TurboCargo

I drive a 50/50 mix of highway and stop and go on my medical supply delivery route, which is the same route every day so my mileage is very consistent. Before the mods I was averaging 24.9 mpg ; 10,000 miles later LT avg. has crept up to 25.6. I don't give the mods the credit for the increase but they certainly have not hurt mpg.

As far as the exhaust goes, when we got her up on the lift at the muffler shop the stock system is very high quality- all stainless (not just aluminized) and mandrel bent from the looks of it. So I just wanted to replace that huge resonator. My shop happened to have some leftover stainless 2 1/2" pipe he cut to fit. I think he charged me $75. I drove it for a week but it sounded almost stock, too quiet. So the muffler was next. It is an odd beast, a single side inlet with a single exit on the same side, transverse mounted. The only low restriction unit I found that would fit is the Magnaflow 14210. Luckily it is all polished stainless steel, slightly shorter case than the factory muffler but the factory hangers can be encouraged to fit. The sound? Magnaflow promises a deep tone and they were right. Leaving the muff shop I was a little disappointed that it was still too quiet. However after a few miles you will definitely notice a nice deep note. After 10,000 miles on this I am very happy. It is not loud or "farty" but sounds just right for me-fairly quiet at part throttle but it gets more aggressive when you do. You do not need to buy an expensive "cat-back" system just replace the restrictive parts.

I always have preferred a manual transmission where possible. However this 6-speed auto does a great job. First gear is quite low to get you off the line smartly and the others are well spaced. Uphill is never a problem. Manual shifting responds a little slowly for my taste but the auto is sensitive to throttle adjustments so I can shift with my right foot. With the 93 octane tune I have been running for a while now tranny shifts are near/at redline at full throttle and very firm. I can't see shifting any better myself manually so I usually leave it in D. In normal cruising/light throttle shifts are not as firm, feels like stock. One thing you must get used to is full throttle shifts under boost can send you into the next lane (torque steer) if you are not careful.

I now have 30,000 miles on my TC. I am so glad I paid extra for the turbo. Don't get me wrong, the 2.5 is an excellent engine; I very much enjoyed my 2010 Mazda CX-7 sport with this motor. I test drove a TC with the 2.5 and it was fine. I wanted a loaded cargo van and it was hard to find the options I wanted. Then the salesman found this one but it had the turbo and alloy wheels. They made me a deal and when I test drove it I could not believe the torque from 1500 rpm up. Although the hp/torque numbers seem close between the 2 engines on paper, there is no comparison in the "fun to drive" factor once you get this puppy in boost. That was stock. At 20,000 miles I replaced the factory resonator with a straight pipe. I also replaced the factory muffler with a magnaflow 14210 which retains all factory pipes and hangers. I also installed a K&N 57-S-4000 cold air intake designed for the 2.0 EB Focus but fits the 1.6 TC perfectly. The exhaust is actually still fairly quiet but has a very nice deep tone. With the K&N installed you can not only hear some turbo whistle but also the "blow-off" when you back out of the throttle. This made a nice difference you can feel (a little). So the next step was to reprogram to computer to take advantage of the less restrictive exhaust and intake. That made a HUGE difference. More on that later if there is any interest.

Hey Folks Just trying to see if there are any other ecoboost owners out there. I was lucky enough to get one of the first 2014 cargo vans in this area with the 1.6 turbo and I LOVE IT ! This van thinks it is a sports car, and I am averaging 25 mpg overall. Having owned a few turbocharged and supercharged cars in the past, my natural impulse has me thinking about increasing intake and exhaust efficiency....any ideas? TurboCargo Jacksonville Fl