2011 F-150 EcoBoost

[c3p0]

I know there are not many Truck guys here, but thought some of you might enjoy the video. The video was shot at the dynamometer facility where I work. The text below is from a newspaper article out of Dallas I believe. Enjoy!
c3p0


The 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost stands ready to challenge and conquer the harsh environment that makes the world-famous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 an unparalleled test of man and machine – and the world racing debut for Ford’s EcoBoost engine.

Ford will enter a 2011 F-150 in November’s prestigious long-distance desert endurance race, powered by a stock version of the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost truck engine that will be available in the 2011 F-150 early next year.

The engine was selected randomly off the line from Cleveland Engine Plant to prove out the rigid durability and reliability tests the engine endured during development. The Baja 1000 race is part of an extensive torture test program by Ford for customers to see for themselves the extreme durability testing and development of the class-leading EcoBoost truck engine.


http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/f150/2011/experiencef150/

 

[StageLeft]

Pretty cool "ad". I suppose a lot of manufacturers do this kind of thing but still.

 

[Vette73]

Running an engine straight out is not a issue, its the cold starts, Hard pulls every once in a while, towing, etc... that is the real test.

I would not be a first year owner for what I use my truck for. But if you are the average general owner, not worker, then it might be ok.

 

[franksta]

I'm excited about the whole new lineup of available motors, yes even the 3.7L. I have a '97 F-150 with ye olde 4.6L and I'm glad to see they're ending it. Not that it's a bad motor but it's definitely passed it's prime.

 

[LTC8K6]

420tq at 2500...

Yowsa!

 

[fbrdphreak]

Running an engine straight out is not a issue, its the cold starts, Hard pulls every once in a while, towing, etc... that is the real test.

I would not be a first year owner for what I use my truck for. But if you are the average general owner, not worker, then it might be ok.

Ford did publish about their torture tests for the Ecoboost V6. Cold starts. Stopping the engine right after beating on it for a long time. Etc. Their results were supposedly amazing.

But I agree - a couple years in truck and police service will make or break Ecoboost durability.

 

[PricklyPete]

Ford did publish about their torture tests for the Ecoboost V6. Cold starts. Stopping the engine right after beating on it for a long time. Etc. Their results were supposedly amazing.

But I agree - a couple years in truck and police service will make or break Ecoboost durability.

I am very, very interested to see what the long term reliability of these engines end up being in the police cars and trucks. Normal passenger cars will not see half as much sever duty as a truck or a police car...so it will be very telling.

 

[Pulsar]

I am very, very interested to see what the long term reliability of these engines end up being in the police cars and trucks. Normal passenger cars will not see half as much sever duty as a truck or a police car...so it will be very telling.

I'd be surprised if the durability isn't outstanding.

A lot of Ford's quality improvements over the past 10 years can be attributed to commonization of testing. They understand a ton more now about testing and how it relates to real-world mileage. The standards are far more stringent, and if something breaks during a test they actually go back and fix the root cause now, then they run the test again until they get it right.

It's been really uplifting to work for Ford and watch them commit to quality. It's not the same company it was 10 years ago.

 

[PricklyPete]

I'd be surprised if the durability isn't outstanding.

A lot of Ford's quality improvements over the past 10 years can be attributed to commonization of testing. They understand a ton more now about testing and how it relates to real-world mileage. The standards are far more stringent, and if something breaks during a test they actually go back and fix the root cause now, then they run the test again until they get it right.

It's been really uplifting to work for Ford and watch them commit to quality. It's not the same company it was 10 years ago.

That's awesome to hear...and I really hope it proves right in realworld stats on this engine. I love that turbo's are becoming mainstream across lineups and I'd love for Ford's reliability to stay consistent with these new engines.

 

[yh125d]

Running an engine straight out is not a issue, its the cold starts, Hard pulls every once in a while, towing, etc... that is the real test.

I would not be a first year owner for what I use my truck for. But if you are the average general owner, not worker, then it might be ok.

Repeated cold starts (and not just "cold" starts, -20 starts at full throttle), simulated towing full loads, full throttle for 10 days, etc., do you really think the occasional boat pull and cold starts in the winter are going to be tougher?

 

[CADsortaGUY]

3.5L in a full sized truck? 15-19mpg? why not get the real thing?

 

[EightySix Four]

3.5L in a full sized truck? 15-19mpg? why not get the real thing?

The torque curve is actually better than most V8's.

 

[TraumaRN]

Repeated cold starts (and not just "cold" starts, -20 starts at full throttle), simulated towing full loads, full throttle for 10 days, etc., do you really think the occasional boat pull and cold starts in the winter are going to be tougher?

