Ford may increase 6.7L Power

[Keith Browning]

Ford may increase 6.7-liter Power Stroke numbers to beat GM

 

03/23/2010, 7:54 PMBy Mark Kleis

 

Ford officially revealed the power numbers for its all-new, in-house designed 6.7-liter turbocharged diesel in late February. Ford announced that the new Power Stroke diesel would produce 390 horsepower and 735 lb-ft of torque, which at the time, was best-in-class. Now that GM has announced the numbers for its revised 6.6-liter Duramax – coming in at 397 horsepower and 765 lb-ft of torque – Ford may be back to the drawing for a quick fix to regain their number one spot.

 

 

For years Ford has prided itself as a leader in the truck segment for America, often carrying the segment leading payload and towing numbers, despite trailing in power figures for most of the last few decades.

 

According to sources that spoke with PickupTrucks.com, it seems Ford is no longer settling for just best-in-class capability, as it wants to boast the best-in-class power and torque, too. It’s common knowledge that diesel engines often respond well to custom tuning, as well as modifications to intake and exhaust systems for “cheap” added power. Usually the re-tuning of the engine’s computer is left to aftermarket companies that sell either custom or “canned” tunes that promise bumps in power and fuel economy, but this time around it might be Ford playing a different tune in an effort to take the top spot for power.

 

As PickupTrucks.com points out, GM’s diesel offering is based on an aging and potentially limited 6.6-liter Duramax design, compared to Ford’s fresh design with its 2011 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel. Because GM has already managed to wrench out a significant bump in power and torque from its Duramax, Ford may be able to make some minor tweaks that could result in a bump to over 400 horsepower and more than 775 lb-ft of torque without affecting the durability of its new diesel, and without worry that GM will follow suit.

 

Before Ford cranks up the power on its diesel it must first consider the corresponding changes to emissions and fuel economy for its super Duty trucks. EPA regulations have grown increasingly stringent, leaving very little room for changes that will result in increased emissions. Although Super Duty trucks do not have to report EPA mileage numbers, customers will certainly take note of the real-world fuel economy when reaching for their pocket books. Ford’s previous diesel offering, a 6.4-liter Power Stroke, was known for poor economy compared to the rest of the class.

 

Should Ford makes power changes, expect them to come in the form of a re-tuned computer which will not require any physical changes to the trucks, allowing the trucks which were already produced to be re-programmed at the dealers to reflect the potential bump in power.

 

[Jonathan302]

This is where it all begins ...

 

They want to blowup this engine before he even see the dealership showroom floor.

 

They should consider some reliability before being the ''king of the hill''

 

[Adam_Dodson]

Seems kinda silly, but at the same time it would be pretty funny considering GM waited for Ford to release their numbers and it would really PISS THEM OFF!

 

But is there enough time to really test a new tune? It doesnt seem right to spend all that time testing just to throw it out the window because of a stupid rivalry...

[dieseldoc]

I would guess that if the engineers have any curiosity at all they have tested varying horsepowers to see what the failing point is. If I was an engineer and testing a product that was supposed to be rated at 390 horsepower I would test it for longevity, and durability at 425 hp so there is a little margin there for freak situations or driving styles and abuse. But than again we alway say that most engineers are book smart not reality or street smart. I would think they would play it safe this time around, they cant really afford to have another 6.0 fiasco on there hands. Especially since they cant blame anyone but themselves this time around. Just my two cents.

[Steve Mutter]

right now I think fuel economy is what is going to sell these trucks not horsepower,they should just make the turck get better fuel economy then anyone eles and they will not have to get into a pissing match

[lraffe1]

I had an fse come out two weeks ago and asked him about this when he was here. He stated that most engineers in ford feel that duramax is maxed out with out a major redesign. He said that there was no plan to increase power this year, but could see 800 plus next year. I asked about durablity and he clamed that when testing the engine and trans it was programed at 1000 plus ftlbs. According to him the engine and trans had no problems but drivetrain was a different story. I quess we will wait and see.

[sixturbosix]

Was told by an engineer that the new 6.7 could be upped in horse power if needed.He stated if GM comes out with a new diesel that has more horses than the 6.7 they can simply up horsepower and torque extensivly with programing without worry of problems due to the amount of testing they have done with this engine under higher power conditions.

[Shlep]

Well I can imagine we'll find out fairly soon due to the amount of aftermarket tuners that will be pushing it to it's limits.

[Aaron]

Spartan apparently has deletes available.

 

I don't like how fuckin' touchy the throttle pedal is around the parking lot...that shit's gonna be messy in the winter.