The Wife's '15 Ford F150 EcoBoost

[Greg@RME]

Nice ride! I wish my '17 F150 FX4 w/5.0 had the 36 gallon tank. Maybe the 3.73 gears instead of the 3.55's too . Oh well, it is what it is. I liked your post on the Falcon shock install as well and may have convinced me to changed the way I was going to do my level up.

Thanks! The big tank has been so nice to have, it'll be interesting to see what kind of mileage it gets per tank while towing. The Falcons are awesome, totally changed the truck for the better.

 

[Greg@RME]

To the OP:

There is a correction factor that you can calculate and enter to make the MPG display more accurate.

Run a synthetic oil with a low NOACK rating and change it every 5k (don't listen to the oil life monitor). This will help keep intake valves clean.

Brewcity Boost makes some awesome tunes that will give you a significant performance gain, with out trashing your fuel economy.

I'll have to look for that, especially with the tire size change. Always nice to have an accurate MPG measurement.

Good info on the oil, realizing how hard these EB's are working good oil is well worth the expense. I won $500 worth of Amsoil this Summer, guess I know what to spend that on!

We will see about a tune, I'd love to have one. Keeping the MPG's up with the added power would be great, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Deleted member 9101]

We will see about a tune, I'd love to have one. Keeping the MPG's up with the added power would be great, thanks for the heads up!

I did the "Highlander" tune. Unlike other companies, theirs will maintain the trucks ability to adjust the timing based on the octane of the fuel. Even with the 2.7 it made a drastic difference (the 3.5 responds even better) I can be driving at 30 MPH and spin the tires if I put the happy peddle to the floor. They also adjust the shift points in the transmission to accommodate the extra power and change in the power band.

 

[Greg@RME]

I did the "Highlander" tune. Unlike other companies, theirs will maintain the trucks ability to adjust the timing based on the octane of the fuel. Even with the 2.7 it made a drastic difference (the 3.5 responds even better) I can be driving at 30 MPH and spin the tires if I put the happy peddle to the floor. They also adjust the shift points in the transmission to accommodate the extra power and change in the power band.

I like that, totally makes sense to allow the ECU to change the timing based on what's currently in the gas tank. I can only imagine how much untapped potential resides in the EB.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I like that, totally makes sense to allow the ECU to change the timing based on what's currently in the gas tank. I can only imagine how much untapped potential resides in the EB.

Well, I know it's not uncommon for a good shop to be able to get around 90-100 HP out of a mechanically stock 3.5. Some places will sell you a tune and then do revisions based on the data you send them from your ECU to dial it in to fit your driving style. Don't buy the "one size fits all" tunes, they needlessly leave a lot of power on the table. The nice thing is, if you are not using the extra power the motor isn't burning any extra fuel. When you need it, the motor is more than willing to make you grin from ear to ear.

Even if your truck is 100% stock you'll notice a difference in performance between regular and premium fuel when towing. Unloaded it's not as noticable, but it's still apparent.

Another thing is to get a boost gauge and use that to set your crusing speed. The lower the boost pressure, the higher your MPG. Mine works out to be zero at 70MPH, so that's where I set my cruise. More boost = more fuel.

They are a little pricey, but I use the Napa Gold air filters. They have massive pleats and offer great filtration. While the EcoBoost has a great intake from the factory, adding a better flowing air filter lets the motor maintain its peak HP a couple of hundred RPMs higher.

 

[ebrabaek]

That looks like a sweet machine. We just got our 2018 onefitty as well, and to, love it. Only mods so far, is camper shell in the back, with Yakima round bars, 2.5 inch leveling kit in the front, and Morimoto 2.0 LED headlights.
We are also in Grand Junction, and if you have any interest in any of these mods, would be happy to show them.
Erling

 

[Grassland]

A tune is worth it just to fix the horrible shift strategy and anemic throttle response in the trucks. I have a 3.7 cyclone, and while a tune didn't give me lots of HP or torque, it made the truck shift firmer, better, and the throttle is far less aggravating now.
Tuner lets you reprogram for tire size change as well.

 

[ultraclyde]

Well, I jumped on the bandwagon, just a bit older wagon. Bought a low-mile '13 FX4 Supercrew with the 3.5EB this weekend. Loving it so far.

