Ford Trucks users interview the chief engineer for the Ford Super Duty, Chris Brewer, about the forthcoming 2011 Super Duty!

 

[Comment From GrayGray: ]

How long is this engine supposed to last without the need of any major repair?

Chris Brewer:

We test our diesel engine to 250,000 miles for durability to ensure the major engine components will meet our most severe customers' expectations; in addition, we are providing 6 early manufacturing build units to 4 severe use lead customers which we chronicle in webisodes over the next several months.

 

[Comment From Mike LevineMike Levine: ]

Hello Chris. Thanks for participating in this chat! Any word on official horsepower and torque figures for both the 6.2-liter V-8 gas and 6.7-liter V-8 diesel engines? :-)

Chris Brewer:

Hi, Mike, as you know we will be annoucing HP, torque and fuel economy closer to when vehicle goes on sale next spring--however, the numbers are all better vs. the 2010 MY Super Duty.

 

[Comment From DonDon: ]

When will this truck go on sale?

Chris Brewer:

Spring 2010. 

 

[Comment From kevinkevin: ]

what do you think this truck will cost

Chris Brewer:

Pricing will be competitive with Dodge and GM; however, pricing won't be finalized until early next year.

 

[Comment From Neil CostelloNeil Costello: ]

What is the future of the Triton V10 with the upcoming 6.2L V8 gas engine, as well as the new 6.7L Powerstroke? This is considering the Ambulance Packages will now offer the V10 for 2010. Will the V10 be ended once the new 6.7L diesel is offered in E-Series?

Chris Brewer:

The Triton V10 lives on in Super Duty for our F450 and F550 chassis cab customers. The 6.2L gas engine will be available on all pickups and F350 chassis cab configurations.

 

[Comment From joejoe: ]

i sell fords is ford going to make a big push for this release like they did for the 2010 taurus

Chris Brewer:

Absolutely! This is a very important vehicle launch for us because our customers count on our product to get their job done every day.

 

[Comment From Adrian Harris Adrian Harris: ]

Given the issues with earlier PSD designs (particularly the 6.0l) that caused buyers to move to competitive brands, what additional testing/design work has been put in place for the 6.7 engine that was not done previously?

Chris Brewer:

We have tested the new engine extensively in a variety of ways--analytically in computer aided design and engineering, in component lab testing, as full engine system testing and finally in full vehicle testing--including temperature extremes and very high duty load requirements--using all the lessons learned from our prior diesel experience on Super Duty as well from Ford of Europe. We are extremely confident in how the product will perform in the real world.

 

[Comment From John Brown John Brown: ]

Will we ever see a manual transmission in a Super Duty again?

[Comment From Jwf Jwf: ]

I'm not as worried about the new engines as much as I am the new automatic. If Ford can't design and warantee it to last 200,000 mi without major overhauls I would prefer a manual trans option. Why eliminate the choice of options for 2011?

Chris Brewer:

Never say never, John--however, only 1 to 2 % of our customers buy manuals today. We are offering a new 6 speed auto trans that will offer substantially better fuel economy than the 5 speed auto it replaces as well the manual 6 speed. The new 6 speed also offers Select Shift capability to allow you to hold a given gear similar conceptually to a manual trans.

 

[Comment From Derrek Derrek: ]

I would consider myself as a loyal ford owner. Owning a business that buys 5-10 diesel super dutys per year I am really interested in the new 6.7, however with the cost of fuel getting higher and higher and the fuel economy on the 6.4s dismal, I am considering the switching to gas V-8s. So a couple of questions. What should a guy expected for fuel economy out of this new diesel? What are you guys offering for a gas engine that can tow effectively?

Chris Brewer:

Thanks for your business, Derrek! The new diesel engine will offer substantially better fuel economy than the prior 6.4L--we will announce the fuel economy closer to when the truck goes on sale. The new 6.2L is also more fuel efficient than the 5.4L it replaces while offering greater towing capability. We think we will be able to offer you a couple of great solutions for your business needs with the two new engines.

 

[Comment From Steve Price Steve Price: ]

About how often will the DEF need to be refilled, and will the motor be disabled when the fluid runs out?

