A Week With My New 2023 F-150 Lariat Powerboost (Impressions Coming From a 2.7 FX4)

[windowsmedia10]

Hey Everybody,

I took delivery of my 2023 502A Lariat Powerboost a few weeks ago. Here are my initial thoughts:

I'm coming from a nearly identical truck that I put about 50000 miles on. It was also a 502A but it had the 2.7 and was an FX4 truck.

• This thing hauls ass. I thought my 2.7 was quick (and it was) but this thing is a rocketship. There is zero shortage of power. Trying to hypermile it in the city is neat and I was surprised how far you can go in electric only mode while cruising on flat ground.
• The transitions between full electric mode and hybrid ICE mode are well done. Not perfect by any means and every now and then you get a minor note of harshness with a downshift or transition but they are generally pretty good.
• I immediately noticed that when the battery is working in conjunction with the ICE to move the vehicle, it helps to keep the turbos from spooling up like they usually would under similar load conditions.
• There is a bit of a disconnectedness to the powertrain that is difficult to describe. Not in an overly negative fashion, just quite different. When you're really on the throttle you do get a clear sense that the engine is doing its work while an invisible force (the electric motor) is pushing/aiding it. Almost like a really strong tailwind.
• The piped in faux engine noise is not the best. I've noticed that at times there is a disconnect from what you are hearing and what the truck is actually doing. There is also a bit of a low drone noise that I'm pretty sure is coming from the subwoofer under the rear seat when cruising around highway speeds. I'm going to try turning that stuff off using Forscan to see the difference.
• There is a small white cord that hangs down from the rear driver side wheel well that is the manual opener for the gas cap. Also helps if your door won't close. Also neat that at least portions of the system are pressurised. You can hear a little pump of some kind running when you close the fuel door.
• I ordered my truck with the optional Continuously Controlled Damping system. I can already tell you that this should be a must check option for anyone who wants the smoothest ride possible. My MY21 Lariat had the FX4 package and I thought that rode very well. But this CCD setup takes it to a different level. If you think of the bumps you encounter on a road being like a periodic function on a graph, the CCD system lowers the maximum amplitude of what you encounter. Bumps don't have the same sort of harshness to them. You feel them but they just aren't as bad anymore. It's unfortunate that the damping rates are only adjustable by using the drive mode selector. But it's neat to see the difference between Normal, Sport, and Eco especially. Again if you're on the fence, I highly recommend that you check this option box. It's worth it. I'm going to put together a separate post about the CCD system since there is so little out there.
• EcoIdle is neat. It raises the RPMs of the truck to about 1300 when you are idling to charge the battery more efficiently. I'm amazed at how long the truck can sit in park and idle without the ICE coming on, even with lots of accessories and the AC running.
• Speaking of the Air Conditioning system, it's incredible to have one that is run off the high voltage system and not the ICE. Idling is smoother and the system blows cold even if the ICE has been off for significant periods of time.
• This might sound silly, but I miss my FX4 fender badge. The 'Sport 4x4' emblem just doesn't have the same sort of presence and most people tend to read that to be the model/trim of the truck. My wife also commented that I'm one of the least sporty people that she knows…
• I've noticed some subtle differences/refinements going from an early build Job 1 MY21 truck to a Feb MY23 truck. Both my trucks have had the B&O Unleashed system but this new truck somehow sounds better with the same settings. Crispier, a refined surround mode, clearer bass. The way wind related noise is insulated by rubber trim near the bottom corners of the windscreen is much more robust. My rear centre window doesn't rattle when listening to music. (yes, there was a TSB for that). The 75th anniversary etching into the windscreen and on the Sync 4 screen is neat, the gear shifter doesn't have as much play in it, the steering feel is slightly sharper, the driveshaft seems to be better balanced, and I can't tell the difference between 4A and 2H mode nearly as much. The front park sensors are a neat addition, same with the wireless charger for your phone. I don't miss the digital temperature readouts on the dials as much as I thought I would and my MY23 truck came with a heated steering wheel so no retrofit was required. The seat foam seems a bit softer than before, specially the side cushion bolsters, and the middle headrest in the back is shaped differently.
• Sync 4 seems snappier. Different CPU maybe or some sort of other hardware differences we are not aware of? I had used FDRS to completely update my old truck so I'm comparing recent versions to each other… it just feels different and less buggy.
• The spray liner is far superior to the drop in liner I had before. If you're leasing the difference between the two is negligible given you can residualize out accessories. Would get the spray again in a heartbeat.
• I did not opt for the 7.2kW Pro Power system since I have a generator for our house. But it is still nice to have the 2.4kW system in the bed just in case.
• I replaced the license plate tail lights right away. The incandescent bulbs Ford provides by default really dont match the rest of the lighting on the truck and they run hot. I posted a video over here to describe how to do that.

