Hi all,

Yesterday me and a friend went to test drive the new 2005. There were 6 on the lot 2 F350 one blue and one white and 4 F250. One was fully loaded and we took it for a 20 miles test drive. I drive a 03 F350 7.3 4x4 and he drives a F250 7.3 with a 6 foot bed.
Here is my impression if anyone cares, just a couple of random thoughts. The turning radious has improved dramatically, the overall finish is nicer but I wasn't complaning about the truck I had before. The brake controller is cool and has a nice readout in the dash, the stereo has more base, can't really judge the brakes on a new truck but they felt better, ride is better and rebound over bumps felt alot less dramatic. In other words the truck is nice and Ford did a great job.
Now for the question or concern that I have.
When I accelerated off a complete stop there seemed to be a good second and half of hesitation, then its a good burst of power and a much smoother shifting experience than what I am used to. You'll probably say or think that my truck is chipped and that I got used to a quicker response, but with or without chip my 7.3 feels more engaged and more responsive to throttle inputs.
Questions
Am I the only one who thinks that there is hesitation?
Will a Superchip fix this hesitation?

Thanks for all your help, this was my first time driving a 6.0 so any inputs from owners or people that drove both 6.0 and 7.3 would be great. I did a search but found no real great comparison between the two. If anyone has a link about it, that would be great.

VV

 

Had a 350 for a week now, it does hesitate. But this is my first diesel, dont know how it is suppose to sound or run. Also never had a turbo

 

I had a 2002 F350 and now I have a 05 F250 PSD. Yes, there is quite a difference in the "throttle lag" between the 7.3 and the 6.0. I had to do a fast takeoff from a stop sign and pretty much went nowhere for a couple of seconds before it kicked in and took off. I guess I will have to learn how this truck will perform and compensate.

 

Mine does it real bad when its cold. Once it gets warmed up I don't really notice it.

 

Give it a little throttle before releasing the brake and then stab it - hold on you will be launched! A tuner will help the lag a little but the main thing is you will learn to drive it, i.e. adjust to the difference and you will love it.

 

I have to agree on the lag my 02 7.3 was a quicker from the start, but when this thing spools up though my 7.3 wouldn't even be close. I guess we'll have to learn to live with it, although I really don't notice it at all, unless I floor it from a dead stop.

 

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I jsut spoke with the diesel guy at my dealer, he said that so far as he has seen, some trucks have the lag and some don't and he doesn't know why. He said that a Diablo tuner will help, and that he has checked into both tuners and a Diablo works the best for an '05 at this point. As for the brake controller, he said what I felt which was he would give it another year before he would get one.

 

82 - Your diesel guy does not know of which he speaks. Diablo does not have an update for the Predator for the 05 6.0 and the brake controller works like a dream!

 

Kinda wondering why he would say something like that. Does he subcribe to the "old school" theory that never buy anything the first year it is released? If you need a brake controller on your Super Duty, by all means get the factory one. At least if it breaks (no pun intended ) it is a dealer warranty item. If your aftermarket one fails, you have to put up with the blame game of whose fault it is that it doesn't work. The new brake controller is not only better than the aftermarket ones as it ties into the anti lock system, it looks a whole lot better than having an ugly box screwed to your lower dash panel.

 

82 and Moose - OK, it is Friday and I was trying to be nice - the "diesel guy" is an idiot!

 

OK, OK, don't shoot the messenger!!! I don't know if either S'Chips or Diablo ara ready for the '05. The only thought on the brake controller that I had was that the trailer brakes may not be designed for the anti-lock pulse since it is so new and that it could cause problems. Yes it looks better, but only time will tell if it works better don't you think?

 

I would much rather have the trailer getting the brake signal from my vehicle's anti-lock system than from some after market brake controller. If you vehicle sees fit to not lock up your brakes, why would you want your after-mkt brake controller locking up your trailer brakes in a hard braking situation. The integrated system is a much safer system. Period. Kurt has already told you that it works great. Read the review on this site's home page. It works better! I bet your diesel tech hated steal-belted tires, power steering and airbags when they came out too.

 

82 - I have used my new truck (with controller) to pull three different trailers (6000 lb horse trailer with two horses, 7000 lb camper, and flatbed) - I am telling you there is no question it is better than the aftermarket unit! It is totally integrated into the truck's system and is very "smart" - it flashed on the instrument panel when then was a loose connection on the camper plug to the truck. It is very smooth and adjustable.
I know that both Predator and SC are not available for the 05 yet - know it! I am not as grumpy as this might sound so don't go away! Have a good weekend - Kurt

 

I doubt that the anti-lock braking would be carried back to the trailer brakes because the truck's controller won't be getting any wheel speed sensor input back from the trailer.

If your trailer's brakes are properly adjusted they won't lock anyway. The Prodigy controller that I have instructs me to first warm up the trailer's brakes by driving along with the manual lever activated just enough to cause some drag. Once the brakes are warmed up, next step is to fully activate the manual brake lever on the controller and dial in more braking until the trailer brakes just start to lock.

When set this way you can jam on the truck brakes to the point where the anti-lock kicks in and the trailer brakes won't lock up hard - on dry clean surfaces of course.

As far as I know the factory controller in the '05 truck is an intertial controller just like the Teknonsha Prodigy - who knows Ford might even have OEM'd it from them.