So I guess my questions for the engine experts out there:

1) Does summer fuel or the summer environment cause more soot to be developed by the engine and thus plug the DPF faster resulting in the perception of more frequent regenerations?

2) Beyond raising EGT via higher duty cycles (towing for example) is there a driving strategy that will reduce soot and thus prolong the periods between forced regens?

3) I understand that bio-diesel tends to produce less ash and soot, is anyone running B20 and found less regens?

These are all just questions because I am curious since I bet there is little we can do to change the programming on these complicated trucks. I would love to see a regen warning and manual start/delay option that would allow us to maximize the number of complete regens based on driving plan rather than have a bunch of partial regens that then require a second regen to complete the process. The programming would be simple and the computer could override any manual input if it sensed too much backpressure, but maybe this will be a future product enhancement (hint, hint FMC)

 

I am trying to grasp the issue being discussed here. I have 29000 miles on my truck now. I have surely missed many more regen messages than I have seen. I average 17mpg or so city driving and often see 20mpg on the highway. This is less mpg's than when I first bought the truck but I know why. When I first got the truck, I drove it with the Instant Mileage Calculator displayed. I drove to see how good the mileage could be. I now just drive the truck according to conditions and my mindset. My mindset is usually something like "I sure do like the power this truck has"...not real conducive to creating high mpg readings.

I likely miss so many regen messages because I quit worrying about them 20,000 miles ago. Their impact is so unnoticeable that I can not tell it is regenerating unless I see the message. 17 city and 20 highway mpg driving a big profile 8,500 pound truck is amazing to me. The 6.4 Navistar's certainly made a case for regen nervousness...the dreaded "drive until complete" message and the mileage hit were real causes for concern. I have just not seen either the message or this kind of performance hit with the new truck in 29000 miles...JMO...YMMV

Regards

 

rickatic - for me its just the engineer in me. If I see a system that is 97% effecient, then I want to see what I can do to make it 98%. For me its all just intellectual curiosity (you know what that did to the Cat...). I love this truck and could not be more pleased with the MPG and power. But If I thought I could get from 20mpg to 21 then I would likely do it if the cost/benefit made sense. The other part is as an engineer, I want to take things apart to see how they work. So far, I have not found any way to take apart software code which frustrates a wrench-turner like me. Regens are un-measurable, unpredictable, and often invisible. That makes a mystery and I don't like mysteries.

I have learned that there are a lot smarter people on this forum than me and I just want to absorb some of that knowledge. Plus, reading the responses beats the hell out of work.

 

It's something that occurs with our trucks and since it's there, I want to watch it's behavior and learn what happens.
I tried to ignore it but I found out I'm back to watching the bahavior of the truck.
Nothing wrong with caring or not caring. The truck runs either way.

 

Hey thanks so much....I like this forum. Its great to post a ? and have all kinds of info and different outlooks on things.

What did we ever do w/o the internet???

 

The endless "honey do" list -- that's what!

 

Same thing was happening to me. I soon after got a CEL took it to the dealer for repairs and it turned out it was the DEF pump. since the change I have had very few filter cleaning episodes - going on 7000 miles now since the change and i am only reading half on DEF.. This fixed it.. I think you might be having this the symptom. Just an FYI

 

I to get at least one regen per tank of fuel if not two. My daily commute is only 25 miles but on the weekends pulling the boat it doesn't do any better.

Would it help for us that have short commutes to drive in Manual Mode to keep the truck in a lower gear to help keep the rpm's up and build heat in the exhaust to keep the filter cleaner?

 

I have 4,600 miles on my truck with 1,800 of those towing my trailer. The balance of those miles are almost all city driving including a 15 mile drive to work during the week. I've noticed the 'Cleaning Exhaust Filter' notice flash on the screen a few times, mainly on the highway, but I have no idea if it's ever done a Regen. I just drive the truck.

I don't worry about Regen, nor do I focus on Diesel noises or lack thereof, rough ride over bumps (it's an F350!), slight differences in shifting feel depending on throttle position and driving circumstances, etc.

I do not mean to diminish the issues some have had as all machinery can have issues. I just can't see how a driver could possibly see the 'Cleaning Exhaust Filter' notice every time during city driving. Why even bother with that?

On a related note, if/when I do get a Regen and I'm real close to home, I'll probably just turn around and head to the frozen yogurt shop so it completes.

 

I am not sure what this would accomplish that would be beneficial. Driving in a lower gear to keep the RPMs up would make a noticeable decrease in your fuel mileage.

I have a 52 mile round trip to the train station each day. The majority of this is country driving. I seem to regen every 2nd or 3rd tank of fuel. It is to the point where I really don't notice it any more. It cycles during a leg of the round trip. If it starts too late in one way to finish before I park, it picks it up early on the return leg and completes before I get home.

 

...exactly...but I do not even worry about shutting my truck down if I happen to know it is regenerating...it is just not an issue with the 6.7.

The rest of your comments about the truck made me smile. It is my position as well.

Regards

 

I think that would just waste fuel.
My guess is we need 7,000 lbs plus for a decent passive regen because even my small F250 doesn't know it's pulling 6,500 lbs.

 

I think the heart of this subject is what I mentioned earlier. People are looking for some sense of control over this process. It's clear that Ford learned something about displaying the regen information with the 6.4.

I'm not going to circumvent the process, but rather would like to be more of an active participant in it. Many of us drive our trucks in a manner that is not conducive to completing a full regen process. I am curious how the truck will behave when I begin plowing this winter.

Having the truck provide us more information on the status (% filter back pressure) would be great, having the ability to select our timing would even be better. Unless they build in some sort mental telepathy into the truck, only I will know when I can complete a full regen procedure. I would rather activate a regen at 80% of "filter full" knowing that I will be doing a 50 mile highway drive than try to "squeeze" one in during my 8 mile drive
to work each day.

My last regen was a classic example. I was on a highway for 30 minutes and then did a local run to a store yesterday afternoon. I caught the regen notice just as I was driving onto my street. Sure enough, started again this morning about half way into my 8 mile, 15 drive into work. My guess is that I will see another one tonight...

 

OK, trying to grasp things here.

I have gotten the cleaning exhaust filter about four times since purchased (3k miles) but never gotten anything else (regen?) Am I missing something?

 

BTW, Kep, you have my general attitude toward this truck...if I wanted a Lincoln Town Car, thats what I would have bought, I expect some rough road, shifting feel, etc with a F 350 and POWER.