Siskiyou

Just curious, I have not towed much with my '16 3.5 EB, 3.55 rear gears but when I park my TT I back it in and get into some gravel that has soft soil below it in one spot. With my '02 Silverado 5.3 V8 it seemed to struggle backing out of that, this truck doesn't at all. I was concerned about this when I bought the truck because at low RPM I thought the 3.5 displacement may have a problem before the turbos spool up. How are they getting that much power at such low RPM or is it just the reverse gearing?

smokeywren

I doubt it's the reverse gearing.


Transmission 2016 Ford F-150 Type Six-speed automatic (6R80)
Gear Ratios (:1) 1st 4.17 2nd 2.34 3rd 1.52 4th 1.14 5th 0.86 6th 0.69 Reverse 3.40


Reverse is 3.40 to 1 ratio, or less than first gear at 4.17 to 1 ratio.


The twin-turbo 3.5L EcoBoost engine just makes good power at low RPM, because of the design of one of the turbos that comes on strong at low RPM while the other turbo waits around to add power at higher RPM.

Siskiyou

That makes sense and I had heard about the two turbos working better at different RPM's, I just didn't realize it worked at that low of an RPM. Whatever they did it does work very well.

pilotpip

One of my favorite things is that the torque curve peaks at around 1500rpm and stays there. That's what the turbos are doing for you. The turbochargers are pretty small, but that allows them to spool up fast which helps increase manifold pressure quickly without as much of the "turbo lag" you see on a bigger turbine.

acdii

The 3.5 is a torque monster. The thing most people don't realize about the EB is that it is designed like a diesel, the only difference is that it has a spark plug and low compression, but the design incorporates direct fuel injection just like a diesel, and that is what helps it develop low end torque.

A 3.5 EB with 3.15 gears can pull 6300# up a mountain with ease.

Siskiyou

I am looking forward to testing it in the mountains this summer. The problem I always had with my old truck was on a steep grade it did fine until I had to slow down for someone else then when we would come to a passing lane it was hard to speed up again. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference there is with this truck.

Mike Up

Those were low output engines with power sapping 4 speed transmissions. The worst of both worlds.

I drove one with a 6 speed trans and couldn't believe what a dog it was compared to anything.

Pretty much any v8 now a days would run circles around it. Hek, most 4.6L/4.7L engines offer more torque and power at lower rpms than that engine did, along with better geared transmissions.

Even though your not pushing any rpms, you're powering the engine in that soft soil, which requires more throttle, that creates more exhaust, to spin those turbos. It's working harder, just with less rpms, as most turbo engines do.

Siskiyou

You are correct that the low end power of that truck wasn't all that good but I ended up talking to one of the Chevy Engineers not long after I bought it in '01 and he told me when I am pulling the travel trailer up a mountain when it would drop down to 55 mph put it in 2nd and the rpm's would be around 3500 to 4000 and that it where the power was. It actually did quite well. The reason that I ended up buying the '16 F150 3.5 EB was because they dropped the 3.73 gears. What a difference between the Chevy and the Ford, the new ones are horribly underpowered compared to the Ford. The seats in the Ford are also much more comfortable.

Mike Up

Chevy still has the 3.73 axle, but it's only available in the NHT package which is Chevy's Max Tow package. Same with Ford from 2009 - 2014 except for the 5.0L. For the 5.4L (2009 - 2010) and the Ecoboost 3.5L (2011 - 2014), you had to get the Max Tow package or the FX4 package to get the 3.73 axle. 2015+ now makes you get the HDPP, Heavy Duty Payload Package to get the 3.73 gearing for the Ecoboost 3.5L.

Siskiyou

I think they brought it back for '17 because I don't recall seeing it on the '16. Those trucks with the NHT package are hard to get even ordering them. There are people waiting months for them, the other issue is the only way that truck with NHT comes is with the tow mirrors which won't easily go through my 9' garage doors. I think it leaves only about 3/4" on either side.