Longwinded Review of the Ecoboost Mustang

[15wile]

Second, when I heard the Ecoboost it just didn't sound right to me.

It does sound like crap. Not going to disagree with you on that one. The Aftermarket is working on that, but I haven't heard anything I liked yet. That being said, sound or not, the Eco was a cheap upgrade with massive mod potential.

The V6 is still a respectable motor -- especially if you intended to stay stock. But if you're even thinking of tuning and mods, the Eco is a better buy. You can get some monster gains with very little money.

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[Spartan]

If you got the money, buy the Premium V6...oh yeah they don't make that.

;)

 

[oilfieldtrash]

I agree with most everything that's been said here except for the everyone wants a v8 comments. I don't want a v8. I'd rather spend the money I save/saved on other things. To me it's a beautiful and fun car. At the end of the day it's still just a car. I love putting $35 in the tank and driving forever on it. Knowing I'm averaging 25mpg is just as satisfying as hearing the v8 rumble to me. Okay maybe not quite that satisfying but it's still satisfying.

 

[blkandgud]

If you got the money, buy the Premium V6...oh yeah they don't make that.

;)

yeah I don't know why either. That's one area where Chevy got it right with the new Camaro.

 

[oilfieldtrash]

I'll agree the eco doesn't sound that great. Not horrible as most have suggested. The turbo spooling up is like music to my ears though.

 

[neodark]

If you got the money, buy the Premium V6...oh yeah they don't make that.

;)

Why would you NOT buy the GT in this instance?

EB is a good middle of the road car, with mod potential for great power. The V6 has advantages (IE Sound) but that's about it. I also chose a loaded EB vs a base GT. As my DD, it fits my needs perfectly, and a few mods do wonders for power/sound. Choice is good!

 

[Clink]

I can absolutely attest to Tampa having some of the shittiest highways I've been on, never ending construction and I've lived around here for off and on for 10 of the last 15 years.

My view out the office window, one reason why I work from home now.

Great write up BTW.

 

[15wile]

I can absolutely attest to Tampa having some of the shittiest highways I've been on, never ending construction and I've lived around here for off and on for 10 of the last 15 years.

My view out the office window, one reason why I work from home now.

Great write up BTW.

Oh God, the Westshore area. 275 is the WORST through there. I take the bridge across and it's Hell, every damn day.

 

[Stam616]

Probably the most annoying thing about owning an EB is ppl suggesting that because it is newer and FI that it is automatically not reliable. The EB is built to last.

Anyway aren't you the exact same guy who just commented about Ecoboost buyers coming into threads about the V6 and commenting about the EB? lol the V6 wasn't even mentioned in here

No, I'm not that guy.. I have never said that. The OP was talking about his choice and I was talking about mine. That's all. I'm not complaining about anything. Just that this is the right car for me. Did you even read what I wrote? Nowhere was I bashing the Eco. Any turbo engine will be more complex and may not be as long lived as an NA engine. So I don't consider that "bashing" it's just a fact. The eco boost engine will last but you may have to replace the turbo somewhere down the line. Whereas in a NA engine that's one less thing to worry about. Stop being defensive.. They are all mustangs, therefore they are ALL awesome!! :ford::ford::ford:

 

[15wile]

As far as the tune, this will be the first car I've ever tuned so I have no experience with getting service work done on a tuned car. I can go to ANY Ford dealer for service right, not just the one I got the car from?

Yeah, you can go to any Ford dealer for service. But the way tuning works... there is a small port on lower left, under the dash. You plug in a tuner (a little handheld computer basically) that's provided by the tuning shop. You follow some onscreen instructions -- usually takes 5-10 minutes -- and it'll adjust a whole host of settings that the tuning shop has specified. Most importantly, it will also save your stock settings.

When you are ready to go in for service, plug the tuner back in and put the stock tune back on. My dealer, at least, chooses not to notice that I've done this. Many others have similar experiences. If your dealer takes an issue with it, go somewhere else. Warranty service doesn't have to be at the same dealer. But ALWAYS flash back to stock before going to the dealer. Plausible deniability!

