Test drove new 3.5l TT Ford

Dmace · Feb 21, 2011

robs660 said:
I would love to see a 150 / 1500 with a moderately sized diesel motor. Size it to get 25 or 28 miles empty and around 20mpg with a 75% of max load. I would jump on that band wagon in a heart beat. I get 17 to 19 in my 09 Silverado and my brother gets 15 to 17 in his F150. I think that there would be a lot of trucks sold to guys like us if we could hear a little diesel and not have to drive a 250 or larger truck. I just don't need that size truck any more and would love to get the performance of the big D.

It's coming, don't you worry. :thumbsup:
Diesel-Powered Ram 1500 Hinges on Demand Says Chrysler CEO | AutoGuide.com News

milkman636 · Feb 21, 2011

Dmace said:
Sure they could if you wanted a full-sized truck with a mid-sized cabin, a 165hp engine with horrible emissions, a tow capacity of about 5,000lbs and a payload of about 1000lbs. :laughing:

It had a 6250 gvwr and only weighed 4000 lbs empty. 2250 payload. 5000 was all I needed to pull. Most of my towing is a boat in the 3000 lb range. Again it was $9700 full sized truck that made 24 mpg.

My '07 F-150 extended cab cost close to 3 times as much and only has a 1700 lb payload, only tows 8000 lbs, and gets 17 mpg running empty in warm weather. So I have a bigger cab and 4wd now, 98% of the time I really don't need either. My truck is too fancy. The 4wd is nice, but all the other stuff like twin turbos is getting rediculous for just moving stuff from point a to point b.

Dmace · Feb 22, 2011

milkman636 said:
It had a 6250 gvwr and only weighed 4000 lbs empty. 2250 payload. 5000 was all I needed to pull. Most of my towing is a boat in the 3000 lb range. Again it was $9700 full sized truck that made 24 mpg.

My '07 F-150 extended cab cost close to 3 times as much and only has a 1700 lb payload, only tows 8000 lbs, and gets 17 mpg running empty in warm weather. So I have a bigger cab and 4wd now, 98% of the time I really don't need either. My truck is too fancy. The 4wd is nice, but all the other stuff like twin turbos is getting rediculous for just moving stuff from point a to point b.

I agree it's getting too complicated for a basic work truck but you are getting much more truck too. Like I said, if you wanted some severely underpowered (165hp) engine that spits out more harmful emissions than a current freightliner then you can have your 24 mpg empty. But these newer trucks will get you 20-22mpg, make 300hp+, last 150k+ with little to no maintenance, have exhaust emissions cleaner than the air in major cities, and even while towing that 3-5k lbs will still get 12-15mpg. I had an 89 Bronco with the I6 300 and while it was a great engine, I could only get 8-10mpg when towing a couple of sleds on a trailer (2500lbs +/-).

milkman636 · Feb 22, 2011

Dmace said:
It's coming, don't you worry. :thumbsup:
Diesel-Powered Ram 1500 Hinges on Demand Says Chrysler CEO | AutoGuide.com News

I hope it really is coming. Back in '02 I had more than 1 dealer tell me that Ford was bringing out an F150 with a smaller diesel "real soon". Still waiting to see one.

Dmace · Feb 22, 2011

milkman636 said:
I hope it really is coming.

Me too! That Cummins V8 5.0l with a 6 or 8 speed auto transmission would be killer! :thumbsup:
Unfortunately, gas prices will have really go up before people start seeing the benefit of a clean diesel and start placing orders.

PoorMansCat · Feb 22, 2011

Im not convinced on the idea of turbocharging a little gasser to make a big # for the commercials... Atleast not in a pickup application. Might work good in a Ranger, or maybe an option for the Raptor... but for a standard F-150 thats gonna work for a living...eeehh..

bp fick · Feb 22, 2011

We have a big Ford in the fleet and it works well, paid for and hoping for lots of future years. Got the little Ranger that knocks out 29-30 mpg and is about like driving a Fusion with a huge trunk.

The Tacoma and Frontier quad cabs are nice enough, but poor mpg, and I really, really want a Ford version. (ok, I'm an admitted homey).

Today we broke $3.40 a gallon. Where it stops? Nobody knows.

I'm insisting on 30+ mpg. That what is offered is a turbo-ed up XXX horse power yada yada is almost irrelevant when all I need it to do is drive 40 miles each way to get chicken bedding, layer feed, and an oil filter. What I want and what I need is simply not sold in North America. That has to change.

Offering me the 3.5l TT at 18 mpg isn't what I'm after. Sorry Ford.

Diamondpilot · Feb 22, 2011

Build your own. I know of a guy who put a 28HP Jinma 3 cylinder diesel in a worn out Mazda B2600, same thing as a Ranger. Playing with the gearing got it to run 55mph and get 40mpg. It has plenty of power with the standard 5 speed manual. Toughest part was making a adapter for the tranny to mesh up with the Jinma diesel and getting the proper pulley diameters to keep the alternator and air conditioning working properly. Got the truck for $450 and the engine for about $1000.

It has plenty of low end grunt and he routinely pulls trailers with it carrying hay and other farm related products.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/chinese-tractors/74663-jima-y385t-powered-mazda-pickup.html

Chris

Raspy · Feb 23, 2011

I love that story about the Jinma. But, unfortunately, it's not so easy for many to do swaps and fine tuning. Plus, you have to deal with the smog tests and such. I've got a Dodge D50 and a Mercedes diesel engine waiting to get acquainted. I've also got a Suzuki Samurai that is looking for a VW turbo diesel to snuggle in under the hood. One of these days.

It really burns me that we can't have diesel powered vehicles, of all types, like the rest of the world (I want a Jeep diesel). Plus, the new diesels we do have are so choked down that their benefits are reduced. With EGR, retarded timing and particulate filters that must be fed fuel to burn off the particles, the mileage has really taken a hit!

As fuel hits $4.00/gallon and the Middle East degenerates into further unrest, I develop more impatience with regulations that mandate higher fuel consumption. At some point we either have to reduce our demand through efficiency or drive much less.

tcartwri · Feb 23, 2011

You could put 4 turbos on a 1 Litre gas motor, and it wouldn't change the fact that it takes X amount of horsepower to push a 5000 lb truck through the air at 60 mph. In the real world you will see very little difference in the gas consumption between the 5.0 and 3.5tt.