Ford Chief Engineer Chris Brewer Interview on the New 2011 Super Duty

[Comment From Guest Guest: ]
Hey chris,im the proud owner of a 11 F350 in white platinum and was wondering if there will be an updated flash that will be avalible to us job1 owners that will raise the hp and tq to match GM’s #’s?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:20 Guest

Chris Brewer:
The 6.7L diesel is the most extensively tested engine Ford has ever come out with–we have accumulated over 10 million miles of testing. Our test program started in the virtual world using CAD/CAE (computer aided design and engineering), migrated to component testing, then engine dyno testing and finally full vehicle testing. We are very confident the 6.7L will be the best Powerstroke we have ever done.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:23 Chris Brewer

Ford Motor Company:
FYI, there are lots of questions flowing in and we’ve got Chris hopped up on Diet Dr. Pepper so his fingers are moving as quickly as they can.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:25 Ford Motor Company

Chris Brewer:
Hey Rutcutter! We don’t comment on future product plans as a general rule but we are constantly looking at ways of improving the product. Thanks very much for your business.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:25 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Ronnie Ronnie: ]
where is the new Ford diesel made?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:27 Ronnie

Chris Brewer:
The new 6.7L engine is made in Chihuahua, Mexico; the new TorqShift Transmission is made in Sharonville, Ohio and the new 6.2L gas engine is made in Romeo, Michigan.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:28 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Cesar Cesar: ]
what have you guys done about making the new 6.7 more fuel efficient
Monday April 26, 2010 1:28 Cesar

[Comment From Rutcutter Rutcutter: ]
Im a proud owner of a white platinum F350 and have already put alittle over 1000 miles on it and love it,alot better than the 08 I had but I was wondering if there will be an updated flash to raise the hp and tq to match the new GM engine?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:28 Rutcutter

Chris Brewer:
The new 6.7L is 18% more efficient than the 2010 MY diesel it replaces and more efficient than our 2010 MY competitors as well. Much of the fuel efficiency gain is due to the new 6 speed transmission and optimizing the gear ratios between the axles, the transmission with the higher HP and torque from the new engine. Similarly we did a comparable exercise on the new 6.2L gas engine which again is 15% more fuel efficient than the 5.4L it replaces as well as its facing competition.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:30 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Kevin (CNU, VA) Kevin (CNU, VA): ]
My senior capstone team strategically analyzed Ford last semester, I just wanted to say you have come a long way in the last 9 months. Thank you, and Congrats to the Ford Family!
Monday April 26, 2010 1:31 Kevin (CNU, VA)

Chris Brewer:
Again, we have optimized gear ratios for fuel and performance for the axles and transmission with specific tire sizes–the 20" tire is larger than the 17 and 18" tires hence we offer it with the 3.55 FDR ilo the 3.31.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:34 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Teuvo Teuvo: ]
Can you give us some detail on the current production delays and, more importantly, how our current orders are being affected?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:34 Teuvo

[Comment From Steven Steven: ]
I was looking at the new SD website a while ago and noticed the new instrument panel with the LCD display. Other than viewing basic data and the wheel angle; what else can you do with it?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:37 Steven

Chris Brewer:
We have experienced production delays due to a couple of different parts shortages which we are working through right now. Stay in touch with your dealer; we recently sent out a communication advising the dealer body on where we are with orders and the most recent production schedule. We are making every effort to restore full production asap.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:37 Chris Brewer

Ford Motor Company:
Whoops – Steven’s question snuck in before Chris’s response to the above question. See? the Dr. Pepper isn’t quite working yet. ;-). He’ll get to that one now.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:38 Ford Motor Company

Chris Brewer:
The LCD screen provides a lot of useful information–trans temp, engine oil temp, fuel economy in several ways, off-road screen that provides vehicle attitude in terms of pitch and roll plus strg wheel angle, and finally trailering information on how to hook up your trailer, setting your trailer brake controller for a given trailer, etc. Plus as time goes on and we get feedback from you the customer we will add more truck specific info over time.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:40 Chris Brewer

[Comment From captan jack captan jack: ]
improvements? my 1983 1,100lb ranger etended cab has a 5.800lb box load capacity, does that make it a super duty?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:41 captan jack