Chris Brewer:

The DEF will need to be replenished at same interval as an oil change--somewhere between 7500 and 10000 miles depending on your driving pattern. There are a series of warning messages that the vehicle will provide as you get closer to empty in the DEF tank over the last 1000 miles. 

 

[Comment From bob bob: ]

I think I saw somewhere that the new engine will have an exhaust brake. What type of brake will that be?

Chris Brewer:

Great question, Bob! We will offer an integrated exhaust brake with our tow-haul feature, providing a seamless trailer towing experience when you need it!

 

[Comment From Dutch Dutch: ]

Hello; How confident are you regarding the 6R140 heavy-duty TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission? What were the testing protocols? Was this rushed due to the economic depression?

Chris Brewer:

Extremely confident, Dutch! The 6R140 TorqShift was purposefully designed for the new diesel engine, including significant upgrades for the increased torque and horsepower out of the new diesel--in fact, we also test the new transmission to 250,000 mile durability to ensure we have a very durable solution for our diesel customer. We are going to deep dive this topic in December at a media forum at our trans engineering center.

 

[Comment From joe joe: ]

why doesn't ford just re release the 7.3liter

[Comment From Brian Sanders Brian Sanders: ]

is there a possiblity in future that the industructable 7.3 liter will be brought back but with safe emissions same concept and design but different industry building it FORD insted of INTERNATIONAL.

Chris Brewer:

With the 6.7L, Ford is designing, developing and manufacturing the Power Stroke engine for the first time. The engine has been specifically targetted to meet the 2010 emissions standards plus of course deliver outstanding HP, torque, fuel economy and most importantly reliability. The 7.3 was an outstanding motor but no longer appropriate for the regulatory environment we all need to live in couple with our customers' requests for more power and better fuel economy.

 

[Comment From Adrian Harris Adrian Harris: ]

Chris, what do you think the future of the full size truck market holds? With ever pressing environmental concerns (I think its a small feat of genius you have a diesel engine that passes emissions) coupled with a reduced level of income amongst blue collar workers and small business owners - do you foresee that the Superduty is still going to maintain the sales numbers it has had in the past?

Chris Brewer:

Our truck is first and foremost a tool for our customers--our truck is used to help build the infrastructure of our country as well as customers in Mexico, Canada, South America, and rest of the world. We have a 60% share of the commercial truck business in the US and expect as the economy recovers our business will improve along with the full size truck market as a whole. 

 

[Comment From Kris N Kris N: ]

I noticed the new Super Duty has quite a large and low hanging air dam for increasing fuel mileage. Does this compromise approach angles and off-road capability?

Chris Brewer:

Kris, you sound like an engineer! The air dam has been lengthened for improved highway fuel economy but still meets our standards for approach angles; however, it is removable for severe offroad use should the customer need to do so.

 

[Comment From Scott in MD Scott in MD: ]

I submitted a idea to ford about the regen issues with the current 6.4 that I have. There is no driver option to control the regen process. Why not include a button to self clean? Or a warning that you need to clean in XX miles. Current system may want you to clean when you just stop at home.

Chris Brewer:

Thanks for the suggestion, Scott. We will take a look at offering a driver option for regen so long as it still meets the appropriate emissions requirements.

 

[Comment From Tojoski Tojoski: ]

Will the 6.7L Be built in the USA?

Chris Brewer:

The vehicle is being built in Louisville, KY which is my home away from home right now. The 6.7L will come from Mexico. The transmission will be built in Sharonville, OH.

 

[Comment From CK CK: ]

Will the 6.7L do away with the "in-cylinder dosing" method of fuel delivery for the DPF regeneration cycle?

Chris Brewer:

No--we still need to burn "rich" fuel during a regen cycle for the cleaning of the DPF.

 

[Comment From kevin kevin: ]

How many engines did you melt down, blow up or otherwise destroy while you were testing and tweeking the 6.7?

Chris Brewer:

A lot! We have been working on the new engine for several years now and torture testing it until we are absolutely convinced it meets our 250,000 mile durability requirement.

