Thoughts on 2012 F150 w/eco boost

[Sportfury]

Well my end of the 2011 year and early Christmas gift was a nice dent just behind the double cab door on my '07 Tundra after I tried driving over a lowered Honda in a parking lot (in my defense I made it over the hood before the truck stopped and I realized what the sound was.)

Anyways I recently got the truck fixed and the rental place had a 2012 F150 with Eco Boost. I thought that I would give you guys my impression of the truck versus my 2007 Toyota Tundra.

The interior was nice. In comparison to the Tundra the cab felt smaller making the truck seem smaller. The seats were nice and comfortable, but after my hour drive my left leg was tingling. Not sure why, but the seat didn't have all the electric adjustments that my Tundra has, so not sure if I could have adjusted this out.

The ride was carlike to say the least. I felt like I was riding in big car. Of course my Tundra has a small lift and 35" tires in load range E. The Tundra has no problems with corners. You put it into a corner and it follows it with little movement from the truck. The F150 scared me the first time that I went into a hard corner to the left. The truck felt like it wanted to push way to the side and go out of the lane. It did this more than once and made me quite cautious taking a corner.

The engine was not what I thought Ford claimed. The Eco Boost is a very small V6 with Turbo and  to me it performed that way. The gas mileage was not that great. I drove it for four days from Graham to Renton and only averaged 15 mpg. I stepped on it a time or two to test the turbo and it was very lackluster. I have no idea how you would tow with this engine. My Tundra has the 5.7l with 381 horse motor and I get 15 mpg doing the same driving. When I need to get somewhere I have more than enough power to do it.

Overall I love my Tundra and would not give it up. If I was going to consider another truck I guess I would have to give a F150 a try with similar engine option and maybe the FX4 package. This certainly will not be soon though.

[Thenewguy]

15 mpg? this seems strange as I get about 17 on my 06 f150 with more HPS then your toyota =-p

[Bofire]

  I think Turbos reduce life time
Carl

[Sportfury]

15 mpg? this seems strange as I get about 17 on my 06 f150 with more HPS then your toyota =-p

If you are meaning the Tundra, yes, I get 15 consistently, but get more (18) driving freeways. Of course this is with a lift and running 35's. Before the lift I consistently got 17 and 20.

[FC]

I think Turbos reduce life time
Carl

If forged pistons and a correct lowered compression ratio is used then no, turbos don't reduce engine life. If some jackwad throws a turbo on their otherwise stock engine they are probably going to be intimately acquainted with piston replacement procedures very quickly.

[fish vacuum]

I didn't even know a lift and 35's were necessary to drive from Graham to Renton.

[Thenewguy]

15 mpg? this seems strange as I get about 17 on my 06 f150 with more HPS then your toyota =-p

If you are meaning the Tundra, yes, I get 15 consistently, but get more (18) driving freeways. Of course this is with a lift and running 35's. Before the lift I consistently got 17 and 20.

I meant  you only report 15mpg with the ford eccoboost unless I read that wrong

[MDGrand]

I will have to counter your experience with my own...

First..I am shocked you get 15 MPG with the Tundra. Everyone I know that has the Tundra with the 350 gets 11-13 MPG max.. especially with 35s on it. My 150 seen here gets 20 MPG with 35s on it. I smoke every Tundra, Chevy, Dodge on the road and I keep up with Chipped deisels pretty well. Before this I had a completely customized HD Diesel and thought I would never go back to anything besides an HD Truck from on of the major 3. I was wrong as soon as I drove this truck and watched the Torture Test. For all those interested... check this out: http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/experiencef150/?searchid=57330306|2041121586|17079693708

I find the Ecoboost to be a HUGE leap in engineering and technology. 365 HP and 420 Lb feet of Torque out of a dinky 3.5 litre is spectacular. As compared to a big heavy 300 cube V8, the power to weight ratio of this truck and engine is superior. This sucker puts down 420 lb feet of torque at 2000 RPM.. that is a really fast torque curve only previously matched by deisels. Typically, a V8 needs to get up in RPMs to reach max torque.. making this a great off the line truck and a powerhouse for towing. I have also been amazed at how quiet it is.. I can barely hear the engine or outside noise.

As far as towing...I have towed a 7K boat with ease up and down Snoqualmie Pass.. in large part to the immediate and flat high torque. I will say I totally agree with your handeling comparision! I will admit, is car like.. its that smooth and to me an awesome bonus. BUT, when I have taken this sucker off road it peforms solid. 

So... I will have to offer as a new Ecoboost owner that I think your experience is very atypical. I am NOT discounting it! But.. perhaps its just that you drove a rental car.. Having worked at Dollar rent a car once in my life for about 3 years.. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that rental cars are abused.

