Here are my impressions after the 'ecoboost tour' drive event tonight at the local dealer... My 2011 will no doubt have the ecoboost! I think I agitated the ford rep that rode with us asking him weather it was "eek-o"boost or "echo"boost The person who made the local commercial for the event said it as "echo"boost.. No i didn't take any pics or videos since it was dark, sorry :o I did spend about 3-4 hours picking the Ford rep's brain, pouring over the truck, and test driving the ecoboost with a short test drive of the 5.0 and the 6.2

The 5.0 was a blast to drive, had the nice V8 rumble and had plenty of get up and go. I likened it to driving a mustang; sporty with lots of punch, plenty of get up and go and fun to drive. Certainly not a bad choice.

Next was the 6.2 (after some prodding to a sales person we do regular business with), that thing is a beast! we drove the first of two supercrew raptors they had just gotten in stock. The raptor rode like a dream was the first thing I noticed, the smoothest truck I have ever driven. The 6.2 certainly would be a blast to own, but I would have a wallet-busting gas bill multiple times a week. Unfortunately the sales lady we normaly buy from was only willing to let us run down a side road and back (less than a mile) since both are already spoken for. The 6.2 has the deepest of any stock V8 rumble I have ever heard, it will make your chest rumble if your near the truck to put it in perspective.

Finally we drove the ecoboost in a King Ranch setting This thing has raw power, even for a V6. They also had Ecoboosts in a lariat, FX4 and an XLT for your driving pleasure.. I stomped it after leaving the lot and the tires gave a good chirp and we where doing over 90 in no time with next to no effort. The next thing I noticed was the ecoboost's ability to make power throughout the range, at no time did I feel like I was without power. It was also very quiet and smooth at idle, I did not even know we had started the truck while the ford rep was talking about the productivity screen. And at no time was I able to hear the turbos and we probably drove around for nearly an hour.. The shifts are not even noticeable in the new 6-speed trans. The rep said it all had to do with the program for the tranny and a flash would likely be available at sometime for 09-10's to give them the same smooth, flawless shifts the 2011's have. Another interesting thing the rep mentioned was the intercooler which is very visible through the large hole in the front bumper, he said it cannot be obstructed, so license plates have to be mounted to either side. He would not confirm or deny, but he mentioned that mounting anything large/obstructive in the front grille or lower grille could present a warranty issue. After seeing my truck he really started to read me the riot act about the ecoboost warranty and how any modifications would be treated similar to the new 6.7L diesels, "you touch it, you change it, you program it.... YOU can pay for it". I took that to mean warranties on this thing are going to be a serious issue with little to no tolerance if you chose to dive head first into the mods. I personally was extremely impressed with the power, smoothness of the trans, improved brakes, productivity screen, and the ride is noticeable smoother.

The rep did mention that MPG numbers from the EPA would be available mid january and ecoboosts would probably start shipping sometime after that likely the first part of february.. I did see in his productivity screen that his mpg from wherever they came from to TX was over 25mpg.

I personally thought it needed to aftermarket tune, no exhaust, no intake... it was raw power and it never lacked for power I'm sold, now I just have to decide between another FX4 or moving up to a platinum... I have time though i still don't plan on purchasing till late next year. I want to run my current rig till at least 100k, since I'm at 78k now that will likely happen around next november/december. Just relaying my impressions, observations, and some info I found odd/useful to know about the possibility of a VERY strict warranty on the powertrain... Take it with a grain of salt!


on a side note, the new 20's on the FX4's/FX2's really let me down in person Something about the 'lug nut' area is just not right in my opinion..

 

I have no doubts that the eco is a good engine, but this kind of concerns me. To me this means they have the truck tuned to very tight tolerances. It has been my experience that tight tolerances normally mean more work, since it is very easy for those tolerances to be thrown out of whack.

 

That is why I said to take my experience and hear-say about warranty stuff with a grain of salt. This rep was obviously against modifications of any sort, to any vehicle. Kinda like the other two knit-wits from ford who knew nothing about the trucks or the engines. The sales lady did tell me they had already been instructed about the license plates to the side, but not much else yet. I don't plan on tuning or exhaust or intakes on mine when the time comes (at the moment ), I'll be keeping my current truck after buying the new one so I'll still have my lifted toy with all the goodies.

