Re: Towing with an EcoBoost
I'd love to hear some real life example pulling heavily constructed boats. My minivan pulls a 17 footer with ease as it should. I see locally they just started running a commercial comparing the Silverado to the Fords pulling a large boat up hill. No stats given other than the actor driving saying the Silverado was struggling at that particular second. I also just read that Chevy has just substantially increased the power (they mentioned HP but not TQ) in their 5.3l v8 for an upcoming model. Of course they claim better mileage than everyone else as well. I've owned supercharged/forced induction vehicles in the past and can attest to the torque increases over the base engine without forced induction. That said I've friends with Eco boost F150's but don't tow and still claim egregious mileage. If you are going to slap a 6 cylinder anything in a truck and use MPG's as a selling point, it better give me 30% better mileage over the v8 competition before I write a $40,000 check. I already expect fantastic towing capabilities as it is a truck.
What the comparison, that I am sure Ford set up, doesnt tell you is that the GM 5.3 is heavily managed. I always thought mine struggled a bit with my newer 5k plus boat, until I finally got it tuned last month. No more struggling at all. So I completely believe the 5.3 in anything will struggle from the factory with certain weights.
That being said, I was pretty impressed with the stats on the Ecoboost. Like others have said though, I would like to see the longevity. Ford certainly needed to do something. My Father's Lincoln MK LT with the 5.4 really struggles with much lighter boats than mine. It tows awesome, but on hills or long tall bridges over the water, and especially entering highways, it really struggles.
In my 05 Trailblazer EXT 5.3 with the 3.73 gears and DOD, I can get upwards of 22mpg on the highway, and 13-14 towing the boat around town. I have heard others saying they get 16-18 on the highway, but not sure they have DOD. So who knows. My wife, on the same trip, couldnt get over 20mpg, and we got there faster when I drove, and no traffic either way.
I am excited to see what is coming out. Competition is the key to inovation, and they are all competing to get our money. Lets wee what they all come up with. Right now the Ecoboost is way out of my price range for a vehicle that will sit in the garage except on boating days.
The new 8 speed trans takes care of the slight margin that the ecoboost had and surpasses it in terms of milage.