[high country]

I would love to see one of these eco's at a dyno event. I just can't buy it. My experience with gas turbos (toyota supra) was that it made good power but I could drop into single digits for mileage.....course I was rolling at 170 too.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

I would say the interiors are nicer in the new fords, but I'll take the tundra any day. The Eco boost is an impressive engine and you get good gas milage, when you don't use the turbo. It has a bit more ft lbs of torque than the tundra, but I don't think ford offers a 4.30 gear ratio to really utilize all that torque like the tundra. I believe they offer 3.73 which is geared more for higher gas milage, which is fine for driving around town, but if you want a truck that performs and you use it for more than cruising around town, nothing compares to a tundra. 

[high country]

If the Ford is throwing down big torque at 2k it should be able to pull taller gears.

[Curly]

MDGrand, nice truck!  What gear ratio does your truck have?  And have you checked your mileage while towing your boat? 

[MDGrand]

Curly...

I have a 3.73 rearend with the electronic locker option. You can special order a 4.10 if you want. I would have to disagree with elkinrutdrivemenuts... a 3.55 is considered more of a highway and better gas mileage type of rearend.. a 3.73 is a bit of middle ground between a true taller gear like a 4.3 or 4.10 and a 3.55. I think a 3.73 is ideal as MOST of the time I am not towing. Regardless.. I would take a chain test against a Tundra. A Tundra has to get up to 3600 RPM to get its max Torque to the ground.. by then, the EcoBoost has already achieved 420 at 2500 RPM as well as hit max HP sooner as well.

I am totally biased... but I think Ford hit it out of the park with this truck and engine combo.. the day of having a big block V8 in a half ton is going to become a thing of the past. Not to mention that Toyota really is LAST in the game of MPG... I think their goal is to offer something in the middle ground of a HD and a half ton with the Tundra. The $ seems to be right in the middle ground anyway.

[Curly]

FYI - I found this thread on a Ecoboost forum:  http://fordf150ecoboostforum.com/index.php?/topic/187-fuel-economy/

And  this one:  http://fordf150ecoboostforum.com/index.php?/topic/298-better-towing-economy/

Some of those guys are getting pretty low MPG numbers while towing........ (But I should add that the towing mpg's are probably not worse than what you'd get from a big V8 either).

[Curly]

Curly...

I have a 3.73 rearend with the electronic locker option. You can special order a 4.10 if you want. I would have to disagree with elkinrutdrivemenuts... a 3.55 is considered more of a highway and better gas mileage type of rearend.. a 3.73 is a bit of middle ground between a true taller gear like a 4.3 or 4.10 and a 3.55. I think a 3.73 is ideal as MOST of the time I am not towing. Regardless.. I would take a chain test against a Tundra. A Tundra has to get up to 3600 RPM to get its max Torque to the ground.. by then, the EcoBoost has already achieved 420 at 2500 RPM as well as hit max HP sooner as well.

I am totally biased... but I think Ford hit it out of the park with this truck and engine combo.. the day of having a big block V8 in a half ton is going to become a thing of the past. Not to mention that Toyota really is LAST in the game of MPG... I think their goal is to offer something in the middle ground of a HD and a half ton with the Tundra. The $ seems to be right in the middle ground anyway.

Yeah, I agree.  The ecoboost looks to be the best engine for the 1/2 Ton trucks.  I read somewhere that Ford is working on a V8 Ecoboost, will be interesting to see the numbers on that.

[MDGrand]

FYI - I found this thread on a Ecoboost forum:  http://fordf150ecoboostforum.com/index.php?/topic/187-fuel-economy/

And  this one:  http://fordf150ecoboostforum.com/index.php?/topic/298-better-towing-economy/

Some of those guys are getting pretty low MPG numbers while towing........ (But I should add that the towing mpg's are probably not worse than what you'd get from a big V8 either).

Yup... when pulling my 7K Boat... I get about half the MPG. But... I expected that.

[Curly]

I'm thinking of getting a new truck so this topic is very timely.  I was set on getting a diesel, but this Ecoboost has me intrigued. 

[MDGrand]

I'm thinking of getting a new truck so this topic is very timely.  I was set on getting a diesel, but this Ecoboost has me intrigued.

I had an 06 F250 with the 6.0 diesel all tricked out.. ARP heads, Tuner, Lift, etc... but I totaled it on a hunting trip to MT.

So...

Went and test drove the Dodge.. Fit and finish as well as concerns over their Auto Tran kept me from going that route.

Went and test drove a Chevy/GMC Durramax.. SOLID truck, except the inside seemed a bit cheap and I have a buddy who constantly has to fix his door panels, or some other cosmetic issue.

Went and test drove the new 6.7 Ford PSD.. LOVED IT.. but I did not know how to feel about the 1st year of a new diesel engine and the price was higher...

