Towing in OD OK with this situation?

[haulnazz15]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

I have tracked the mileage in my truck (2008 F-150, 5.4L), and I get a solid 1mpg better when running zero ethanol as compared to the e10 allowed in my state. My truck is a FlexFuel truck, so I can run e85, but never have and never will. I average 15mpg on e10 and 16mpg on zero ethanol across a year of data. The EcoBoost would walk me like I was standing still, but I still have no problem towing the 4-5K lbs boat or other trailers while in O/D. I only turn it off if I am in an area with a lot of grade changes or if the transmission keeps dropping out of O/D.

 

[gtochris]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

What I don't believe is that his was holding OD when his buddies Eco-boost couldn't maintain speed on a hill, that had to have been one HECK of a hill for the eco-boost to loose speed on. I've got the 5.0L in my new F150 and climbed some pretty dang steep hills towing 7500#+ of skid steer behind me an not once have lost speed on a hill, and the Eco is a step above my 5.0L for pulling (although gets worse mileage towing than the 5.0L)

I was trying to keep momentum where as he was just trying to keep his under a certain speed. He is very concerned about the tire Max speed rating where as I was happy as long as I was moving steady. I was really surprised how many rigs blew by us in the left lane doing 80+! one guy towing an older Donzi was on a mission! Same goes for some of the Travel Trailer crowd. We were passed by someone in a sequoia w/o the weight distribution attached (butt of truck was severely dragging, front end barely touching pavement) and he was locked at 80+ in the left lane!

I too have heard the poor MPG out of the Eco-boost while towing story. Seems to be taxed too much? I wonder why Ford didnt use a 3.7L or larger V6 so they could have the extra torque and less turbo needed?

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

I too have heard the poor MPG out of the Eco-boost while towing story. Seems to be taxed too much? I wonder why Ford didnt use a 3.7L or larger V6 so they could have the extra torque and less turbo needed?

It's not "taxed too much", it's just the nature of a turbocharged vehicle when under a load. In exchange for not needing the displacement size of a larger engine 90% of the time at low loads, the turbo has to work harder (thus using more fuel) when under a higher load. It's perfectly normal and provides more power/torque than most any NA I6/V6. When not towing, that EcoBoost engine isn't working hard at all and the gas mileage beats a regular V6/V8. If I were towing every week or two, I'd probably get the 5.0 or 6.2L, but for towing once or twice a month, the EB is a great compromise. Also, the EB V6 is a 3.5L, but outputs more peak tq/HP than the 5.0L or previous gen 5.4L. You can get the 3.7L V6 in some F-150's, but it'd be a dog.

Make no mistake, 365HP/420TQ will move a 5K lbs trailer with little problem.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

I stick with nationally known brands of fuel. Chevron, Shell, etc. I've learned to avoid the jippo's.

Ever been to a refinary before and tried to find the "Shell" tap

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Ever been to a refinary before and tried to find the "Shell" tap

Lol. They might have one, but I get suspicious when it's connected to the same line as all of the other taps.

 

[Ming15237]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Ever been to a refinary before and tried to find the "Shell" tap

I have been to refinaries and the "Shell" tap or the "BP" tap are non existent, however, what brands fuel are the additive packages added to the fuel once it is added to the truck. This is what causes BP fuel to differ from Shell fuel. In most areas you will find that the EPA regulates how much ethanol is added to the fuel, and it is MANDITORY that the fuel contain a minimum of 10% in Pennsylvania. They are trying to up that to 15% currently. So in closing, those whom think that one station contains more ethanol than the next due to brand are for the most part fooling themselves, the Fed Gov mandates the use of ethanol, mostly because they have a vested interest in its continued usage i.e. it is subsided by them! However, branded fuel is the real thing and there is most certainly a difference between one major brand fuel and another, that's what makes their fuels unique. When my family owned their fueling stations and we ordered fuel we were asked would we like "branded fuel" or "unbranded fuel", this was in the 1980's when cars were unable to self compensate for fuel volatility via the engine management computers. We asked for unbranded fuel several times, and each and every time we received customer complaints about their vehicles pinging, and general lack of power complaints and hard starting problems. We learned our lessons fast, you don't sell junk, as it would only cause us problems later, possibly cause us to loose a customer for life.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

The E15 initiative is essentially dead in the water, Ming.

 

[Ming15237]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

The E15 initiative is essentially dead in the water, Ming.

That's the first I have heard of that, and it may be true, I simply was not informed of its current standing. The one thing about the enviro nazis is the NEVER leave well enough alone and they ALWAYS push for more! So you can rest assured that they will give air a lot more pushing if it has indead failed to pass into law. There is some great reading on this site about the current regulations and standards for fuel How much ethanol is in gasoline and how does it affect fuel economy? - FAQ - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) it is one of our "go to" sites for information. As I have stated earlier, ethanol is horrible for vehicles and their fuel systems, and fuel containing ethanol is only stable for right around 90 days before phase seperation begins to take place. Hope this helps everybody concerned.

 

[jkust]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

That's the first I have heard of that, and it may be true, I simply was not informed of its current standing. .

The E15 discussion has been going on for a while. Wasn't it GM that came out and said they wouldn't honor warranties if E15 was used?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

Getting a little "off track" from the overdrive question here !!!

 

[ricohman]

Re: Towing in OD OK with this situation?

The E15 discussion has been going on for a while. Wasn't it GM that came out and said they wouldn't honor warranties if E15 was used?

Yeah, GM, Toyota, Chrysler and others. E15 may not be coming anytime soon. But this was over a year ago anyways.