost
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2019 at 3:45pm
For those of you who have the 3.5L Ecoboost, is mileage about the same as with other F-150 engines like the 5.0 or 5.4?  Highway driving, city driving, mountain driving, looking to upgrade our TV.  Thanks


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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."



Replies:
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2019 at 8:46pm
I've never had an F-150 with the 5.0 coyote, but by all accounts they get similar mileage to the 3.5EB. 
If you're doing unloaded freeway miles, the 3.5EB will be better. If you're towing at moderate speeds it seems like the 5.0 will edge out, but not by much. When we are doing freeway at 65 MPH (about the fastest you can go around here) we get 21-22 MPG with our 3.5EB.

The low-end torque on ours is pretty awesome, and I'm pretty sure the 5.0 can do similar, but it needs a lot more RPM to make it happen. The 3.5 is quiet and always ready to pull. if you do any mountain driving at all, the 3.5EB is the hands-down winner.


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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: Craneman
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2019 at 9:08pm
Originally posted by GlueGuy

I've never had an F-150 with the 5.0 coyote, but by all accounts they get similar mileage to the 3.5EB. 
If you're doing unloaded freeway miles, the 3.5EB will be better. If you're towing at moderate speeds it seems like the 5.0 will edge out, but not by much. When we are doing freeway at 65 MPH (about the fastest you can go around here) we get 21-22 MPG with our 3.5EB.

The low-end torque on ours is pretty awesome, and I'm pretty sure the 5.0 can do similar, but it needs a lot more RPM to make it happen. The 3.5 is quiet and always ready to pull. if you do any mountain driving at all, the 3.5EB is the hands-down winner.
  X2 the 3.5 is great


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Jo and Gary, 2010-174,2011 F150

Jo and Gary
2010 174
2011 Ford 150





Posted By: Andy
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2019 at 10:25pm
I a 5.3 Silverado V8 that gets similar mileage.  Towing our 179 I get anywhere from 12-15 mpg depending of wind and grade. I have the original Hood River larger tires so that probably drags it down a bit. I use a WDH and sway bar and tow smoothly.  How does that MPG compare to the Ford's?

Thanks


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2017 179
2016 Silverado Z71


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 30 Nov 2019 at 3:48am
Our '11 F-150 has the 5.0L V-8 Coyote engine and on our last 30 day trip we covered 5500 miles.  Traveling from northern Michigan to Colorado via freeway and cruising around 65 we averaged 10.8 to 11 mpg.  The funny thing is once we got to Colorado we went with the 85 octane and saw mileage increase to 13.5 to 14.5 mpg and this was mainly mountain driving in Colorado and Utah.  On the way home outside of Colorado we went back to 87 octane and had similar results in mileage that we got on the way out.

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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 30 Nov 2019 at 7:01am
Originally posted by jato

Our '11 F-150 has the 5.0L V-8 Coyote engine and on our last 30 day trip we covered 5500 miles.  Traveling from northern Michigan to Colorado via freeway and cruising around 65 we averaged 10.8 to 11 mpg.  The funny thing is once we got to Colorado we went with the 85 octane and saw mileage increase to 13.5 to 14.5 mpg and this was mainly mountain driving in Colorado and Utah.  On the way home outside of Colorado we went back to 87 octane and had similar results in mileage that we got on the way out.

I'll throw out a theory as to what's up with this. 

85 octane gas shouldn't make an engine more efficient. It's cheaper and works Ok in some engines at higher altitudes because there is less predetonation (knock) with the thinner air. So my thought is that you were seeing better fuel economy not because of the fuel but because your rig saw less drag at the higher altitude. 

The same thing happens with airplanes. The sweet spot for cruise in a normally aspirated piston airplane is usually around 7000-10000 feet or so. That gives you the lowest fuel burn at the highest speed over the ground. Above that the engine and prop lose too much power and below that drag kills efficiency. 