Finally test drove the Ecoboost and found out that Ford had brought down a lot of the HD aspects into its F150 line.. trailer brake control, rear camera, traction control, Electronic rear end locker option..

So.. I got the 150.. NEVER thought I would buy a non HD truck again.

So far..happy.

[fillthefreezer]

I'm thinking of getting a new truck so this topic is very timely.  I was set on getting a diesel, but this Ecoboost has me intrigued.

im waiting for a manufacturer to put out a small truck (ranger, tacoma, etc) that will get 30+mpg. dont care who makes it i'll buy one. hoping ford will put together a 4cyl ecoboost

[jjhunter]

I just bought a 2012 F-150 Lariat Ecoboost tricked out with every available option for my wife 

Very comfortable,  interior finish is very impressive.  Ride is great, great power, averaging about 18 mpg overall, but only 1200 miles on it so we'll see if it gets better.

Last 5 trucks were Toyota, but liked the F150 over the Tundra, overall.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

I'm thinking of getting a new truck so this topic is very timely.  I was set on getting a diesel, but this Ecoboost has me intrigued.

im waiting for a manufacturer to put out a small truck (ranger, tacoma, etc) that will get 30+mpg. dont care who makes it i'll buy one. hoping ford will put together a 4cyl ecoboost

 

Or a small truck with a diesel engine! 

[fillthefreezer]

I'm thinking of getting a new truck so this topic is very timely.  I was set on getting a diesel, but this Ecoboost has me intrigued.

im waiting for a manufacturer to put out a small truck (ranger, tacoma, etc) that will get 30+mpg. dont care who makes it i'll buy one. hoping ford will put together a 4cyl ecoboost

 

Or a small truck with a diesel engine!

that be even better, c'mon car companies,  theyve already got em overseas, stupid emissions standards...

[TheHunt]

Great thread... I will be picking up a new truck within a few months.  I am leaning towards the F150 ecoboost as well.  I have read lots about problems within the 2011 models. 

I plan on buying a new boat so the towing capacity of the new truck will be considered highly in my decision.  I am thinking a 20 to 23 foot aluminum boat with 50 gal of gas and all my crap will be about 5K lbs. 

I am planning on an XT with cruse and air conditioning.  Nothing fancy... 

Korum quoted me 46,000 dollars hehehehehe those *censored*s are always over priced.

[TeacherMan]

Next truck will be a early 2000ish 2WD 3/4 ton diesel that I will chip and get 25-28mpg out of, pay cash for it. I'm tired of a car payment. My uncle got a 1 ton Mega cab 4wd that he put a chip and several other mods in and get 28mpg on the HWY! Been with him and seen it other wise wouldn't have believed it. I will only use the truck for pulling a camper or boat. Not a primary driver. I camp low and hunt high. Take the wheeler and soon enduro with me. I use to be a 4wd guy but I'm about to be a Prius guy with gas prices. I can already see it making the front page of the paper, man driving down I-5 with elk strapped to top of Prius 

[whacker1]

MD & JJ

Did you guys consider the 5.0 over the ecoboost?  I have been looking and will hopefully buy in 2013, but I have been looking at used 2009 & 2010's with the 5.4, because I know what to expect out of that motor.  And I don't really want to buy new, and I still get the new transmission out of those models.

With all that said, when I have been looking at the new ones, I have been leaning toward the 5.0 or 6.2 over the ecoboost.  I don't want to afford the upgrade to the 6.2, which leaves the 5.0 or Ecoboost.  I was just curious why so many people i know are going with ecoboost. 

I thought the ecoboost would be an awesome motor for an explorer or a ranger, but wanted the v-8 in the half ton.  That was just my initial reaction, but I have had limited exposure to any of the new motors.

[MDGrand]

MD & JJ

Did you guys consider the 5.0 over the ecoboost?  I have been looking and will hopefully buy in 2013, but I have been looking at used 2009 & 2010's with the 5.4, because I know what to expect out of that motor.  And I don't really want to buy new, and I still get the new transmission out of those models.

With all that said, when I have been looking at the new ones, I have been leaning toward the 5.0 or 6.2 over the ecoboost.  I don't want to afford the upgrade to the 6.2, which leaves the 5.0 or Ecoboost.  I was just curious why so many people i know are going with ecoboost. 

I thought the ecoboost would be an awesome motor for an explorer or a ranger, but wanted the v-8 in the half ton.  That was just my initial reaction, but I have had limited exposure to any of the new motors.

I considered the 5.0 for all of 2 seconds.

Go ask the sales guys over at a Ford Dealer and they will tell you very quickly that no one is buying the 5.0 over the Ecoboost.

365 HP vs. 360
420 Torque vs. 380

... Even the 6.2 doesn't compare.. the 6.2 has slightly better HP and Torque but it also weighs twice as much.. in fact testing showed the Ecoboost to be faster than the Raptor.

