This vehicle claims Max Towing 9300 lbs. with only a 3.5 L engine.
Is this realistic? Wouldn’t this small engine be over stressed?
If that is the towing numbers in the manual it seems that is all you need to know.
With the tow package yes, 6,000lbs without. The same engine in the f150 is rated for more than the 5.0 v8.
Displacement alone does not determine the towing capacity. I had a co-worker that towed an old car on a trailer with a Dodge Ram 150 equipped with a 225 CID/3.7 liter engine, it was able to tow but one must be patient.
Towing capacity has more to do with the cooling systems of the engine, transmission and differentials.
That 3.5L engine also sports two turbochargers. The torque curve on the 3.5L Ecoboost is ridiculously flat. It easily outgrunts N/A V8’s with 2 or 3 liters of additional displacement. It’s also proven to be quite reliable.
Just make sure you’re on top of the oil changes and transmission fluid changes, using the ‘severe service’ guidelines. I’d have no problem towing as designed.
The 3.5 is a twin turbo that puts out almost 400 HP . This goes in a lot of FORD vehicles as a lot of them are part of their ecoboost engines . If you are contemplating one then think about what it would cost if in the future the turbos have issues , wont be cheap .
That was a concern back in 2011 when the Ecoboost V6 out. The 2020 models will be out in a few weeks. There haven’t been any major widespread faults with turbochargers failing. So far the 3.5L Ecoboosts have been as reliable as any other engine offered in the F-150. Since these engines are everywhere, the economy of scale is favorable. You can buy two replacement turbos for under a grand for this engine.