Chris Brewer:
Captan Jack, if you can carry 5800 lbs in a 1983 Ranger, that is really a tribute to Built Ford Tough! Thanks for your business!
Monday April 26, 2010 1:42 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Rob Rob: ]
Just a random question, but how big is the 2011 diesel truck’s gas tank?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:42 Rob

Chris Brewer:
The diesel fuel tanks are 26 and 37 gallon tanks respectively in short and long box forms; the gas fuel tank is 35 gallons for both short and long box.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:43 Chris Brewer

[Comment From fordmantpw fordmantpw: ]
Just curious…why did Ford decline GM’s invitation to a tug-of-war? I know it wouldn’t prove anything any way, just curious. 🙂
Monday April 26, 2010 1:43 fordmantpw

Chris Brewer:
We test our trucks the way our customers use the truck to ensure the customer gets everything they expect. We offer best in class towing and best in class payload after extensive testing up grades in extremely hot temperatures as well as extensive rough road durability to ensure the customer can get their trailer to whatever their final destination.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:45 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Micah Micah: ]
Obviously there were some known issues with the prior version Powerstrokes. Me being an owner of the 6.0, we know all to well the issues. I’ve already been a victim of the dreaded EGR problems. Ever since the repairs I have suffered a severe drop on Fuel Mileage and the Service says nothings wrong. I guess my question is specific to Head Gasket, EGR and Turbo issues in the New 6.7. How well is the design? I’d hate to invest another 40-50K on a vehicle again that these problems haven’t confidently been resolved. Mahalo from Hawaii.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:45 Micah

Chris Brewer:
Mahalo, Micah! As I mentioned earlier, the 6.7L diesel is the most extensively tested engine Ford has ever come out with–we have accumulated over 10 million miles of testing. Our test program started in the virtual world using CAD/CAE (computer aided design and engineering), migrated to component testing, then engine dyno testing and finally full vehicle testing. We are very confident the 6.7L will be the best Powerstroke we have ever offered.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:47 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Nick Williams Nick Williams: ]
With this all new from the ground up powertrain why not offer a 5year 100k powertrain warranty for the piece of mind. considering the last 2 diesels?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:48 Nick Williams

[Comment From Jeff W. Jeff W.: ]
Will Ford be offering a higher mileage/year powertrain warranty as does GM with their 5yr 100,000 mile warranties?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:48 Jeff W.

Chris Brewer:
The diesel warranty is 5 years/100,000 miles. The gas warranty is 3 years/36,000 miles.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:48 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Viking Viking: ]
What different transmissions will it have ?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:48 Viking

[Comment From Cody Popke Cody Popke: ]
Is the new superduty the end of the manual transmission for Ford trucks?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:48 Cody Popke

[Comment From JOHN COX JOHN COX: ]
This new transmission does it have paddle shifting also?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:48 JOHN COX

Ford Motor Company:
As you can see, lots of questions are coming in – we’re trying to group them when we can, to save Chris time and to get to as many as we can. Thanks & keep ’em coming!
Monday April 26, 2010 1:49 Ford Motor Company

Chris Brewer:
Lots of transmission questions–we offer a 6 speed automatic with Select Shift capability behind the new 6.7L diesel and 6.2L gas engines. The 5 speed automatic continues on behind our 6.8L V10 in our F450/F550 chassis cabs. Given the gear selector being on the steering column, we elected to offer the +/- button for Select Shift capability ilo the paddle shifters. Last but not least, we dropped the manual transmission due to low take rates–around 1% in the 2010 MY. However, if market demands change, then we will change with it.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:52 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Brian Brian: ]
Mr. Brewer, I am sure this question has been asked but I just got on here. My question is how much hp and tq does the 6.7L put out?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:52 Brian

Chris Brewer:
The 6.7L is rated at 390 HP and 735 ft lbs of torque.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:53 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Bill Walsh Ford Bill Walsh Ford: ]
Chris…. no gear ratio options? why is that due to all the testing? customer is worried about that low ratio @ high loads.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:53 Bill Walsh Ford

Chris Brewer:
Again, in an effort to optimize performance and fuel economy, we matched the new engine, transmission, gear ratios, and tire size to give the customer the best of all worlds in terms of best in class towing capability and fuel economy.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:55 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Thomas Thomas: ]
Can the off-road screen be accessed during highway driving to see grade percentages on hills?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:56 Thomas

