2011 Ford F-150 5.0-liter V-8 Gains Power Burning E85 Ethanol

[BentToast]

Want to add power to Ford's all-new 5.0-liter V-8 for the 2011 F-150 without making a single hardware or software change? Just burn E85 ethanol fuel.

The 5.0 is rated at 360 horsepower (at 5,500 rpm) and 380 pounds-feet of torque (at 4,250 rpm) running on regular unleaded gasoline. It's positioned as the midrange, high-volume engine choice for the F-150, below the more powerful 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 (365 hp and 420 pounds-feet of torque) and conventional large-displacement 6.2-liter V-8 (411 hp and 434 pounds-feet of torque).

But the 5.0 is also flex-fuel capable. Flexible-fuel vehicles are designed to run on gasoline or a blend of up to 85 percent ethanol (E85).

Burning E85 fuel boosts 5.0 engine power to 375 hp and 390 pounds-feet of torque, said Mike Harrison, Ford's program manager for V-8 engines.

Ethanol has a higher octane and heat-of-vaporization point than gasoline, meaning it combusts at a higher temperature and with greater force (higher compression) than gasoline, while also having a greater capacity to cool the fuel/air mix in the cylinder before combustion. This inherent efficiency is what enables the 5.0 to produce more power while burning E85 instead of regular unleaded fuel.

There's a trade-off, though. Even though E85 combusts with greater force, it has less energy per gallon than regular unleaded gasoline, so fuel economy is worse when burning E85
2011 Ford F-150 5.0-liter V-8 Gains Power Burning E85 Ethanol - PickupTrucks.com News

 

[pirate air]

I see the truck 5.0 went back to a cast exhaust manifold.

 

[Xjrguy]

I'm still divided between throwing this mill in my Raptor or doing the E-Force one of these days.

The 5.0 is around 6k which is what the supercharger for the 5.4 is.

Economies of scale show the 5.0L coming down in price as a crate motor/wreck pull as more are produced.

It's a great time to be a vehicle enthusiast with all this power and technology with these new engines.

 

[BentToast]

When more E Forces hit the market, the price of those will also come down. I would s'charge the truck rather than an engine swap unless you just want a race motor for off roading

 

[Xjrguy]

When more E Forces hit the market, the price of those will also come down. I would s'charge the truck rather than an engine swap unless you just want a race motor for off roading

Yeah I don't want an off road race motor.

You bring up a good point. I paid for the 5.4 in my Raptor and I think the development costs will pay off on E-force and hopefully Edelbrock will lower the price on that S/C as well.

 

[BentToast]

You could go with the Roush blower that is cheap, proven, and carries the factory warranty.

 

[pirate air]

You could go with the Roush blower that is cheap, proven, and carries the factory warranty.

Doesn't the Roush kit use the eaton m90 blower unit? If so thats why its cheap. The E force is a MUCH more advanced/efficient twin screw.

 

[pirate air]

I'm still divided between throwing this mill in my Raptor or doing the E-Force one of these days.

The 5.0 is around 6k which is what the supercharger for the 5.4 is.

Economies of scale show the 5.0L coming down in price as a crate motor/wreck pull as more are produced.

It's a great time to be a vehicle enthusiast with all this power and technology with these new engines.

The supercharger kit would be the cheaper route. Even if you scored a 5.0 for cheap, you would still probably want to build it... I mean, If you put a F150 5.0 in, you're not really gaining enough power to justify the swap from the 3v 5.4 imo. If you swap a mustang 5.0, the cams/power band would be wrong for the Raptor. And you would also have to salvage the complete electric power steering setup from a wrecked F150 to put into the Raptor, since the 5.0 has no bosses for a power steering pump.

If doing a motor swap, seems easier, or at least makes more sense in my mind, to do a GT500 5.4 or a 6.2, or even an ecoboost. I just don't see the 5.0 swap a big enough benefit for the cost, unless your willing to spend the money and build it.

It is a great time to be a vehicle enthusiast, maybe even one of the last times if your into factory hp. Its too bad the 5.0 is about at it's limit for cubic inch. A DOHC Boss 351 would of been ****.

 

[BentToast]

I agree the E Force is a much better blower, but the Roush is cheap and keeps the factory warranty. If you want to spend 7k on a mod that will lose your warranty, the e Force is what I would use, but not until some of my ext. 100k warranty is eaten up