Help me pick an engine!
Member
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 69
Likes: 8
Alright f150 experts...
Currently driving an 2015 XLT 3.5 ecoboost and LOVE it. Has around 20k miles on it at this point. Sad part is that I didn't think i'd need 4x4.. man was I wrong. So now I'm planning on getting a 2017 Lariat 4x4 and have the option of choosing an engine. I've driven all 3 and can honestly say I'd pick any of them.
I drive mostly freeway/city and if I tow(rarely) it's an aluminum stock trailer with maybe 3 horses in it. Max 6,000 lbs. Huge nut on fuel efficiency, but still keeping the 5.0 in my view. That's because i've heard non-stop that I should be getting a v8 if I want my engine to last past 100k... The ecoboosts are amazing but are they really proven? I'm not a mechanic by any means and don't want to deal with repairs or extra maintenance.
I'm pretty lost guys, let me know what you think. Thanks!
Currently driving an 2015 XLT 3.5 ecoboost and LOVE it. Has around 20k miles on it at this point. Sad part is that I didn't think i'd need 4x4.. man was I wrong. So now I'm planning on getting a 2017 Lariat 4x4 and have the option of choosing an engine. I've driven all 3 and can honestly say I'd pick any of them.
I drive mostly freeway/city and if I tow(rarely) it's an aluminum stock trailer with maybe 3 horses in it. Max 6,000 lbs. Huge nut on fuel efficiency, but still keeping the 5.0 in my view. That's because i've heard non-stop that I should be getting a v8 if I want my engine to last past 100k... The ecoboosts are amazing but are they really proven? I'm not a mechanic by any means and don't want to deal with repairs or extra maintenance.
I'm pretty lost guys, let me know what you think. Thanks!
Id assume your a 502a guy so the 2.7 isn't really an option.
5.0 DOHC V8 | 7.3 Gdzilla
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,987
Likes: 2,077
From: California and Utah
High altitude operation is better with turbocharging, si. 
And I can get 22.5 over a 100-mile stretch/21.8 over a 150 mile stretch (two legs of a recent road trip); half of which is mountainous terrain and the other more or less flat... but that's mostly at 1700 revs in 6th, not in Sport mode where the throttle is blipped for every downshift (which I really like, btw).
He said "averaging" as if it were his truck's lifetime average. If he's getting 20 mpg in Sport mode then he's driving it like a little girl.
Hence my light-throttle-foot ice-driving metaphor... see. 
5.0 averaging 20mpg even in sport mode...
Unbelievable! Are you driving a RCSB on ice?
Not hard to do, I'm getting 19mpg with 3.73 gears and mixed driving with my XLT Screw 4X4 5.0 .
He said "averaging" as if it were his truck's lifetime average. If he's getting 20 mpg in Sport mode then he's driving it like a little girl.
Hence my light-throttle-foot ice-driving metaphor... see.
5 Year Member
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Mike Up
If you get the 2.7L, get the 2.7L payload package. It steps up the axles, frame, and GVWR up to what a 5.0L and 3.5L Ecoboost have. That way you can use the truck, as a truck.
The 2.7L will have about the same power as the 5.0L up to 4000 rpm, but the 5.0L will have more power above 4000 rpm.
The 2.7L will have about the same power as the 5.0L up to 4000 rpm, but the 5.0L will have more power above 4000 rpm.
If I had been okay with the towing capacity of the 2.7 without the payload package, I might have went that route.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 29
Likes: 7
Exact same here. Sometimes driving more aggressive, sometimes more laid back, my around town average (which is mixed hwy/traffic jam - aka surface street) is 19.0 in my '16 4x4 SCREW, 3.73, 5.0, 6.5' bed.
My road trip milage on interstates drops to between 18.5 and 18.0 because I cruise at 80+ sometimes 84 or 85 if I have a good "rabbit". On B-roads my milage goes back up to high 19s and I've seen the average climb to 20.3+
if I'm off of the interstate for any good length of time. Of course cruising in the "sweet spot" which seems to be almost anything under 70.
