Latest Numbers!

[Badbart56]

The battle for horsepower, torque and towing numbers is still ongoing.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2023...ibextid=Zxz2cZ

And check out the payload numbers!

[travelin texans]

I can already see a short bed F350 towing a New Horizon 5th wheel (GVWR of 20k+) with the headlights pointing straight up & bragging "Yep she's rated to tow 40000lbs & never know it's back there!".

[RollaMo]

At least MT tried to point out a few "truths" in their article.
Something that most people reading any FORD (or any manufacturer for that matter) does their best to hide or bury deep in the fine print.

Furthermore, one could argue that none of this matters since the aforementioned trucks are basically rare unicorns with very specific, particular specs that afford them best-in-class status (rather than your more common, readily available run-of-the-mill Super Duty)

And the only payload number listed was for a 2 wheel drive "gas" truck.
Of course they are out there, but it isn't seen very often.

8,000 pounds: F-350 DRW Regular Cab 4x2 XL trim with gas Heavy-Duty Payload Package

[Badbart56]

The horsepower and torque numbers (500/1200) are pretty impressive from a 6.7 liter (408 CI) engine when you consider that the Cummins X15 in our 2021 Peterbilt makes 500 horsepower and 1650 ft/lbs of torque from a 15 liter (900 cubic inch) engine.

[notanlines]

I believe it was the late, great Jerry Reed who once sang "Oh Lord, what have you done, Mr. Ford?"
The song pertains to the entire industry and remains apropos to this day.

[JRTJH]

When you look at Ford's marketing vs Ford's vehicle engineering, it becomes very apparent that the "horsepower/torque race" is directed at the "home buyer not the commercial user"... All the "big numbers" are directed to appeal to the "private buyer who want's to spin tires and go faster"... The "fleet sales" and "commercial trucks" that are engineered for reliable commercial use for extended miles" all are "de-tuned for reliability with enough power to do the job"...

There's a significant difference in marketing to the masses and marketing to the professional.... One is intended to appeal to emotion and has a 36 month 60,000 mile warranty, usually traded while still in warranty, the other has a similar warranty, but is purchased with the expectation of getting at least 500 thousand miles to a million miles before trading the truck....

Just look at the engine specs for the F250/F350 compared to the same engine in the F550/F650 series trucks.

IMO, all this "latest and greatest engine performance" is simply for bragging rights (in a specific class vehicle) to impress the "low information buyer".....

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by notanlines

I believe it was the late, great Jerry Reed who once sang "Oh Lord, what have you done, Mr. Ford?"
The song pertains to the entire industry and remains apropos to this day.

And it was the late, great, Carroll Shelby who said who said, "There is no such thing as too much horsepower, just not enough traction."

[wiredgeorge]

I believe many non-commercial buyers are influenced by what they read. The auto/truck magazines and now blogs love to splash big numbers that turn the heads of these buyers. I can't recall ever reading that an engine was built for max durability.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I believe many non-commercial buyers are influenced by what they read. The auto/truck magazines and now blogs love to splash big numbers that turn the heads of these buyers. I can't recall ever reading that an engine was built for max durability.

It stands to reason that the lower power versions of the diesel engines would have a longer life with less parts breakage, just common sense. But judging from the number of hot shot trucks that I see towing on the interstates every day it doesn't appear that they have any concerns about using the 450, 350, and 250 diesel platforms with the high-performance version engines to get the job done.

I know that some of these guys have high miles on these trucks but I won't pretend to be so naive to think they never have any breakdowns or repairs, but I seldom see any on the side of the road. I don't know if GM and Dodge have the power separation on their commercial models, but diesels in general are just meant for longevity in my opinion. I just rolled over 200,000 miles on the one in my signature and have had minimum repairs needed over the years and I don't baby it. I've had several GM and Ford diesels over the years and I'm not sure why so many are afraid to own one. Even when you add in the upcharge for the engine, I see people driving loaded half tons that cost more than a truck like mine. I don't need the leather interior or power seats as much as I need that extra torque to pull my 18,000 lb. toy hauler. I'm pretty happy with just the basic air conditioning, automatic transmission, and AM/FM stereo. Performance is more important to me.

Obviously, there's a huge market for diesel trucks and the bragging rights certainly help drive that. Even though the manufacturers throw out a lot of useless numbers when vying for the prize of best in class whatever, that's what the public sees and believes. And I don't see this ever changing by reducing performance for the sake of longevity, but then again, I seldom keep a truck for less than 250,000 miles and have never had any catastrophic failures. Maybe I'm just lucky!