Stopped in at the local Ford dealer and test drove a 2013 King Ranch F250 CC SB 4x4 3:73 rear end today. I can't say I was very impressed with the power either off the line or from a rolling get and go position.

Now maybe it is just me, or maybe the individual truck that I test drove. But, to put it in a kind way, it felt very lethargic.

I am comparing it to my 2006 F250 2wd V10 manual transmission with 4:10 rear ratio.

Now granted it is not a true apple to apple test given the difference in the rear end ratio and the crew cab to reg cab configuration. But, I sure was expecting more out of the 6.2 auto transmission set up.

Is it just what it is, or should I go test drive another to see if maybe it was just the truck that I drove?

I did also test drive a like truck, but with the diesel and wholly molley that puppy had power to spare. Almost scary power. Problem is I don't really need or want the cost associated with owning a diesel again.

For those who have let Mike over at 5 Star have his way with your 6.2, how great has the before and after differences been?

Thanks for reading, I look forward to hearing back from you,

 

The 3.73 rear end on a truck that weighs a couple thousand pounds more than you 4.10 regular cab is the issue without a doubt.

 

Bingo. There you go!

 

I made this same post several weeks ago. I test drove one and wasnt that impressed with the power. I took a look at another one and now have a 2012 CC 4WD SB. Its not a diesel or maybe not a v10, but it sure is a lot better than a 5.4. I would have liked to have driven a 4.30 equipped superduty, but noone had any on their lots.

 

The computer does not open the throttle all the way until 4000+ RPMs. This may be the lack of power that you are feeling. The auto companies do this mostly for emissions, but they call it 'torque management'. The tuners that one can buy eliminate some of this.

PS: In two weeks, I will be towing my Travel Trailer for the first time. I will report in on this after my trip. I am anxious to compare my 2012 Ford XL CC F250 to my 2005 Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton CC with the 5.3L with 3.73's on towing my Surveyor. So far I have 850 miles on the truck, but hope to have 1000 by 4/29. So far gas mileage is horrible (9.8), but it is almost all in town driving.

 

Finding a 6.2 around here that doesn't have the 3:73 rear end is a pretty tough find. We did go back and test drive another truck with the same powertrain this evening. As we left the dealership it again felt like a puppy trying to pull a dog sled on concrete...no power period. Felt like it was trying to take off from a stop in 5th gear.

However after spending a little time driving at various speeds it started to learn how to shift and came to life. No it still doesn't feel like my V10, but it was a vast improvement over the first test drive. So we are chalking it up to needing to adjust the computer to real world driving.

 

Mine felt very sluggish during the first 100 miles. Around 500 it woke up a little bit. At 1000 there was a little more pep in the pedal. At 1500 I still notice some improvement. Really for a 7000+lbs towing beast it moves faster than my old 5000lbs 98' 5.7 1500 Silverado.

If you want pep in the go pedal I believe the way to do it is 4.30 diff and a tune.

 

It took a thousand miles or so before mine really woke up. Then I put a tune on it around 18k miles and REALLY woke it up.

If you're not having any luck finding the truck you want that's properly equipped, why not order it?

My truck never felt underpowered, that's for sure. My timed pulls at the Ohio meets against other Ford motors proved that...

 

I am sure if you take one for a drive with the 4.30's you will feel a whole lot different.

 

If you look around, I just posted up my experience about buying a used 2011 250. I feel you need an open mind when looking at this truck coming from an older truck, weight class(1/2 ton to 3/4 for me), or another brand. In my case, I went from around 5600 to 7400 scale weight. Nearly a ton. I have 3.73s. I feel the truck could use a little umph on take off. Once it gets going, my truck seems to haul tail. I can see where the 4.30 crowd is coming from on this. It's the initial take off that gets you. The engine definitely has some serious power.

