Ford twin turbo VS v8

[Uncle Ruckus]

I feel like we’ve had this discussion before but I can not remember for sure. So, which one is it? I’m leaning twin turbo but my only hesitation is towing. 27’ boat on occasion and camper in the near future. Feel iffy on the boat

 

[T-TownDawgg]

If towing occasionally, EcoBoost. If towing a lot, Coyote.

 

[smellmyfinger]

I have the 3.5 Eco boost and it is fantastic. Pulls my 23ft mastercraft like it's not even there, prior truck was a 2014 Z71 and the ford is far superior to tow with in my opinion.
Aside from the Raptor the 3.5 ecoboost has the highest towing capacity in ford 150 class.

 

[tired]

If You want more power, torque, towing capacity, & fuel economy the 3.5 EcoBoost. The 5.0 is a fine engine though. Are you in the market? If so, I'll hook you up

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

I feel like we’ve had this discussion before but I can not remember for sure. So, which one is it? I’m leaning twin turbo but my only hesitation is towing. 27’ boat on occasion and camper in the near future. Feel iffy on the boat

I see them pull race car trailers all the time with no problems. Here is a thread on a boat forum:

https://www.thehulltruth.com/trucks-trailers/753074-f150-eco-boost-what-you-towing.html

 

[Dawgpile]

If You want more power, torque, towing capacity, & fuel economy the 3.5 EcoBoost. The 5.0 is a fine engine though. Are you in the market? If so, I'll hook you up

Lifetime powertrain including turbos if you buy from me. PM for a reading.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

I guess it comes down to personal preference. I went with the 5.0 because I did not want to worry about the Turbos, and I love the sound when I hit the gas. I did not think the 1-2 MPG were that big of a deal.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Turbos require a lot of maintenance. Not hard to burn them up if you don’t maintain them. I’ve burned up one, it’s expensive.
Give me the 5.0 all day.

 

[Dawgpile]

Turbos require a lot of maintenance.

It's called an oil change.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I have the 3.5 Eco boost and it is fantastic. Pulls my 23ft mastercraft like it's not even there, prior truck was a 2014 Z71 and the ford is far superior to tow with in my opinion.
Aside from the Raptor the 3.5 ecoboost has the highest towing capacity in ford 150 class.

Nailed it.. I was skeptical of the Ecoboost for a while. Last Memorial Day I traded in a 2014 Silverado with a 6.2 for the 3.5 Ecoboost. The F-150 pulls much better (10 speed transmission) and absolutely destroys the mileage. I pull a 6-8k lbs trailer 500 miles per month. Drive another 1500 without a trailer. I cannot explain how much I love the Ecoboost and 10-speed combo... Cannot speak to longevity as I am only a year in, but I wouldn't ever go back to a V8 gas burner... I think the argument these days is between 1/2 ton Dodge Diesel, Ford Ecoboost 3.5, and your favorite 3/4 ton diesel.

I use a GENY Torsion Hitch for a bumper pull 20' * 8' cargo trailer and the factory trailer brakes. No problem with stopping or pulling. The highway speeds get a little dicey in crosswinds, but only a 3/4 ton chassis will prevent that from happening. The truck is rated for 12k or so and I would not be afraid to give that weight a shot if well balanced. If you are pulling a 27' boat at high speeds or for long distances, I would suggest a 3/4 ton. The Eco will be fine, just need more steel in that chassis for handling.

 

[FLANGA]

Ecoboost all the way. I’ve got the 5.0, and one of my friends has the Ecoboost.

His pulls a trailer and jeep much easier than mine. MPG is a little better on the Ecoboost towing or not.

I’ll be going EB on my next one.

 

[jumpdawg]

I had a fleet of 2011 EB and we had to replace coil packs on all of them at about 70,000 miles. Maybe someone better mechanically inclined can speak to any improvements made since then OR tell us how to avoid this costly replacement.

I can say that I loved the EB and did not have an issue towing a 25' triple toon boat that weighs about 5000# and catches a lot of wind.

I since left that position and went into work on my own and decided I would try a Chevrolet for a change...bad decision. Not speaking from a towing viewpoint but an overall design perspective. I'm thinking of switching back to a Ford and see a couple of posts that looks like possible salesmen. If so, PM me.

 

[Palmettodog]

I’ve had 3 Chevy crew cab Z71s and I liked all of them. I purchased a 2014 Ford with 15k miles, with Ecoboost last year. I love this truck and I’ve put about 32k miles on it already. No issues so far. Only ***** is the brake rotors. They warp easy and Ford knows it.

 

[thatsbaseball]

I don't have anything large to tow anymore so I bought a 2.7L EB F150XLT. So far the truck does everything they said it would.....I would bet the 3.5L EB would do the job for you.

 

[turkish]

I’m also considering the smaller Ecoboost, since I’m mostly just doing highway commuting nowadays. In some 2017 tests it actually out-accelerated the other Ford offerings, 0-60. Of course, that was unloaded.

