New to Ford and New to Forum...my thoughts so far
10-26-2013, 08:52 PM
#1
New to Ford and New to Forum...my thoughts so far
After years of saying I would never buy a Ford...I broke down and did buy a Ford. I bought a 2013 F150 FX4 Ecoboost. Previously I owned a Nissan Titan Pro4x and hated the horrible gas mileage, which is why I started looking into other trucks. Dodge straight up sucked as far as handling and for having 395 hp it sure didnt feel like it. Didnt drive the new Chevy because they only had the V6 here in Houston when I was looking.
For the Ford, the 5.0 seemed strong, but I ended up choosing the Ecoboost for two reasons. The first reason was every time I have had a v8 I end up putting an exhaust on it, and even though I enjoy it, it also is the most annoying thing when you are trying to be quiet (camp grounds at night, long trips, etc.)...and I am in no way enthusiastic about the way the Ecoboost sounds with an exhaust, so it will make me keep it quiet. Reason number two is I like power, and the Ecoboost proves to be very easy to add power for a low amount of money.
What I have found that I like about the Ford:
1. Luxurious - Moon Roof, Electric rear window, in dash screen
2. Sound System
3. Power (after mods - was slower than Titan at first)
4. Gas Mileage is much better than Titan, though far from what Ford claims...
5. Handles better than the Dodge, and is on par with the Titan.
6. Very ergonomic and has a lot of useful features.
7. Gobs of leg room in back seat
8. Flat rear floorboard (no transmission tunnel hump)
9. Air conditioned seats
10. Steering is extremely easy and predictable.
11. Painted to match bumpers, grill and mirrors. Not to offend anyone, but chrome drives me crazy.
What I have found I do not like about it after putting a few thousand miles on it (sorry to compare it to the Titan so much, but I had one for 5 years, and overall it was a GREAT truck):
1. Factory shocks are absolutely pathetic. Every time you hit a bump it bounces, and doesn't control it well. (see mods below). The Titan was MUCH better about this.
2. Plastic gas tank skid...really?
3. Dash sounds like it has a bird chirping in it (goes away if I push bottom right corner of center bezel) and rattles in a different spot.
4. Front plastic piece on the drivers side door pillar rattles
5. Transmission is indecisive and takes forever to respond in comparison to Titan. Titans Transmission was far better performing in these aspects. I hate how it downshifts twice rather than just going to the correct gear in the first place.
6. Wheel hop is horrible when the tires spin... feels like it is going to break something. Titan NEVER did this.
7. Navigation flat out sucks. Especially the voice commands part of it when entering a street address.
What I have done to it so far to make the truck work better for me:
1. 3 More Power Tuning custom tunes for 93 octane on SPT programmer. I have the Street performance tune, a Tow tune and an Economy Tune (I actually get worse MPG on this tune). Overall I am satisfied with the street tune after having Mike customize the tune for me twice in order to correct some issues. First round it was pinging pretty badly and would randomly lose power, then second round it shifted horribly, but round three, all of these issues have been corrected. This being said, if you aren't satisfied in any way with the tunes, Mike is very helpful in correcting them for you to make you happy. Also...if you havent tuned your ecoboost because you are unsure of the power benefit and fuel economy...get over it and do it. It is a completely different truck now and very fun to drive. MPG is the same.
2. Hoping to eliminate the wheel hop, and to get rid of the lack of control over bumps, I installed Bilstein 5100s on the rear of the truck, and plan to add the adjustable ones to the front. The improvements from the shocks were pretty dramatic, but I still wish the dampening was a little stiffer. Did not help the wheel hop at all.
3. I fabbed up some traction bars to get rid of the wheel hop. Just finished them today. So far it seems to have completely eliminated the wheel hop and I do not notice any ill effects handling wise due to them. It seems much more responsive and much better planted on the ground. Will do a write up when I take some more pics of the finished product.
What I plan to do:
I own a fab shop on the side of my full time job as an Engineer. A large portion of the modifications I plan on are fabricated items.
1. Front and rear bumpers - will post pics of Titan when I get access to my other harddrive so you can get an idea of the possibilities....Definitely not a ranchand or a typical grill guard or bull bar. Much Much more unique.