To give you an idea how dumb the other two where one of them was telling me about his 04 f150 with a ' whapple charger, 4" fabtech and 38 nitter MT's' that ran like a raped-ape...

The other thing I was going to mention was I asked the guy about 'my ford touch', correct me if this is the wrong software/hardware it's early, it's in my dad's edge and he enjoys it very much but we where told it would be at least 5 years before we would see that in a truck application..

 

Was the ecoboost that you drove 4x4? and what rear end did it have?

 

Yes the FX4 and king ranch where both 4 wheel drive. I didn't ask but I would suspect the 3.73 possibly? I can call the sales lady and see if she knew or could ask the ecoboost people. They have since moved down the road to Lubbock Texas for a drive event there.

 

Ill be driving them tonight and I can tell you for sure.

 

I think it was more the opinion of the guy you were with than the official policy. I asked the same question to both of the Ford reps I rode with and neither said anything about that policy. I was very specific in asking about what mods would be allowed and no one there knew of an official policy for for the Ecoboost.

Having said that, I am pretty sure they will be watching things closely. The very last thing FoMoCo wants it to have blown Ecoboosts everywhere. A bad tune on a turbo motor can kill it in a heartbeat.

 

Raped-ape... wtf?!?!?

 

Awesome! I take it your in Lubbock or midland? Ride with the chick if you can, she doesn't give you a predetermined route and basically gives you free reign to really test the truck

Wookie, are you talking about about the license plate to the side garbage? I thought it was dumb too, and it might not be the policy, but after looking that would block considerable airflow directly to the intercooler. I wouldn't put mine on either side, I'd prefer it in the middle of the bumper or the windshield. I don't think any of the reps at these ecoboost tour drive events are even 'officials' from Michigan, at least not at the one here last night. When I called the sales lady to ask about the rear gear ratio she said they where mostly marketing folks with some training on the ecoboost.

Truckguy24, I couldn't tell you... he is not the first person I have ever come across that tried to hard to sound like he knew what he was talking about. I thought about correcting him but just thanked him for his time and walked off..

 

Dude it takes all kinds... it's like when some kid was trying to tell me an electric s/c was the way to go.

What a dumbass

 

Great, I can see some dumb butt dealership putting the front plates right in the middle where in TX without even thinkning. I wonder how many will have issues before they figure it out!

 

No, one of the reps, a salesman and I discussed the front plate location. The opening in the bumper is not to be blocked. I was talking about tunes etc.

 

ahh, well in my case I have plenty of time to see how it plays out for everyone that gets one then goes to town modding it I honestly thought it had enough power for me without an aftermarket tune. How did you like it Wookie?

I felt like it put the 5.4 to shame easily, and even gave noticeably more than the 5.0. The 5.0 was impressive on the first drive, but after driving the ecoboost I wouldn't say the same; both are great, but the ecoboost was best, IMO.

The turn signal 'ding' was something I found very annoying and loud, however the new turn signal control is cool. The one push up or down for constant signal and/or half way up or down to just get a 4 blink lane change. on the first corner I had to ask the rep what the hell was going on with the turn signal control I also liked how most everything was controlled from the productivity screen like the auto headlamp timing, interior lights, etc, etc..

 

I thought that the license plate bracket was designed to mount on one of the sides of the front bumper?

But on after thought, I guess on all of the other new engines it mounts in the center? That will let you spot an ecoboost engine miles away if that is the case.

 

Just got done with my drive. Xlt 4x4 supercab and he didn't know what gears it had. On a 10 mile trip I averaged 13 mpg getting on it 3 times and highway the rest. Once I got on the highway and cruise set is when I reset the mpg. It started at 23( going slightly downhill) then leveled off at 20 then when I turned around it went down to 18 then I started getting on it. I was going 65 and about 1700 rpm. I'm going to keep my order with a 5.0 because my gas mileage wasn't any better than the 5.0 but it was only a short test. Plus I like the numbers the 5.0 mustang are putting with a supercharger at 6-8# of boost.