Need a truck, 5.0 or 3.5 EB?

[Enchilada]

Considering trading in the ‘18 GT for a new F-150 but I’m having a difficult time deciding on the 3.5 Ecoboost or the 5.0. I currently don’t tow and drive predominately in the city with tons of traffic lights (Virginia Beach). The mustang has been fun but I have a ‘69 Mach 1 resto-mod from high school and need a pickup. Thoughts?

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[Bran2TheDon]

If your for sure gonna trade, I would get the 3.5. A good friend of mine has the 3.5 and pulls a 19' bass boat with no trouble. The power is there if you need it.

 

[Interceptor]

Yes, no 5.0

 

[Enchilada]

Just curious, why no 5 oh? I’ll miss the rumble and no turbo delay...

 

[Silver Bullitt]

I love the 3.5 in my '13 F-150. I have downpipes, cat back, and a tune. Leveled on 33's, it is sneaky fast (high 13's in the 1320) and pulls like an angry mule. It'll never sound like the 5.0, but it'll definitely outpull it. It's got over 100K trouble free miles now. If I was going to buy a new one, I think I'd go 3.5 again.

 

[D Bergstrom]

I bought a 2018 F-150 3.5 Ecoboost about a year ago. I think it is a great motor, lots of power and still gets decent mileage for a full size truck. (Before the F-150, I had a Nissan Frontier 4.0 V-6. My F-150 gets 1 to 2 mpg better then the Frontier during my weekly comute.) My only real complaint is it does have a little turbo lag, normal driving you don't notice it, but when you go to get on the throttle quick, it is there. Doesn't bother me to much, but it is there. I still think it is a great truck.

Doug

 

[2018OFPP1?2]

3.5TT all the way. I have a 2018 xlt fx4 3.5 and two weeks ago had a similarly equiped 2019 Hertz rental with 4,500 miles and the 5.0... I now have zero regrets about buying the 3.5. The TT just feels like it has more torque every where it matters, and especially from a roll. The 5.0 just kinda floundered for a few seconds.

The 5.0 obviously sounds better, but the 3.5 just performs better in every way.

As for turbo lag, Ford had done a very good job with these dual 51mm turbos. I would call it negligible, if noticable at all. Put it in sport mode, and it's just stupid.

 

[slowrey]

I just traded in my 2013 Ford F-150 FX2 Screw with 48K and it had the Ecoboost 3.5 on Friday for a 2019 GT. Although I loved the V8 sound, I really enjoyed the quietness and the torque and towing power of the 3.5. I'd recommend the 3.5 all day for the power but not for the fuel efficiency as that's not what it was meant for even though some think it was supposed to be a gas sipper.

 

[ktp1598]

Consider the 2.7TT also. It's not slow and it pulls my wife's Edge Sport with authority. Gets good gas mileage to boot. A friend had a rental truck with a 2.7 and from a dead stop it pulled much harder that I ever thought it could. At least test drive it.

 

[Enchilada]

Awesome. Sounds more and more like the 3.5 is the way to go. I appreciate the input.

 

[PtheGman]

I recently traded my 2017 Lariat 3.5 Ecoboost. Loved the truck, I think the 2.7 is also a great option for light towing and more economy. I wont lie, with an intake and a tune, (also a 4 inch lift) my gas mileage was about 17-18mpg...(tires have huge impact on mileage). If i had to do it all over again i would get the 2.7 instead.

 

[speedfrk]

I had an 18 F150 SC with the 2.7 and 3.72 locking rear. The right rear end makes a huge difference in how it pulls and accelerates. Honestly it felt like a V8 and would get a real life 25mpg on the hwy. Pretty impressive. The 10sp automatic was less impressive. Clunky and jerky in lower gears. I got to where I didn't enjoy driving it and got rid of it.

 

[Ninjak]

I had a 2012 3.5 TT with a Unleashed tune. I had 34.2 tires, and a 3 inch lift, screw FX4. I was able to get around mids 14 mpg doing city and highway to work. The truck responded well with the toon. No towing, and i never got a chance to load the 93 tune.
I now have a 2016 5.0 Lariat on a 6 inch lift and with 35.4 tires. Running it in the regular mode it feels a little sluggish unless you plant the petal, but in truth so did the 3.5. I ordered MPT PRX tunes today, so I'll see how it does with the tunes in it. I am expecting the tunes to wake it up quite a bit.

Have to say I love having my rumble back though. The 3.5 was super quiet. Hell I could pull up on anyone and they would not even know I was there. My 16 has a nice growl, and sounds good going down the road. I guess you can say pick your poison...I have heard good and bad about both engines. Will say I had 134k on the eco boost. (Mostly highway early on in the truck career). I'll see how it goes with the 5.0

My 12 FX4 Screw 3.5 Eco Boost

My 2016 Screw Lariat 5.0

 

[engineermike]

All the engines are excellent imo.

Power:
1. 5.0
2. 3.5
3. 2.7
4. 3.0 diesel

Torque
1. 3.0 diesel
2. 3.5
3. 2.7
4. 5.0

Interesting how these stack up on the chassis dyno.

Stock and tuned comparison:
https://www.f150forum.com/f123/what-motor-should-you-buy-2018-2019-f150-431306/

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

All the engines are excellent imo.

Power:
1. 5.0
2. 3.5
3. 2.7
4. 3.0 diesel

Torque
1. 3.0 diesel
2. 3.5
3. 2.7
4. 5.0

Interesting how these stack up on the chassis dyno.

Stock and tuned comparison:
https://www.f150forum.com/f123/what-motor-should-you-buy-2018-2019-f150-431306/

Those curves are with tunes. Tuning a turbo engine unlocks a whole lot more torque than an N/A engine. Ford rates both the 2.7 and 5.0 at 400 ft-lbs. Curious how the "bone" stock dyno results would look, more so than each being tuned.

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