Ol' Bubber

 

You're not supposed to plow with a 2011-2014 F150 w/ 3.7, Eco or the 5.0 because of the EPAs. You could probably plow with a 6.2 because it has hydraulic power steering.

 

On the 2015's plowing is now an option. Only on the 5.oh though.

There is now a button on the dash that shuts down extra power eaters so it can go right to the plow. Only $50 bucks more.

 

I glossed over this yesterday but the though came back to me today. Not all of the 80’s turbo cars were steaming piles of poo.



Mustang SVO

Thunderbird TurboCoupe

Buick GNX

Ferrari F40

Porsche 911 Turbo (930)

Porsche 959



Just to name a couple of cars that were well ahead of their time and still are desirable today. Of course there were some real turds from that era too, pretty much anything Mopar or Mitsubishi sucked and not just from the fresh air side of the turbo. But… most of the turbo cars of that time that were crap were total crap and came from companies that made nothing but crap. Much like the GM diesels of the same time frame that were horrible, the problem wasn’t in the concept but in the execution. Diesels still carry some stigma because an accountant at GM thought it was a great idea to run diesel fuel through a gas engine. The same holds true with a turbo. The concept is great but the follow through has to be up to snuff. The turbo dropped out favor because fuel was cheap. It's a whole lot cheaper to make an engine bigger to up the power than develop something new. In the 80s the OEMs were still stinging from the price spike of fuel in the 70s. Once that went away there wasn't a good reason to keep spending R&D money. Today the mileage vs. power concern is back again and this is a great way to address it.

I’d say Ford did their homework this time around. They used Borg Warner K03s, pretty much the most popular OEM turbo on the market, Bosch DI engine management which now has been in production for quite a while on top of a Duratech series V6. They built the bottom end way up then tested the fool out of it. The hardware is proving to be quite solid as there have been very few complaints on here or other F150 sites about blown engines etc. The few issues (CAC, misfires) are greatly exaggerated or due to the learning curve of the techs at the dealership. Many of them have never dealt with these systems and are having to figure them out. They’re not hard to understand, just different.

 

That T-Bird coupe was a fun car. My dad had one.

 

Yo Ewok - ye fergot aboot the Daytona Turbo Z an' the GL fekkin' H

Ah coon't break either of 'em.

MGD

 

A few good ones doesnt make up for the overwhelming population of bad ones out there. And yes I (and you) know that 80s vehicles in general were all crap. I feel my generalization is still valid that people (mass population) feels that turbos are scary and high maintenance because of the 1980s vehicles.

I totally agree with your GM diesel reference, the diesel 350ci was a "converted" gas engine, and was horrible in every way. Probably the same generalization can be applied here as well, and most people think that diesels are unreliable, and high maintenance, stinky exhaust etc



Don't forget the early 90s Typhoon/Cyclone as desirable V6 turbos

 

My next door neighbor in 1987 had a turbo V6 Buick Riviera. I don't remember what year it was. It was a few years old. Had to replace the turbo every 30k miles.

 

Those old hot air (non intercooled) turbo cars were junk.

Grand National FTW

 

I bought the 13 5.0 new because I didn't think the difference in my case was worth $1,000. The Service manager at my dealership in his courtesy call said that the 5.0 was his engine of choice, that they had no issues with it. We have already put over 57k miles on the truck with zero problems. Towed a 32' Alumite once, towed stock trailer few times, towed Christmas float twice, towed my son's car on heavy duty trailer, etc. my wife uses as a supply hauler for her business weekly. It's had more than enough.

I'm hearing the 5.0 gets better mpg real world. We average 18-18.5 mixed driving in a Supercrew. Pure highway, even with a full bed load of tools and/or wood materials has been 20-22, including the last mission trip to southern border.

Towing mileage has been 12-13

 

I would like to know how you get that kind of mileage. I run 87 octane and the MPG gauge in the dash stays at 17.3 MPG and I haven't done any mods yet. I average 60-70 on the highway. I have wheels and an exhaust waiting for mother nature to take a ciesta for a few days. I am dreading what my mileage is going to be after 22" wheels. '14 5.0 Scab

 

I get similar mileage with my 2014 2wd screw. I do about 70 percent highway but I drive 75 on oat of the highway. For 9,000 miles, I have averaged 18.8, and get above or below 21 on the highway, depending in weather. I got almost identical mileage with my 2011, same identical 5.0 truck for 85,000 miles. All hand calculated.

 

How do you calculate it?

 

Plus this: http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplat...alculator.html



MGD

 

lol. I am proficient with the MS Office suite. But, that calculator is nice. I will start using it and see what I get. Thanks. I think I will look for an app on my phone too. I never thought to look for that.