My truck Vs. Fx4 Ecoboost

[Tom@BigTimeKustomz]

I did the switch Freddy, here are my observations and my opinion if I was going to do it over again:

1. I would not buy the Ecoboost motor. I tow a lot in the summer, nothing more than 5k, but the 5.0 would have been fine for me. Hook a trailer up to the truck (around 2k) and it gets 10mpg. Sucks!
2. Another vote for no Eco....it doesn't get the mpg that it advertises empty. Mine has the 17's, 3.31 gears, 4x4, screw, 6.5ft bed and averages 14-17mpg now, and I baby the crap out of it. Buddy of mine has the identical truck to mine, and has the same issue. Summer time it gets a little better, but not much.
4. I will say this..the truck itself is a hell of a lot nicer than my 2500 Dodge was and after 16 months of owning is still tight everywhere. My Dodge creaked like a haunted house after a year. The entire cab is much bigger and extremely comfortable.
5. If I was to do it over again, I would have bought the 5.0 and probably got the FX4 package which was only another $4k difference. It has a lot of options especially 3.73 gears which I think would do better mpg wise.
6. However, my side business is getting bigger this year so I'm going to need a bigger truck again. Its tough now that I went from having too much truck to not enough truck which can get frustrating. I'm looking into either a 6.4 or 6.7, can't decide. I'll keep the next one for 10 years like I did with the Dodge.
7. The truck does have a ton of power for being stock. I couldn't imagine it with a tuner and minor bolt-ons, but won't do it. Not going down that road again!

Sorry for the long post, but I did make the switch. Good luck bud!

 

[FreddyM]

Dammit patriot 2500!!!! You make very good points!!! I'm just freaked out cause I put tons of miles on my trucks and I don't wanna end up with a gas truck with 200k miles.
I went and looked at some fx4s and some lariats but to be honest nothing compared to my king ranch. I paid 28k for mine with 80k miles. and now I'm looking at 35k trucks that don't even begin to compare to mine

 

[madman1234509]

Vehicles break down, NO MATTER WHAT. Don't let one little mishap get you down. The eco boost has twins as well and could just as easily leave you stranded. I say keep it. The truck is sick, has good power and good mileage for what it is. Put a 71mm or 72mm on there and enjoy the extra power and maybe even a bit more mileage

 

[WILD_PHIL]

Personally I have never been lucky enough to own a gas truck that got better mileage then a diesel truck. My mom has a 11 ecoboost fully equipped lariat. She averages 15mpg hand calculated on the highway. Im sure that will get better once she gets some more miles on it. Good luck which ever way you go.

 

[Franchi]

I have a modded 12 ecoboost for my dd and love it. Does what I need it to do, hauls the whole family and toys and nice and docile until I romp on it hard.

 

[seeyalater5.9]

OP,

based on your posts you "need" the super duty more than you "want" it..if that makes sense...

Hauling dogs, guns, boats, hunting equipment around in the Eco vs your PSD would leave a sour taste in your mouth IMO. Throw a new turbo in the SD go out burn a little rubber to put a smile back on your face and forget about ever thinking about making the switch

 

[dasboot]

it seams to me that Ford's gas engines and some of the truck needs too many special tools just to do simple maintenance. I'm not sure about the newer diesels and I'm not a mechanic nor expert.

 

[Tom@BigTimeKustomz]

Dammit patriot 2500!!!! You make very good points!!! I'm just freaked out cause I put tons of miles on my trucks and I don't wanna end up with a gas truck with 200k miles.
I went and looked at some fx4s and some lariats but to be honest nothing compared to my king ranch. I paid 28k for mine with 80k miles. and now I'm looking at 35k trucks that don't even begin to compare to mine

I put 31k on my truck in 15 months so hear you on tons of miles. Bought a Harley so hope to put more miles on that and leave the truck parked this summer. Good luck man, its a tough decision but MadMan said it right...every vehicle will break down. Even at stock form the Eco could fail or any vehicle for that matter. I wouldn't do it if I was you...I can't wait to get into a SD later this year.

 

[WILD_PHIL]

I have a modded 12 ecoboost for my dd and love it. Does what I need it to do, hauls the whole family and toys and nice and docile until I romp on it hard.

SCT? What else?