2. Rock rails to replace the flimsy stock steps. Ever look at the underside of the steps and at how they are mounted? I cant believe the stock steps dont bend with my weight on them honestly.
3. Bed rails - Possibly. Gives great tie down points and great to lean bikes on without them hanging over the side and scraping the bedsides up when they move.
Other modifications I plan to do are:
1. AFE stage 2 cold air intake.
2. Fold up hard bed cover. Not the flimsy ones, and not the one piece hang over the side ones either.
3. Of course when I wear out my tires, I plan to put slighty larger and a more aggressive All-Terrain tire on it.
4. Front Bilstein 5100s with adjustable height
5,6,7,8,9,100..we shall see
For the Ford, the 5.0 seemed strong, but I ended up choosing the Ecoboost for two reasons. The first reason was every time I have had a v8 I end up putting an exhaust on it, and even though I enjoy it, it also is the most annoying thing when you are trying to be quiet (camp grounds at night, long trips, etc.)...and I am in no way enthusiastic about the way the Ecoboost sounds with an exhaust, so it will make me keep it quiet. Reason number two is I like power, and the Ecoboost proves to be very easy to add power for a low amount of money.
What I have found that I like about the Ford:
1. Luxurious - Moon Roof, Electric rear window, in dash screen
2. Sound System
3. Power (after mods - was slower than Titan at first)
4. Gas Mileage is much better than Titan, though far from what Ford claims...
5. Handles better than the Dodge, and is on par with the Titan.
6. Very ergonomic and has a lot of useful features.
7. Gobs of leg room in back seat
8. Flat rear floorboard (no transmission tunnel hump)
9. Air conditioned seats
10. Steering is extremely easy and predictable.
11. Painted to match bumpers, grill and mirrors. Not to offend anyone, but chrome drives me crazy.
What I have found I do not like about it after putting a few thousand miles on it (sorry to compare it to the Titan so much, but I had one for 5 years, and overall it was a GREAT truck):
1. Factory shocks are absolutely pathetic. Every time you hit a bump it bounces, and doesn't control it well. (see mods below). The Titan was MUCH better about this.
2. Plastic gas tank skid...really?
3. Dash sounds like it has a bird chirping in it (goes away if I push bottom right corner of center bezel) and rattles in a different spot.
4. Front plastic piece on the drivers side door pillar rattles
5. Transmission is indecisive and takes forever to respond in comparison to Titan. Titans Transmission was far better performing in these aspects. I hate how it downshifts twice rather than just going to the correct gear in the first place.
6. Wheel hop is horrible when the tires spin... feels like it is going to break something. Titan NEVER did this.
7. Navigation flat out sucks. Especially the voice commands part of it when entering a street address.
What I have done to it so far to make the truck work better for me:
1. 3 More Power Tuning custom tunes for 93 octane on SPT programmer. I have the Street performance tune, a Tow tune and an Economy Tune (I actually get worse MPG on this tune). Overall I am satisfied with the street tune after having Mike customize the tune for me twice in order to correct some issues. First round it was pinging pretty badly and would randomly lose power, then second round it shifted horribly, but round three, all of these issues have been corrected. This being said, if you aren't satisfied in any way with the tunes, Mike is very helpful in correcting them for you to make you happy. Also...if you havent tuned your ecoboost because you are unsure of the power benefit and fuel economy...get over it and do it. It is a completely different truck now and very fun to drive. MPG is the same.
2. Hoping to eliminate the wheel hop, and to get rid of the lack of control over bumps, I installed Bilstein 5100s on the rear of the truck, and plan to add the adjustable ones to the front. The improvements from the shocks were pretty dramatic, but I still wish the dampening was a little stiffer. Did not help the wheel hop at all.
3. I fabbed up some traction bars to get rid of the wheel hop. Just finished them today. So far it seems to have completely eliminated the wheel hop and I do not notice any ill effects handling wise due to them. It seems much more responsive and much better planted on the ground. Will do a write up when I take some more pics of the finished product.
What I plan to do:
I own a fab shop on the side of my full time job as an Engineer. A large portion of the modifications I plan on are fabricated items.
1. Front and rear bumpers - will post pics of Titan when I get access to my other harddrive so you can get an idea of the possibilities....Definitely not a ranchand or a typical grill guard or bull bar. Much Much more unique.
