Engine RPM’s in Normal Mode

[ZeroCool]

OP says his daily Chevy is equipped with a 6.6L, an engine which produces 75% of its maximum torque just above idle (1000 RPM). A 1.5L four cylinder loping along at 1500 RPM is always going to feel sluggish in comparison.

That’s probably more accurately the “problem”

ya know after I drive my Dodge Charger hellcat the Bronco seems to have very little power hmmmm weird.

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[Glamdring70]

Damage is a relative term. More aggressive use will always wear an engine faster than conservative use.

The 1.5 drives like a 1.5. That's one reason why I shopped for a 2.0. Even though a bunch of 1.5 owners like to tell me I only needed it to hotrod and race people.

 

[Benanza]

My issue isn’t a lack of power. I understand what Sport mode is doing. In Normal mode I find the engine RPM’s to be so low when cruising at a constant speed that it feels like the engine is lugging. Yes, I can step on the pedal for more power, but the engine still shifts at a much lower RPM than when in Sport. This is why I feel it drives better in Sport. You never get that “lugging” feel. No one else here notices the engine lugs in Normal mode?

I would guess you are still driving on the stock wheels? I had felt local speed had issues with those tires but since I switched to an AT it has more grip and weight. I haven't felt that issue since I switched. Hope that helps you

 

[Mark S.]

That’s probably more accurately the “problem”

ya know after I drive my Dodge Charger hellcat the Bronco seems to have very little power hmmmm weird.

Funny how that works!

 

[Mark S.]

Even though a bunch of 1.5 owners like to tell me I only needed it to hotrod and race people.

Is that a bad thing?

 

[WinTech]

This is probably my only (small) complaint about my car. The NVH at certain rpms when at a stop is kind of jarring. It is one of the reasons that I don't mind the auto start stop on this vehicle. In normal mode it is very reluctant to shift down unless you goose it a little and it will lug quite a bit.

 

[Glamdring70]

Is that a bad thing?

It's not my place to try to convince someone that they shouldn't be happy with what they think is an adequate engine. So if those people say they're happy, they're happy. Rather, I'm shocked at how many people consider "just adequate" and if we're honest about it, "a tad sluggish in some situations" to be acceptable. Especially for what I consider an expensive purchase. This car is priced almost double my last car, 15 years ago. A lot of stuff is baked into them now. I remember shopping small bore, "adequate" engines built in the gas crisis of the 1970's. They weren't fun to drive. The engines didn't last long because they worked too hard to move the mass around.

I get that the Badlands isn't for everyone. It has a lot of extra kit and weight that go towards that tech. 95%+ of my driving will be on roads. But Ford only makes it one way. I test drove both and knew this was the only one I wanted to drive. Like two totally different cars. The Outer Banks was OK and not astounding and roughly the same price. Only a negligible difference when you look at payments. I was really intrigued by the Eco mode so I tried that on my test. Three adults in the vehicle and the gradual inclines in my area and that OB was a real dog with no go. Now, that probably wasn't an ideal time and place for Eco, but the 2.0 doesn't seem to have those.

On the other end, I don't know why some people drive in Sport at all times. The fake engine noise isn't that exciting, the ride is jerkier and stiffer. You got the extra wear, extra fuel consumption and the car is already near the top of the 0-60 chart without it. It isn't worth it just to kill the autostop; one dial twist or one button push, no difference. I think I've only ever used Sport three times and two of those were to demonstrate the feature to people.

 

[ZeroCool]

It's not my place to try to convince someone that they shouldn't be happy with what they think is an adequate engine. So if those people say they're happy, they're happy. Rather, I'm shocked at how many people consider "just adequate" and if we're honest about it, "a tad sluggish in some situations" to be acceptable. Especially for what I consider an expensive purchase. This car is priced almost double my last car, 15 years ago. A lot of stuff is baked into them now. I remember shopping small bore, "adequate" engines built in the gas crisis of the 1970's. They weren't fun to drive. The engines didn't last long because they worked too hard to move the mass around.

I get that the Badlands isn't for everyone. It has a lot of extra kit and weight that go towards that tech. 95%+ of my driving will be on roads. But Ford only makes it one way. I test drove both and knew this was the only one I wanted to drive. Like two totally different cars. The Outer Banks was OK and not astounding and roughly the same price. Only a negligible difference when you look at payments. I was really intrigued by the Eco mode so I tried that on my test. Three adults in the vehicle and the gradual inclines in my area and that OB was a real dog with no go. Now, that probably wasn't an ideal time and place for Eco, but the 2.0 doesn't seem to have those.

On the other end, I don't know why some people drive in Sport at all times. The fake engine noise isn't that exciting, the ride is jerkier and stiffer. You got the extra wear, extra fuel consumption and the car is already near the top of the 0-60 chart without it. It isn't worth it just to kill the autostop; one dial twist or one button push, no difference. I think I've only ever used Sport three times and two of those were to demonstrate the feature to people.

