You guys that don't know what the axle ratio was - did any of you look to see if it had a door jamb sticker? Being pre-production it may not, but it just might.

 

Mine didn't first thing I looked for when he said he didn't know.

 

I've driven 2 Ecoboosts (1 had ~5000 pounds behind it) and a 5.0. Both of these engines would KILL a close to stock 5.4 in any condition any day of the week. I prefer the EB over the 5.0 because of the anywhere grunt the motor has. I really think you can't get a bad motor in an '11 F-150.

However, the shifting is worse than ever (I've owned 3 F-150s) on all of the trucks I have driven! There is a huge lag between when you mash the gas and the truck goes. Forget about steering with the throttle in a turn, you will be in the straight before the power gets there. This was the same in all 3 truck I drove but a little better in the production 5.0. For me a tune would be a must have to clean this up. Hopefully the production tunes on the EBs is much better. This really is my only hold back on the new trucks.

 

My dad said pretty much the same thing about the throttle lag and shifts... His issue was mostly with the throttle lag with the ecoboost, I'm guessing while the turbos spooled up? I never noticed it but I was driving mostly at half throttle then mashing the gas.

 

It ain't the turbos spooling up, the 5.0 I drove did the same thing and there aren't any turbos under the hood in that thing. It is Ford's sloppy shift pattern because for some reason they think we want our trucks to shift like Town Cars. I ranted on the reps for this while I was driving.

 

Interesting that all of a sudden I see folks commenting on the lack of throttle response of the 2011 models. Plenty have complained about this on the 2009-2010 models. It makes me wonder how much is the transmission programming and how much is related to the throttle by wire. All the vehicles I have driven with throttle by wire had a noticeable lag in throttle response.

 

I don't think it is directly caused by the electronic throttle. My 05 has an electronic throttle and after the dealer re-flashed the PCM it was much better. The Edge tuner took away the rest of the lag and made the trans more responsive. I think it is programed that way for some stupid reason.

 

If its anything like the lag that was on my 05 before a custom program I wouldn't want to drive it like that....sounds like a tune is a must if the throttle lag is still in the truck....I sometimes switch mine back to the stock programming and its HORRID compared to the shifting with my Edge Evo.

Thanks for all the in-depth writeups guys...def helping me choose which motor I would prefer.

 

Umm, drive a 2010 and tell me about throttle lag. The 2011s are all FAR SUPERIOR in shifting characteristics. You think that EB had lag, go drive a 2010 5.4.

 

Drove a 5.0 2011 yesterday. I love it. Like everyone else is saying there is no lag. It just feels quick and very comfortable. I also felt the shifting was as smooth as can be. n I love the screen in the dash with all the options like the edge.

 

I have an '11 with the 5.0L and if there is lag, it is so much less than my previous 5.4L that I do not notice it. Transmission is much smoother than my '09. Had that one flashed so many times it is crazy and it never smoothed out.

Really is night and day driving the two trucks....especially the eps.

 

Brian, keep us updated. Your experience does not surprise me at all. I hate the transmissions on the 2010 models.

 

You'd be a fool not to take the EB or the 5L for a measely $750 or whatever more, if money was your own concern. And for me personally, that is waaaay more then enough hp for a dd, so I'd just keep it stock, regarding the ability for mods.

Even with the torture testing, I would only think longevity, and all the technical mechanical parts that go along with it that could go wrong. That's where the 5L's simplicity might have the advantage.

 

I don't exactly call a DOHC 4 valve engine with VCT "simple".

 

Not simple, but dohc+vct's been widely used in a larger volume of production vehicles they turbos.