F150 Ecoboost vs 5.0 in the hills

[Kaisen]

If I were buying a Ford truck, I'd be going with the 5.0L

If I were free to choose any truck, it would be the new GM with the 6.2L. 420hp, 460lb-ft, and better fuel economy than the 5.0L, in a simpler, lighter truck

 

[east_tn_81]

It is funny everyone bashing the turbo engine but if it was diesel turbo I don't think much would be said.

 

[Buliwyf]

Turbos are less complex than your basic fuel system, AC, or even the door lock switch in some trucks. Not at all a reliability problem. If your truck is properly spec'd and used as intended. And that's the rub, isn't it? The ECO boost will be superior for unloaded operation on a stock truck. When you start screwing around with tires and heavy winches, that makes a substantial difference.
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Hands down, no contest, the 5.0L is going to respond better to the mods you have planned. Also, the low compression, grunty, workhorse engine, should live longer under all that extra weight.

 

[dusmw]

I have a 2013 5.0L in my F150 super crew w 6.5 bed. Have 40K trouble free miles. Pulled two boats and did so without any issues.
My last truck was a 2006 5.4 and other than spark plug replacement I had no issues to 200K miles. I just have a real issue with a 6 cyl in a full size truck. Not knocking the EB it's just not for me.

Go drive both options and get what best suits your needs!

 

[stingray1300]

Here are some questions you should be asking.
1. How difficult is the engine to service and work on? Can you do the work with your own tools or do you need a shop just to change the oil or fan belt?
2. How will you be using your new rig? Will it be a road king or a dirt warrior? (I guess elevation changes should be included.)
3. What's the total cost of the vehicle? Including the sticker price, gas usage, servicing and potential repairs required and warranties.

With the EcoBoost:
1a - Easy as a 5.0L (have you looked under the hood at a 5.0L ? Plumbing galore!
1b - Yep. Do all my own work. I change my own oil. I basically do everything unless something expensive needs replacing under warranty (nothing yet, BTW)

2 - As a DD, vacation mobile, and off-roading/overlanding. Not to mention a hauler. Have towed a 12,000# Bobcat trailer and a 4 ton dump trailer with mine. Have already done it, will continue to do it. That's what a "truck" is for.

3a - $1,095 more than the 5.0L. I figure it will take me about 2 years to make that up in mpgs. But "Smiles-per-gallon" are FAR superior to the 5.0L
3b - I *may* buy an extended warranty, but not out of concern for the engine/turbos... more out of a concern for the MFT and other electronics

No one (not even myself) has mentioned the offroad-ability of the EB vs the 5.0L. How so? Well, given that the 5.0L develops its 380 ft lbs of torque @ 4250rpm and its 360hp @ 5500rpm, as compared to the 3.5EB developing its 420 ft lbs of torque at 2500rpm and its 365hp at 5000rpm. Remember, we might BUY horsepower, but we DRIVE torque; especially off road. Then you can add the towing ability of the EB as compared to the 5.0L. 40 ft lbs might not seem like a lot, but when you need it, you'll wish you had it. Fuel mileage whilst towing? I have no comparative information. But remember, when you put your foot to the floor with an EB, you're basically turning your 3.5L into a 7.0L. I.e., it's going to drink fuel no matter what you do or say. And, what would you rather go 'crawling' with?

Now, another interesting fact that I had to be convinced of myself: tuning. Get the best tuner you can for a 5.0L and you may squeak out 20hp (w/o other mods - tuner alone). Take the same grade tuner and install it on an EB and there are pretty wild numbers to be had. My Hypertech tuner adds *65hp* on a regular gasoline tune (85hp on a premium gasoline tune)! Wild numbers, to be sure, because I didn't believe it myself and had to go to the trouble of verifying (through several unrelated sources) of their validity. Tis true! And while I didn't really expect to get the claimed 1-2 mpg improvement, I have seen as high as 25.5 mpg (on flat ground - highway doing 55 - loaded). But in my real world I don't notice a real big difference in mpgs. But hey! At least it didn't DROP!

So absolutely - buy what you want! And enjoy it! Just please don't spout off negatively regarding something about which more should probably be learned, OK? We end up with egg on our faces when we do silly things like that eepwall:

 

[zzz150]

to each their own. either way the buyer is getting a sweet engine! so far i'm experiencing an avg of 14-16 litres per 100km per tank mostly city driving, hwy at 100mh/h can see as low as 11 as high as 15 in strong headwinds and hilly areas. anybody i talk to with an ecoboost is in the same boat with mpg's. personally if the dealer had a a basic 3.7 v6 i would have went with that as i don't tow.

 

[Big50]

Special order one with the 6.2L haha!

14 MPG with 35's and a 6200lb truck is not bad at all. That's what I average before stepping up to 37's. I'm sure on a F150 and 32's it would do even better.

Gobs of power throughout the power band. Not one problem over 14,000 miles of which 3,500 are offroad and 1500 are towing