6-Sigma Helps Improve New F-150 Engine
By John Fossen
DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 27, 2003 (FCN) -- Ford Powertrain engineers who developed the new 5.4-liter, three-valve V-8 engine in the 2004 Ford F-150 used the Design for 6-Sigma (DFSS) process to achieve customer demands for increased performance.

“It takes some tools we already have and puts them in a framework that focuses on the problem at hand and on the real issues and measureables,” said Eric Ladner, a Green Belt in Powertrain Operations. “The main thing is that it forces you to translate that customer attribute and translate it into an engineering attribute.”
F-150 customers wanted increased fuel economy and horsepower, two seemingly conflicting objectives. Through DFSS, the Powertrain team concentrated on those attributes early in the design process.
“This is an excellent way of looking at design,” said Tachih Chou, another Powertrain Green Belt. “This helped us look at the details and fundamental physics in an unconventional way. It’s different. I personally benefited a lot from it.”
In the end, the team exceeded its own expectations. The 5.4-liter three-valve engine is more powerful than the 5.4-liter two-valve it is replacing, up from 260 hp to 300 hp, and is 5 percent to 7 percent more fuel efficient.

“In this case, DFSS allowed us to establish the critical factors that drive what the customers cared the most about -- performance and fuel economy -- and how we can derive that out of our engine designs,” explained Louise Goeser, vice president, Ford Quality.
DFSS is a Product Development process that translates the Voice Of The Customer into a design while quantifying the design's risk. It uses statistical tools to understand and control key dimensions that deliver critical customer attributes.
More than 200 DFSS projects have been completed since Ford began deploying Consumer Driven 6-Sigma in 2000, and another 150 projects currently are in the works.
Worldwide, Consumer Driven 6-Sigma has made significant improvements in Things Gone Wrong (TGW) and has saved Ford more than $1 billion since its inception in 2000. In fact, Black Belts have already exceeded their waste elimination objectives for 2003.

 

What a bunch of hooey. The 3 valve is more powerful than the 2 valve? Good god I hope so. The 3v supposedly outflows the 2v by 100 cfm. Take the article with a grain of salt. An engine with a 3.55" bore and a 4.16" stroke is not meant to be a high horsepower racing engine. Torque is the name of the game. 40 hp and 20 ft. lbs. over my 99 is something I won't lose sleep over. Are all those extra parts and the increased possibility of problems worth it? Sorry if I sound too cynical but a very good skill in life I've learned is wading through verbal garbage and getting to the bottom line. Common sense is the best cost cutter.

Now if they made it a square engine with a 3.75" bore x 3.75" stroke (approx. 330 cubes) they would have more room to work without resorting to superchargers and band-aid compromises. JMO!

 

The 2004 owner will get the last laugh over you in your 99. The torque curve is nearly flat for the 3 valve engine, with nearly 80 percent of it available just off idle, a claim your 99 won't ever make. Yup, you sound too cynical.

 

Soory Ken, but I don't think I'll miss a whopping 7% improvement in low end torque. Will it live up to the hype? Should know in 4 or 5 years.

 

At the risk of being cynical, the 04 F150 is way heavier than the current model and all those extra pounds will exact a toll on the extra power and torque. I would like to see an 04 XLT Supercab with the new 5.4 race an 03 Supercab XLT with the old 5.4. I believe they would be a fair match for each other. One is more powerful, but the other is lighter. I got these specs from edmunds.com and you decide.

04 XLT Supercab curb weight:4993lbs
03 XLT Supercab curb weight:4267lbs

 

The difference will be in the flat torque curve making power available at all RPM's and my guess is that it will more than make up for the weight especially when pulling any kind of a load. Remember that Ken was one of the first to drive one of these things so I would think he'd know better than us how they perform. Did you read his article?

 

My truck will hold 40 mph up a pretty good hill turning 1100 rpm's without downshifting into 3rd gear. Empty of course. It already has a pretty flat curve. A 4.16" stroke is the main reason. That's longer than most big blocks. Ford just made it a little flatter. And more complicated.

 

I have a very strong yet stock 5.4L in my '99 Expy . . . I have driven several of the new F150s every chassis configuration, most with the new 300 hp 3v 5.4L . . . I would LOVE to have this new & improved engine, anyday! Believe me.

