[63gpman]

Insurance premium are going to be crazy on these things. Not many shops want to touch aluminum!

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Transporter

I was staring to get quite a piston slap in my Lincoln LT at 200,000 so about 2 months ago I swapped it for a 2014 with the 5.0 all I can say is, What a motor!!

21mpg and it sounds like a street race Mustang, I really wanted to wait for the 2015, but my dealer didn't think I could get one until around Feb, as he said orders were already stacking up.

The Coyote 5.0 is the engine the the earlier modular V-8s SHOULD have been. Powerful, yet fuel efficient.

[R68GTO]

Originally Posted by 63gpman

Insurance premium are going to be crazy on these things. Not many shops want to touch aluminum!

They are saying that the cost of repair will actually be cheaper due to the way the body is assembled with rivets and adhesive. We'll see.

[Transporter]

Originally Posted by R68GTO

They are saying that the cost of repair will actually be cheaper due to the way the body is assembled with rivets and adhesive. We'll see.

Remember something about a pickup, you have LARGE panels that can easily be replaced as in bed sides, doors, fenders etc.

Unlike a car that gets super expensive if a rear quarter gets hammered at worse you could pull 6 bolts and replace the whole bed, labor is your killer, I would think labor for parts replacement on a truck would be far less than on a car.

[74gto]

Don't buy an F150 and expect to hang a snowplow on it unless it has the 6.2 and the high FAWR axle. Ford won't let us put a plow on anything that has electronic steering, which is the six and Ecoboost. I had to break the bad news to two different customers who bought them to plow.

"Salesman said I could"
Yea, salesman wanted to sell you a truck. I wanna sell you a plow, but am not going to get sued by putting a plow on an unapproved application. Besides, Ford put everything inbetween the frame rails where the plow would hook up.

Not that I would recomend putting a plow on a 150, but these folks bought them on purpose to put a plow on. Luckily, one customer told me they were waiting for the 2015 to put a plow on purpose, because the figured the aluminum body would hold up better. I told him about the electronic steering and to get the 6.2. From what I'm told, it uses a traditional style steering system..

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

The Coyote 5.0 is the engine the the earlier modular V-8s SHOULD have been. Powerful, yet fuel efficient.

I have a 2012 F150 Super Crew 6.5 foot bed with a 5.0 Coyote. Best engine I've ever owned. At 47,000 miles its averaged 19.1 mpg. Running 70 it pulls down better than 21 mpg. I had one tank at just over 23. This is in a vehicle that weighs over 2.5 tons. And it has 360 hp.

[KS circutguy]

Originally Posted by Transporter

Remember something about a pickup, you have LARGE panels that can easily be replaced as in bed sides, doors, fenders etc.

Unlike a car that gets super expensive if a rear quarter gets hammered at worse you could pull 6 bolts and replace the whole bed, labor is your killer, I would think labor for parts replacement on a truck would be far less than on a car.

+ 4 more on each side and the cab is off!

[Alvin]

I recently purchased a 2015 Fusion SE Ecoboost for my wife - which she picked out - so far we like it. (Thread HERE) And I've already posted on my long term 5.4 2v F-150 225k+ trouble free service.

That said - I really do NOT like the new F-150s styling nor would I consider an Ecoboost engine for my personal truck...so far. I like the styling of the 2014/15 GMC/Chebbys better.

Experience suggests: I'm going to go for the largest normal displacement gas engine available (F-150 5.0 for now)...

Same w F-250/350 Diesel. All of the current offerings are transition drivetrains?

[242177P]

I want to see aluminum body panels become much more prolific.

[KS circutguy]

Originally Posted by Alvin

I recently purchased a 2015 Fusion SE Ecoboost for my wife - which she picked out - so far we like it. (Thread HERE) And I've already posted on my long term 5.4 2v F-150 225k+ trouble free service.

That said - I really do NOT like the new F-150s styling nor would I consider an Ecoboost engine for my personal truck...so far. I like the styling of the 2014/15 GMC/Chebbys better.

Experience suggests: I'm going to go for the largest normal displacement gas engine available (F-150 5.0 for now)...

Same w F-250/350 Diesel. All of the current offerings are transition drivetrains?

And all this has what to do with the new F-150 being Aluminum?
That is other than trolling my posts./

[Transporter]

Originally Posted by 74gto

Don't buy an F150 and expect to hang a snowplow on it unless it has the 6.2 and the high FAWR axle. Ford won't let us put a plow on anything that has electronic steering, which is the six and Ecoboost. I had to break the bad news to two different customers who bought them to plow.

"Salesman said I could"
Yea, salesman wanted to sell you a truck. I wanna sell you a plow, but am not going to get sued by putting a plow on an unapproved application. Besides, Ford put everything inbetween the frame rails where the plow would hook up.

Not that I would recomend putting a plow on a 150, but these folks bought them on purpose to put a plow on. Luckily, one customer told me they were waiting for the 2015 to put a plow on purpose, because the figured the aluminum body would hold up better. I told him about the electronic steering and to get the 6.2. From what I'm told, it uses a traditional style steering system..

6.2 is no longer available in any F150, and as far as I know they ALL have EPS, FORD does however have a factory plow available but you have to order the "package" to get it.

I'm just not sure you are going to be able to hang a plow off the front of anything going forward.

Now, if you can talk your customer into an F-250 you can hang plow no issue, AND he gets the 6.2 as the standard engine, and believe it our not, there is virtually no difference in price.

In fact in a bare bones work truck the F250 is actually cheaper because there is no upcharge for the 6.2, where as the F150 has a upcharge for every motor above 3.7 V6 in the lower trim levels.

Only REAL drawback is the F-250 does not ride or drive nearly as nice as the F150 and fuel mileage will suffer.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Sidponcho

Shave 750lbs off any vehicle and keep the same power train choices....nevermind the fuel economy.....the driver will see a SIGNIFICANT improvement in get-up-N-go

Agree 100% and most here have experienced this 1st hand in their driving experience, especially on vintage vehicles - including Pontiac's - vs newer later model vehicles.

Example: Driving or trailering our '67 GTO vs our '73 Grand Am is a night and day experience with the same approximate 750lb weight difference...it's like adding a complete extra engine in the trunk of the '67...

On the F-150 weight topic, I recall the history (approx 2003/4?) when the 5.4 Triton V8 went to 3 valve heads and the hype of the extra (50 ?) horsepower...not so much hype with 350lbs of added weigh to the F-150 then though

For day-to-day use and service I'd be interested in how durable & resistant those aluminum panels are to hail damage for example.

[Willshire]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

I wonder why they aren't using plastic type panels that have been used for ages on various American cars (like the 4th Gen Birds)? No rust issues, no dents, lightweight.

My guess is that Ford discovered they can get aluminum cheap over in China or Taiwan.

I also wonder why they aren't focusing more on carbon fiber. Seems like if they could get a major auto manufacturer to begin using carbon fiber bodies, the cost would come down.

Carbon fiber is coming. I installed a press lately for making hoods and working on a production style carbon fiber cloth machine