I have a 99 F250 Superduty supercab with 5.4 triton. I have been looking at buying a 2006 f350 srw crew cab PSD loaded with options including sunroof. The dealer had sold the truck I wanted to test drive so they let me take out a Harley Davidson model with long bed (I want a short bed) and all options. I have to say I was a little dissappointed in the truck. The noise in the cab seemed excessive for a 54k truck even considering it is a diesel. The ride was rougher than I expected and the acceleration was not as good as I had hoped for. I told the dealer I was going to at least try a Dodge with cummins. I was told it was a really load motor. WRONG ANSWER. The cummins is quiet. I asked to try a 3500 but realized after the fact that it was a 2500. The truck was quieter and seemed a LOT faster. The ride was good but the roads near the Dodge dealer are in good shape. The roads around the Ford dealership are much worse. Even though the Ford is MUCH better looking inside and out, I am seriously considering a Dodge. Somebody please help me get a hold of my senses. ( I am going to test drive a different truck - I seriously believe that one has issues)

 

Wait a bit longer and check out the new Superduty diesels-I guess it's supposed to out for the 2007 model year. Probably beat GM and Dodge's diesel in HP/Torque.

Of course my obvious opinion is to get a 3 valve V10 F250/350 if a quiet ride is important to you. My V10 is waaaay quieter than any diesel-plus you'll save a ton of $$ off the sticker. Give it some thought!

 

I don't think the Dodge is quieter. There were some articles on the noise level of the superduty being the quietest, unless dodge changed something since 05 model.

As for seeming faster, well of course the dodge would feel a bit quicker, it is a short bed, with a smaller cab less weight. Drive the mega cab and tell me which truck felt stronger.

As for the ride, the superduty trucks need about 10k miles to break in the suspension.

 

Need to drive them both on the same roads- the ride on the Ford is dramatically smoother than the Dodges. Yes the Dodge is quieter, but not by much. The Ford will outrun one though, and Dodge has yet to prove they can make an Automatic that can hold together.

 

I beg to differ on the autos polarbear. The latest incarnation has been doing quite well along with cummins torque managment.

The dodge has more low end grunt and should launch a little better.

I wouldnt touch an 07 if I was given one. Of any make. We have entered the dark ages of diesels. In 3 years they should be back to normal.

The Ford is smoother and has higher ratings. It always comes down to personal taste. The 5 speed auto is also awesome.

 

'07's fine- it's the '08's we can be concerned about. I know the new Dodge tranny is supposed to be greatly improved- I'd just like to see a few miles behind it before we can safely say it's a done deal.

 

Its been out as long as the torqueshift. If we can make a judgement call on the TS then I think its safe to say the 48re is doin much better.
Jan of 07 MY gets the funky stuff I thought.

 

I have to weigh in here too. I just completed a run from Dallas to Columbus, Ohio and back in my 2005 Ram 2500 Cummins. 35 hours of driving in 4 days. Serious seat time.

My report? Should have gotten the deluxe model because the seats in my stripper ST model started getting a little thin. (I could also just eat more and create my own padding).

Sound? The truck is an quiet as my '03 7.3L X and waaaaaaaaaaaaaay quieter than my old '99 SD PSD.. Wifey was in the back seat and she had no trouble hearing what my buddy (riding shotgun) and me were talking about. No shouting. We could talk in a normal voice. Amazing what she heard considering that she was not paying any attention to the conversation (she was knitting and grading papers the whole time). Boring (to her) stuff too. Like NASCAR rules and Ford small block repair.

Ride? A little firmer than my X but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than my old '99 SD PSD. Think Fred Flintstone footmobile versus Lexus and you will have a good picture.

Towing? Pulled a 6x12 U-Haul up to OH. U-Haul weighed about 3000 lbs. Also had 8 car doors and a tailgate in the bed. Maybe another 400 lbs. Cab had 3 people. Not a heavy load, but far from empty. Didn't even have to use tow/haul. Went all the way to OH and back without ever once down-shifting out of O/D.

MPG? About 14-15 (engine now has 3700 miles on it) running 65-70 mph.

Running/starting? Sat out for 4 nights. Down around freezing two of those nights. Turned the key, let the "squiggle" light go out and she popped right off.

Conclusion? Maybe the replacement for the X is back to a pickup (this is coming from wifey).

 

This is the single biggest advantage I think Dodge / Cummins has over the 6.0 PSD. I would guess that your unloaded / non-towing MPG is really good.

 

Probably will never know. I bought this to tow. If it is out of the barn, it has a trailer hooked to it.

Actually, I think that Dodge's advantage is what it doesn't have (at least, not now). No EGR. No glow plugs. No piezoelectric injectors. No variable vane turbo.

 

i am not and will not be scared of the duramax, but I do fear the new PSD and the new dodge only because dodge didn't have EGR before.

the 48re is still not a good tranny. better, i am sure. but still not up to par.


mountainhound. the 07 PSD may be better, but can you trust it after reading about the 6.0 . if you can, i guess go for it. but i am not a fan of 1st year vehicles at all. esp after ford's previous record.

that is just my .02 on a $40k decision.

 

This is what people say but I have yet to hear of reports of 48re going bad wholesale. Everyone "thinks" its a weak tranny, but why? Because it is based on the 47re?

My '03 X has a 4R100 and I don't worry about it.

 

The thing I didn't like about Duramax was the aluminum heads. We machine a fair amount of aluminum at my business. Even the premium grades are very unstable and soft. We machine out pockets and then have to go back and reflatten it. It is also very temperature sensative and grows and shrinks a lot with temperature variations - at a very different rate than steel or cast iron. I don't feel it is a good material for main engine components, especially the high pressure environment of a diesel. Talk on the GM forums seem to back that up. I also thought the turbo lag on the Duramax was extreme. I tried one last fall and didn't have a warm fuzzy feeling pulling out into heavy traffic from a side road. Not trying to **** anybody off, its just the impression I got. If you like your truck and it performs for you that's all that counts. Right now I have decided to either buy Cummins or wait for the 6.4 to be out a year or two then maybe buy one. My 5.4 f250 looks and runs fine for now - no rush.

 

EGR's are nothing new to Cummins. They have been using them for years and have logged millions of hours , just not in the pickups. I wouldn't fear anything Cummins/Chrysler does just because IH/Ford couldn't get it right the first time. Do a search on google for cummins egr and see what you get.

 

Yep the TM is what is keeping the tranny in one piece. What happens though when people tuen that feature out? That will be the real test.