Test Drove 2.3L Ranger & 2.7L in F150 and was disappointed... Options to improve off the line?

[Headsong]

Rear ends matter!

Ours are geared lower than the 150's.

Sponsored

 

[Bronco1951]

First of all I promise I am not a troll. If you see my posts they are just like everyone else's. Excited about the new Bronco and am willing to still get it on day 1 even though I wish some of the options were more available (mostly MIC Top and interior choice concerns). But I am new to Ford and have no idea about the performance of the 2.3 or 2.7L engines (or Ford Performance in general). Even though I am already 99% sure I will opt the 2.7L, I wanted to atleast get a feel between the two choices by back to back test driving. My Dealer was kind enough to let me do so last night by test driving a new Ranger w/ 2.3 and F150 w/ 2.7L. Disclaimer: I do not expect the Bronco to be a race car but would like to have above average power/acceleration to get in and out of traffic (I live off a freeway where I have to pull out in front of cars going 60 to 70 mph every day). However, I do like spirited driving as well and always opt my vehicles with the most power available. For comparison I do have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the optional 5.7L Hemi as well as a BMW M4, the latter of which is also a twin turbo I6. I do not expect the Bronco to be up there with them. I am sure after a couple of years Bronco will have power options closer to what the more established GC offers while M cars are for performance and not offroading.

Concerning test drive, I will not even bother to discuss the 2.3L... For the 2.7L, I felt it had good midrange, maybe even similar to the Hemi's midrange; upper end seemed fine too for what I could test. I would hope the Bronco would be slightly better due to weighing less than F150?? Where I was very disappointed was the low end from simply flooring it from a dead spot. It seemed to take forever to get going with what even felt like a delay. Even the sales guy admitted that Ford's turbos have some significant turbo lag. The naturally aspirated hemi powered GC can easily throw your head back from a stop position. My twin turbo BMW obviously can and with no turbo lag. I recall when BMW put out their twin turbo engines 15 years ago there was so much pushback about worry from turbo lag. But that went away once enthusiasts realized they did a great job to eliminate lag. I previously had a lower model BMW (335) that also had a twin turbo I6 and never experienced any real lag. To be honest, I didn't even know what turbo lag felt like but think I just did last night. Is Ford simply behind in turbo engines?

One thing I am wondering about that could have made the issue worse is that awful feature of engine cut off at stop. Both my Jeep and BMW have that but you can turn that off in the settings (which I did on Day 1). The sales person said that you can't disengage that in the Ford models!!! Could that be true?? I will have to look into a tune/reprogramming to get that removed ASAP.

Sorry about long post but I really just want to know from Ford Enthusiasts if this slow to takeoff issue can be overcome? Perhaps I can feather the gas instead of just mashing the accelerator. I only drove it for 10 mins so really didn't have enough time to play around with acceleration technique. I am also hoping a new tune could remove that lag as well. Is there hope for such improvements?

My 2017 2.0L EcoBoost Escape has a button on the dash to turn off auto stop. You have to hit the button every time you start the vehicle. No noticeable lag on my 2.0L but a smaller engine will spool up quicker, and maybe I'm just used to my small 1.5L and 2.0L turbos.

If you think a 2.7L turbo will be as quick off the line as a naturally aspirated monster 5.7L Hemi, well.......

 

[Mattwings]

Interesting perspective. I have the 2.7 with auto and 3.55 gears. As many have mentioned, sport mode helps with throttle tip in if you are looking for stoplight to stoplight hooligan fun. It also disables start stop, at least in my truck. The transmission also does adapt quite a bit to individual driving behavior. If you routinely hammer it off the line, it does seem to change characteristics somewhat. The motor also does “break in” at about 15k miles in my experience with the last two. Mileage slowly crept up and the power slowly seems to get better. Also, running premium does let the engine run max boost and timing. It is noticeable, but not something I bother with as the power and mileage is excellent with 87 octane in my experience. I love the power train and other than the mid 90s M3/6sp combo, it is my favorite of all time (sound the lone exception, sounds like a farm implement ?). I have not drag raced a 5.7 Dodge, but I would bet a tank of premium I could take a comparable model Dodge with my F150. I raced my buddies identical F150 Coyote and it was never even close.

