New to me truck! Thoughts on Ford aluminum body.

I'd guess that the Ecoboost would win, due to the turbos. But brenndatomu is absolutely right. There is a lot more to it than horsepower. They made the trucks lighter, but increased the tow rating. Seems like the trailer would take control easier. It feels like my aluminum Ecoboost even wants to skip sideways a bit on a bumpy curve, even. So... Pulling uphill, I bet the Ecoboost wins. I'd use the powerstroke to go back down the hill, I think...

 

Yup, I've seen the "trains" on the highway...more total weight, but spread out over more axles/wheels/distance...so the load put on the road is really no greater...2-3 trailers pulled by one tractor actually means less wheels rolling down the road in the long run...

 

My aluminum coyote does a similar sounding shimmy on a particular lump/ bump on the when unloaded. It's not for lack of weight, it's the suspension and how it's tuned.

 

Brakes on the current f150 are bigger than the 2000 f350 fyi.

 

Guys like these are what I was referring to. It's like you can see warm asphalt moving under them when they turn corners, there is so much sideways friction on the tires.

 

Didn't realize that. It started for me with the aluminum body, so I had assumed that it was from such a light back end.

 

Yeah that would wreak havoc on a hot road surface!

 

Solid rear axle too. You can't forget about that.

My Audi was only about 1000 lbs less than my truck weighs. It was air suspended and independent suspension. It rode great on most surfaces, but there's times that the extra wheelbase, and the extra weight of the truck help and even with the fx4 off road package, it rides better than my Audi did. There's just certain circumstances that the truck gets a little jiggle going. I did notice when test driving that the fx4 off road package rides a little stiffer than the standard suspension.

 

Put a few hundred pounds in the bed and notice the changes.

 

Sounds like my life as a single man!!

 

My '09 will get a little bouncy in the back if you hit some bumps just right. Almost like it hits a certain harmonic and the shocks can't keep up. Very rare, but does happen sometimes.

 

Just wish that Ford would take the info part of the infotainment system more seriously... How nice would it be to be able to get this type of info on the screen, rather than telling you what is playing on the radio. And if I can get an app to do it, you'd think it would be easy for Ford to do it, and display it on the screen, rather than just giving a few analogue gauges in the dash.

Interestingly, the Cat in the truck fairly close to the range that it runs in my stove. 700 degrees when idling, and that's after maybe 30 seconds of startup, up to maybe 1,300 degrees at 80 mph. I've seen it go as high as 1,600 degrees at 100 mph.

 

Forscsan can do a few things that you might like. It's free. FORScan Home

I haven't yet used forscsan, but I will soon. You need to have a full windows computer to utilize it properly though.



Also, I was going to add that the new GM 1500's with their aluminum doors, hood and tailgate weigh less than the all aluminum ford 150's, like for like. They historically have been less weight than fire for decades, mostly due to Ford using heavier duty running gear.

 

This is an app called Torque on a cheapie tablet. Mostly helps pass the hours on the long drives, helps me understand my truck engine a bit better, and probably makes me a tiny bit more efficient driver. Watching to turbos and keeping out of boost while cruising makes a big difference in economy. And it's nice to see the engine codes on the few instances the check engine light has come on.

 

I use Torque too. Good stuff.

 

Call me crazy. Got the new 250 last week. Got pretty close what I wanted. It came with the factory spray in bedliner but I wanted a little more protection. I went and saw my accessory guy and had him put a bedliner over top of it. I think it will be easier to clean out and easier to slid boxes of produce in than the rough textured spray in liner. Only $138.

 

Congrats on the new ride!!

 

Nice truck. Glad to see another standard cab guy around here!

 

Thanks. It's not a truck if it's not a standard cab!