 

[Comment From Mitch Malecha Mitch Malecha: ]

I have been encouraging Ford to offer a real center console shifter on the SD for years on blueovalnews.com forums. Why is this not included in the 2011 version?

Chris Brewer:

Good question, Mitch--our customers really want maximum function--the new console really serves as an office on wheels with 42 liters of storage, 6 cupholders, and standard 150W inverter for your laptop or other plugin devices. The floor mounted shifter would really take away from all of that.

 

[Comment From Kris N Kris N: ]

Yep, I recently finished up my engineering degree at Georgia Tech, have any openings for die-hard Ford truck guys? As a longtime Ford PowerStroke owner, I've always taken pride in the fact that our engines were originally designed for medium duty commercial trucks. Is the new 6.7L going to be an option in the medium duty F-650 etc.. ?

Chris Brewer:

Kris, thanks for being a die-hard Ford trucker! The new engine has been tested as a dyno engine for our 350/450/550 chassis cabs--rest assured, we are eager to use the new engine in as many places as possible.

 

[Comment From Scott Enix Scott Enix: ]

The youtube vid showing the full pull the other week. We saw some breif smoke or water out the tail pipe. Was this truck equiped with the DPF and DEF?

Chris Brewer:

Equipped with both DPF and DEF. Not sure where the water/smoke came from--from what I could see, it wasn't us.

 

[Comment From Brian Sanders Brian Sanders: ]

with the new injection system which everyone knows is supposed to be great, will it be able to provide enough fuel for say a compound turbo or even a bigger single without increasing the fuel pump

Chris Brewer:

Hard to say, Brian; the new fuel system has been targetted specifically for our 6.7L engine and the new single sequential turbo--which gives us the best of both worlds in terms of minimal turbo lag with the initial spoolup and then maximum power as you step into the accelerator.

 

[Comment From Steve Price Steve Price: ]

Since the 6.7 is approved for the use of B20 as opposed to B5 with the 6.0 and 6.4, are the service intervals for fuel system components the same?

Chris Brewer:

Yes and no; if you run B20 exclusively we recommend 5000 mile oil change intervals. We do have an oil quality algorithm that monitors the oil quality and helps guide the customer on the appropriate oil change interval--which with normal diesel can range between 7500 and 10,000 miles.

 

[Comment From Lee Richard Lee Richard: ]

will the front end be lower than back like all superduty and why?

Chris Brewer:

Yes--the rear end unloaded always rides higher than the front as you might expect. As the rear end is loaded up with payload or trailer tongue weight, the rear end will come down to the front end ride height.

 

[Comment From kevin kevin: ]

what have you been getting for fuel mpg

[Comment From Daniel Plain Daniel Plain: ]

With the introduction of the new Power stroke diesel motor what kind of fuel economy could we expect.

[Comment From Gray Gray: ]

If that MPG question cannot be answered, then is there a percentage number that can be released? Although I assume the new 6 speed will help significantly with better MPG.

Chris Brewer:

No question, that fuel economy has been top of mind for our customers and here inside Ford Motor Company. We are still testing to finalize where our numbers are going to come out but the data so far suggests this will be the most fuel efficient heavy duty diesel on the market today and better than what we expect to see from our competitors next year. Stay tuned!

 

[Comment From Scott Enix Scott Enix: ]

All I can say is I am ready to trade up from my 6.4!

Chris Brewer:

Thanks for your business, Scott! We will be happy to sell you a new 6.7L next spring and beyond!

 

[Comment From Nolan S. Nolan S.: ]

Kinda Off topic but maybe some insight to how you think... What is your favorite year of the Superduty?

Chris Brewer:

Tough question, Nolan! It is hard to pick which child is your favorite--we have been the market leader as long as the Super Duty has been in existence and of course overall full size pickup leader for the last 32 years. The new 2011 MY builds on our great heritage and continues the Built Ford Tough tradition!

 

[Comment From Kris N Kris N: ]

Thank you for your time in answering our questions, and listening to what we have to say.

Chris Brewer:

It's a pleasure to be able to converse directly with so many interested Super Duty customers--thanks so much for your inquiries into what's coming out next year and how we can continue to improve the product to meet your needs!