 

[Panzer948]

Interesting perspective. I have the 2.7 with auto and 3.55 gears. As many have mentioned, sport mode helps with throttle tip in if you are looking for stoplight to stoplight hooligan fun. It also disables start stop, at least in my truck. The transmission also does adapt quite a bit to individual driving behavior. If you routinely hammer it off the line, it does seem to change characteristics somewhat. The motor also does “break in” at about 15k miles in my experience with the last two. Mileage slowly crept up and the power slowly seems to get better. Also, running premium does let the engine run max boost and timing. It is noticeable, but not something I bother with as the power and mileage is excellent with 87 octane in my experience. I love the power train and other than the mid 90s M3/6sp combo, it is my favorite of all time (sound the lone exception, sounds like a farm implement ?). I have not drag raced a 5.7 Dodge, but I would bet a tank of premium I could take a comparable model Dodge with my F150. I raced my buddies identical F150 Coyote and it was never even close.

That's a good point about break in period and learning driver characteristics. Interesting enough, both trucks I drove had less than 20 miles and still had the original gas that they put in at the factory (they both had fuel lamp on and salesman mentioned that Ford doesn't deliver them with much gas). Definitely could have been part of the equation.

 

[Dubfound]

Drove my 2017 Lincoln MKX with AWD and 2.7L for 3 years. Can tell you in sport it was a rocket with the torque and continued to pull through 70 mph. Just a few times the turbos would spool late. Plan on driving the BL in sport mode most of the time.

I thought the BL didn't have sport mode? It has all the other ones and Baja mode. Not sure if that's the same tuning and programming? Ford needs to clear some things up for sure.

 

[Mattwings]

That's a good point about break in period and learning driver characteristics. Interesting enough, both trucks I drove had less than 20 miles and still had the original gas that they put in at the factory (they both had fuel lamp on and salesman mentioned that Ford doesn't deliver them with much gas). Definitely could have been part of the equation.

The stop/start is a pain too btw. Not super intrusive, but it does sometimes engage at the wrong time and or make the acceleration seem sluggish. I have read that it makes virtually no difference in real world mpg and it is almost entirely a system to meet epa testing cycles (exception being long commutes of stop and go diving maybe?)

 

[Mattwings]

I thought the BL didn't have sport mode? It has all the other ones and Baja mode. Not sure if that's the same tuning and programming? Ford needs to clear some things up for sure.

Sport mode is in the transmission for the F150, not sure how the Bronco will deal with it.

 

[Trilifter7]

I thought the BL didn't have sport mode? It has all the other ones and Baja mode. Not sure if that's the same tuning and programming? Ford needs to clear some things up for sure.

 

[Lorenzo]

First of all I promise I am not a troll. If you see my posts they are just like everyone else's. Excited about the new Bronco and am willing to still get it on day 1 even though I wish some of the options were more available (mostly MIC Top and interior choice concerns). But I am new to Ford and have no idea about the performance of the 2.3 or 2.7L engines (or Ford Performance in general). Even though I am already 99% sure I will opt the 2.7L, I wanted to atleast get a feel between the two choices by back to back test driving. My Dealer was kind enough to let me do so last night by test driving a new Ranger w/ 2.3 and F150 w/ 2.7L. Disclaimer: I do not expect the Bronco to be a race car but would like to have above average power/acceleration to get in and out of traffic (I live off a freeway where I have to pull out in front of cars going 60 to 70 mph every day). However, I do like spirited driving as well and always opt my vehicles with the most power available. For comparison I do have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the optional 5.7L Hemi as well as a BMW M4, the latter of which is also a twin turbo I6. I do not expect the Bronco to be up there with them. I am sure after a couple of years Bronco will have power options closer to what the more established GC offers while M cars are for performance and not offroading.