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[Snakebitten]

Congrats.

Nice writeup too!

There's a couple of CCD threads out there with varying degrees of satisfaction. But I'm one that was immediately sceptical with whether I would be satisfied with it. Like you, disappointed with the fact Ford tied it's user selections to drive modes.

But I'm now very sat with it after a bit of tweaking the rear suspension.
Note that I had little complaint with CCD on smooth roads. I just feel Ford has the Normal mode damping a bit too conservative. (Underdamped)

Anyways, again, great write-up.

 

[HammaMan]

The sync system is unfortunately still the same 8yr old CPU. They've just gotten better with the software. One thing to know about your truck -- it's about 900lbs heavier than your last so that will change its feeling a lot (assuming the last was a SCREW as well). Most of that mass is 18-24" off of the ground as well as the frame being stronger (it's also attached to the frame, not the cab). As for the 2.4 vs 7.2 inverter debate, well once you own the truck a little longer and remember to use the inverter when / where you can for convenience, you'll probably flip your opinion of it. Everywhere you go you've got a no-fuss push button start gen, even with the 2.4 which is basically a 20a 120v plug. Vastly superior to the 2.0 24v system ford offers (it's a pretty disappointing system not even able to hold voltage at 1.6kW).

Welcome to the PB club

 

[windowsmedia10]

Congrats.

Nice writeup too!

There's a couple of CCD threads out there with varying degrees of satisfaction. But I'm one that was immediately sceptical with whether I would be satisfied with it. Like you, disappointed with the fact Ford tied it's user selections to drive modes.

But I'm now very sat with it after a bit of tweaking the rear suspension.
Note that I had little complaint with CCD on smooth roads. I just feel Ford has the Normal mode damping a bit too conservative. (Underdamped)

Anyways, again, great write-up.

Were you the one fooling around with values in ForScan that had an effect on the damping values of the CCD system?

 

[Ziggy73]

Hey Everybody,

I took delivery of my 2023 502A Lariat Powerboost a few weeks ago. Here are my initial thoughts:

I'm coming from a nearly identical truck that I put about 50000 miles on. It was also a 502A but it had the 2.7 and was an FX4 truck.