So you would probably have gotten the same better fuel economy if you had been using 87 octane gas. That's my theory anyway. 


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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: JR
Date Posted: 30 Nov 2019 at 7:58am
Also the % of ethanol locally in the gasoline might have had something to do with it if in fact there was less ethanol in the gas out west.  That's what I blamed when my mileage increased around Tennessee and Kentucky on a trip to Florida from Michigan this passed fall.  I experienced this both on the way down and the return trip??? 

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Jay

179/2019


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 30 Nov 2019 at 8:41am
Originally posted by Andy

I a 5.3 Silverado V8 that gets similar mileage.  Towing our 179 I get anywhere from 12-15 mpg depending of wind and grade. I have the original Hood River larger tires so that probably drags it down a bit. I use a WDH and sway bar and tow smoothly.  How does that MPG compare to the Ford's?

Thanks
Also use a WDH with built-in anti-sway. We typically get an average of 14 MPG when we're towing. We almost always are doing some kind of mountains or hills.



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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 01 Dec 2019 at 3:44pm
Originally posted by Andy

I a 5.3 Silverado V8 that gets similar mileage.  Towing our 179 I get anywhere from 12-15 mpg depending of wind and grade. I have the original Hood River larger tires so that probably drags it down a bit. I use a WDH and sway bar and tow smoothly.  How does that MPG compare to the Ford's?

Thanks
I don't know that there would be a big difference in mileage, at least not enough to brag about. 

One of the questions is the level of complexity. In my mind a V8 is a lot more complicated than a V6, or even a V6 with a turbocharger (or even 2 turbochargers). A V8 has 33% more moving (and reciprocating) parts than a V6. A turbo is really only a couple more moving parts, and they're not reciprocating. Turbochargers have been well proven now for more than a couple of decades, and 18-wheelers almost all use turbo'd diesel engines.

One of the things that I would be leery of with Chevy or GMC is the cylinder deactivation tech they use to conserve fuel. That's a significant level of complexity. Yes, I know that it is electronically controlled, but it's still electronically controlling parts of the valve train.


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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 01 Dec 2019 at 6:44pm
I own a 2014 Silverado 5.3 with AFM, first year of that generation 5.3. It has over 60K and no problems thus far. GM made changes in the 2019 year. Many of the problems incurred with cylinder deactivation happened in the early years. Not to say a problem can't occur but that can happen with any motor. I wouldn't let it stop me from buying GM. I have noticed when towing the V4 mode is less enabled. When it is enabled I can't tell it is changing.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 5:05am
Originally posted by GlueGuy

One of the questions is the level of complexity. In my mind a V8 is a lot more complicated than a V6, or even a V6 with a turbocharger (or even 2 turbochargers). A V8 has 33% more moving (and reciprocating) parts than a V6. A turbo is really only a couple more moving parts, and they're not reciprocating. Turbochargers have been well proven now for more than a couple of decades, and 18-wheelers almost all use turbo'd diesel engines.


Now, if you REALLY want a tow vehicle with minimal moving parts, plunk down your deposit for Elon Musk's Cybertruck. Telsas are claimed to have only about 17 moving parts total. And with up to a 14000 lb tow capacity it should pull an RPod around just fine. 

What we will need is for FR to introduce a new RPod Mad Max version to match the Cybertruck.  Stainless steel sheets with sharp angles instead of fiberglass curves. LOL

Joking aside, most mfrs have announced release of electric trucks within the next couple of years. They will be powerful, fast, efficient, and reliable. A big advantage for camping will be that they will have options for built in inverters so you can run equipment off their huge battery packs. The days of worrying about battery capacity in your travel trailer or lugging generators around will soon be over. If I was in the market for a new pickup in the next couple of years (I'm not) I would wait and see what the e-trucks are like before buying. 




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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 8:44am
Originally posted by offgrid

Now, if you REALLY want a tow vehicle with minimal moving parts, plunk down your deposit for Elon Musk's Cybertruck. Telsas are claimed to have only about 17 moving parts total. And with up to a 14000 lb tow capacity it should pull an RPod around just fine. 

