AmericanTrucks Tuned EcoBoost F-150 vs Tuned Coyote F-150 Battle!

If you are a hardcore truck enthusiast that lives by the phrase “there’s no replacement for displacement,” then this next video might have you thinking otherwise. In this episode of AmericanTrucks popular YouTube series “The Haul,” Justin Dugan puts the V-8 versus Ecoboost F-150 debate to rest. Well, at least for now.

The video compares two similarly equipped Ford F-150 SuperCrew trucks and straps each of these vehicles on the AmericanTrucks dyno. Both trucks then get baseline numbers, in stock form and with a 93-octane tune, and then they head out to the drag strip for a head-to-head battle.

To keep the playing field level, both trucks are outfitted with the popular 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission, 33-inch tires, and 3.55 rearend gears.

AmericanTrucks“The V-8 versus EcoBoost debate has been a very popular topic of discussion ever since the two engines debuted side-by-side on the 2011 model year F-150,” said Justin. “Now fast forward to today, and the latest variants of these two engines have grown up since their initial offerings.”

The Lightning Blue 2017 XL features the latest iteration of the 3.5L V-6 EcoBoost engine, which puts down an impressive 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. The AmericanTrucks Lead Foot Gray 2018 STX, which features the latest version of the 5.0L V-8, comes in at an advertised 395 horses and 400 lb-ft of torque thanks to the new dual-fuel injection system.

Time for the F-150s to hit the Dyno!

With a goal of witnessing which tuned F-150 performs better, the team at AmericanTrucks strapped both of the trucks down on the in-house dyno to measure each vehicle’s stock power output.

After baseline dynos were complete, AmericanTrucks uploaded the 93 octane Bama tunes with SCT Performance’s SF4/X4 Power Flash tuner to measure both peak and curve power gains.

F-150 Quarter-Mile Testing at Maple Grove Raceway

After the dyno session, Justin and his team took both F-150 trucks to Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. The goal? To see how each vehicle performs in the quarter-mile.

Justin jumped into the driver’s seat of each vehicle and conducted a test, first in stock form and then with the 93 octane Bama tune, to see just how much quicker these vehicles could make it down the track.

And the end result? Surprisingly, both trucks were pretty evenly matched in stock form. The stock EcoBoost came in at 14.64 @ 93 mph, and the stock Coyote clocked in at 14.66 @ 95 mph. Once the 93 octane tune was uploaded, the EcoBoost crossed the quarter-mile line with a time of 14.35 @ 95 mph, and the mighty Coyote crossed the line at 14.56 @ 95 mph.

“Once the tunes were in play, the EcoBoost and its added torque was certainly the clear-cut victor, going 14.30 to the Coyote’s 14.50 tune-for-tune,” replied Justin.

While the gains may seem only marginal, Justin was quick to point out that the real reason for this video was to see exactly how each vehicle would perform with a tune only.

While we all know that most truck enthusiasts are always looking for that next performance upgrade for their vehicle, this comparison does a great job giving us a basic idea of how these trucks would perform at the track with nothing more than a tune.

For the complete line of aftermarket parts for your late model Ford F-150, you can visit the official AmericanTrucks website here.

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About the author

Kelly Getzelman

Kelly is a SoCal car enthusiast and skilled driver. His “get out and drive” obsession began after attending his first high-performance racing school while serving on active duty. Since then, he has attended numerous military and civilian driving schools across the country to help fuel that passion.
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