As for the 'extra' weight . . . it is in ALL the right places! The new truck frame is 9x stiffer then the '97-'03 frame. coil spring front add greatly to ride & handling (while being easier to lift) the cab is incrediblily tight and quite, brakes are far better, tailgate assist makes you slap your forehead and wonder why you didn't think of it, etc., etc., etc.

 

I just wanted to address the low-end torque issue.

According to Ford's info, the new 3v 5.4L produces 80% of peak torque at 1,000 rpm - which would be 292 ft-lbs. I can't find a full torque graph on the new 3v engine, but 80% of 365 is 292.

I *do* have a torque graph on the '03 model year 2v 5.4L out of Ford's commercial truck brochure - and it shows approximately 285 ft-lbs of torque at 1,000 rpm (which is a little over 81% of peak torque).

So, it doesn't look like there is really much difference in low-end torque between the 'old' 5.4L and the 'new' 3v 5.4L...at least, not enough for the average person to notice. I've driven an '04 immedately after driving my '02, and under 3,000 rpm or so I really couldn't tell a difference - if anything, the '04 felt a little sluggish because of the added weight. However, at higher RPMs you start to notice the added horsepower that the 3v engine produces. I really couldn't tell which truck is faster without racing them side-by-side - they're pretty close, though the '04 is probably a little bit faster (maybe). It's tough to compare them because the '04 is so much quieter...

LK

 

Was wondering where you got your graph for the 03 model and if anyone knows where a graph of the new 3v could be found.

 

There is a graph in the Ford commercial truck brochure, which you can either get at a Ford dealer or on their website at:

http://www.commtruck.ford.com/ctw/default.asp

Then click on "order a brochure" on the left, then scroll down and it'll let you download a .pdf file of the brochure. You need the brochure for the F350/450/550 chassis cabs, because the F250/350 brochure doesn't have the graphs. The horsepower/torque graphs really aren't that great, but they should give you a rough idea at least.

Petrol - just noticed that you had a '99 Expedition, which I think had the 260hp rating (not 100% sure). Anyway, I think one of the reasons that the new engine seems so much more powerful is that your Expy is pretty heavy (even a 2wd is 4,800 lbs or so, plus the weight of the 5.4L and whatever options you have). So, you don't really notice the weight increase on the new F150s as much as if you'd had a lighter truck (like the previous-model F150s).

LK

 

LK, thanks for the link and you are definately right about it being close to 80% as well. Gotta love the curve on the V-10. 350 ft-lbs @1000 RPM.

 

Not only that, but why didn't Ford try to get the numbers closer to those of the Hemi Chrysler is using? Some new truck shoppers don't really know anything about mechanics, so they go purely by the numbers the salesmen show them. In that case, the Dodge wins hands down. Surprises me...

 

If the 5.4 has much stronger low RPM torque maybe Ford truck dealers should have a 8000 lb trailer on the back lot for customers to compare the hemi vs the 5.4 under a load.

 

Yes, the 5.4L in my 2WD Expy is rated at 260 hp.

While I have about a 350 lbs advantage on a 4WD Expy, mine does have all the heavy option . . . big trans, rear HVAC, 3rd row seat, tow package (8300 lbs), etc. I have had it across the scales and with 3/4 tank and my 205 lbs pushing down on the drivers seat she weighs 5260#, that's with 2640# on the front axle and 2620# on the rear

I have also had her to the drag strip alot, bracket racing is great fun, and she runs very consistant 0-60 mph @ 8.0 seconds and 16.3 @ 84 MPH runs, before you laugh, just consider that this is stock and yes, I have beat a couple dodge ram 1500s with the hemi . . . in heads up racing!

I test drove quite a few of the new '04s in every body style (reg cab, supercab, crewcab) both 2WD and 4WD . . . most with the 5.4L . . . .

with a handheld stop watch I measured 7.8 second 0-60 times in a '04 CrewCab 4WD, 5.4L 3v Lariet with 3.73 gears!!! which happens to be one of the heaviest of the '04 F150s at approx 5400 lbs!!! I estimate that this truck would turn high 15 sec 1/4 passes which makes it about 1 second faster then a comparable '03