What we will need is for FR to introduce a new RPod Mad Max version to match the Cybertruck.  Stainless steel sheets with sharp angles instead of fiberglass curves. LOL

Joking aside, most mfrs have announced release of electric trucks within the next couple of years. They will be powerful, fast, efficient, and reliable. A big advantage for camping will be that they will have options for built in inverters so you can run equipment off their huge battery packs. The days of worrying about battery capacity in your travel trailer or lugging generators around will soon be over. If I was in the market for a new pickup in the next couple of years (I'm not) I would wait and see what the e-trucks are like before buying.
I don't know that an EV is the way to go yet. You might want to watch this little video about an https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cvNfmL7XQg - EV's Achilles Heel .

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 9:16am
I just don't get it. During the summer when we get hot spells, they beg people to conserve electricity, turn down a/c, etc.. Why do we think it's a good idea to ADD hundreds of thousands of electric cars (now trucks too) to the grid? 
I also have seen an effort to add servo motors to campers to assist in towing, making the tow vehicle need  less towing power. I'm sure this is a few years away, but it's no different than robotics technology that's in use already. 


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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
I'll be rpodding


Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 1:28pm
Electric cars work well because there is a very small load.

Electric trucks when pulling a load (like a camper) will see published range cut in half. 

And where do you charge out in the boonies? How long will you sit there watching the meter? How about when its 10 degrees and a snow storm is brewing on the horizon, your vehicle is gonna take all day to charge in the cold weather and your camper had to be disconnected so you can fit in the space?

No thanks. 




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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 2:33pm
+1, not my cup of tea either.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 5:17pm
Originally posted by podwerkz

Electric cars work well because there is a very small load.
EVs work well because of their insane efficiency vs ICE cars. Most of the EVs I know of get > 100 MPGe, and some models of the Tesla model 3 is just edging over 140 MPGe. It's not so much that the load is small (those batteries make them HEAVY), as it is low aerodynamic drag and super-efficient motors.

Originally posted by podwerkz

Electric trucks when pulling a load (like a camper) will see published range cut in half.
It's worse than that. You should look at the Achilles Heel video linked above. It's kind of sobering regarding towing almost anything.




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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 6:59pm
The EV Achille's heel is sobering at best.  My son just sold his Tesla.  He lives in Grand Rapids, MI and enjoyed it during the summer months as he was able to get his 300 miles out of a charge.  Also charging stations are plentiful in Michigan, at least in the lower peninsula so travel was easy for him.  Now, the reason for selling:  winter weather cut his distance to 180 miles at best, the Tesla is terrible in snow, even with a good snow tires on it - he found himself wandering all over the road - not safe for him or his kids.  He told me if he lived in a place where there was no snow or cold weather below 40, he would have kept it, for all the cars he has had - this was his favorite, until the reality of Michigan winter slapped him in the face, and winter has only begun in this part of the world.

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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2019 at 7:44pm
This makes the extreme popularity of Teslas in Scandahoovian countries all the more puzzling. We know it gets cold up there, so what are they doing differently?

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2019 at 4:00am
Originally posted by GlueGuy

This makes the extreme popularity of Teslas in Scandahoovian countries all the more puzzling. We know it gets cold up there, so what are they doing differently?


Ahhh, maybe it is the government over reach and incentives to have a Tesla.  Due to efficient electric production via fjiords and rivers the price of electricity is ridiculously low.  I don't know the price of petrol over there but the last time I was in Europe on a missions mission it was $ 1.65/liter in Albania and Kosova and that was during the years of 1999 and 2000.


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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2019 at 5:43am
Oh ho, guess I started something, Tongue

Re range: range on ICE's gets cut pretty much in half too when towing (mine does for sure) so that is not special with EV's. Whether its a problem or not depends on the original range and on the availability of charging stations. The longest range electric trucks are supposed to go about 400-500 miles, so that should be pretty comparable to most ICE's towing.

