Ford Announces Fuel Economy Figures for 2011 F-150 EcoBoost V-6

[SVTOffroad News Bot]

Ford’s all-new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 for the 2011 F-150 has been officially rated by the EPA at 16/22 mpg city/highway.

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[bstoner59]

Hmm...I wonder what the 5.0 will be rated at??

 

[KaiserM715]

Hmm...I wonder what the 5.0 will be rated at??

I think it is 15/21

 

[frogslinger]

Those numbers do not look particularly good (+7%/+4% over the 5.0), however I think the glimmer of hope is the Baja... basically the truck under huge load returned better than expected gas mileage... so if you are actually working your truck hard, your gas mielage may be 14-MPG on the highway as opposed to 11 (which is like a 27% increase)

 

[The Tank]

When I went to the F-150 round up. I asked a few of the Ford Reps what they were seeing for MPGs and they all gave me a number in the mid 20s now I couldn't confirm it because Ecoboost truck had it MPG read out reset because they all showed horrible numbers do to the way they were being treated. When I was at the dealership last I look at a 5.0 truck and a 4.6 3v truck and they got the same fuel mileage. So with that said even if the ecoboost got the MPGs as the 5.4 but because it makes more power I think Ford has proven that this is a good idea and has killed any hope of a light duty PSD.

 

[hogdust]

I expected a lot better from the Eccoboost than those numbers

 

[frogslinger]

I expected a lot better from the Eccoboost than those numbers

No matter what you do there is a certain amount of energy (let us call it X) that you need to use to move a vehicle. The only way of reducing this energy on a standardised test is to reduce weight or drag. Therefore the only improvements in fuel economy between two essentially identical trucks with different engines is that caused by reducing the other component of fuel burnt, wasted energy (let us call that Y). Assuming you are starting with a fairly small value for Y (that is your vehicle is your vehicle is properly programed and its feedback mechanisms are well implemented) such as Y= X/3 (that is for every gallon you use moving the truck you are wasting 1/3 of a gallon on other things, like exhaust noise and power steering mechanisms), a virtual elimination of all waste will only lead to a 25% improvement in gas mileage... (that is you were burning 4Y before and you are burning 3Y now... (4Y-3Y)/4Y= .25)

Admitedly most estimates I have seen put X being about 1-2 Y, so there is a little more room, however you equally cannot eliminate all waste so...

 

[The Tank]

I can almost guarantee that the EPA tested a 3.55 or 3.73 rear truck not the 3.08 rear gear. Also the truck most likely had heaviest tire and wheel combination.

 

[MarkT]

No matter what you do there is a certain amount of energy (let us call it X) that you need to use to move a vehicle. The only way of reducing this energy on a standardised test is to reduce weight or drag. Therefore the only improvements in fuel economy between two essentially identical trucks with different engines is that caused by reducing the other component of fuel burnt, wasted energy (let us call that Y). Assuming you are starting with a fairly small value for Y (that is your vehicle is your vehicle is properly programed and its feedback mechanisms are well implemented) such as Y= X/3 (that is for every gallon you use moving the truck you are wasting 1/3 of a gallon on other things, like exhaust noise and power steering mechanisms), a virtual elimination of all waste will only lead to a 25% improvement in gas mileage... (that is you were burning 4Y before and you are burning 3Y now... (4Y-3Y)/4Y= .25)

Admitedly most estimates I have seen put X being about 1-2 Y, so there is a little more room, however you equally cannot eliminate all waste so...

"Conventional" gasoline engines are only about 18 - 20% efficient at best...

In other words, for every gallon of gasoline, only 20% of the energy available in the fuel is converted into mechanical energy that can propel the truck. The other 80% of the energy is wasted. (most is lost as heat.) So IMHO there is quite a bit of room for improvement.

I don't think it will be long before technology increases the efficiency of gasoline engines to equal or exceed the 30% to 40% efficiency of diesels. Engines like the Eco-boost with efficient turbos, precise management, and direct injection are already giving the diesels a run for the money.

 

[SuperRaptor]

This engine has better performance than the 5.0 and gets better fuel mileage, I think thats the point.