2015 F150 Tow Test vs. Dodge and Chevy

[s219]

Yep, it all comes back to the energy in the fuel that's needed to produce the power to move the load and offset losses from drag, friction, etc. The turbos increase efficiency a little bit more over the pathetic 18-19% of normally aspirated engines, by using up some of the thermal energy in the exhaust gas, but it still not much more than another few percent. So in reality, it's thermodynamics in the end.

Since this test was run to get the best performance, the Ecoboost probably drank quite a bit of gas in demonstrating such good performance. Would have been interesting to see a test run if they were trying for the best MPG (not even sure how they'd do such a test, but it would involve maximizing the ratio of mph to fuel rate (mpg=mph/gph).

Diesels get into the 42-47% efficiency range and they have more energy per gallon, so I bet the Dodge was still the king of efficiency, even though it was a turtle in this test.

 

[tcartwri]

and it still use more fuel than the Hemi...

 

[Reyer Farms]

My wife's truck is an ecoboost 2011 90k mikes 4x4. Been a good truck, Davis dam must be real dry climate. Ours won't run past 2500 rpm without shaking into limp mode thanks to the great condensation in intercooler.
I hope they fixed it for these new trucks. I personally don't care for aluminum bodies, it's a deal breaker for me. Really like the new GMs. Daddy just bought a reg cab z71 it's very nice. Have a friend that ordered one in jan. V6 reg cab 4x4, 4 months driving it had 18k miles driving inside a 10 mile radius from his shop averaging 20 mpg. He runs a bunch of gas wells and that truck has had it rough. In all fairness we should load up two 580 Case backhoes and run through the south Ms pineywoods at an average of 70 mph. Or just let Mike Rowe,howie long, and Sam Elliot duke it out in a no holds barred grudge match.

 

[fordmantpw]

My wife's truck is an ecoboost 2011 90k mikes 4x4. Been a good truck, Davis dam must be real dry climate. Ours won't run past 2500 rpm without shaking into limp mode thanks to the great condensation in intercooler.
I hope they fixed it for these new trucks. I personally don't care for aluminum bodies, it's a deal breaker for me. Really like the new GMs. Daddy just bought a reg cab z71 it's very nice. Have a friend that ordered one in jan. V6 reg cab 4x4, 4 months driving it had 18k miles driving inside a 10 mile radius from his shop averaging 20 mpg. He runs a bunch of gas wells and that truck has had it rough. In all fairness we should load up two 580 Case backhoes and run through the south Ms pineywoods at an average of 70 mph. Or just let Mike Rowe,howie long, and Sam Elliot duke it out in a no holds barred grudge match.

Have you had your truck in for the intercooler fix? I think there is a fix for that in those models. I believe the '13+ model years have a fix for that. The issue was especially for those in humid climates, which MS definitely is!

Just curious, what's the issue you have with aluminum bodies and why is it a deal breaker? You do realize the hood on your '11 is Al, right?

 

[schmism]

Just curious, what's the issue you have with aluminum bodies and why is it a deal breaker? You do realize the hood on your '11 is Al, right?

I'm not convinced they have the engineering done right on the crumple zones. (A pillars, B pillars, C pillars, side door braces etc) I'm not convinced they have the body mounts designed right not to fatigue, crack, and rot away in 10 years. I don't believe they have a system to combat every place a steel screw is used to hold something to the aluminum sub body.

There is a reason the aircraft industry is built with billions of rivets and not screws/bolts. I'm not convinced the have the mechanical stresses worked out for expansion/contraction for the AL body parts from 140 deg summer temps to -20 below winter temps. (if I've looked up my stats correctly, AL has roughly twice the expansion/contraction ratio as steel)

Im not convinced that the body panels are thick enough to not be dented from a heavy bird ***** 50' up or even the slightest door ding. I'm not convinced that any trucks that live within sight of an ocean arnt going to fall apart in 5-10 years from galvanic corrosion. Not to mention what happens to the trucks in the rust belt of the US.

Those are the issues off the top of my head of why I wont own one. Now I might be convinced to buy a wrecked one whole and transplant that 2.7 into something else.... but Ill look to revisit my choice in 7-10 years when i see what the track record is.

 

[TomSeller]

The more I keep reading on these Ford Ecos, the more I will have to take them seriously. Not that I haven't, I am just not in the market for a new pickup yet. I am very impressed that 2.7L can even come close to these other trucks with much larger displacements.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Have you had your truck in for the intercooler fix? I think there is a fix for that in those models. I believe the '13+ model years have a fix for that. The issue was especially for those in humid climates, which MS definitely is! Just curious, what's the issue you have with aluminum bodies and why is it a deal breaker? You do realize the hood on your '11 is Al, right?

I tried to. Service guy said he would order the part but would not say it would fix the problem...

I took the truck to a dealer that was close by when truck first started acting up. They told me my truck was out of warranty, drained the turbo,replaced 2 spark plugs that were cracked ( told me I needed more changed but they only has two), and wrote me a nice little bill. Honestly any repairs to our truck will probably not take place at a dealership. I am considering the Full Race replacement.
As far as aluminum bodies- I was unaware of the aluminum hood. Aluminum is a great material but costly to repair. It is special. It work hardens faster, becomes brittle, you can't just hammer out a dent, I realize that shops will invest in equipment and technology will make everything better. At least for now, I'm going to be against it.

 

[fordmantpw]

Interesting take on your reasons for not wanting Al. A couple things to note: 1) The aluminum is an alloy that has been specially designed for this use. 2) The Al body panels are actually more dent resistant than their steel counterpart. They are thicker (yet still weigh less) and that helps prevent minor dings and dents.

I think it will take a while to win over a lot of folks on Al in trucks. Al vehicles have been around for a long time, just not in the mainstream brands.

 

[ruffdog]

Interesting info on aluminum body repair from the pros.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140203/RETAIL05/302039915/body-shops-say-aluminum-costs-more-to-repair#

 

[s219]

I have zero concerns about aluminum. Ford is not the first auto manufacturer to use it extensively, so we would have heard about horror stories long ago if there were big problems. Aluminum bodies use different technologies for assembly to avoid many of the issues cited in posts above. Sounds like the real challenge will be educating potential customers and skeptics.