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2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost V6 Exhaust Review

Recommended Reading: 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost V6 – First Drive Review

I smell trouble for the EcoBoost V6:

If you overlook its rather flat exhaust note, it would be easy to mistake the EcoBoost V-6 for a burly V-8

FLAT EXHAUST NOTE?! Come on, Ford! This is a twin-turbo V6 with direct injection…it should sound like a jet engine. While it’s definitely not going to sound like a big V8, it definitely shouldn’t sound “flat.” Fortunately, “there’s an app for that.”

Corsa has done some impressive things with 2011 V6 Mustang exhausts, as has Borla. Check out these V6 Mustang exhaust vids below:

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The Corsa exhaust system above doesn’t sound burly, but it sure as hell sounds fast. I think I could live with an F150 that sounded a little bit like a Ferrari.

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While the Borla exhaust system above doesn’t sound like a big V8, it also doesn’t sound “flat.” It sounds like a strong, ready-to-rev engine.

As Car and Driver alluded to, the million dollar question is: Will truck owners embrace smaller engines that use turbos to build power? The answer: They might not have a choice. The current administration has raised fuel economy mandates high enough that a lot of pickup trucks are going to have to rely upon smaller, more efficient engines to meet fuel efficiency and emissions goals.

The days of big V8s just might be drawing to a close…at least until someone figures out how to dramatically improve their efficiency.

From Car and Driver


Ford bets big on twin-turbo six-cylinder power for its iconic pickup.
Major updates to the F-150, already the bestseller in one of the largest market segments, represent a serious gamble for Ford. Pickup-truck buyers, after all, notoriously favor the tried-and-true. With high-tech features like twin turbochargers and direct injection, the 2011 F-150’s EcoBoost V-6 might as well be a hood-mounted tofu dispenser. Read the full article…

27 Comments Post a comment
  1. May 10 2011

    I have to ask, why don’t they put their EcoBoost turbo charging shenanigans ON the 5.0 liter V8? I mean obviously the whole point of ecoboost, (up to and including the name) was to lower fuel consumption while maintaining power, but couldn’t they tune it to also maintain fuel consumption while increasing power?

    Reply
  2. Jason
    May 10 2011

    Nice Car – Smaller engines are more efficient than bigger ones, even if the bigger engines are seriously limited.

    Reply
    • Justin
      May 30 2011

      Not necessarily the little ones are worse on fuel in truck because they have to work a lot harder to move the weight that’s why they never used to have V-6 in trucks and the only manufacturer who has put what seems to be a promising v-6 in a truck is ford with the Eco-boost

      Reply
  3. Sean Paine
    Aug 10 2011

    I’ve never been more impressed with a vehicle than my 2011 F150 with the ecoboost. After 7,000 miles it seems to be getting better and better and better. I’m hitting 25 mpg on the highway and for passing vehicles it’s insane. i’ll go from 75mph to 100 mph by the time i pass a vehicle. She pulls like a diesel too. Thouroughly impressed!

    Reply
    • Jason
      Aug 10 2011

      Sean – That’s cool. Ford is selling the heck out of these engines…definitely a good deal.

      Reply
    • nick
      Dec 5 2011

      I completely agree. I travel about 600 miles a week for work, and I am consistently getting 21.5 mpg on the highway. I am also going to add a Magnaflow exhaust system which I am very excited about as well. Magnaflow, in my opinion, is the absolute best.

      Reply
    • mike
      Dec 8 2011

      I don’t know how in the hell you’re getting 25 mpg on the highway! I can’t get better than 17 or so at around 68 and if I drive 72 I get around 15.4 mpg. Around town is in the 12 mpg range. I am disappointed with the gas mileage but happy with everything else.

      Reply
      • Larry
        Feb 28 2012

        My 2011 F150 Ecoboost MPG
        at 55mph 24mpg
        at 65mph 19mpg
        at 75mph 14mpg

        I complained to Ford Dealer, they checked with Ford Engineers, who said 14 mpg was good enough for highway speeds.

        If I had known it got such poor mileage at Highway (70-75) I would not have bought it.

        Reply
        • Jason
          Feb 28 2012

          Larry – Keep in mind that aerodynamic drag increases exponentially at higher speeds…I’m not justifying the fact that your truck only gets 14mpg at 75mph (I think that’s low) but it’s not at all unusual for a vehicle to get substantially better mileage at 55mph than it gets at 75mph.

          Have you tried resetting your engine computer by disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes? That will make the engine re-learn your driving patterns and potentially improve gas mileage.

          Reply
        • Daniel
          May 17 2012

          Larry, I have a 2012 Ecoboost, 4×4 3.55 axle and am getting similar mileage with about 1,500 miles on it so far. If I really baby it, I can pull about 17 at 75, somewhat short of the 21 highway it is rated for. Folks I have talked to and things I have read seem to indicate that 7,000 mile break in is the magic number where things get a lot better. I figure to give until then and then hammer on the dealer to have it checked out. I will say though, that it is definitely better than the 5.4 that I traded in.

