Im a new member to the forum and i joined because other then the dodge i just bought i have nothing but fords. The reason for this post is i was wondering if anybody has a powerstroke that runs this hard with only a few mods. Its a 1997 with 143,000 miles, 410's, a five speed with a banks stinger plus kit and the fuel plate completely forward. During the test drive on the loop back the guy told me to take a right that led to a 11% and get into her. Well before we hit the top of the hill i was in fifth gear at 75 mph and boosting at 38 psi. Can u say pucker factor. I was impressed considering the truck can only hit 78-80 mph. This is my first diesel and to say the least i am impressed.

 

I have a buddy whith a 01(i think) PSD and we had a suburban on a trailer, easy 10,000lbs and it pulled a 6% on our rout like it wasnt even there. I dont know what he has done to it but i know that the PSDs have ALOT of go.

 

Ya i have a budy whos a psd nut. Between him, his dad, and his mom they have a 94, 01, 04, and an 05 plus 2 6.9's. And iv driven all of them and the 03 and 05 both have a 6 gun bundles and the 01 has a 120 hp box and the 94 has a 60 hp banks chip and even he grinned when he got behind the wheel of this truck. And i know they can match the horsepower and torque but the boost this this dodge puts out blows my mind.

 

i only realy have experience whith that one PSD. Most of my buddies run older gas stuff. I realy like the Cummins, im just not too keen on the rest of the truck

 

yah any deisel truck will run that hard with a tuner. my friend has a 7.3 powerstroke with an 80 hp chip and it will run, it won't keep up with the dmax with a 70hp tune. the days of dogs and diesels being put together are over. deisels will lay a whooping on any gas motor $ for $ investment wise.

 

Good choice. I recently traded my F250 for an 05 3500 dually with the Cummins

 

I won't start a war, but I garentee your $ for $ quote is a little off. Consider I pay 4-5k less for my gasser and put on a supercharger, exhaust and a tune for that 4-5k difference. I'm next to postive your stock diesel isn't even on the same page as the big gasser all moded up, Now from this point forward your statement will be a bit closer but again it'll take some tuning and a chip to still equal where the SC big block or V10 will already be, So again don't forget about that initial 4-5K you guys paid. to have an extra 100ftlbs and 30hp less. the new Dmax has a little bigger spread on the nubers but you get the Idea.

As far as these moded diesels go, to say there impressive is an understatement!!! Why have a mustang or vett when you can have a 7000lb truck that'll run cirlces around them, well maybe not circles but in a drag race anyway.

 

Like DOHC Marauder always says--Aside from forced induction there is no magic in a diesel. (Sorry Marauder-you know you were thinking it! ) I say that if the big 2 1/2 started putting 8-10 lbs of boost through every gasoline powered intake they made.........peoples views on diesels would change. Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

If the big 2 1/2 started adding boost to their offerings, their cheesy cast pistons would melt. Well, a bit overstated but the engines simply couldn't handle it in their current forms and would need to be beefed up substantially eliminating any cost advantage. Diesels have caught up to gassers as far as HP per liter and will soon surpass them. They're already making double the torque per liter, and gassers will never catch up to that.

Those that think they can just "bolt on a supercharger"...you're dreaming. With stock internals, you can't run more than 8-10 lbs of boost which might get you 100 HP. You'll still be about 150 lb/ft of torque shy of a modern stock diesel and you're engine will be toast after 50k miles. Sure, you can beef up the internals, but there goes your 4-5k you saved buying a gasser.

The "magic" in a diesel is in the cumbustion precess itself. You simply can't boost a gasser and keep the EGT's as low as a diesel....if you do, keep a fire extinguisher handy.

 

I see what you are saying, but your post is kinda eggagerated. Take a stock 5.4 mod. 300hp@5k--365tq@3750 Ford 6.0 psd is 325hp and 560tq. That's already heavily boosted. Now, run 8-10 lbs of boost in the 5.4(it can be done, think Lightning) and your numbers come out a lot closer to the PSD. Higher horsepower than the diesel but not quite as much torque. Still, when you have nearly 500 lb/ft of torque it's a moot point. The diesels are not even close to doubling torque per liter. They will last just as long as a N/A engine as well. Look at the GM 3800 S/C.It's an everyday reliable supercharged engine. Beefing up the internals of the 5.4 to compensate for mild boost would not cost 5k dollars per engine. The supercharger itself may be different story though.......

 

Oops, I mispoke...I was referring to lb/ft per HP. Even so......I can easily achieve 1000 lb/ft of torque from my Cummins without getting overly aggressive (that's fairly close to double Tq per liter). There are many other factors though. The biggest being that we're talking about trucks here. Inherently heavy, non-aerodynamic bricks used for hauling and towing. Add a supercharger to a 5.4, strap on a 10,000 lb trailer, then race a similarly loaded modern diesel up a nice mountain. There'd be no contest. The fuel savings alone pays for the engine premium over the life of the truck and I won't even go into the sheer lack of maintenance required on a modern diesel. When I had my F250, I put 173k miles on it in 13 years...It NEVER had a tune-up, just change the oil and go. My point being that dollar for dollar, a diesel is wayyyyyyyyyy better than a gasser for hauling stuff around. Sure, you could modify the crap out of a gasser, but you end up with a powerful motor, that eats gas and doesn't have the drive train to handle it. That said, I'll gladly pay the extra money for a diesel and it will be cheaper to own over it's life, than any gasser, stock or modified.

 

I guess it boils down to the age-old question of exactly how you are going to use your truck. The person who just has a boat and a pop-up camper and occasionally hauls loads in the bed will need a different beast than the guy who pulls 5th wheels up mountains.

 

That's very true. That said, I think diesels have the potential to be the "next big thing". Provided of course that Americans can be pursuaded to make the switch. Fuel prices just may be the trigger to make it happen.

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts! Please read the Guidelines, and all Read First: at the top of each forum... it will help you to navigate through and understand this site.
See you on the boards. ….

BTW
All PSD do.....

 

Guys/Girls...
Remember this isn't a gas vs. diesel thread...