Okay I have a quick question for you guys. I get asked this all the time if my truck has the motor that shuts down to 4 cylinders when at a cruising speed on the highway. I dont ever notice a difference in the motor so I'm guessing not, but I was just curious. I didnt even know Ford put that option in their trucks, I thought that was only a GMC thing. Any advise you have on the topic will be very much appreciated! The only thing I know is my truck is a Fuel Flex, but I never put it in, ya it might cost less but the MPG's are way down, plus the closest gas station that sells it is a 3 hour drive, so its a wash if you ask me

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No that's a feature od a Dodge Ram Hemi engine. Flex Fuel allows u to use gasoline or E85. The ECU knows what fuel u are burning and tunes automatically for it.

 

^^^ yeah dodges have it on the hemi to try to make it get 10mpg's haha....a buddy of mine has one and it sound retarted with his aftermarket exhaust when it kicks down to 4cyl.....

 

Okay I didnt think I had it, never noticed the difference in the RPM's or sound so.... But I had so many people asking I had to ask the EXPERTS (people here are F-150 Forum, you guys have saved my ace so many times) But thanks for the heads up guys, didnt know the HEMI had it but I remember a few years ago the V8 Impala used to have that 4cyl shut down thing. What is the real name for that (shuts down to 4cyl)?

 

Cadillac had that engine.

 

GMC has had it on their 5.3L V8 since 07, Dodge has had it on their HEMI V8 series for several years, funny thing is, they still get less combined mileage than Ford's V8's. On the 09 up with the new 6 speed, FORD's ECM in combination with the transmissions computer, will cut fuel to the engine when coasting (above a certain speed), BUT, and here is the cool part, it will leave the transmissions torque converter engaged, which allows it to still provide forward motion without burning extra fuel. You can "feel" the transmission still providing forward power when coasting up slight grades at speed.... several of the truck review websites have commented on this technology, and it provides better "real world" fuel economy than the "multi cylinder displacement" engines from the competition.

 

So do dodges only do this when running E85 or all the time?

 

While it's true that Ford doesn't have the fuel management system like the Dodges and GM's, where cylinders "knock off" when they're not needed, Ford WAS the first to use similar technology for keeping the engine from overheating and blowing up. The "fail safe" cooling system alternates the firing of the cylinders in the event that you have a cooling system failure. Same Idea, but for a different purpose. I believe that came out in '97 with the first 4.6's and 5.4's.