utahjazzman

A lot of this I'm sure has been discussed but want opinions. I test drove a 5.0 today it was a 3.31 elock. Was very surprised at how peppy it felt. Didn't have quite as much torque as the Eco. But was close to my current '11 Eco and always thought that's what I would get until today. Now I am having second thoughts. Has anyone test drove a 5.0 with a 3.31 as well as a 5.0 with 3.73? If so was there much difference? The dealer here does not have any others on the lot.

zx12-iowa

Go with the 3.73 to help with the low rpm power loss. Will minimize future buyers remorse downgrading from your current engine.

roadPilot

You didn't even ask what his normal use patterns are. That makes a big difference.

No trailer towing or off-road in your future? 3.31 is fine.
Light trailer towing/off-roading, slightly larger tires or only towing every once in a while? 3.55
Lots of trailer towing, heavy off-road, or plans a big lift and much bigger tires on it? 3.73

There is absolutely no reason to get a 3.73 rear end if you're going to spend 95% of your time driving on the highway.

Personally, I'm a 'plenty of highway' and 'occasional towing' kind of guy, so I"m going with what I believe is the best all-around gear for my new 5.0L: 3.55.

Rich33Y

+1

pb65stang

Exactly. Sometimes it sounds like on here if you want your 5.0 to keep up with traffic and not be dangerously slow, you need 3.73. It's just not true. You have to look at your needs and driving style. I also went 3.55 for the reasons roadPilot stated. That being said, 3.31 is fine (and optimal) for a daily driver that never tows, does highway a lot, and will be on stock (or close) tires.

And despite what subtle digs may be thrown at it, a 5.0 is not necessarily a "downgraded engine" from an EcoBoost.

willyqbc

Yes same here, I was looking at a Platy, but the 3.31 and the 5.5 ft box was the only thing that made me turn away, As I haul stuff quite a bit, Mostly nothing too heavy drums / heavy parts 1000 - 1500 lbs, anything heavier I use the f350. But haul often enough that was afraid to go down to the 3.31, as do a lot of stop and go city driving and off road a bit. But a fair amount of highway mix too, so dont really need the 3.73 either. love the 3.55 / 5.4 ltr I have now. So hopefully sooner than later some will show up. All the 5.0's were 3.31 and a King Ranch 3.73, where are the 3.55 dam it!!

zx12-iowa

The question here 5.0 fanboys is what to do when going from the far more powerful ecoboost to the 5.0. Unless one gets the 3.73 gears, it will feel very flat in comparison unless you drive the truck like a Honda civic keeping the revs up (ok I'm exaggerating ha!). Those that haven't lived with the plethora of torque from the ecoboost wouldn't know. A simple look at the power curves will show this. So you have to make up that power loss in the first half of the rpm band (which is where trucks are supposed to make power for working) and the easiest way to address the large power deficit of the 5.0 is with gears.

It's a vey small upgrade to go with the 3.73 gears and I think with that it will greatly help make up the difference in low rpm power that the op will absolutely feel in normal driving. Will it go down the hwy with 3.31 gears- sure but it will feel waaah waaaah doing it in comparison.

Joe55

I am in total agreement. I had a 2011 with the ecoboost, loved the truck. When I traded in 2013 I was inticed by rebates to go with the 5.0. Took one on a test drive and really didn't notice a large difference between the two engines, so I ordered a FX4 with the 5.0 and 3.55 rear. The truck was delivered and I was happy for a few days till I pulled out to pass someone and it just downshifted and sounded awesome, but didnt take off like my Eco. My wife also drives my truck and she hated to drive it (she has a 2012 screw with Eco) and says my truck is a dog. Here's my take on OP, if you have the ecoboost now and really like it, stay with it! I am afraid you will do like me and be disappointed. My 2015 has been on order since October and is do to be delivered end of this month, and yes it is a 3.5 Eco!

willyqbc

My only reasons for taking a 5.0 over at 3.5 eco is I drive with a heavy foot, Guys I know who push the eco get pretty crappy mileage.
You get the good mileage if you dont push it too much.
and possible reliability issues, but maybe not who knows.

Also I wish to keep this one until it dies a slow death.
Less engine weight and prob less maintenance.
Then also the nice sound not coming through the speakers is another reason.
Guess I am just old school,

kbass24emtp

I have driven the 3.5 and 5.0 engines with 3.31 and off the line daily driving I could not tell much of a difference between them. On the hwy as soon as I went up a hill I could tell a huge difference. The Eco keep the speed and the 5.0 dropped and needed to downshift. I did not get to do a WOT off the line comparison since I had a sales man with me, but I did recently drive an eco with 3.31 and off the line WOT I was impressed. Yesterday I finally got to drive an eco with 3.55 and that made my mind up on what I'm going to order. I was really impressed and it was a full loaded Platinum.