It's as if there is a switch flipped at 70mph which opens a small drain in the bottom of the fuel tank.
No complaints however. I think it gets remarkable milage for a big 4x4 truck. It's all about perspective.
2015 F150 Guy
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 934
Likes: 124
From: Somers, NY
Exact same here. Sometimes driving more aggressive, sometimes more laid back, my around town average (which is mixed hwy/traffic jam - aka surface street) is 19.0 in my '16 4x4 SCREW, 3.73, 5.0, 6.5' bed.
My road trip milage on interstates drops to between 18.5 and 18.0 because I cruise at 80+ sometimes 84 or 85 if I have a good "rabbit". On B-roads my milage goes back up to high 19s and I've seen the average climb to 20.3+
if I'm off of the interstate for any good length of time. Of course cruising in the "sweet spot" which seems to be almost anything under 70.
It's as if there is a switch flipped at 70mph which opens a small drain in the bottom of the fuel tank.
No complaints however. I think it gets remarkable milage for a big 4x4 truck. It's all about perspective.
My road trip milage on interstates drops to between 18.5 and 18.0 because I cruise at 80+ sometimes 84 or 85 if I have a good "rabbit". On B-roads my milage goes back up to high 19s and I've seen the average climb to 20.3+
if I'm off of the interstate for any good length of time. Of course cruising in the "sweet spot" which seems to be almost anything under 70.
It's as if there is a switch flipped at 70mph which opens a small drain in the bottom of the fuel tank.
No complaints however. I think it gets remarkable milage for a big 4x4 truck. It's all about perspective.
So you guys get MORE than the EPA sticker at 80mph? Really?
What state(s)?
TomJV
5.0 DOHC V8 | 7.3 Gdzilla
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,987
Likes: 2,077
From: California and Utah
So you guys get MORE than the EPA sticker at 80mph? Really?
Too, my run was done on 91 octane fuel in hopes that in the heat this time of year the PCM would allow full spark timing producing maximum torque (for the given RPM, since I certainly was not running at the 3850 RPM torque peak).
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Just bought a 17 screw XLT 5.0L. Brand new I got 19.8 avg on a 160 mile trip that was 80% highway and 20% small towns. Speeds from 60 to 85 mph along the way. Drove around a big city with a good bit of heavy traffic and then came back home. Got home and average is still 18.5 on the trip meter. That's pretty solid for a big truck considering two 30-minute plus bumper to bumper runs of stop and go until I cleared the city.
5 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,086
Likes: 552
Exact same here. Sometimes driving more aggressive, sometimes more laid back, my around town average (which is mixed hwy/traffic jam - aka surface street) is 19.0 in my '16 4x4 SCREW, 3.73, 5.0, 6.5' bed.
My road trip milage on interstates drops to between 18.5 and 18.0 because I cruise at 80+ sometimes 84 or 85 if I have a good "rabbit". On B-roads my milage goes back up to high 19s and I've seen the average climb to 20.3+
if I'm off of the interstate for any good length of time. Of course cruising in the "sweet spot" which seems to be almost anything under 70.
It's as if there is a switch flipped at 70mph which opens a small drain in the bottom of the fuel tank.
No complaints however. I think it gets remarkable milage for a big 4x4 truck. It's all about perspective.
My road trip milage on interstates drops to between 18.5 and 18.0 because I cruise at 80+ sometimes 84 or 85 if I have a good "rabbit". On B-roads my milage goes back up to high 19s and I've seen the average climb to 20.3+
if I'm off of the interstate for any good length of time. Of course cruising in the "sweet spot" which seems to be almost anything under 70.
It's as if there is a switch flipped at 70mph which opens a small drain in the bottom of the fuel tank.
No complaints however. I think it gets remarkable milage for a big 4x4 truck. It's all about perspective.