Ok, I probably am just not seeing it in the manual. How exactly does the exhaust brake work? I saw in an earlier post, someone commented on how most people don’t know how to properly use it. Is it as simple as engaging the Tow Haul Mode and letting the truck do its thing? Any feed back on this and the Tow Haul Mode would be appreciated.
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Thanks
Tim

 

Yup put it in Tow/Haul mode and the truck will take care of it, it is sweet...

 

Pretty much like the lakedweller says. Here's some more info for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...he-2011-a.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ontroller.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...xperience.html

 

The on/off switch for the exhaust brake is a simple tap on the brake pedal...need less speed...tap it again...there was considerable confusion early in the production run but the answers are out there now...enjoy the new truck

 

Having had a B&D Exhaust brake on 2006 Truck, I have found the integrated brake on the 2011 to be great product.

Yes turn on your Tow/Haul and the EB is automatic. But to get the most from it, you need to be up around 2800 to 3400 rpm. You can do this by tapping the brake and forcing downshifts till you get to that rpm range. Or you can touch the minus button on the stalk to force a downshift.

But I find the easiest way to just set the cruise at the speed you want to maintain and let the trucks computers do the work. One of the disadvantages of the aftermarket exhaust brakes (like the B&D) is that the cruise control is disabled when ever the EB is enabled. This forced me as the driver to maintain the selected speed.

With my 2011 truck, I have frequently slowed to what I considered an appropriate speed at the summit and set my cruise with the T/H enabled. For example today I came over Trappers Loop which has a 55 mph speed limit and numerious curves with the yellow cautions signs suggesting 40 as the recommened speed. Depending on which direction I'm headed ( North or South) the road has 7% or 8% grades. I slowed to 50 mph at the summit, pressed the cruise button and the truck held me at 50 mph almost all the way down, In the worst stretch I did speed up to 55 maybe 58 mph. This was with my 4Horse gooseneck trailer at about 13,000lbs. ( on the north bound route, which has several of the suggested 40 mph curves I set the cruise to 45 mph)

The tranny shifted nummerous times in the 5-7 miles of downhill. Sometimes it needed 3rd gear at 3400 rpm other stretches it was in 5th gear at 2000 rpm. But the tranny/truck was smart enough to choose which gear and at what RPM it needed to hold the speed I selected.

My observation is that if I choose to set the cruise at 55 or 60 when I crest that summit, I'm over rev'ing 3rd gear and I'm not at the optimum back pressure in 4th gear to hold the load and I end up using the foot pedal to help hold the truck at a safe speed. I'm pretty sure that is why GM choose that speed for their Rumble in the Rockies comparision test. As you drive your truck you will learn what speed to drive at as you summit mountain passes in order to get the most of your EB.

Another improvement of the integrated EB vs the after market EB I've had in the past. Is when the Torque Convertor locks up and when it unlocks. The B&D after market EB that I had unlocked the Torque Convertor at 25 mph, so the engine would not stall as you slowed to a stop. When I drive down a city street that has a 25 mph speed limit, I had no Exhaust Braking because the torque convertor would unlock allowing the truck to pick up speed if I was descending a grade. The Ford product seems to sense that I'm holding a slower speed and keep the Torque convertor locked up enabling the exhaust back pressure to continue to provide some braking even at slow speeds.
Although it does down shift to 1st gear to get enough RPMs to create back pressure.

 

Thanks for all the advice and information. It sounds like it's a big improvement over my old 6.0. I am excited to tow my 5th wheel and just wanted to make sure I was using the truck to its fullest capacity. Is there any negativity to spinning this engine at 3000 rmps or higher? Has anyone used the Tow Haul Mode and Cruise Control going up hill? I know that sounds silly to do, but on grades less than 4% I think this truck would be able to climb it with everything engaged.

Thanks
Tim

 

...hook up that fiver...put the truck in drive...engage tow/haul mode and enjoy the drive...up and down the hills and dales...the computers will keep your speed up on the uphills and down on the downhills...the engine will sing like Pavarotti as it does it's job while the rpm's change as the engineer's designed them to turn...and even 6% grades are not an issue...have a great trip

Regards

 

The computers allow much higher RPMs while exhaust braking than they do during acceleration.

My Powerstroke 6.0L in my older trucks would often rev up to 4000 rpm during a descent. I don't think I've seen the 6.7L get over about 3500 rpm. (I'll have to watch a little closer on some of the downhill grades and see what the max is)

I remember reading an article on why GM took the red off the tach in their duramax trucks. Their engines basically had two redlines. One (lower rpm) for under power and a second higher rpm for deceleration. They said their users were getting concerned about the tach running into the redline while descending grades. GM resolved this concern by red zone from the face of their tachometer.

The computers pretty well control when the tranny will upshift to prevent over rev. Once I learn where that RPM point is, I can apply my brakes just before that RPM level to help slow the rig and prevent the upshift. It's kinda of nerve racking the first time as you watch the rpms climb and then the rig shifts up to a higer gear, the engine rpms drop and the back pressure disappears and so does the exhaust braking. You quickly start to accelerate as the rig coast until the rpms increase enough to create back pressure.

You will get your maximum Exhaust Braking at higher RPMs. The after market EB had a waste gate that would release the excess back pressure. So your maximum braking was just before the waste gate opened.

 

...while we're on the topic... I just got back from pulling my 5'er through the northern Colorado mountains with the new '11. I've pulled the same grades with the same trailer in both an '08 6.4L and an '04 6.0L... and to be real honest I cant tell that the exhaust brake thing makes any difference at all. I messed around with the tow/haul mode both on and off... and this new truck sounds and feels nearly identical to the 6.4L in holding speed going downhill no matter what I do. It downshifts the same either way if I have the cruise on, and it holds speed the same (whether T/H is on or off).

I agree that whatever its doing, it works -- it holds speed pretty well. My point is that it doesnt seem to do so any better than other Super Duty's I've had without the exhaust brake.

The short of it is this... there is absolutely nothing that I could seem to discern, as to whether the feature was even working. No sound difference, no sensation difference (other than downshifts, which felt the same as older trucks), no speed difference.

Does this seem normal?

**EDIT** After more searching and reading, it seems that (as 720Deere said below), what I'm experiencing is 'normal'. My (incorrect) perception was that I would "feel" or sense something more than what seems like simple downshifts. The system works, and it held me at safe speeds with little to no need to apply the brakes -- it just didnt seem like it did it any better than the way my '08 worked -- but that could be that the grades I was on were well within the capabilities of both trucks... maybe if I were more at the limits of weight and/or grade I would have seen better performance from the new truck compared to the '08.

 

Yes your experience sounds normal. The exhaust braking feature is weak at best on these trucks especially if you have any experience with other platforms with exhaust braking. It is seemless, soundless and unable to be felt by the seat of the pants. Sounds like the old walks like a duck, quacks like a duck saying to me.