I agree. If you watch the video the one engineer even said they are stressing the engine beyond what would be humanly possible. Going from -20 to 220 degrees in 15 minutes while at full throttle while pulling 11000 pounds up a 6-8% grade then repeating that for weeks on end is fucking crazy. No one will ever manage that on the road. Either way I'm interested to see the rest of these durability tests

 

[Arkaign]

The torque curve is actually better than most V8's.

Yeah I came into this wondering what the point was, but the EcoBoost V6 actually looks like a better solution than the already superb 5.0 V8. The only truly serious upgrade imho would be to a diesel for the folks that need severe duty trucks, which I think trump the 6.2L (?) option.

 

[c3p0]

Repeated cold starts (and not just "cold" starts, -20 starts at full throttle), simulated towing full loads, full throttle for 10 days, etc., do you really think the occasional boat pull and cold starts in the winter are going to be tougher?

There will always be those that are not in the engine R&D field that will question the first and even the second year runs on new products. I can't blame them for that. It's the nature of the business.

I posted something about the EcoBoost engine being "Bullet Proof" a few months ago and got hammered about using the word "Bullet Proof" to describe a new unproven engine. I guess I don't disagree that maybe "bullet proof" is not an appropriate term to use...at least YET.

What I was trying to convey is that the EcoBoost engines are the first engines in the 20 years that I have been working at the Ford Dynamometer Laboratory that passed every durability test we threw at at them the first time around.

In the past, if an engine failed a specific test, depending on the job one timing, we would just put a band aid on it and that would be the end of it until it came up again. Today, if an engine fails any phase of Durability, Development or Powertrain testing, we stop and fix the problem before continuing.

Yes, things have changed significantly in just the past 3 to 5 years here. We are just trying to deliver the best product possible considering the budget and timeframe we have to work in.

Hopefully I will not get fired for posting this. We have truly made a lot of changes in the way we conduct testing these days. Hopefully they were changes for the good of our product.

I guess only time will tell.

c3p0

 

[Demo24]

You guys should read this: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33260

Here's the most important bullet:

he 3.5-liter EcoBoost truck engine delivers 365 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and best-in-class 420 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,500 rpm, with up to 90 percent of the peak torque available from 1,700 rpm to 5,000 rpm – all on regular fuel


The current 4.6l gets 21 hwy. I would not be surprised at all to see this at 25 hwy.

 

[Bignate603]

There will always be those that are not in the engine R&D field that will question the first and even the second year runs on new products. I can't blame them for that. It's the nature of the business.

I posted something about the EcoBoost engine being "Bullet Proof" a few months ago and got hammered about using the word "Bullet Proof" to describe a new unproven engine. I guess I don't disagree that maybe "bullet proof" is not an appropriate term to use...at least YET.

What I was trying to convey is that the EcoBoost engines are the first engines in the 20 years that I have been working at the Ford Dynamometer Laboratory that passed every durability test we threw at at them the first time around.

In the past, if an engine failed a specific test, depending on the job one timing, we would just put a band aid on it and that would be the end of it until it came up again. Today, if an engine fails any phase of Durability, Development or Powertrain testing, we stop and fix the problem before continuing.

Yes, things have changed significantly in just the past 3 to 5 years here. We are just trying to deliver the best product possible considering the budget and timeframe we have to work in.

Hopefully I will not get fired for posting this. We have truly made a lot of changes in the way we conduct testing these days. Hopefully they were changes for the good of our product.

I guess only time will tell.

c3p0

Ford's been putting out a world class lineup with their new models. You should be proud to be a part of it. I'll be looking at Ford in about a year when we'll be replacing my wife's car.

 

[charrison]

And the non turbo v6 is going to get some incredible fuel economy.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/09/2011-ford-f-150s-37-liter-v-6-estimated-at-23-mpg-highway.html

 

[Keysplayr]

Are you guys talking about the engine that the 2010 SHO Taurus comes with? EcoBoost right? I test drove one looking to buy last year, and while it was peppy, it certainly did not represent 365HP. During my test drive, and after a full throttle rip on the parkway, I turned to the right and faced the salesman in the front passenger seat and asked, "Is this thing in Valet mode?" Right then and there I think he knew he lost the sale. That engine in it's stock incarnation is very unimpressive. Has major turbo lag. It moves OK, but not 365HP ok. My 2000 Z28 has 305HP and would absolutely tear the SHO a new one. With some turbo tweaking and Diablo predator action, the SHO could probably pump out some serious power. At stock, not really impressive. Heavy car, sure. But if anyone has ridden in a 5.7 Litre Hemi equipped vehicle that has around 360HP, it's night and day.
Engine durability is interesting though. It's amazing what they put these engines through.
I saw an LS1 bench test that let the engine run at max rpms, I think it was set to 5800rpm on a Friday night, and was still revving at 5800rpm Monday morning when they came back in. To me, that is simply amazing.

