- A Ford F-150 EcoBoost V6 will be taken apart for the public at the Detroit auto show.
- Engineers will tear down the engine, which has 160,000-plus miles of wear on it.
- Event takes place January 15 at 11 a.m. and is free of charge (with show admission).
DEARBORN, Michigan — Ford's engineers are offering what's sure to be a fascinating show to the general public at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. On Saturday, January 15, at 11 a.m. ET, they will tear down a 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost V6 engine to see how well it has worn more than 160,000 miles of use on the dynamometer and in real-world testing.
The twin-turbocharged, direct-injected 3.5-liter V6 engine makes 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque in the F-150. Ford says it has already lived the equivalent of 10 years' worth of regular usage in testing.
In July, the engine itself was pushed through temperature and load extremes on a dyno. Then, it was put into a production 2011 F-150 at Ford's Kansas City assembly facility, where it went out for testing in the truck. It hauled 55 tons of lumber, ran at full throttle for 24 hours towing 11,300 pounds (which happens to be the tow rating for an EcoBoost-equipped F-150), competed in — and won — an uphill towing competition (juried by Ford, of course), and, for good measure, completed the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000 in Mexico.
After the Baja 1000, the engine returned to Ford's dyno lab in Dearborn, where it had power levels and output checked from 1,500 to 5,000 rpm and reportedly passed with flying colors.
The majority of what Ford calls the engine's "Torture Test" is available to view online.
The teardown will take place on Ford's Powertrain display at Cobo Center.
Inside Line says: Parents, grab your young future engineers to check out this one. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
rmartinez007 says:
11:53 AM, 12/02/2011
160,000 miles on an F150? Did they have to change the brakes 8 times? If they only changed them twice like they would've on a Sierra/Silverado, I might be interested.
nto1 says:
09:24 PM, 12/29/2010
And find bad drivers?
dgmail says:
08:23 PM, 12/29/2010
Toyota should tear down their electrical system and accelerator pedal assemblies.
dgmail says:
08:23 PM, 12/29/2010
Toyota should tear down their electrical system and accelerator pedal assemblies.
cubbybear1 says:
01:42 PM, 12/29/2010
@Firstwagon
They did deep freeze it many times.
firstwagon says:
01:17 PM, 12/29/2010
It's not really the equivalent of ten years use. They are leaving out the thousands of cold starts that do the most wear on an engine.
angry_mushroom says:
12:15 PM, 12/29/2010
The turbo does put out some insane numbers...
andreweku says:
12:12 PM, 12/29/2010
I'm disappointed that Ford is using the sound of a V8 in these videos for the EcoBoost V6. If you listen in the videos, especially the NASCAR Track Testing video, you can plainly hear a V8. I guess they're trying to emphasize just how V8-like the EcoBoost can be, but it still seems shady and unnecessary. If they'll replace the V6 soundtrack with that of a V8, what other truths are they stretching in these videos? It may not sound like it, but I'm a huge Ford fan, and I guess that may be why this annoys me. It's supposed to give an honest view of how tough the V6 is, and I know the average person won't even notice the sound, but they can't even be real with the presentation?
campi3ell says:
11:09 AM, 12/29/2010
@ Greenpony: Exactly!
tdiluv says:
10:06 AM, 12/29/2010
Did they change the oil every 5000m or just keep adding ???
greenpony says:
09:57 AM, 12/29/2010
Just because they're going to tear it down in front of a live audience doesn't mean they haven't already disassembled, looked over, and reassembled the engine. Like a good lawyer, you have to know the answer to the question before it's asked.