Don't know anything about the range of EV's in very cold climates so can't comment on that. A 4wd one should be fine in the snow, like any other 4wd with traction control. 

Re why the grid can handle a conversion to electric, it depends when you charge it. Grid loading is always lowest between late evening and early morning so there is essentially always power to spare then. Most of the time EV's are charged at home so that timing is pretty easy to accomplish. 

Norway is the poster child for EV's with far more percentage wise on the road than anywhere else. Their electricity is hydro and they have plenty of it. They don't tax EV's so that acts like an incentive because ICE vehicles are taxed like crazy as they are throughout all of Europe.  The EV's get use of special highway lanes as well. Mostly they're using them for commuting and have second ICE vehicles for longer drives. 

Adoption of E trucks will depend on price, range, and availability of charging stations. We'll see how that plays out over the next few years. In the meantime the cars are pretty much there already for lots of people, certainly they are fine for most normal daily commuting patterns. 

I plan to swap my Prius out for a Chevy Bolt but will keep my Highlander for towing and long distance driving purposes, for now. 










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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2019 at 10:02am
I have friends with both the 3.5 and 5.0. They both tow very well, both towing 5,000lb trailers.

Truthfully.. I would get the 5.0. The thing just sounds awesome. And I like V8's.


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Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2019 at 10:53am
Since were talking pods, and weights under 5,000 the new Ford Ranger should be very much an active player in this conversation I would think. I am guessing it has an ecoboost engine as well.  It has a 7,000 tow cap. same as an f150 XLT i've been told. It's still pretty pricey but probably save several thousand.



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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
I'll be rpodding


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2019 at 12:56pm
Originally posted by mjlrpod

Since were talking pods, and weights under 5,000 the new Ford Ranger should be very much an active player in this conversation I would think. I am guessing it has an ecoboost engine as well.  It has a 7,000 tow cap. same as an f150 XLT i've been told. It's still pretty pricey but probably save several thousand. 
That's true. It's a 4-banger EcoBoost. As is true for all EcoBoost engines, it has lots of torque available at low RPM. If the shear size of the F-150 is an issue, the Ranger and most of its competitors (Tacoma, Frontier, Colorado, Canyon) would be roughly equivalent.

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 30 Dec 2019 at 5:45am
Thank you all for responding.  Just recently pulled the trigger on a 2017 F-150 SuperCrew 4 WD with the 3.5 Ecoboost.  Stats look pretty impressive 375 HP and 470 ft. lbs. of torque.  The only negative that I got out of this was that I had a 36 gallon tank in the '11 F-150, this one only has a 23 gallon tank.  Had to get rid of the '11 F-150 as I was having issues with oil consumption.  On our trip out west I averaged 1 quart of synthetic 5w-30 per 1000 miles.  I ended up using 6 quarts of oil.  Also was having issues with banging tappets for the first 5 minutes upon starting.  Had some engine work done already but the oil consumption problem continued.  The 5.0 Coyote had a lot of power pulling our 177, even in the mountains but with only 130 K miles on it, and with those issues I felt better upgrading.  The big plus was the dealership messed up on their posted price - I purchased it for $ 4000. less than what they planned on selling it for - apparently the person who does all the internet pics and prices entered the selling price wrong, bad for them, good for meBig smile

I won't be able to report how well this does for mileage until next spring as our 177 is on the back 20 in hibernation mode but I can report that on my last trip to Grand Rapids and back I was able to average 20.3 mpg cruising at 78 mph.  Speed limit in Michigan expressways is 75, most go 85 or faster.  At 78 I feel bad getting passed by pink and purple haired little ladies in their Cadillacs but that is the way it is.  I rather get to my destination in 1 piece and with all the numerous deer collisions I have had in the past, feel safer at this speed.


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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."



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