2. Rock rails to replace the flimsy stock steps. Ever look at the underside of the steps and at how they are mounted? I cant believe the stock steps dont bend with my weight on them honestly.
3. Bed rails - Possibly. Gives great tie down points and great to lean bikes on without them hanging over the side and scraping the bedsides up when they move.
Other modifications I plan to do are:
1. AFE stage 2 cold air intake.
2. Fold up hard bed cover. Not the flimsy ones, and not the one piece hang over the side ones either.
3. Of course when I wear out my tires, I plan to put slighty larger and a more aggressive All-Terrain tire on it.
4. Front Bilstein 5100s with adjustable height
5,6,7,8,9,100..we shall see
10-26-2013, 09:07 PM
#2
Senior Member
Titans get horrible reviews on this forum so nobody is going to agree with any pros of the Titan you post on this forum. Well... I might agree with a couple because my nephew has over 220k miles on his Titan and has been a great truck for him. But I don't agree that a stock Ecoboost is slower than a stock Titan. The Ecoboost just sounds slower.
Last edited by NASSTY; 10-26-2013 at 09:10 PM.
10-26-2013, 09:17 PM
#3
Senior Member
Titans get horrible reviews on this forum so nobody is going to agree with any pros of the Titan you post on this forum. Well... I might agree with a couple because my nephew has over 220k miles on his Titan and has been a great truck for him. But I don't agree that a stock Ecoboost is slower than a stock Titan. The Ecoboost just sounds slower.
Honestly, did you expect to get anything but negative reviews about a competitors truck on this forum?
10-26-2013, 09:19 PM
#4
Senior Member
I thought I said that??
10-26-2013, 09:21 PM
#5
I also never said my Titan was stock...
Programmer, no cats, full exhaust from exhaust ports back (long tube headers, 2 1/4" duals with crossover manaflow) and a Ingen Cold air intake. Trust me....it was MUCH faster than the stock ecoboost. But not faster than a tuned ecoboost.
Programmer, no cats, full exhaust from exhaust ports back (long tube headers, 2 1/4" duals with crossover manaflow) and a Ingen Cold air intake. Trust me....it was MUCH faster than the stock ecoboost. But not faster than a tuned ecoboost.
10-26-2013, 09:27 PM
#6
Senior Member
I also never said my Titan was stock...
Programmer, no cats, full exhaust from exhaust ports back (long tube headers, 2 1/4" duals with crossover manaflow) and a Ingen Cold air intake. Trust me....it was MUCH faster than the stock ecoboost. But not faster than a tuned ecoboost.
Programmer, no cats, full exhaust from exhaust ports back (long tube headers, 2 1/4" duals with crossover manaflow) and a Ingen Cold air intake. Trust me....it was MUCH faster than the stock ecoboost. But not faster than a tuned ecoboost.
Because my stock Ecoboost was much quicker than my nephews stock Titan. Now that my EB is tuned they aren't even in the same league.
Last edited by NASSTY; 10-27-2013 at 07:22 AM.
10-26-2013, 09:48 PM
#7
I agree that it isnt in the same class when you put a good tune on the Eco. With the mods I had done to the Titan, it was somewhat close to the tuned eco, but without question would never beat the tuned eco. And there was no way to get more power without big bucks form the level that it was at....
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10-27-2013, 04:21 AM
#8
I came from titans too and most of your comparisons sound about right to me. The Eco pushes me harder into my seat but it does it so smoothly and quietly it just doesn't seam as beastly sometimes. Plus it sounds like a sewing machine, where both of my Titan were catless with long tube headers and obnoxiously loud. I miss the titans sometimes until I drive by the gas station hahaha. My new truck is sooooo bone stock it's driving me crazy but I love modding and can't wait to make it my own. Overall I'm glad I got my Eco and sounds like you are too. Here's my 05 SE, 06 LE and the new 13 Eco xlt
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EcoBrook (10-27-2013)
10-27-2013, 07:02 AM
#9
One Bad MoFoMoCo Owner
When I test drive a Titan, the only thing I like better than the rest was the Rockford Fosgate audio system. Otherwise, it was like stepping back in time compared to Ford and Dodge. Slow. Terrible mileage. Ugly as sin. Plus, if you ever want to read about people having problems with their trucks, check out the Titan forums.
