I think that the agreed upon number from the hp/tq graph supplied by Ford is the 7.3 makes about 400ft/lb at 1500. That's good, but I would expect it to be better if less oversquare. Longer stroke would translate to higher piston speeds and reduced top end hp, but that would be a trade-off I would gladly make.

Do I speak for most/all when I point out that the sweet spot for towing is somewhere between the torque and hp peaks? If so, the with the 7.3 torque peak at 4000rpm and the hp peak at 5500rpm, I'll ask: who the heck wants to drive down the highway anywhere in that range!?!?

IMO, 4000rpm (and beyond) should be limited to stoplight to stoplight drag racing (not my thing) or racing up a freeway on-ramp (not much of a concern to me either).

But as I said, I know that I'm in the minority on this. The target buyer for modern gas powered trucks uses them as a daily driver where snappy acceleration is important and low rpm lugging isn't.

All the talk about the focus of the 7.3 development being on commercial (and medium duty) applications really got my hopes up that the 7.3 would be a low(ish) rpm lugger. IMO, there is a lot to like about the new 7.3, but it is looking like it may not be quite what I was hoping it would be.

Looking forward to reading about how it performs on the road. First review that says "it was built to run at high rpm, so wind it out!" will send me crying into my coffee...

 

[QUOTE=7.3F350;18877858]

Do I speak for most/all when I point out that the sweet spot for towing is somewhere between the torque and hp peaks? If so, the with the 7.3 torque peak at 4000rpm and the hp peak at 5500rpm, I'll ask: who the heck wants to drive down the highway anywhere in that range!?!?
/QUOTE]

None of use with gassers pulling go down the road at high rpm because the only time it's needed is pulling a grade. My 6.2 with 4.30 gears runs down the highway at 65 mph at 2000 rpm in 6th gear way below any sweet spot and if needed in 5th pulling 2500 rpm.

Denny

 

The topic of the "powerband" (defined as being between peak TQ and peak HP) is certainly important, but ONLY when you need maximum vehicle thrust in a demanding situation. As I explained in detail several pages back, this is about the thrust force needed to overcome resistance of moving a load, be it on a flat grade or uphill of various incline. When I am pulling heavy loads up steep grades, I purposely keep the rpms up above torque peak, so that as the incline increases, the rpms will fall "down" to peak TQ. If that cannot sustain the speed I desire, I downshift again to get the engine back into the "power band". However, there are many times when the force requirement can be overcome with less than peak torque values. Therefore you don't need to be in "sweet spot" of the power band.

If the 7.3L is making 400 ft-lb at 1500 rpm, that's great. Even though it won't make a maximum thrust until 4000 rpm, it will sustain lesser loads for longer before needing to shift.

With the new 10spd trans coming out this fall, it will be of great benefit to both the 6.2L and 7.3L, making for even better towing experiences.

 

Excellent; thanks!
Looks like 1 plug per cylinder.

 

I am aware that you do not always need to run in the "sweet spot".

But sometimes you do. And not just "on grade".

In the badlands of West TX where I live, wind can be a big factor. During the spring, we often have straight line winds out of the west at 40,50 or 60 mph. In March of this year, we had straight line winds at 64mph and hit a peak of 80mph. With a high profile vehicle, that's a high rpm climb up a "grade" that never ends.

I do not tow that often, but when I do, it's always 25K or more (combined). That's probably diesel territory, but again, I don't need it that often and the newest diesels are more than I need or want.

So I understand that with a trailer of moderate weight, on level ground, with little headwind, small block gassers can tow in OD or straight gear. I'm hoping that the 7.3 can do the same if one or more of the above factors are not true.

 

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/f...Tech-Specs.pdf

Here's a shocker ...
You can only get 3.31 or 3.55 gears in the 7.3L equipped F250/350 SRW !!! (The DRW will give you an option of 4.10 gears.)
Which means if you get an F350 RC with 6.2L and 10 spd, it will be rated to pull MORE than the 7.3L engine vehicle !!!
Even if you look at the SC and CC models, the 6.2L/10-spd are rated darn near the 7.3L options.

Makes sense, because the reality is that the 7.3L engine does not really provide that much more torque (45 ft-lb at max). It may have a broader torque band, though. But rated values are rated values ...

 

In a way I can understand it because with 4.30 gears and a empty truck you are out of 1st at 3 or 4 mph so it would be shifting all the time but with added gears I'm sure it will compensate higher rear gears in the SRW, I'm sure the DRW with 4.10 will have the highest towing ratings but it will be interesting to see what the ratings will be for the SRW.

Denny

 

Wow, that is a surprise. I think I've read a few comments about the specs documents having conflicting info and/or errors. I wonder if that will end up being the case here?

I don't drive especially fast, especially while towing. With gas engine and 3.55 gears, I would never see 10th gear.

Here's a dumb question. I've never owned a truck with an automatic tranny. That said, it seems like I remember reading that it is important to get torque converter "lockup" when towing as this helps the tranny run cooler? If that statement is correct, and I never see OD, will modern trannys lock up in lower gears?

 

F250 its 3.55 or 4.30 based on order guide and what dealers can order. Tow chart is messed up as it lists 3.73s when n/a. Missing line for 3.55s. Not uncommon for the initial tow doc to be that messed up.

 

I think the stroke for the 7.3 is wrong.

 

Yep, definitely a typo there. The math doesn’t add up, if that stroke was correct it would be a 418 in.³ motor.

 

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/f...Tech-Specs.pdf
I would agree after doing more in-depth review ...
This entire chart is messed up for the towing figures, etc. The lines are not aligned between sections, etc. It's a mess.

As for the 7.3L engine bore/stroke, I cannot comment other than to agree that the math doesn't add up right. using the 4.22 bore and 3.74 stroke, it would be 418 cu-in and that's 6.9L, not 7.3L. Are we to believe there's .4L just in combustion chamber volume? Yet the 6.2L bore/stroke data works out perfectly to the 379 cu-in and 6.2L. So their dimensions are messed up for the 7.3L.

Now I'm left wondering if the 10spd ratios are properly listed, either ?

Generally a ****-poor press release that I'll not put any faith into at this point. You'd think with such an important roll-out to the media, they'd maybe have a tech-editor proof read it first??????

 

haha! Thanks Red (and others!). Lots of grief over nothing...

OK, I'm excited about the 7.3 again.

 

The first gear ratio of the 10 speed will be a game changer regarding rear end ratios.

 

i saw earlier it was close to a 4" stroke, 3.98 seems to ring a bell

comparing pulling hills with a n/a gas engine to a turbo diesel is apples to oranges.

Where you roll into the throttle with a diesel you get more and more "power" as boost builds. you can do that as you approach a hill and do like stated above and downshift eventually. To get more air thru the n/a engine and thus make more power the only choice is to rev it higher.