Concerning test drive, I will not even bother to discuss the 2.3L... For the 2.7L, I felt it had good midrange, maybe even similar to the Hemi's midrange; upper end seemed fine too for what I could test. I would hope the Bronco would be slightly better due to weighing less than F150?? Where I was very disappointed was the low end from simply flooring it from a dead spot. It seemed to take forever to get going with what even felt like a delay. Even the sales guy admitted that Ford's turbos have some significant turbo lag. The naturally aspirated hemi powered GC can easily throw your head back from a stop position. My twin turbo BMW obviously can and with no turbo lag. I recall when BMW put out their twin turbo engines 15 years ago there was so much pushback about worry from turbo lag. But that went away once enthusiasts realized they did a great job to eliminate lag. I previously had a lower model BMW (335) that also had a twin turbo I6 and never experienced any real lag. To be honest, I didn't even know what turbo lag felt like but think I just did last night. Is Ford simply behind in turbo engines?

One thing I am wondering about that could have made the issue worse is that awful feature of engine cut off at stop. Both my Jeep and BMW have that but you can turn that off in the settings (which I did on Day 1). The sales person said that you can't disengage that in the Ford models!!! Could that be true?? I will have to look into a tune/reprogramming to get that removed ASAP.

Sorry about long post but I really just want to know from Ford Enthusiasts if this slow to takeoff issue can be overcome? Perhaps I can feather the gas instead of just mashing the accelerator. I only drove it for 10 mins so really didn't have enough time to play around with acceleration technique. I am also hoping a new tune could remove that lag as well. Is there hope for such improvements?

Just get one of these and you will get 300hp out of the 2.3 and still under warranty - problem solved. They just make the engine that way from the factory because 90% of people don't think about it like you.

https://5startuning.com/

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6017-23T

https://www.cobbtuning.com/ford-mustang-ecoboost-stage-power-packages/

 

[Blksn955.o]

Does Ford still use the Throttle open delay programming in the EEC? I know in the past when going full throttle the drive by wire would open the throttle body say 80-90% then slowly open the throttle to the full 100%. This was prior to or early eco-boost but could see it still living in the tuning to provide some more spool up time but with the small turbo's and gains seen in tunes I wonder if the throttle delay is kind of a 1-2 punch when getting a tune?

 

[rtaylor]

Sorry about long post but I really just want to know from Ford Enthusiasts if this slow to takeoff issue can be overcome? Perhaps I can feather the gas instead of just mashing the accelerator. I only drove it for 10 mins so really didn't have enough time to play around with acceleration technique. I am also hoping a new tune could remove that lag as well. Is there hope for such improvements?

If you want to get rid of the lag, install a tune or device that remaps the throttle pedal and eliminates the delay (the delay and slow takeoff is a "feature" to eliminate complaints, prevent tire spin, improve gas mileage, and minimize warranty issues). Note that the off-the-line delay has little to do with turbo (although it is often blamed).

For engine auto stop, just press the button to disable (each time you drive), or simply turn the steering wheel slightly to restart immediately on demand (engine restarts for electric steering assist). Or turn off with tune if you really hate it.

 

[MJJ]

I thought the BL didn't have sport mode? It has all the other ones and Baja mode. Not sure if that's the same tuning and programming? Ford needs to clear some things up for sure.

Baja is sport plus. You will be fine.

 

[The Bronze]

There are many tables that you can modify to get more immediate response; accelerator pedal position, spark retard during transitions, commanded torque vs rpm/accelerator position and more. The upper two tables in the photo below is an example from a raptor that shows the throttle opening vs accelerator pedal position comparing normal to sport modes to show just one of the changes you get when switching modes. The lower table is a another example of a table that can limit torque depending upon throttle position/rpm. There is plenty of room to speed up the response via engine tuning, not to mention adding a hundred horses or so!

 

[Razorback]

I thought the BL didn't have sport mode? It has all the other ones and Baja mode. Not sure if that's the same tuning and programming? Ford needs to clear some things up for sure.

You are correct. I've always called baja sport. They're the samr except 4H vs 2H. You can manually switch to 2H.

 

[Southside_Ray]

I actually just test drove a 2.3L Ranger at Granger today, thanks to Albert on setting me up with Andrew to do this! I believe this to be the raised model that someone else had test drove earlier.

I was not wowed, but satisfied with the output. They didn't have any comparable 2.7L to test so I cannot speak to that, but I will be trying to get the bigger engine if I can squeeze it into my budget.

For me, I am not looking for a hot rod truck so this should do fine. While driving home in my 2.0L fusion is I realized the Ranger had more power lol

Sponsored