• This thing hauls ass. I thought my 2.7 was quick (and it was) but this thing is a rocketship. There is zero shortage of power. Trying to hypermile it in the city is neat and I was surprised how far you can go in electric only mode while cruising on flat ground.
• The transitions between full electric mode and hybrid ICE mode are well done. Not perfect by any means and every now and then you get a minor note of harshness with a downshift or transition but they are generally pretty good.
• I immediately noticed that when the battery is working in conjunction with the ICE to move the vehicle, it helps to keep the turbos from spooling up like they usually would under similar load conditions.
• There is a bit of a disconnectedness to the powertrain that is difficult to describe. Not in an overly negative fashion, just quite different. When you're really on the throttle you do get a clear sense that the engine is doing its work while an invisible force (the electric motor) is pushing/aiding it. Almost like a really strong tailwind.
• The piped in faux engine noise is not the best. I've noticed that at times there is a disconnect from what you are hearing and what the truck is actually doing. There is also a bit of a low drone noise that I'm pretty sure is coming from the subwoofer under the rear seat when cruising around highway speeds. I'm going to try turning that stuff off using Forscan to see the difference.
• There is a small white cord that hangs down from the rear driver side wheel well that is the manual opener for the gas cap. Also helps if your door won't close. Also neat that at least portions of the system are pressurised. You can hear a little pump of some kind running when you close the fuel door.
• I ordered my truck with the optional Continuously Controlled Damping system. I can already tell you that this should be a must check option for anyone who wants the smoothest ride possible. My MY21 Lariat had the FX4 package and I thought that rode very well. But this CCD setup takes it to a different level. If you think of the bumps you encounter on a road being like a periodic function on a graph, the CCD system lowers the maximum amplitude of what you encounter. Bumps don't have the same sort of harshness to them. You feel them but they just aren't as bad anymore. It's unfortunate that the damping rates are only adjustable by using the drive mode selector. But it's neat to see the difference between Normal, Sport, and Eco especially. Again if you're on the fence, I highly recommend that you check this option box. It's worth it. I'm going to put together a separate post about the CCD system since there is so little out there.
• EcoIdle is neat. It raises the RPMs of the truck to about 1300 when you are idling to charge the battery more efficiently. I'm amazed at how long the truck can sit in park and idle without the ICE coming on, even with lots of accessories and the AC running.
• Speaking of the Air Conditioning system, it's incredible to have one that is run off the high voltage system and not the ICE. Idling is smoother and the system blows cold even if the ICE has been off for significant periods of time.
• This might sound silly, but I miss my FX4 fender badge. The 'Sport 4x4' emblem just doesn't have the same sort of presence and most people tend to read that to be the model/trim of the truck. My wife also commented that I'm one of the least sporty people that she knows…
• I've noticed some subtle differences/refinements going from an early build Job 1 MY21 truck to a Feb MY23 truck. Both my trucks have had the B&O Unleashed system but this new truck somehow sounds better with the same settings. Crispier, a refined surround mode, clearer bass. The way wind related noise is insulated by rubber trim near the bottom corners of the windscreen is much more robust. My rear centre window doesn't rattle when listening to music. (yes, there was a TSB for that). The 75th anniversary etching into the windscreen and on the Sync 4 screen is neat, the gear shifter doesn't have as much play in it, the steering feel is slightly sharper, the driveshaft seems to be better balanced, and I can't tell the difference between 4A and 2H mode nearly as much. The front park sensors are a neat addition, same with the wireless charger for your phone. I don't miss the digital temperature readouts on the dials as much as I thought I would and my MY23 truck came with a heated steering wheel so no retrofit was required. The seat foam seems a bit softer than before, specially the side cushion bolsters, and the middle headrest in the back is shaped differently.
• Sync 4 seems snappier. Different CPU maybe or some sort of other hardware differences we are not aware of? I had used FDRS to completely update my old truck so I'm comparing recent versions to each other… it just feels different and less buggy.
• The spray liner is far superior to the drop in liner I had before. If you're leasing the difference between the two is negligible given you can residualize out accessories. Would get the spray again in a heartbeat.
• I did not opt for the 7.2kW Pro Power system since I have a generator for our house. But it is still nice to have the 2.4kW system in the bed just in case.
• I replaced the license plate tail lights right away. The incandescent bulbs Ford provides by default really dont match the rest of the lighting on the truck and they run hot. I posted a video over here to describe how to do that.

Congratulations. Good comparison for us.

 

[Snakebitten]

Were you the one fooling around with values in ForScan that had an effect on the damping values of the CCD system?

I'm that outlaw.
But if I was starting over, I reverse the order of everything I did to get to my personal CCD nirvana.

Hardware upgrades first, to get a baseline before messing with the VDM module.

For my tastes it would be rear Antisway, then RAS.
Get those 2 "tuned" to my trucks daily cargo weight (I have a few hundred pounds of things onboard)

Then if I was curious to mess with the VDM values, have at it.

Amazing trucks!

 

[HammaMan]

I'm that outlaw.
But if I was starting over, I reverse the order of everything I did to get to my personal CCD nirvana.

Hardware upgrades first, to get a baseline before messing with the VDM module.

For my tastes it would be rear Antisway, then RAS.
Get those 2 "tuned" to my trucks daily cargo weight (I have a few hundred pounds of things onboard)

Then if I was curious to mess with the VDM values, have at it.

Amazing trucks!

If you can get the values from various trucks into a .CSV and then feed it into GPT4 with their specs, you can ask it to generate you custom values based on patterns, test them out and then give it feedback and it will then be able to tailor the values to your truck. And voila, you're the CCD tuning whisperer

We're working on getting a larger model up and running w/ out the guard rails in place. In some areas it flaws the data because of parallels into adjacent capabilities which they want walled off. Basically the more "safety" measures put into place, the dumber they get (LLMs).

Oh, and when asking questions, the first response to an output like that is to ask it to check its work.

 

[Snakebitten]

You know I think very highly of your knowledge and suggestions. You are just the right amount of outlaw/law, in my opinion.

Especially things like your approach to Powerboost Payload, for example.

But I ain't going to be asking GPT4 nothing. I know it probably already knows EVERYTHING about me, but it hasn't ever had a reason to look at the records. I'm just going to lay low for now.

But in an effort not to completely derail the CCD subject, that's (GPT4) probably a cool thing to look into.

 

[HammaMan]

You know I think very highly of your knowledge and suggestions. You are just the right amount of outlaw/law, in my opinion.