And a fair warning, while you get MONSTER torque and healthy horsepower gains with the tune, you will lose a little efficiency. I've seen a drop of about 1-1.5mpg with the race tune in it (the daily driver performance tune is a little better about this, but less aggressive too). There's a reason Ford left this power on the table, after all. No free lunch!

Cobb allows you to change tunes on the fly with their Accessport tuner. So you can change the car from efficiency mode to performance mode very quickly, if that's important to you. MAP is running the best tunes for the Cobb Accessport, if you want to go that route.

I want Bama, because they are known for being a little on the conservative side with their tunes. Peace of mind. Unleashed is more aggressive and Livernois is supposedly balls-to-the-wall nuts.

 

[TJP719]

Yeah, you can go to any Ford dealer for service. But the way tuning works... there is a small port on lower left, under the dash. You plug in a tuner (a little handheld computer basically) that's provided by the tuning shop. You follow some onscreen instructions -- usually takes 5-10 minutes -- and it'll adjust a whole host of settings that the tuning shop has specified. Most importantly, it will also save your stock settings.

When you are ready to go in for service, plug the tuner back in and put the stock tune back on. My dealer, at least, chooses not to notice that I've done this. Many others have similar experiences. If your dealer takes an issue with it, go somewhere else. Warranty service doesn't have to be at the same dealer. But ALWAYS flash back to stock before going to the dealer. Plausible deniability!

And a fair warning, while you get MONSTER torque and healthy horsepower gains with the tune, you will lose a little efficiency. I've seen a drop of about 1-1.5mpg with the race tune in it (the daily driver performance tune is a little better about this, but less aggressive too). There's a reason Ford left this power on the table, after all. No free lunch!

Cobb allows you to change tunes on the fly with their Accessport tuner. So you can change the car from efficiency mode to performance mode very quickly, if that's important to you. MAP is running the best tunes for the Cobb Accessport, if you want to go that route.

I want Bama, because they are known for being a little on the conservative side with their tunes. Peace of mind. Unleashed is more aggressive and Livernois is supposedly balls-to-the-wall nuts.

Yeah I went with Cobb after hearing all the good things said about the Accessport and I've watched some installation videos so I'm prepared. I'll be getting my custom tune from Adam at MAP, can't wait. I expected the drop in efficiency with the performance tune but I'll make sure to get an economy tune for my trip back and forth to work every day, the on the fly switching from one ECU map to another was really appealing.

I'm not sure how my dealer will be with the warranty but if they're dicks about it it's good to know I have options.

 

[EcoSwag1990]

I've gained 1-2mpg with my tune from Livernois even though I naturally drive it harder now. You should not have to sacrifice efficiency for performance

 

[Spartan]

Why would you NOT buy the GT in this instance?

EB is a good middle of the road car, with mod potential for great power. The V6 has advantages (IE Sound) but that's about it. I also chose a loaded EB vs a base GT. As my DD, it fits my needs perfectly, and a few mods do wonders for power/sound. Choice is good!

If they had one, then it would be for the sound, NA engine vs a Turbo, and 87 octane with no power loss.

I still haven't heard an EB exhaust I like yet unfortunately.

Nothing wrong with the EB, but having a V6 for 15+ years, I just trust the engine and love it.

 

[Spartan]

I bought my Ecoboost a little over a month ago. She's a base model with no options except the automatic transmission and some stupid reverse parking sensor, which seems kind of pointless when you have a backup camera. But whatever, all of them around here seem to have that.

What's wrong with the reverse parking sensor? Even with a camera it's there just to give you an idea your distance from the back/back sides.

 

[15wile]

What's wrong with the reverse parking sensor? Even with a camera it's there just to give you an idea your distance from the back/back sides.

There's nothing wrong with it. Just would have preferred to save the money. It's not much. The option stickers for $295. But when you're negotiating aggressively like that it's kind of a "take what's in stock" situation and they were all stocking cars with this option around here. I found it kind of funny.

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