          Reply
  4. Dan Henry
    Oct 17 2011

    My brother-in-law bought an eco-boost F150XLT. I made fun of his “little” 6 cylinder. That is, until we took a road trip to Canada and then later used it to tow his tractor to the deer lease. I sold my Dodge Ram and bought one….

    Reply
    • Jason
      Oct 18 2011

      Dan – LOL, you’re not alone. Ford is selling the hell out of those trucks…very popular, very powerful. Good choice.

      Reply
  5. Adrian Barnwell
    Jan 10 2012

    I just bought a 2012 F-150 Fx4 Ecoboost. I later realized that I wanted it to sound little more like a V8…would magnaflow exhaust be the best way to go? I love the power of this truck though!

    Reply
  6. jason o
    Jan 20 2012

    I love my 2011 ecoboost, the best truck i ever owned. The power, torque are astonishing, the turbo sound, reminds me of the days when i drove truck.AND yeah, the 22+ mpg hiway!!!! superb thanks FORD.If the durability holds true, like most f 150’s of the past, FoMoCo will do just fine.

    Reply
  7. kerry manuel
    Apr 13 2012

    2011 crew cab 3.73 4×4 average in town milage (suburb not stop and go city) 12mpg freeway 72mph cruze best is 15.5
    love truck hate milage wish I had bought the 5.0 same milage 1500 less price.

    Reply
    • Tim Chaney
      Aug 4 2012

      I have 1600 miles on mine and getting the same mpg. I thought about the 5.0 too because it’s rated at only 1mpg less hwybut the 40 more ft/lbs of torque and the torture test sold me. I love hauling with it.

      Reply
      • Tim Chaney
        Dec 15 2012

        Mine has a 3.55 btw and 7100 miles on it now. My overall ave from new says 16.0 mpg. I do like to floor it on occasion though and was about to ave 17 mpg from Phoenix to L.A. and back at roughly 75-80 mph ave.

        Reply
    • Mark
      May 4 2013

      The milage difference you guys are experiencing is all directly related to rear end gear package you have. 3.73 and 4.11 not great. 3.55 and lower will get better milage but tow less.

      Reply
  8. Jonathan m
    Apr 18 2012

    I bought my ecoboost a almost a year ago. Mine is a crew cab with 3.73 and I getting around 16mpg city and if I use cruise control and if I don’t have to keep slowing down or speeding up do to traffic I can get 21mpg during warm weather, cooler weather it about 1 to 2 mpg less

    Reply
    • kery
      Apr 19 2012

      is your crew cab a 4×4 I would love 16 city and 21 hwy

      Reply
  9. Leon Busby
    Jul 7 2012

    They will have to show me, they get better than 17 mpg, I have averaged 15.8 for 30,000 miles, It does have powerrrrrrrrr, to pass. They failed to mention what their average mpg is for several thousand miles, anyone can get 20 mpg down hill.

    Reply
    • gene
      Sep 11 2012

      I have 23000 on mine 3.73 crew 2 wheel drive max tow, have not reset the 2nd trip since i bought it and it is showing 18.9 and that is with many trips to the track pulling my 26 foot enclosed trailer with a 3000 pound camaro in it. I have got up to 24 hwy (100 miles not 1 time down hill} and avg. 19 to 22 mix driving.

      Reply
  10. kerry
    Jul 10 2012

    I have a 2011 crew cab 4×4 3.73 ratio best milage in suburban drive average 12 window was 15 highway milage empty freeway at 73 15 to 16 just pulled a 16 ft aluma trailer with two bikes to black hills from mpls cruze set at 70 8.6 miles out and 10.3 back
    love this truck but should buy the 5.0 or the 6.2
    we have a company chev crew 5.3 4×4 3.42 it went with us and pulled the same kind of trailer with aprox same wt.
    got 14 out and 16 back the ecoboost milage is bad.

    Reply
  11. ROD
    Jan 15 2013

    theres something wrong with ether your driving or your truck. my 2011 ecoboost 150 with 3.55 gears getsfrom 19-22 miles per gallon city or freeway. but only about 11 towing my 28ft. 5th wheel

    Reply
  12. kenneth stover
    Jan 29 2013

    I baught a 2011 egoboost f150crew cab . December 24, 2012. I love the power but I smell a older coming from the air conditioner sometimes it smells like propane gas my kids says it smells like a fart.anybody else having this problem

    Reply
  13. Andrew
    Feb 7 2015

    I have a propane smell coming from my truck after one year use…it’s winter time, not running air conditioner…thinking maybe a mouse crawled into vents and died??anyone else have a better idea what’s going on?

    Reply
    • Jason
      Mar 3 2015

      Andrew – Did you try replacing your cabin air filter yet? That might solve the problem.

      Reply

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