 

[LTC8K6]

The SHO is very quick, actually. 5.2 seconds to 60. Quicker than a 5.7L AWD 300C.

Can't see your Z28 beating that time.

 

[Greenman]

Are you guys talking about the engine that the 2010 SHO Taurus comes with? EcoBoost right? I test drove one looking to buy last year, and while it was peppy, it certainly did not represent 365HP. During my test drive, and after a full throttle rip on the parkway, I turned to the right and faced the salesman in the front passenger seat and asked, "Is this thing in Valet mode?" Right then and there I think he knew he lost the sale. That engine in it's stock incarnation is very unimpressive. Has major turbo lag. It moves OK, but not 365HP ok. My 2000 Z28 has 305HP and would absolutely tear the SHO a new one. With some turbo tweaking and Diablo predator action, the SHO could probably pump out some serious power. At stock, not really impressive. Heavy car, sure. But if anyone has ridden in a 5.7 Litre Hemi equipped vehicle that has around 360HP, it's night and day.
Engine durability is interesting though. It's amazing what they put these engines through.
I saw an LS1 bench test that let the engine run at max rpms, I think it was set to 5800rpm on a Friday night, and was still revving at 5800rpm Monday morning when they came back in. To me, that is simply amazing.

You're on the wrong page my friend. I don't know if it's the same engine as was in the car you drove, but we're talking about trucks here, and with a pickup, torque is second only to dependability. Big horsepower is fine for a weekend warrior, but a work truck needs grunt, the more the better.

 

[LTC8K6]

1999 Z28 is listed as 5.2 seconds by C&D. So, no way would it tear the SHO a new one.

 

[Bignate603]

1999 Z28 is listed as 5.2 seconds by C&D. So, no way would it tear the SHO a new one.

It's possible that the Z28 FEELS like its faster without actually being any faster. Many times people perceive acceleration by things like the roar of the engine, the car squatting back on its rear wheels, and tire spin. I'd be willing to bet that the SHO can spin up its speedometer with significantly less drama than you'd find in a 10 year old Z28, which might make it feel like its slower.

 

[Pulsar]

I agree. If you watch the video the one engineer even said they are stressing the engine beyond what would be humanly possible. Going from -20 to 220 degrees in 15 minutes while at full throttle while pulling 11000 pounds up a 6-8% grade then repeating that for weeks on end is fucking crazy. No one will ever manage that on the road. Either way I'm interested to see the rest of these durability tests

I'm not sure you'll get to see more of the actual tests we run. Most are 'Ford Confidential / Ford Secret'. I think, however, that people would be even more shocked if they some of the WOT tests. You almost feel sorry for the engine.

Here is a fun one that the dyno guys dealt with - we'll lay a little game of 'are you a car guy'. During testing on one of the older model year supercharged Cobras, they started snapping the nose off the crank (one sent a harmonic damper flying).

The solution was to INCREASE the engine redline.

Now tell us what the problem was =).... and I've given you a clue in my second paragraph.

 

[Pulsar]

Are you guys talking about the engine that the 2010 SHO Taurus comes with? EcoBoost right? I test drove one looking to buy last year, and while it was peppy, it certainly did not represent 365HP. During my test drive, and after a full throttle rip on the parkway, I turned to the right and faced the salesman in the front passenger seat and asked, "Is this thing in Valet mode?" Right then and there I think he knew he lost the sale. That engine in it's stock incarnation is very unimpressive. Has major turbo lag. It moves OK, but not 365HP ok. My 2000 Z28 has 305HP and would absolutely tear the SHO a new one. With some turbo tweaking and Diablo predator action, the SHO could probably pump out some serious power. At stock, not really impressive. Heavy car, sure. But if anyone has ridden in a 5.7 Litre Hemi equipped vehicle that has around 360HP, it's night and day.
Engine durability is interesting though. It's amazing what they put these engines through.
I saw an LS1 bench test that let the engine run at max rpms, I think it was set to 5800rpm on a Friday night, and was still revving at 5800rpm Monday morning when they came back in. To me, that is simply amazing.

I suspect you are a victim of your own perception. Go look at the actual testing numbers, rather than about how it "felt". The Taurus SHO is meant to be an upscale sports car. It's higher off the ground, has a far superior ride, and is way more refined that a Z28 (which I owned in the past). I think you'll find that the reality is that the SHO doesn't FEEL like it's going as fast because of the exhaust tone, NVH, extremely rough ride, and far different seating position in a Z28.