Ford Motor Co. will spotlight an improved 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbodiesel as it introduces its 2015 F-series Super Duty lineup today at the Texas State Fair in Dallas.

Among the vehicles Ford will show:

• An updated version of the Super Duty King Ranch edition with a Texas theme.

• A freshened version of the F-450 Super Duty with a beefed up frame, suspension and commercial-grade 19.5-inch wheels and tires.

When it debuts next spring, the upgraded 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 will improve on the 400 hp and 800 pounds-feet of torque in the current version. Performance figures for the 2015 engine were not released.

The engine gets a new GT37 turbocharger with a larger 88-millimeter compressor wheel that will replace the previous GT32. The compressor will force more air into the cylinders to improve performance, particularly at high altitudes, Ford said in a statement.

With the new turbo, new high-pressure fuel pump and fuel injectors, the Super Duty's fuel delivery system has been improved, Ford says. The new injectors, for example, will burn cleaner and result in quieter performance.

Roughly two-thirds of Ford's Super Duty customers buy their trucks with the Power Stroke diesel.

Ford will offer the improved diesel only in Super Duty pickups. Chassis cab models will continue with the current Power Stroke.

Ford said Tuesday that it installed its 500,000th 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel in a truck at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. The engine was introduced in 2010 for the 2011 model year.

Improvements to the F-450 include: upgraded rear driveline U-joints, upgraded suspension including new rear leaf springs, front and rear stabilizer bars and shocks, stronger steering gears and linkages and increased fifth-wheel and gooseneck trailer capacity, Ford said.

In working on the new King Ranch Super Duty, Ford engineers traveled to the King Ranch for inspiration. The 825,000-acre working ranch in south Texas, founded in 1853, is larger than Rhode Island. It is home to 600,000 head of cattle and 300 quarter horses.

The design freshening incorporates the Running W brand, used on the cattle raised on the ranch, which is stitched into the seat backs and imprinted on the center console.

The current F-series Super Duty King Ranch starts at $50,555, including shipping. High-end models including the King Ranch, Platinum and Lariat account for about half of Super Duty sales to individual buyers.

The Ford F-250 and F-350 will go on sale next spring and the F-450 next summer. Ford has not announced prices.

You can reach Bradford Wernle at bwernle@crain.com.



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It all sounds good. It would be fun to be there and check out the new stuff.

 

Interesting that they bulked up the material in the motor and gaskets. Looks like they're truly shooting for longer term durability. However, I'm not aware of any gasket issues at the 400/800 power level, at least none here that I've read. Seems like a preventive measure and good to see it being taken .

Good to see Ford get rid of the dual sided compressor turbo. I'm betting the inertia of the compressor wheel wasn't doing it any favors and probably a partial reason why they couldn't do engine braking. Now that they have stronger engine braking with this new turbo, a new rumble in the rockies will be interesting to watch. I know my motor produces 230 HP of braking. I wonder what Ford's unit will be rated at?

Other than the new Turbo, it looks like they're going to a new Injector and Pump after reading the press release. I wonder if it's just a stroked CP4 from Bosch or an all new supplier? I know the issue with the CP4 is how it fails versus the CP3, so given the few occurences of CP4 failure I wonder if they changed that as well. It looks like the engineers are doing lots of tweaking. This is always fun to watch.

Also noted that the F-450 is getting its own calibration. Does this mean Ford will continue to run a different turbo for the Chassis cabs and lower power/torque configurations on them as well? I know they do that for durability, RAM does the same thing as well. I'm not quite sure if GM does that though.

 

Thanks for posting. Should this be read as: there are no major chassis or body modifications for the F-250/350 for 2015? I ask because I don't know how Ford typically handles their announcements.

As well, I was just contemplating delaying the purchase of a new truck, if a major update would be undertaken on the Super Duty line within the next year.

 

Really sounds like they listened to everyone just buying the F350 dually vs the F450 since they were the same.

A lot of folks were holding onto their 08-10 F450's because of the same reasons.

 

Waiting!!!

 

So I would imagine the new 15's might show up as a mid year introduction, so say February like a job 2 2014. I would be surprised if they don't also do something with the frame. With going to the larger commercial size wheels again for the f-450 I wonder if they will set the speed limiter back to 80 mph as previous (one of the main reasons they changed it in the first place!). Prob will not get the power ratings almost until they hit the showroom - hope they don't let Chevy or dodge sandbag them again.

 

After reading the full press release my enthusiasm for the new f-450 is tempered somewhat (I have the current f450). It appears that the new model will receive "an f450 specific engine calibration" which can probably be interpreted as "the new f450 will not likely have any more power than the old model and will most likely be detuned to a level like the cab and chassis model"

Envy over!

 

It does sound like ford is listen and watching.
New HPFS ohhohh.
New Injectors Runs cleaner. Maybe less regens.
New Turbo. Look forward to seeing that.
MORE HP and TORQUE.

I look forward to seeing the new 6.7

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/news/1...troke_upgrade/

 

Oh my, I hope the ol lady takes it well when I tell her we need a new superduty next year!

 

The OE speed limiter on my 450 is 94-96 mph.
It doesn't matter to me if the frame is changed at all...I just hope it gets the larger brakes to match the chassis cabs, with 19.5 wheels there will be plenty of room now.

So, it looks like I can finally start planning for my next truck.
Late 2015 possibly. I am waiting for the all new generation Super Duty to come out. I remember when this platform first came out in mid '98 but sold as a 1999 model....I waited until the mid year changes and got a 99.5 with all the engine upgrades. I'll probably do the same thing again this next time around. From the press release, it sounds like Ford has identified the areas that could use improvements with the engine so the next gen truck with the 6.7 liter diesel might be quite the truck.

Here is to hoping my current trucks hold up for a few more years...

 

I would be glad to go by there for youse guys,
but that part of town has a nightly "Do Not Enter or hope you can run like hell" sign

 

The reason for the 80mph speed limiter was because of the speed rating of the commercial grade 19.5" tires. The speed rating on the 17" is the reason the top speed of the newer trucks is higher.

Dodge increased the power on the trucks rated at 37,000# GCWR. I feel that Ford will increase the power of the F-450 pickup to match or exceed the Dodge rating. Can't hardly see them reducing it to chassis-cab ratings since the F-450 Pickup is used for towing travel trailers, horse trailers and for others, like me, that use it for towing heavy loads non-commercially.

 

I hear what you are saying because it makes total sense. The commercial tires aren't rated for speeds over 75 mph or so...

However, my model year 2000 F450 was not speed limited by the factory. More specifically, the programming does not have a specific maximum MPH number. The PCM calibration has a 'makeshift' load limiter formula built in that effectively limits the speed to mid 90-ish. The same is true for all the 7.3 models actually. During those vintage years, most of the SRW diesel pickups came with 3.73 gears, the 350 duallies came with 4.10 gears and my F450 was optioned with the 4.30 gear...so those trucks would run into the max engine load limit in the calibration before the engine would hit the rev limiter.

If my 450 would have had the 4.88 gear set (like most of the F-450/550 trucks) then the speed limit would be around 80 mph because the RPMs would hit the rev limiter before the PCM load limit was reached.

It's logical to think the 80 mph limit was due to commercial tires but I doubt the engineers actually gave that any consideration. I think the speed of trucks with a 4.88 gear is limited mainly by engine RPM. I am not sure if that carried through to the newer models but I am pretty sure about the 7.3 liter trucks.

 

From the 6.0 forward, the computer does control actual mph. Pickups are limited to 95 mph which can be changed with a tuner. It doesn't matter if the truck has 3.55, 3.73 or 4.10 gears, the speed limit is 95 mph.