 

[Grassland]

Just keep an ear out for timing chain slap, and get on that if and when you hear it. Cost some bucks up front, but a lot cheaper then ignoring it. As well, what i read online suggests the EcoBoost wears out spark plugs faster for some reason. Lots of guys with high miles on the motors. Just do your maintenance, and keep an ear out for the chain slap.
Enjoy the truck. I particularly like the FX4 trim, hope you like it too!

 

[Wayne's Wagon]

I had a 13' ecoboost FX4, awesome truck. Had a few friends add tuners with custom dyno tunes and got tons of HP and Torque. They both threw rods towing trailers. Warranty covered new engines luckily. I think if you tow, be careful not to go too aggressive on the tune. Love those trucks!

 

[ITTOG]

They don't "plummet" under any kind of load. The worst they will do is get about the same MPG while towing as their V8 powered counterparts, while giving far better performance.

I have the 2.7 in mine and get about 12MPG effortlessly pulling a camper at 70mph.. my Tundra got nine pulling it at 65 and struggled with every hill.

This isn't even close to true.

I have a 2018 F-150 Platinum with 3.5L that gets about 21 miles per gallon unloaded at 75 miles per hour. When I add my 1600 lb trailer it will drop to 10.5 miles per gallon.

My 2007 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7L gets 17 miles per gallon. When I haul the same trailer it only drops to 13.5 miles per gallon. Both of these are at the same 75 miles per hour like the F-150.

The reason the F-150 drop so much is because the turbos guzzle gasoline. I can increase my fuel mileage to about 11.5 if I lock my transmission with a top gear of 7th. Doing this will force the transmission to downshift more than using the turbos.

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[Deleted member 9101]

This isn't even close to true.

I have a 2018 F-150 Platinum with 3.5L that gets about 21 miles per gallon unloaded at 75 miles per hour. When I add my 1600 lb trailer it will drop to 10.5 miles per gallon.

My 2007 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7L gets 17 miles per gallon. When I haul the same trailer it only drops to 13.5 miles per gallon. Both of these are at the same 75 miles per hour like the F-150.

The reason the F-150 drop so much is because the turbos guzzle gasoline. I can increase my fuel mileage to about 11.5 if I lock my transmission with a top gear of 7th. Doing this will force the transmission to downshift more than using the turbos.

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I had a 3.5 in a work truck for 6 years and currently have the 2.7 in my personal truck. Neither have had that kind of dismal fuel economy whilst towing. Here's a hint, SLOW DOWN and watch your boost gauge.

Why people think speed and power don't come at the expense of fuel is beyond me.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I had a 13' ecoboost FX4, awesome truck. Had a few friends add tuners with custom dyno tunes and got tons of HP and Torque. They both threw rods towing trailers. Warranty covered new engines luckily. I think if you tow, be careful not to go too aggressive on the tune. Love those trucks!

Yeah, if you use a reputable shop you don't have anything what so ever to worry about. To throw a rod in an EcoBoost takes a whole slew of bad decisions happening simultaneously.

 

[ITTOG]

I had a 3.5 in a work truck for 6 years and currently have the 2.7 in my personal truck. Neither have had that kind of dismal fuel economy whilst towing. Here's a hint, SLOW DOWN and watch your boost gauge.

Why people think speed and power don't come at the expense of fuel is beyond me.

I never said they weren't related. But given most states allow 75 that shouldn't be such a drastic change. The trailer is a 6 x 12 enclosed one. I think the wind resistance is a bigger issue than the weight.

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[ultraclyde]

In less than a week of driving around town (I have a 7 mile commute) I'm averaging 15.5mpg. Which is fine by me. The Jeep I'm replacing averaged 12. My one trip on the interstate so far was much better. Of course those are computer numbers which we all know are..uh..optimistic. I drove several 5.0 trucks ('15 and '13) and a couple other EBS ('13,'14) on the same test drive route on the same day after resetting the average. Every one of them averaged from 15.3 to 15.6. I will be towing a boat some, right now a lightweight 2000lb trihull. The Jeep got a whopping 9mpg towing that one at 55/65mph. I suspect the Boost will do much better. Of course I'm about to throw E-Rated ATs on it, so that should knock it down. Whatever, more to life than gas mileage.

I won't be tuning it. Stock is reliable, I have a Mustang to go fast. If this isn't a strong enough truck I should have bought a 250.