I don’t know if it’s a fluke, or because I mine was an order someone abandoned, but I don’t notice the fake engine noise on sport mode. Is there something you have to do to hear it?

 

[Osco]

I’m a Base model owner and the 1.5L does all I need. I’ve never wanted more get up and go.
But !
If I had planned to haul any trailer over 1500 pounds loaded I’d want the 2.0L
I’ve had mine on the interstate with Four adults, including me and the back filled with luggage and it did just fine. The real reason I didn’t hold out for the 2.0 engine was cost.
My base was not $35,000 or more.
It was under $28,000
If I had needed more power and towing I’d want more vehicle with a bigger wheel base and more GVWR.
These baby Bronc’s are small like the Escape. IMO not the best for towing even with the 2.0

 

[Glamdring70]

I don’t know if it’s a fluke, or because I mine was an order someone abandoned, but I don’t notice the fake engine noise on sport mode. Is there something you have to do to hear it?

I think it just comes on. Maybe it's only when you hit the gas and not just idling? But you know how it suddenly gets an exhaust rumble that wasn't there? That's all faked. The system doesn't mysteriously open a flapper port on the tailpipe or have mechanical vanes in the muffler or anything. I bet it sounds almost the same outside the car.

 

[Mark S.]

It's not my place to try to convince someone that they shouldn't be happy with what they think is an adequate engine. So if those people say they're happy, they're happy.

I meant is it a bad thing to want to hotrod and race people. But I get your point.

 

[Bigman32hockey]

Wow. This thread took on a life of its own. My initial question wasn’t about a lack of power. I’ve said that several times in this thread. It was more around figuring out if other owner’s of the 1.5l engine felt their engine “lugged” when cruising in Normal mode. I’m not an idiot. I understand the Bronco doesn’t have the power of my Silverado. I never compared the two vehicles. My wife, who never drives my truck, also feels that in Normal mode the engine RPM’s go so low that she gets that “lugging” feeling. You can feel it in the whole car when the RPM’s drop. Then you have to hit the gas hard enough to make it drop a year so the revs go up and it stops lugging. Putting it in Sport mode solves this problem, but obviously brings with it some caveats, being higher RPM’s at a given speed and somewhat lower MPG. I simply was looking for whether others experience this and if Sport mode is harmful to the vehicle if used most of the time.

 

[VirtualJMills]

My source? Nope. But I think it may well have been this forum or it’s associated FB group. However, I am at a loss to explain why it revs higher at highway speed than the other modes do if it is in its highest gears. That simply wouldn’t be possible. I don’t mean sport mode’s irritating propensity to rev hang either, but rather when cruising in sport mode it revs higher than in other modes - that is it not shifting into higher gear so power can be grabbed faster without waiting for a shift.

`Sport` doesn't outright lock-out higher gears (specifically 8F35 7th and 8th), but the shift-in / shift-out points for most gears are raised high-enough that rural roads (50 MPH / 55 MPH plated) might not see 8th gear engaged.

 

[ZeroCool]

Wow. This thread took on a life of its own. My initial question wasn’t about a lack of power. I’ve said that several times in this thread. It was more around figuring out if other owner’s of the 1.5l engine felt their engine “lugged” when cruising in Normal mode. I’m not an idiot. I understand the Bronco doesn’t have the power of my Silverado. I never compared the two vehicles. My wife, who never drives my truck, also feels that in Normal mode the engine RPM’s go so low that she gets that “lugging” feeling. You can feel it in the whole car when the RPM’s drop. Then you have to hit the gas hard enough to make it drop a year so the revs go up and it stops lugging. Putting it in Sport mode solves this problem, but obviously brings with it some caveats, being higher RPM’s at a given speed and somewhat lower MPG. I simply was looking for whether others experience this and if Sport mode is harmful to the vehicle if used most of the time.

Hey bro, I’ll admit I was trying to be a little funny rather then make you sound stupid. I’m not entirely clear about what “lugging” is. I was driving home today and really watching my rpm’s and trying to feel the engine, the only thing I noticed when rolling through a light at about 20mph, then heading up an incline right after, I got a vibration almost like when driving a manual transmission and you switched to the next gear up too fast so I had to accelerate to get the power back but my V6turbo edge would do that sometimes too. Other then that it felt fine to me.
@Glamdring70 Bro I tried with that sport mode while driving home today, I turned the stereo off, I listened and listened, I’m either deaf, or this sport mode noise is incredibly subtle. It sounded the same to me.

 

[Bigman32hockey]

That’s the exact feeling I’m talking about. Like you’ve switched into too high a gear at a certain speed and you get that shudder. I guess what I’m hearing from this thread is this is normal (hence Normal mode lol) for the 1.5l engine. I guess our personal style just prefers Sport mode where you don’t get that feeling. To each their own I suppose. As long as we’re not killing the thing by using Sport mode, I think that’s just what we’ll do. Thanks to all for the help. Much appreciated.

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