When I test drove a 2005 V10 and the truck was a monster. I was upset the truck needed some TLC and the dealership it needed to be rescue from were tools. The V10 was first on my power train list for the purchase with the 6.2 as a second choice. Quite frankly, I would not be disappointed in either.

My truck is quite lively overall. Everyone who has driven it so far, thought is had pretty descent pick up for such a large heavy truck. I drove 3/4 and 1 tons before. I tend to drive them a tad slower and more calculated. So a slower take off is not as much of a problem for me. I hope my observations help and give more insight in your search for a new ride. Good luck.

 

I routinely haul my flat deck with over 8k of water on it for our acerage and in one place I come to a 90 degree turn and then up a hill. THis thing pulls that hill like it's not even there and the smooth power off the bottom keeps it from spinning up the hill as these are dirt roads. It does pull hard just not abrupt taking off. I came from an 08 Ram 2500 Hemi 4x4 and that thing on the same road was either lugging like mad or spinning the rear tires up the hill as the tranny did not have a proper ratio for what I was doing. I think you would be quite happy with the 3.73's if your loads are under 10k. Over 10k there is no doubt I would have 4.30's unless you just want to tear around with the truck vs using it for what they are intended for then 4.30's all the way for the grin I guess.

 

I think the weight is largely over looked and maybe higher than normal expectations......when one person says it's a stout truck the next guy hearing that expects more....perception is everything here imo.

From the first test drive I ever did (which is the truck I bought) I thought is performed very well for the size. Mine is a 2012 Lariat cc 4x4 with 3.73 coming from a 1500 sierra Denali yeah my Denali was a lil peppier but alsomuch lighter and it had 4.10 gear. Still for the 6.2 to move this big *** truck it was impressive. I have always had fast cars and motorcycles which I use my truck to tow so I never really look at the truck for high performance like some do.....I drive 1/4 throttle most of the time and when I wanna put my foot in it the truck responds well.....is it unreal....no but thats not what its mean for. The diesels are another story they are just in a different league making 800tq at 1800rpm its nuts! BUt for me its not needed and is overkill for what I use the truck for.

I think lots of people have to ask them selves what is the truck going to be used for. Once you have that answer then go for a test drive and not have any preconceived notions of how it should perform.

 

I really didn't belive it either when I seen the posts about more power after 1k miles. I bought a new 2012 in feb 2013. For an almost 7k truck for nothing on it I didn't feel the power was all that bad. I took a 4 hour round trip to pick up a tow dolly only 500 lbs so like the truck didn't feel like it was there. When I got home the truck had 1050 miles on it. Drove it the next day and hit the gas like normal and it pushed me back into the seat some. I was like where is this power coming from. Got about 1450 miles on it now and it still feels way more perky then when I bought it. I almost wonder if ford did something to de-tune the trucks for break in period. Not sure but it was a very noticable differnce.

 

I came from a 2008 6.4L with a tuner. Truck was crazy fast.

Initially, my '11 6.2L CC SB 4WD lariat felt sluggish.....with 3.73s, it's got a lot of weight to get moving. Once up to speed, it was fine.

I wished I had gotten 4:30 rear axle ratio, but it was hard to find on a lot anywhere.

I called Mike at 5 Star and he hooked me up as this was much cheaper than re gearing.

I run an 87 tow tune, and it ROCKS. My truck sees redline at least once a day (not towing). I don't beat on my stuff , but I use it. The tune wakes the truck up incredibly. Off the line throttle response is nothin short of awesome. The extra HP helps to hold higher gears in the hills (especially nice for towing).

I don't miss getting the 4:30 anymore, though In a perfect world I would have a 5 star tuned 4:30.

I tow 10k and truck does just fine. I think up to 10k, tuned 3.73 is fine. Anything heavier, get a 4:30.

Sorry for typos, typing on phone.

 

You guys with the tunes what are you doing in the event you have an engine issue and you need to take it to the dealer? You just swallowing the "it's not covered" if it pops up ?