Are they all strong as the test engine 448AA? For the sport guys out there, How hard you run the ecoboost on a daily basis? Mine seams to hate putting around town but enjoys stretching it's legs on the highway. I'm talking all stock no modifications. Everyone I see with an ecoboost drives slow. So how bad is it to redline the ecoboost few times a week? I never really read how strong the motor is besides the torture test one but that could have been fake or rigged knowing Ford.
There is a difference between that Ecoboost engine and the Ecoboost engines for the non-trucks. The difference is the turbochargers.
http://www.f150hub.com/specs/ecoboost.html
The Honeywell-Garrett GT15 in the Explorer, Taurus, Flex, versus the Borg Warner K03 in the F-150. I've been trying to find numbers on the Honeywell-Garrett GT15 but it seems to me this turbo is bigger than the K03.
It also seems that the Borg Warner K03 is stated to be engineer strong based on the article for the 2.0L Ecoboost which is in the Fusion and Ford Focus ST. There's also a difference between that 2.0L Ecoboost in the Fusion and Focus ST than the 2.0L in the Ford Explorer and Edge.
"The upper temperature limit for the turbine wheel used on the 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine in Edge and Explorer is 970 degrees Celsius (1,778 degrees Fahrenheit). But in the sporty 2.0-liter EcoBoost for Fusion and Focus ST, the addition of tungsten and cobalt gives the alloy an upper temperature limit of 1,050 degrees Celsius (1,922 degrees Fahrenheit)."
http://fordstnation.com/top-stories/1533-article-officially-official-k03-turbo-borgwarner.html
Found this chart too:
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/curve/2014/1770830/ford_explorer_sport.html
and did this comparison:
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/auta_cmp_bb2.php
with
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/2014/1618775/lincoln_mkt_awd_ecoboost.html
and
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/2014/1770830/ford_explorer_sport.html
That I find highly disappointing since the MKT has 350lb-ft of torque at 1500 RPM but the performance doesn't really seem to be different with the Explorer's 0-60 at 6.4 versus the MKT's 7.
What I'm trying to get to with all that is that the Ecoboosts in all the cars seem the same but they are actually different. Either tuning wise or turbocharger wise.
With the tuning in the Explorer Sport, it seems like they half tuned it for reliability. 350 lb-ft at 3500 RPM instead of 1500 RPM but it's definitely not the engine. I think you can floor the hell out of the engine and it should be fine. Just make sure you do regular oil changes. I've been doing so with my Explorer 3.5L N/A going 110 MPH for like 20 miles chasing someone who hit and run.
The main limiting factor you should actually be looking for in your sport is the halfshafts, driveshaft, transmission, and PTU and that's why they don't tune the Explorer to have more than 350lb-ft of torque vs 420lb-ft of torque that makes the F-150 such a beast. The limiting factor is the car itself, not the engine.
I wouldn't put strain on your engine for the first 5,000 miles though. I know break in is 1,000 but I'd do 5,000 just to be safe. However, I'd run it hard time to time to really prevent the carbon build up because you can't do an induction service on these cars or else it destroys the turbo.