3.5 Ecoboost - SHO vs F150

OmaHahn

New member
OK, so I'm so MAD at Ford making the 3.5 for the F150 with 420 Ft Lbs Torque!!! So why does the SHO get a lowly 350 lbs??!! I get that trucks need torque to tow and haul things, BUT torque is also what makes the car fly off the line! Isn't the SHO a performance sedan? So why the different engines? I'm also wondering what they did different from the SHO's 3.5 to get to 420 lbs in the F150!
 
There not the only company to do this.  They electronically limited the torque output of the motor to go inline with the power handling specs of the rest of the Driver train. I believe specifically the ptu and rdu. 

I had been wondering around the internet last night and lms had posted info about the SHO on other forums.  And the other forums noticed a torque spike on a stock car to 370 ft.  That would be close to the 420 ft of the pickup accounting for Driver train loss. 

Though the pickup do have slightly different turbos and con rods. Plus a different inter cooler
 
forged internals, bigger turbos and a larger intercooler i believe. I thought it was for the towing specs.
 
1. The trans won't like TONS of torque for the Ford lifetime of a vehicle - I would imagine 100K miles of daily high torque would be no bueno for the PTU/trans
2. The available area to put turbos - the turbos on the SHO are much smaller than the trucks due to available space.

How much power do you need? What are your goals with the car?
 
Thanks for the replies. I don't have crazy goals for my car - I think I'll be plenty satisfied with a Livernois Package deal with tune exhaust 3 bar map down pipe and I'm getting an MDesign Intake. But it would be better to at least start with 420 instead of 350 and get even more gains.  But I think Livernois should be enough.
 
Are there any reported Trans failures by one that's tuned? I think there are more people tuned on here than not.

Somehow I doubt ford expected me to daily drive my car doing 0-60 in 3.9. Lol.
 
The only trans failure is from my friend Kirk that used to own NESHO.  His was the first ones tuned, trans failed at SHO convention couple years ago.  I think he confirmed it was from a bad part from when the trans was first built at the factory, not tuning.  He had one of the first SHO's for 2010.
 
Cooling is poor for the tranny and the "lifetime filled" PTU, even with a cooler on the latter.  on of the problems when you change the direction of power 90 degrees.  I know that bpd drains and refills his PTU and rear end about every 6 months.  The rear drive unit is actually only rated for about 135 ft-lbs.  I plan on adding the drain to mine. Space is the problem... OEM tires are another.

Here is a link bpd has provided to the PTU fix from an Edge forum posted by a mechanic.  It includes step-by-step instructions for installing a drain plug as well as servicing pics: www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/10914-ptu-leak-failures/#entry89270  ...the pics can all be accessed at this link:  s159.photobucket.com/user/the_natrix/library/Ford%20Edge%20PTU?sort=3&page=1

LME has pistons and piston rods as well as other components... bpd has 640+ AWHP on the dyno after his LME engine rebuild, but Dan told him that the tune would break the drivetrain if run hard and consistently.
 
I thought I read somewhere that Ford had to bump hp/tq down to keep in line with the "family sedan" thing or peoples insurance would go up Thus killing sales.
 
painterpatt said:
I thought I read somewhere that Ford had to bump hp/tq down to keep in line with the "family sedan" thing or peoples insurance would go up Thus killing sales.

Possibly... but if they don't sell SHOs it's because there is zero marketing!
 
Amazing how many people don't know what the SHO is.  They are in disbelief when I tell the it's a twin turbo with AWD. 

The lack of marketing definitely hurt it.  Unless you know about it, you would laugh at the $45K sticker and go to the BMW/Audi/Infiniti/Mercedes/Acura dealer instead.  If a loaded up SHO was $40K instead, going in mid/high 30's after discount/rebates, I would hope that it would sell like hotcakes. 
 
PokerMunkee said:
Amazing how many people don't know what the SHO is.  They are in disbelief when I tell the it's a twin turbo with AWD. 

The lack of marketing definitely hurt it.  Unless you know about it, you would laugh at the $45K sticker and go to the BMW/Audi/Infiniti/Mercedes/Acura dealer instead.  If a loaded up SHO was $40K instead, going in mid/high 30's after discount/rebates, I would hope that it would sell like hotcakes. 

It would...
The last time around I looked at, and drove Bimi 5's, CTSV, Lexus, Acura, Audi, and even a C7... but I drove off a brand new '13 SHO for $37K including 7 yr BTB Ford extended warranty and 7 years prepaid maintenance through ford and a wheel insurance policy.... All those cars are nice ones, no dis intended... but the German cars are too austere for me plus lacked thigh support and the C7 was too much of a "climb in and out" to be a DD for an old guy like me... add the performance of the SHO, the headroom left for performance, the quiet, the real back seat, huge trunk, and the fact that I could blow one up but still be $30K ahead after replacing it and the mods. I felt there was no other real choice... No regrets either!

 
As a former Mercedes and current BMW owner good luck trying to fix or troubleshoot a problem when your out of warranty,also there are over a dozen of modules that are related to the ECU.
 
ZSHO said:
As a former Mercedes and current BMW owner good luck trying to fix or troubleshoot a problem when your out of warranty,also there are over a dozen of modules that are related to the ECU.

this is scary, with the technology advancing and dealers being the only ones to be able to keep up with it. being out of warranty and not being able to mod while under warranty, and yet the biggest down turn is the luck of information and aftermarket support, which makes the troubleshooting harder for most of us. seems like a good time to start leasing these cars and just toying with them for the first few years, and then moving on to the next one.
 
A lot of people that shop for cars in this range lease.  The SHO has horrible residual #s (52%), so you need a ton of rebates to make it worthwhile when comparing a monthly payment vs a $50K BMW, Lexus, or Acura that has a 60%+ residual.

The '15 F-150 looks awesome inside.  Need to see one in person for the outside, looks like a mini SuperDuty in the pics.

Is the heated steering wheel button only on the touch screen?  Figure they would have put a real button somewhere.  Main thing I dislike with my SHO is how everything is on the touchscreen.  Wish there were real buttons for HVAC, climate seat, heated steering wheel, etc. 
 
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