 

[Shmuley]

Results of unofficial survey. Had to travel toward coast this morning. Got light enough to see around 5 am. Count taken between 5ish and 7ish. Total pickups pulling **** - 41. (Northbound 29, southbound 12). GMC/Chevy 22. Ford 11. Dodge 5. Toyota 2. Nissan 1. Also spotted an SUV pulling a uhaul. Looked like an early 2000s suburban.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Results of unofficial survey. Had to travel toward coast this morning. Got light enough to see around 5 am. Count taken between 5ish and 7ish. Total pickups pulling **** - 41. (Northbound 29, southbound 12). GMC/Chevy 22. Ford 11. Dodge 5. Toyota 2. Nissan 1. Also spotted an SUV pulling a uhaul. Looked like an early 2000s suburban.

Always 1 ******* in a Nissan.

 

[Dawgbite]

I have to admit, I'm surprised by most of your answers. I have been taught all my life that there is no substitute for cubic inches when it comes to towing "torque". Simple physics dictates that a 3.5L engine will have to turn more RPM's than say a 6.2L to do the same amount of work , i would be curious to see if there are going to be reliability and longevity issues with the high reving supercharged engines. I had always assumed that the small supercharged engines were a sales gimmick to increase mileage for the people who wanted a truck but didn't need a truck. You guys may have forced me to rethink my next truck. That being said, my son recently purchased a Nissan HD with the Cummins diesel and I have been very impressed, great mileage, quiet, and plenty of power.

 

[tired]

I have to admit, I'm surprised by most of your answers. I have been taught all my life that there is no substitute for cubic inches when it comes to towing "torque". Simple physics dictates that a 3.5L engine will have to turn more RPM's than say a 6.2L to do the same amount of work , i would be curious to see if there are going to be reliability and longevity issues with the high reving supercharged engines. I had always assumed that the small supercharged engines were a sales gimmick to increase mileage for the people who wanted a truck but didn't need a truck. You guys may have forced me to rethink my next truck. That being said, my son recently purchased a Nissan HD with the Cummins diesel and I have been very impressed, great mileage, quiet, and plenty of power.

You get your torque from the turbos. Imagine going up hill in non-turbo engine. It downshifts to get up the hill, in the Eco, the turbos kick in, no downshift (unless you gas it), using less fuel. Some people actually complain about the fact it doesn't downshift, but that's what it's meant to do. The first generation Ecoboost (2011), Ford had some issues with them, but have been resolved. Other people complain about the valves building up carbon deposits, which happens in any direct injection engines. There is a service/maintenance required at about 70k miles for around $200-$250. No big deal. There's not a thing wrong with the 5.0, the 3.5 EB just out performs it. They're both great engine, depends on your preference. As far as longevity, there's guys in here all the time with well over 100k miles with no issues. A buddy of mine has 240k miles on his 2012 and still going strong.

2.7 Ecoboost-325 HP, 400 Torque, max towing 8,200
3.5 Ecoboost-375 HP, 470 Torque, max towing 13,200
5.0 395 HP, 400 Torque, max towing 10,700. The 5.0 has the most payload in it's class at 3,270 with the 3.5 right behind it at 3,230

 

[chained1]

If you are looking for power and a truck that will last forever I'd suggest the route I took. I traded in an F150 5.0 V8 for a Tundra 5.7 V8. I tow a 20 foot toy hauler with a side by side in it. Towed it with the F150 and now with the Tundra. My Tundra totes that thing around like a Piece of yarn behind it while the F150 acted sluggish. My dad has the bigger ecoboost and he drove my Tundra. His words to me were "I think if we were to hook our trucks together yours would yank the frame out from under mine". The low end torque on these Tundras is insane. It's also really fun to put it in tow/haul mode and turn off traction control, it'll throw you back in the seat like a ragdoll.

I will add this though, the gas mileage isn't great but hey, if I wanted gas mileage I would have a car. I love this truck so much, the only way I'd go back to Ford is if I came into some money and got a Raptor. But then again, they male a supercharger for Tundras.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

I didn’t say this in my initial post, but this is really what I am considering. Ford is option 1B, it just depends on what deal i feel is best. After driving both, prefer the Tundra

 

[chained1]

I didn’t say this in my initial post, but this is really what I am considering. Ford is option 1B, it just depends on what deal i feel is best. After driving both, prefer the Tundra

I'd try playing multiple dealerships against each other via email contact. I wish I had taken time to wheel and deal but buying my Tundra wasn't planned and I didn't even realize I was in the market at the time, crazy how that happens haha. I still got a good deal but I feel I could've gotten better. Ford does have more incentives to help make a good deal but if you're looking for longevity I'd take the higher cost and dependability every time, just my opinion. Not to mention the Tundra holds much higher resale value if you ever needed a change for some reason.

 

[RutherfordBHayes]

The factors in my decision boiled down to longevity vs fuel economy. I went Coyote because I’ll keep it a long time, put a ton of miles on it, off road, haul stuff, etc. You know; truck stuff. I trust that V8 more than those turbos. I think there’s 2 mpg difference.
I’ll haul a loaded 12’ trailer alot down the interstate/highway around 80mph and get 12mpg. It pulls great.
Mrs. Rutherford drives the V6 in the SUV, but we won’t keep it as long. It’s perfect for carpooling and the weekend trips. But I don’t do the truck stuff in it.