Fun mode.

[Fordman1981]

With the addition of a 2016 3500 dually dump body I've decided having a 3/4 ton as a daily driver makes less sense. The power wagon has been a great vehicle and has done everything I've asked of it but I now have a dedicated truck for towing and hauling. I still need a truck for day to day use but the heavy towing and hauling will be done with the 3500. So I started researching trucks and visiting dealers. I first drove a ram 1500 eco diesel for a few days. I have to say the truck was amazingly quite very little road noise and returned very impressive fuel milage. What I have read on the internet seemed to be true and the truck was actually returning better mileage than on the window sticker. So to do my due diligence I drove the chevy 1500 and it was ok. Next on the list was the ford F150. I took a 2016 F150 3.5 eco 4x4 crew cab home for a day to try out. I reset the trip before leaving the dealer and was just cruising down the road with the cruise control on and was getting 21.5 mpg average. Sitting at a stop light I was looking over the buttons and different things in the truck and noticed sports mode on the shifter (I now refer to as Fun mode). The truck already felt much quicker than the last 3.5 eco I drove which was pre aluminum. I have to say the sport mode impressed me even more. Sport mode makes the shifts more firm and keeps the engine in the sweet spot very similar to my current truck with a hemi fever tune. So that night I built out the exact truck I'd like online looked up the trade in value of my truck and went with numbers that would persuade me to try a ford again after having issues with them in the past. I told the dealer I wasn't going to share my numbers but to know I had them ready to compare to the offer they make. First offer was very close to the numbers I would agree to but I always feel I have to get a better deal so I pushed for a better deal than I originally had in mind. After talking to the manager we came to what I feel is a very good deal. So I have a new 2016 F150 on order and should be here sometime in August.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Congrats. I think you made a smart choice. To me the Eco Diesel is just a little weak on the HP numbers and for the cost is not enough of a gain over the EcoBoost gas engine.

I will say we now have 5 or 6 Eco Diesel trucks at my work. The guys driving them like them but all say for towing they prefer our GMC 1500's with the 5.3 or F150's with the 5.0's.

Can't wait to see it.

 

[Fordman1981]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to getting it. It amazed me at the amount of F150s that have standard mirrors instead of tow mirrors. Do you still have your 2012 EB? A few things I'm not sure about. I know some people have had to drill a small hole in the intercooler is that a wait and see thing or has ford made changes to where it's no longer necessary? The other is the catch can I have read till I'm tired of reading about it and don't feel I've read a definitive reason one way or another. Some claim ford can deny warranty if you have a catch can. I feel if I keep the oil changed at 5k intervals the catch can isn't needed.

 

[Bird]

I tried out that "fun mode" on my 2015 F150. It's interesting, and it worked as it should, but we'll rarely use it, I'm sure.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to getting it. It amazed me at the amount of F150s that have standard mirrors instead of tow mirrors. Do you still have your 2012 EB? A few things I'm not sure about. I know some people have had to drill a small hole in the intercooler is that a wait and see thing or has ford made changes to where it's no longer necessary? The other is the catch can I have read till I'm tired of reading about it and don't feel I've read a definitive reason one way or another. Some claim ford can deny warranty if you have a catch can. I feel if I keep the oil changed at 5k intervals the catch can isn't needed.

Yes, still have it. 75K and not a single hiccup. I did drill a 1/8" hole in mine. Nothing has ever came out. Actually forgot about it till you said this.

Never considered the catch can. I drive the snot out of it and still on the original brakes. 1 set of plugs at 60K just because and a set of tires. I did have the heater blower resistance computer fail but it was a 5 minute $80 fix.

We have now had 6 EB trucks in my family. Other than my $80 fix theyear have all been trouble free.

Chris

 

[Fordman1981]

Yes, still have it. 75K and not a single hiccup. I did drill a 1/8" hole in mine. Nothing has ever came out. Actually forgot about it till you said this. Never considered the catch can. I drive the snot out of it and still on the original brakes. 1 set of plugs at 60K just because and a set of tires. I did have the heater blower resistance computer fail but it was a 5 minute $80 fix. We have now had 6 EB trucks in my family. Other than my $80 fix theyear have all been trouble free. Chris

That's great. I read on the F150 eco boost forum that some people that put a catch can on the 2016 3.5 Eco are actually turning up empty when they change the oil. So the thought on the newer ones is it might be even less needed than the early 3.5 Eco. Thanks for your input and to anyone else that replies to my thread I may not have time to reply for the next few days. My first son was born today. Curious what people's thoughts are on the F150 not having latch in the center position of the rear seat?

 

[Fordman1981]

So I've done a lot of reading on other forums and have found out that the 2015 and 2016 EB 150s have the intercooler in a higher location and some other changes that I haven't been able to find details about to help fight the condensation issues. Thought the other 15 and 16 EB owners would appreciate this information. I don't plan to drill the hole unless I see reason to do so by checking the intercooler at the 10k and 20k range. I don't think I'll do the catch can either seems to be a lot of people that aren't doing either mod and are getting good service out of their EB trucks. From what I've read if you use 91 or higher every few tanks and get on the skinny pedal from time to time the carbon doesn't seem to build up.

 

[HHR]

A 2015 or 2016 F150 EcoBoost pulled out in front of me and a large haze of black smoke/soot blew out the back. What would this be coming from? Rich mixture? Fun mode?

 

[Fordman1981]

A 2015 or 2016 F150 EcoBoost pulled out in front of me and a large haze of black smoke/soot blew out the back. What would this be coming from? Rich mixture? Fun mode?

That's a good question. I would venture a guess he's running a custom tune and doesn't have it dialed in yet. From all the reading I've done so far I haven't seen mention of black smoke/soot from any stock trucks or ones running canned tunes or good known custom tunes.