Our tests are ongoing. The numbers you see in the chart are for the Edge in its standard tune, with none of our "tweaking" reflected. We're still playing around and will include some of that info in a future installment that will include a few more mileage enhancing products. We also did not test extensively in Level 3. Looking at it from an economy standpoint, we didn't see much economy in having to buy premium fuel. By all reports, level 3 mileage is slightly better than Level 2 but not enough to balance the extra cost of premium fuel. We also found that the truck is more snappy right off the line in Level 2 than in Level 3. This appears to be throttle response as opposed to actual power, because the truck is definitely faster in Level 3, but it's puzzling.
An irritating development to report is that we weren't able to test the power output of the Edge on the otherwise stock truck. Dyno and installer time was strictly controlled and a glitch prevented us from getting those numbers in the time we had available. We had to make our runs with the Dynomax system installed. We were able to do acceleration tests with the Edge on the stock truck and can show a nice 0.4 second average drop in 0-60 times.
How do we sort out what each product contributed to the total? When dealing with performance products, the sum of each product individually doesn't usually add up to what you get together. The cumulative total can be higher or lower. Plus, given the differences in "real world" trucks and dyno calibration, it's pretty hard to match advertised numbers anyway.
Test Data: 2005 Ford F-150 XL 4x4 - 5.4L 3V V8, Automatic, 8,200 GVWR, 4.10:1 Axle Ratio
Performance Test Data
| Condition | 0-60(sec.) | RWP (hp) | RWT (lbs-ft) |
| Stock | 8.31/8.43 | 206.6/202.6 | 252.5/251.5 |
| Level 2 Alone | 7.95/8.03 | - | - |
| Level 2 with catback exhaust | 7.55/7.62 | 239.6/238 | 292.4/291.3 |
Combined with the Dynomax exhaust, we did get some impressive dyno numbers with our Evolution in Level 2. If you compare the cat-back only numbers without the Evolution (see August '08, page 20, "Power With Economy: Muffler vs. Cat-back Exhaust System"), we gained 15.4 hp and 13 lbs-ft over the cat-back alone (about what they claim for Level 2) and 32 hp and 40 lbs-ft over stock power and torque with the combination. The Edge also dropped our 0-60 time another 0.4 second to an average of 7.62 seconds. That's haulin!
In the miles per gallon department, the Edge in Level 2 delivered almost a half-mile per gallon in our mixed driving loop, plus up to another half mpg in the three steady-speed areas. Combined with the exhaust, we were boosted a whopping 1.3 mpg in the mixed cycle. The steady state mpg showed lesser gains with the combo, a maximum of an honest 0.6 mpg at 70 mph to a low of 0.3 mpg at a steady 65 mph.
Fuel Economy Test Data
| Condition | Steady 55 MPG | Steady 65 MPG | Steady 70 MPG | Overall Avg. MPG |
| Stock | 17.0 | 16.5 | 16.3 | 15.2 |
| Level 2 Alone | 17.2 | 16.9 | 16.6 | 15.6 |
| Leve 2 with catback exhaust | 17.7 | 17.2 | 16.9 | 16.9 |
Final Word
From the utility standpoint, the 5.4L Evolution is a hit. The performance gains are significant. Mpg gains are modest but nothing to turn away. The ability to monitor 21 engine parameters, including mpg, is extremely useful. While there are fuel economy/trip computer devices out there that offer nearly equal utility in terms of monitoring fuel economy, they don't offer performance gains nor any increase in fuel economy. In our case, the average fuel economy gains will help us pay for the unit in 5 years, or less. If you consider the benefits of a fuel economy monitor and use it to fine-tune your mpg driving skills, the payoff could come even sooner.