Especially things like your approach to Powerboost Payload, for example.

But I ain't going to be asking GPT4 nothing. I know it probably already knows EVERYTHING about me, but it hasn't ever had a reason to look at the records. I'm just going to lay low for now.

But in an effort not to completely derail the CCD subject, that's (GPT4) probably a cool thing to look into.

There's 2 types of people, those that are interacting with the LLMs today and figuring out how to manipulate them, and those that will be chasing the latter. At today's capabilities they're able to eliminate roughly 50% of all jobs (even more when they're better) . With all patient data they're the best symptom diagnosers on the planet. Think of how the show 'House' about the 'smart doctor' was raised to the next level, but never sleeps, never tires, reads x-rays and MRIs better than humans (by a very large margin, without even yet getting trained on the data).

Humanity is currently undergoing a radical transformation right now down a path nobody can predict. These things started off as Generative Pre-trained Transformers which basically calculate the odds of the next word. When given loads of data and with recursive retraining (a feedback loop of graded outputs, initially with humans, now models train models, fed back into the training) -- and a whole lot of computer power, well, nobody in the field working on these things know what exactly is going on in them. What started out as a next word generator, can be asked to, in the case of one researcher's work "Develop a novel science experiment (one that's never been documented before) that one can perform with items found at walmart" and the output was in-fact a novel science experiment not found on the internet, with items that could be found at walmart. That's not next word prediction, that's basic intellect.

Even when the specialists discuss the potential sentience of the machines, they dance really hard and put on a good show talking about how they're "definitely not sentient, but are showing signs of it". They've already passed every bar ever theorized about what a sentient machine would be able to do, so they're asking psychologists to get involved and help develop tests and methods for testing these things. Of course our human narcissism is getting involved believing that our consciousness is THE definition of conscience. They're able to pass everything from coding interviews of google / amazon / etc..., bar exams, medical exams, and so on. Truly limitless potential, so long as we can somehow teach them "humans = good" (aka, the alignment problem)

We're rapidly approaching a point where it will be a level of intelligence trained on everything known about humans, and it's REALLY GOOD at manipulation and propaganda (already that is), and it'll be highly intelligent, but we believe we can keep it in a box. I kind of imagine it as man discovering flame in a modern society running around trying to see how different materials react with this newly found fire and it's just a matter of time until someone approaches a million gallon vat of petroleum and truly discovers what the fire is capable of. Until then, it's interesting to play with.

Here's just small sample of what it's capable of -- starts where relevant. For instance you can give it a bunch of word documents or email access and then tell it to write things in your 'style'. Digital ghosts are here.

 

[thebigdu]

There's 2 types of people, those that are interacting with the LLMs today and figuring out how to manipulate them, and those that will be chasing the latter. At today's capabilities they're able to eliminate roughly 50% of all jobs (even more when they're better) . With all patient data they're the best symptom diagnosers on the planet. Think of how the show 'House' about the 'smart doctor' was raised to the next level, but never sleeps, never tires, reads x-rays and MRIs better than humans (by a very large margin, without even yet getting trained on the data).

Humanity is currently undergoing a radical transformation right now down a path nobody can predict. These things started off as Generative Pre-trained Transformers which basically calculate the odds of the next word. When given loads of data and with recursive retraining (a feedback loop of graded outputs, initially with humans, now models train models, fed back into the training) -- and a whole lot of computer power, well, nobody in the field working on these things know what exactly is going on in them. What started out as a next word generator, can be asked to, in the case of one researcher's work "Develop a novel science experiment (one that's never been documented before) that one can perform with items found at walmart" and the output was in-fact a novel science experiment not found on the internet, with items that could be found at walmart. That's not next word prediction, that's basic intellect.

Even when the specialists discuss the potential sentience of the machines, they dance really hard and put on a good show talking about how they're "definitely not sentient, but are showing signs of it". They've already passed every bar ever theorized about what a sentient machine would be able to do, so they're asking psychologists to get involved and help develop tests and methods for testing these things. Of course our human narcissism is getting involved believing that our consciousness is THE definition of conscience. They're able to pass everything from coding interviews of google / amazon / etc..., bar exams, medical exams, and so on. Truly limitless potential, so long as we can somehow teach them "humans = good" (aka, the alignment problem)

We're rapidly approaching a point where it will be a level of intelligence trained on everything known about humans, and it's REALLY GOOD at manipulation and propaganda (already that is), and it'll be highly intelligent, but we believe we can keep it in a box. I kind of imagine it as man discovering flame in a modern society running around trying to see how different materials react with this newly found fire and it's just a matter of time until someone approaches a million gallon vat of petroleum and truly discovers what the fire is capable of. Until then, it's interesting to play with.