Chris Brewer:
The offroad screen can be used on road to see what type of grades you may be climbing in the mountains in addition to a more traditional off road situation.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:56 Chris Brewer

[Comment From josh josh: ]
just to end rumors will the cummins be an option in the f250 – f450 in the future?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:57 josh

Chris Brewer:
Absolutely not! We have just introduced the new PowerStroke 6.7L engine for our F250, F350, F450, and F550 lineup. That is our diesel engine plan for the foreseeable future.
Monday April 26, 2010 1:58 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Ken Ken: ]
I saw a short bed chassis at a show in Houston, and having installed an aftermarket fifth-wheel hitch on an 04 and 08 F250’s, it looked like the urea tank and plumbing was sitting in the place where we put the hitch frame. I have heard that we will need to order a fifth-wheel prep kit. What does that consist of and can it be added after delivery?
Monday April 26, 2010 1:59 Ken

Chris Brewer:
Right now our factory installed 5th wheel/gooseneck prep kit is only available on the long box offerings. As we get more feedback from customers like yourself, we will go back and look seriously at offering the same feature on the short bed pickups–both for after-market service as well as factory installed option. The urea tank is not in the way of our prep kit.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:02 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Teuvo Teuvo: ]
Great job by the way on the chats with Mike Rowe. For an engineer, you did great. I especially liked the 5th wheel hitch episode where you said in response to Mike’s bragging comment, "which is exactly what we’re doing." Awesome.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:02 Teuvo

[Comment From vloney vloney: ]
I’m a dealer tech, and I’ve finished my 6.7 training. It looks like a reliable engine, and all of the previous issues have been addressed. My question, It looked to me like there was a lot more computer power there (our demo didn’t have all of the pids turned on yet), so roughly how much more is there?
Monday April 26, 2010 2:02 vloney

Chris Brewer:
No idea! We definitely added a lot of computer capability for the new powertrains, new LCD screen, and all of the other new electronics.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:04 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Rutcutter Rutcutter: ]
Ever considered adding a E Locker to the Front Diff. ?
Monday April 26, 2010 2:04 Rutcutter

Chris Brewer:
Rutcutter, we have kicked it around–again as we get more interest through forums like this, we factor that into potential new product ideas and offerings.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:05 Chris Brewer

[Comment From Guest Guest: ]
ford trucks rock !!
Monday April 26, 2010 2:07 Guest

[Comment From Nick Williams Nick Williams: ]
Do we not have any plants/employees in America capable of building the 6.7L?
Monday April 26, 2010 2:07 Nick Williams

Chris Brewer:
In taking a One Ford approach to the new Super Duty, we elected to build the new diesel engine in Mexico while consolidating all Super Duty vehicle assembly in Louisville, Kentucky. We continue to build the new transmission in Sharonville, OH and the new 6.2L engine in Romeo, Michigan.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:11 Chris Brewer

[Comment From kris kris: ]
How easy is the new powerstroke engine going to be to work on if/when something does go wrong ? Is i going to be something that the average DIY’er can handle or is it going to have to go back to the dealer when something goes wrong.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:11 kris

Chris Brewer:
That’s a loaded question! We have spent a lot of time making sure our dealer technicians can reduce their service times with the new diesel engine–we have reduced those service times by 20% on average. Between the extensive testing program for the new powertrain and the reduced service times (on the rare occasion when required), cost of ownership will be much better than prior years. Of course, much better fuel economy helps with cost of ownership as well.
Monday April 26, 2010 2:15 Chris Brewer

Ford Motor Company:
We need to wrap up, folks. Still tons of questions in the queue. We’ll see if we can’t get Chris to answer a few and then we’ll post the Q&A on http://facebook.com/FordTrucks and http://thefordstory.com. Make sure you’re a fan or a subscriber
Until then, check out Chris in some webisodes with none other than Mike "Dirty Jobs" Rowe, as well as the popular Denis Leary-narrated Super Duty TV commercials over at http://www.youtube.com/fordtrucks
Thank you for being a Ford fan and for believing in Built Ford Tough!
Monday April 26, 2010 2:15 Ford Motor Company

Chris Brewer:
Thanks very much for all of your questions. I apologize for being such a hunt and peck typer and not getting to all of your questions. Thanks again for your interest in the new 2011 Super Duty!