 

[Vizsla]

I did the switch Freddy, here are my observations and my opinion if I was going to do it over again:

1. I would not buy the Ecoboost motor. I tow a lot in the summer, nothing more than 5k, but the 5.0 would have been fine for me. Hook a trailer up to the truck (around 2k) and it gets 10mpg. Sucks!
2. Another vote for no Eco....it doesn't get the mpg that it advertises empty. Mine has the 17's, 3.31 gears, 4x4, screw, 6.5ft bed and averages 14-17mpg now, and I baby the crap out of it. Buddy of mine has the identical truck to mine, and has the same issue. Summer time it gets a little better, but not much.
4. I will say this..the truck itself is a hell of a lot nicer than my 2500 Dodge was and after 16 months of owning is still tight everywhere. My Dodge creaked like a haunted house after a year. The entire cab is much bigger and extremely comfortable.
5. If I was to do it over again, I would have bought the 5.0 and probably got the FX4 package which was only another $4k difference. It has a lot of options especially 3.73 gears which I think would do better mpg wise.
6. However, my side business is getting bigger this year so I'm going to need a bigger truck again. Its tough now that I went from having too much truck to not enough truck which can get frustrating. I'm looking into either a 6.4 or 6.7, can't decide. I'll keep the next one for 10 years like I did with the Dodge.
7. The truck does have a ton of power for being stock. I couldn't imagine it with a tuner and minor bolt-ons, but won't do it. Not going down that road again!

Sorry for the long post, but I did make the switch. Good luck bud!

Good post, I have the same Ecoboost you have, but lifted with 34" tires. Like it, have towed heavy with it, and it performs better than any 1/2 ton out there. Cab is very nice, and more room than my 10' 250 cc(splitting hairs, but bigger). I switched due to a surprise addition to the family at 40 years old, the savings with fuel are negligible(14 mpg lifetime avg.)along with stepping down from lariat ultimate to nicely equipped xlt(20k difference), but maintenance costs offset it by far. It runs really good, and the aftermarket is great, many options coming soon. The 6r tranny works great IMO behind it. I did give it to my wife to replace her H3 Alpha, she loves it, but I bought myself a 12 Tundra eclb 4x4(work truck). Could not be happier with my choices, both run about the same, but the Tundra runs and sounds like an animal, 4:30 gears and a monster v8 just makes me smile more than the Eco does. TRD supercharger soon and prolly not like the Eco as much, but the Eco has been a rock solid strong running, towing, family toting beast for me. On a side note where I live we pay property tax on our vehicles, and it jumps once you break into 250/ 3/4ton as they are taxed as commercial vehicles, prolly not a difference for most, but matters where I live.

 

[Jeff@Spartan]

I did a lot of research on this awhile back. My choice would be a 5.0 if I ever make the swap.

 

[Spatel23]

Why?

 

[bigrpowr]

5.0 is a bad bitch.

 

[Jeff@Spartan]

Why?

Ecoboost isn't what it's supposed to be in the fuel economy department. Anything much above 60-65 mph and fuel economy begins to drop off like crazy. I spend a lot of time above 70 mph on the interstate. The 5.0 would do better at that speed and almost equally as good around town.

 

[JDub]

Close friend traded his lbz duramax for a 2012 eco boost just a few months ago. Says its way better as a daily driver, but says the mileage is terrible, has yet to see 15mpg out of it. Says it will tow his enclosed snowmobile trailer with four sleds in it at freeway speeds no problem though (single digit mileage). He put a tuner and exhaust on it as well. I just can't get into that v6 sound...

Think I'd buy the 5.0 if going to a half ton

Sent from my XT907

 

[Tdavsix4]

If your towing 8k or less I would buy the ecoboost.. My buddy has a 12' Eco lariat with 25k miles on it, 15k of those are towing a 20ft flatbed with a jeep on it.. I just traded my 6.4 in on a 6.7 and tow a 24 ft enclosed with a jeep in it.. We lined up side by side towing up a slide grade and the ecoboost literally walked away from me with ease, I was pissed. He borrowed my trailer and towed a 67 camaro about 400 miles at 80 mph and averaged 8.2 mpg, i get 9.5 at best towing that trailer loaded, he said it had plenty of power on hills also.. I'm impressed with his truck and would definitely own one

 

[Tom@BigTimeKustomz]

Why?

Shone, the 5.0 gets just as good mpg's as the Eco and still has that throaty v8 sound.

 

[FaSSt9602]

Not that it is quite the same, but I got my wife the Flex with Ecoboost and that thing is a blast to drive! I love it! Threw a tuner at it and ran 13.7 in the 1/4 mile. It will chirp all 4 tires on a good boosted launch..

 

[FreddyM]

I've been researching it quite a bit and that sounds about right. Everyone just says the Ecoboost is getting awesome mpgs with an SCT tune and running 93. And diesel in south Florida right now is 4.30 a gallon and premium 93 is 3.89
That's where I'm at right now. The 5.0 motor is good as well but I have a friend with a 2012 5.0 f150 and I'm not that impressed.

I'm pissed because I absolutley love my super duty, but paying to fix it every time something happens is getting old. first it was studding it, then it was a Glow plug control module that was a pain to do. And now blown turbos? ****...just to return them to stock will cost me what I coulda used as a down payment on something else...
Don't get my wrong, as I said i love my 6.4, just getting fed up with that crap.

 

[FreddyM]

In reality I know ill keep my Super duty and throw a 71 in there and call it a day. But I can say I will be looking and test driving and pricing some Ecoboosts