Here's just small sample of what it's capable of -- starts where relevant. For instance you can give it a bunch of word documents or email access and then tell it to write things in your 'style'. Digital ghosts are here.

This whole thing scares the sh*t out of me.

Just wondering... Do you ever use Chat GPT to write your posts on here?

 

[HammaMan]

This whole thing scares the sh*t out of me.

Just wondering... Do you ever use Chat GPT to write your posts on here?

No, if I reference it I screen shot its response.

 

[mnstang]

This might sound silly, but I miss my FX4 fender badge. The 'Sport 4x4' emblem just doesn't have the same sort of presence and most people tend to read that to be the model/trim of the truck. My wife also commented that I'm one of the least sporty people that she knows…

Why did your wife have to do you like this ?!?

I agree though, I wish the sport badge looked a little cleaner, was thinking about removing it, but now I don't even notice it anymore.

 

[wessermgm]

Why did your wife have to do you like this ?!?

I agree though, I wish the sport badge looked a little cleaner, was thinking about removing it, but now I don't even notice it anymore.

I tend to agree about the sport badging. I was close to ordering a sport (got an FX4 instead) and I was going to replace the Sport fender badge with the standard 4x4 fender badge. I like FX4 the most, but I didn't want to claim something I didn't have. The standard 4x4 badge looks good as well, and well, your truck is a 4x4.

 

[UGADawg96]

There's 2 types of people, those that are interacting with the LLMs today and figuring out how to manipulate them, and those that will be chasing the latter. At today's capabilities they're able to eliminate roughly 50% of all jobs (even more when they're better) . With all patient data they're the best symptom diagnosers on the planet. Think of how the show 'House' about the 'smart doctor' was raised to the next level, but never sleeps, never tires, reads x-rays and MRIs better than humans (by a very large margin, without even yet getting trained on the data).

Humanity is currently undergoing a radical transformation right now down a path nobody can predict. These things started off as Generative Pre-trained Transformers which basically calculate the odds of the next word. When given loads of data and with recursive retraining (a feedback loop of graded outputs, initially with humans, now models train models, fed back into the training) -- and a whole lot of computer power, well, nobody in the field working on these things know what exactly is going on in them. What started out as a next word generator, can be asked to, in the case of one researcher's work "Develop a novel science experiment (one that's never been documented before) that one can perform with items found at walmart" and the output was in-fact a novel science experiment not found on the internet, with items that could be found at walmart. That's not next word prediction, that's basic intellect.

Even when the specialists discuss the potential sentience of the machines, they dance really hard and put on a good show talking about how they're "definitely not sentient, but are showing signs of it". They've already passed every bar ever theorized about what a sentient machine would be able to do, so they're asking psychologists to get involved and help develop tests and methods for testing these things. Of course our human narcissism is getting involved believing that our consciousness is THE definition of conscience. They're able to pass everything from coding interviews of google / amazon / etc..., bar exams, medical exams, and so on. Truly limitless potential, so long as we can somehow teach them "humans = good" (aka, the alignment problem)

We're rapidly approaching a point where it will be a level of intelligence trained on everything known about humans, and it's REALLY GOOD at manipulation and propaganda (already that is), and it'll be highly intelligent, but we believe we can keep it in a box. I kind of imagine it as man discovering flame in a modern society running around trying to see how different materials react with this newly found fire and it's just a matter of time until someone approaches a million gallon vat of petroleum and truly discovers what the fire is capable of. Until then, it's interesting to play with.

Here's just small sample of what it's capable of -- starts where relevant. For instance you can give it a bunch of word documents or email access and then tell it to write things in your 'style'. Digital ghosts are here.

Just hope I'm dead before Boston Dynamics puts GPT into their robots, because John Connor ain't gonna save us.

 

[HammaMan]

Just hope I'm dead before Boston Dynamics puts GPT into their robots, because John Connor ain't gonna save us.

That's the crazy part -- you don't need robotic overlords if you can collapse a society and let it eat itself -- most people are surrounded by organic automatons seeking food and water that will be desperate enough to do whatever it takes to get it. Once the grid is down you've got about 24 hours to go as remote as you can before you're consumed by the mass hoard of people leaving cities once they realize what's up. It'll be like a silent overnight hurricane that strikes where nobody evacuated or prepared because they didn't see it coming.

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