At the end of the day, its just a technologically more advanced motor.. and durrability in the Torture test shows its prowess as a well concieved powerplant.

[whacker1]

MD & JJ

Did you guys consider the 5.0 over the ecoboost?  I have been looking and will hopefully buy in 2013, but I have been looking at used 2009 & 2010's with the 5.4, because I know what to expect out of that motor.  And I don't really want to buy new, and I still get the new transmission out of those models.

With all that said, when I have been looking at the new ones, I have been leaning toward the 5.0 or 6.2 over the ecoboost.  I don't want to afford the upgrade to the 6.2, which leaves the 5.0 or Ecoboost.  I was just curious why so many people i know are going with ecoboost. 

I thought the ecoboost would be an awesome motor for an explorer or a ranger, but wanted the v-8 in the half ton.  That was just my initial reaction, but I have had limited exposure to any of the new motors.

I considered the 5.0 for all of 2 seconds.

Go ask the sales guys over at a Ford Dealer and they will tell you very quickly that no one is buying the 5.0 over the Ecoboost.

365 HP vs. 360
420 Torque vs. 380

... Even the 6.2 doesn't compare.. the 6.2 has slightly better HP and Torque but it also weighs twice as much.. in fact testing showed the Ecoboost to be faster than the Raptor.

At the end of the day, its just a technologically more advanced motor.. and durrability in the Torture test shows its prowess as a well concieved powerplant.

Interesting, thank you for sharing.  How many miles do you have on yours?

[MDGrand]

5500. Bought in Dec of last year.

[whacker1]

5500. Bought in Dec of last year.

cool, thanks for the input.

[jjhunter]

I didn't consider the 5.0.  The ecoboost power/fuel economy was a major selling point for me.  I also thought the overall vehicle quality was outstanding.  Nothing seemed cheap, everthing was very solid.

Hard for me to buy a Ford, but I felt it was the best overall vehicle made in that class.  I also got $3K customer cash, D plan pricing, $20K trade in for my '07 Tacoma (paid for), and 1.79% financing from my credit union.   Tough deal to pass on.

[whacker1]

I didn't consider the 5.0.  The ecoboost power/fuel economy was a major selling point for me.  I also thought the overall vehicle quality was outstanding.  Nothing seemed cheap, everthing was very solid.

Hard for me to buy a Ford, but I felt it was the best overall vehicle made in that class.  I also got $3K customer cash, D plan pricing, $20K trade in for my '07 Tacoma (paid for), and 1.79% financing from my credit union.   Tough deal to pass on.

Is the fuel economy as advertised?

[MDGrand]

Yes.. I get a bit less though cuz I put bigger shoes on her.

[TheHunt]

Yes.. I get a bit less though cuz I put bigger shoes on her.

How big of a tires did it come with and what size did you put on it? 

[Special T]

Often times it is the additional widths of tires that sucks fuel economy. changing the OD of the tires changes the overall gear ratio but that can be overcome somewhat by changing your driving style/ having a chip/programmer... Unfortunately that isn't really an option for a brand new vehicle that you want to keep in warranty tho.

[Curly]

Yes.. I get a bit less though cuz I put bigger shoes on her.

How big of a tires did it come with and what size did you put on it?

First..I am shocked you get 15 MPG with the Tundra. Everyone I know that has the Tundra with the 350 gets 11-13 MPG max.. especially with 35s on it. My 150 seen here gets 20 MPG with 35s on it.

35" is what he put on.  Curious to hear what size it came with.

[MDGrand]

Yes.. I get a bit less though cuz I put bigger shoes on her.

How big of a tires did it come with and what size did you put on it?

This truck CAME this way .... Evergreen Ford takes a few brand new trucks down to EasyWheel down in Auburn and gives them "The Treatment." All work is warranted through the dealer. The truck has a full Pro Comp Suspension put on.. including new control arms, sway bars, Larger drive shaft, shocks, struts, the works..

Tires and wheels are Ballistic 20" with 35x12.5 Nitto Trail Grappler

[Alpinegus]

I bought the Supercrew with long box eco-boost fall of 2011.
Gas mileage 14 when towing, 18 around town, 19-21 on the hwy.
Power is there when I need it.
Rides quiet. Handles great in snow with factory tires. Drove Olympia to Spokane back to Olympia over whitepass through the January snow storm. (Snoqualmie pass closed) Handled great, passed other vehicles and with  no chains.

Only down side is at times is in the auto shifting, or slight acceleration the is a shutter in the transmission. The ford dealer reprogrammed the tranny computer, not much change. Not too much to get real excited about, but still not comfortable with it either. Google - ford eco-boost shudder.

Really like the truck other than the shudder and the truck is too long to fit in the garage.