Dyno Testing Ford F-150 EcoBoost

Part 5: Ford F-150 EcoBoost Performance Upgrades

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Note: This page is a work in progress. We will post our F150 dyno testing data and results here, as they become available. Dynojet Testing performed by an unbiased 3rd party Dynojet test facility – ProEFI in Scottsdale, AZ

This is the fifth article in our Freak-o-Boost series, documenting the transformation from a 100% stock 2012 F150 EcoBoost FX4 to a Full-Race prepped twin turbo F150 Ecoboost. Starting with dyno runs of the stock vehicle and stock PCM, we “hot-swapped” our Full-Race Ecoboost performance upgrades, testing and validating these bolt-on mods systematically within 3 hours to maintain identically consistent conditions: constant temp/humidity/altitude/fuel, representative of an average enthusiast’s lightly modded F150 EB. Note: keep in mind the 2011-2012 F150 EcoBoost has slightly smaller turbos than 2013-2016+ F150 EcoBoost. We videotaped all the significant pulls, click to view the YouTube video:

F150 EcoBoost Test Vehicle: 100% Stock 2011 F150 Ecoboost FX4, stock turbos drop in air filter only. On stock PCM this vehicle made 320WHP and 349WTQ, which is normal. NOTE: the tq curve on the stock tune dynochart looks a little weak in the low-rpm range due to the tq converter being allowed to slip slightly

Test 1: Bone Stock F150 EB (blue line) VS SCT Tuned on 91 Octane (red line)

View the dyno pull by going HERE.Its downright remarkable how much room for improvement is left on the table with these Ecoboost engines. Adding SCT’s canned-tune to an otherwise stock truck, strong midrange gains are realized and horsepower carries significantly better at the top end. The logs looked good with zero knock counts and aside from elevated IAT2’s (due to the stock intercooler) we were happy with the data. We all agreed not to adjust the calibration for the rest of this dyno test session – maintaining consistency by running the same off-the-shelf tune as our customers.

Final Result of Test 1 (add Tune only): 421WTQ and 347WHP
Gains: +125wtq/+70whp @3000rpm and +75wtq/+60whp @4000rpm

Test 2: SCT Tuned w/ Stock Exhaust (blue line) VS Full-Race Catback Exhaust Bolt-On (red line)

View the dyno pull by going HERE.

Most turbocharging enthusiasts know that a high flowing exhaust reduces backpressure to allow the turbos to spool earlier and vent wastegate exhaust more efficiently. Ford’s EcoBoost 3.5L engine is obviously a potent performer and seeing the gains realized from the tune alone makes it easy to wonder how much more power can be had from a simple catback exhaust upgrade? The result was large power and torque gains, most pronounced in the lowend and midrange area (where a truck needs it the most).

Final Result of Test 2 (add Full-Race catback exhaust): 516WTQ and 341WHP
Gains: +150wtq/+75whp @2500rpm, +200wtq/+100whp @2750rpm

Test 3: Open Downpipe (blue line) VS Full-Race Catback Exhaust (red line)

View the dyno pull by going HERE.If you visit Ford truck discussion forums message boards you might see the commonly held misconception that these Ecoboost F150 engines behave like turbodiesels when tuned… some even go so far as to recommend giant 4″ exhausts for street enthusiasts. This is a myth we’d like to dispell: Ecoboost engines are very strong and efficient however the fact remains they are small displacement spark ignition engines, and do not typically benefit from ultra high flowing exhausts sized for 1000hp race applications. In order to prove this theory, we dyno tested the truck with our Full-Race catback on, and compared it to open Downpipe (no exhaust at all, comparable to a 4″ or larger exhaust system). It was clear to see the 3″ exhaust actually gained ~18WTQ and maintained a virtually identical power curve in the upper RPM range.

Final Result of Test 3 (Unbolting Full-Race catback exhaust, open downpipe): 498WTQ and 338WHP
Gains: -18wtq/-12whp @2750rpm

Test 4: Full-Race Intercooler (red line) VS Stock Charge-Air-Cooler (blue line)

View the dyno pull by going HERE.The stock F150 Ecoboost CAC (charge-air-cooler) is a topic that’s been hotly debated since the truck’s debut. With the stock Charge-Air-Cooler heatsoaking under heavy load and increased boost, logs have recorded up to 190F IAT2 temps! Full-Race’s Intercooler upgrade kit is designed to cool IAT2 down to 110F-120F max, just over ambient. Using our unique high-efficiency bar and plate intercooler, we optimally size the core, endtanks and piping to suit this application. The intercooler core is relocated from the lower bumper area up to the grille for maximum fresh airflow, improved charge air cooling and reduced pressure drop. A typical chassis dyno test of the FMIC can vary greatly with many factors making it difficult to claim “XXhp or XXtq” since air is not flowing through the core, due to remaining stationary on the dyno. We did our best to present this comparison fairly by running these tests in a successive fashion without heatsoak, hotswapping the parts on the dyno. Within a half hour the ICs were changed over.

Final Result of Test 4 (add Full-Race Intercooler): 520WTQ and 353WHP
Gains: faster spool from idle to 2800rpm and +30wtq/+20whp @3750rpm

Final Comparison: Stock F150 (blue line) VS Full-Race Equipped F150 (red line)

View the dyno pull by going HERE.Here is a final dyno comparison of the stock ecoboost F150 compared to the truck with installed boltons that left the dyno 3 hours later (and subsequently hit its best 1/4 mile time ever). We’ve been tuning turbocharged engines for 14 years and these gains are simply outstanding for an engine of this type and size. Most of the gains were found in “the meat of the powerband” so it is of benefit to all applications whether its used as a work truck, race truck, daily driver or weekend trailer vehicle.

Final Result (Stock vs Tuned): +300wtq / +175whp at 3000rpm

To view all the parts that were listed in this article click on the links below.