linnwgetin

When I was on vacation in Miami, I rented a new BMW X5 SUV with the auto start-stop. Freaked me out at first because I didnt know that it had it.

Once I figured out what it was doing, it was awesome! Also, it was lightning fast. The A/C stayed cold even with the engine off at stop lights. I recommend it highly after getting used to it.

Ron AKA

What is important about HP and Torque is the RPM you get it at. I have an older F150 with a 5.8 V8 and a 3.73 rear end. It is short of power when climbing hills and towing. You really can't do much without shifting down one or two gears. Once I was climbing a really steep hill and had to go down to the lowest gear and near max rpm just to get up. The problem is that even that size of a V8 does not produce power until the RPM gets way up there, much higher than you normally drive. What is impressive about these new EcoBoost turbo engines is the power and torque they produce a low useable RPM. Even if they had the same HP (not more like they do) they would feel much more powerful due to the power they make at low RPM.


So before you judge them based on displacement find a torque and HP vs RPM chart for each engine and compare them in the 1500 to 2000 rpm range. Suspect you will find the turbo blows (pun intended!) the V8 away at those rpms... Certainly the 3.5 EcoBoost blows away my old 5.8 V8 in that rpm range.

Avsfreak13

I had a 95 bronco with the 5.8 and living in colorado and driving I 70 through the mountains I remember consistently being in second all the way from Idaho springs to the tunnel. When I got my current truck I was blown away by the power and that it could hold 3rd gear at the steepest sections and I'm hoping for a similar impression from the ecoboost especially with that low end torque I keep reading about!

Avsfreak13

Thanks for putting my mind at ease with the start stop feature. My dad and brother are both diesel guys and don't think a turbo belongs in a gasser especially a truck but I'm hoping an Ecoboost will prove them wrong!

Curmudgeon

It will, but biases die hard!

hydro

You must have missed the video when Ford tested the 3.5L EB. They went full throttle (glowing red turbos) to shutting down with no flow and cycled it over 1,500 times with no oil change and had ZERO failure and coking. I'm also pretty sure the engineers have programming in the computer that will stop the engine only after certain preameters are met ( eg: temps, timing, etc.) Not just shut down because you let off the gas. The engines will also not start/stop when towing or 4WD for safety reasons.

"To validate their water-cooled turbo design choice, Ford engineers put EcoBoost through a special turbocharger test. The test ran EcoBoost at maximum boost flat out for a 10-minute period. Then the engine and all cooling were abruptly shut down and the turbo was left to “bake” after this high-speed operation. If that sounds severe, imagine repeating this cycle 1,500 times without an oil change. That’s what EcoBoost’s turbos endured.
After 1,500 cycles, the turbos were cut open for detailed technical examination. The turbos passed the severe test with flying colors.
“We’ve attained things here the customer would never be able to do in their vehicle,” Plagens said. “Ten minutes of peak power (355 hp, 350 foot-pounds of torque) is something that’s probably only achievable in a vehicle for fractions of a minute, 10 seconds maybe in the extreme. We run it for 10 minutes many, many times over, and that’s far, far more harsh and severe than a vehicle test would be.”
EcoBoost also endured Ford’s standard engine durability test signoff. Back in the dynamometer lab, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 went back up to full revs – and maximum turbo boost – for a real endurance test. This time the duration was a bit longer – 362 hours at full throttle. That’s like running the 24 Hours of Daytona for more than 15 days straight.
Other tests subjected EcoBoost to a grueling range of operating temperatures.
“We run all of our durability testing at the maximum temperature,” Plagens said. “For the turbos, the test is 150 hours long. Every 10 minutes the test alternates between peak power at max exhaust temperature and completely cold motoring. The goal is to verify that the turbochargers can withstand extreme thermal cycling without affecting their performance. It’s pretty brutal and extreme but it’s important to prove out durability.

Making the Grade
As the first Ford EcoBoost engine makes its production debut, it has earned its stripes in Ford’s engine boot camp. It uses that same grade of 5W20 engine oil specified by Ford for gasoline engines, and oil changes are scheduled at the same 7,500-mile intervals, too.
“Ford customers can be sure that their new EcoBoost engine requires no special treatment for its reliable operation,” Shelby said. “EcoBoost owners can pull in their driveways and switch off just like any other engine, and there’s no special oil or shorter oil-change intervals. That means the owner can concentrate on enjoying the great performance and fuel economy.”
”

GearheadGeek

I have a 5.4L 3V and I tow a travel trailer that's around 6000 lb loaded for a trip. In flatland travel it's perfectly adequate, but once you get into decent hills you really have to put the spurs to it to maintain anything near traffic speeds when towing, and in places like Colorado I spend an unfortunate amount of time in 2nd at wide-open throttle climbing toward passes at 45 mph.

8 members of my Airstream club unit have 3.5L Ecoboost F150s, and they can tow a heavier trailer and walk off and leave me without breaking a sweat. Just being a bit conservative about first-year engines I'd probably go for a 3.5L Ecoboost in 2015, but I'd bet a mortgage payment that a 2.7L Ecoboost with the same axle ratio would significantly outperform my 5.4L in real-world towing.

LastResort

I haven't been heavily involved with Subaru sites in a couple of years, but I've never heard of any systemic coking problems in Subarus water cooled turbocharger. Many people run regular dino oil (that meats the manufactures specs) their entire vehicle lifetimes, with no cooldown, and experience zero issues. Thermosiphon is enough in those applications, based on my observations. In my 05 there is actually an upper resivor to enhance that process.

Weather it's enough in a start/stop cycle, I wouldn't know. I would imagine it would be simple enough to model the expected temperature of the turbo in the ECU based on load, and if it's at a point that would exceed the cooling capacity if stopped: disable the auto start/stop.

Daytoman

Be careful. That's a tiny little V6 pulling around an almost 5000 lb vehicle. It will rely heavily on the turbos. Real world mpg is unknown. Sure it will get better mpg than the old 5.4 but keep your expectations in check....even with start/stop feature.
Until it hits the real world and proves itself in some way, I'm not sure why anyone would want the 2.7 eb????

arodf150

Gearhead I am 100% with you on that. I know it will be better in every way. I guess we just need to wait and see real world numbers and experiences to get a real perspective. I hope it turns out to be a killer engine, because its going to be perfect for a lot of people who dont do serious towing or hauling.