My first post on the SuperDuty Forum asked for feedback from owners and others with knowledge and/or experience on the 2005 F250 V10 ,and the response has been less than overwhelming.

As I am looking for pre-purchase info to compare the 2005 F250 to 2005 Chevy/GM 2500HD I thought I would try this forum. I fully expect most of the responses here to be pro-Ford but hope they will be based on fact not just brand loyalty.

Compare:

2005 F250 CC SB 4x4, 6.8 V10 w/ Torqueshift 5 spd, 4.10 axles

To:

2005 Chevy/GMC 2500HD CC SB 4x4 8.1L V8 w/Allison 5 spd, 4.10 axles

Comments requested on:

1. Towing performance with 11,500 lb travel trailer in mountain terrain.

2. MPG all terrain - towing, solo city/hwy, city and highway

3. Anything else relevant to buying decision

Lastly, I DO NOT want a diesel!!

Thanx

 

I would personally get the 4:30 axle ratio on the V10 if you are going to be doing some serious towing.

Towing that much, I would expect probably 7-8mpg out of it...

The V10 is a really good vehicle.

 

IDK about towing but the people that I know that had the 8.1 were getting the same fuel economy unloaded as the 6.0 gm which would put you at 12mpg. That is all I know on fuel economy.

The 8.1 gets my vote. Our 6.0 gm was towing all the V10 could similiar trailers. IDK what rear end he had, (this was in 1999 in PA through the hills) we could pass a guy in a V10 going up hill and he would pass us going down.

The new V10 has more hp but it still boils down to what you want in a truck. Both trucks will tow the same load IMO it is just whether you want a car ride or a truck ride. The are both durable. The allison is still miles ahead of the torqueshift IMO.
4:30 gears would make it tow awsome, but can you justify the gas if the they can do the job with 4:10


on edit the entire trip from nw ohio to DC we averaged 9.8 i think towing a 27.5 foot (i think that is right) jayco 5th wheel. running 75-80mph and all she could do in the mountains 73mph

 

Fords new V-10 will out power any other gas motor on the market. Any GM or Dodge offering. Its an easy choice the V-10 250 is what you want. The 8.1 is a gas hog and oil burner. The V-10 is the most efficient gas motor on the market today. The torqushift is a much smoother transmission overall. The new 250 is the best HD truck on the market today. I see your getting a crewcab. Thats where the ford shines. The most interior room off any HD truck out there. Youll feel cramped withe GM truck. Plenty of room in the superduty. Good Luck youll like the new 2005 250. It exceeds the need.

 

I would say go with the 8.1L Chevy Big block, it has some serious tq and from what I hear is one helluva motor. Either way the mileage is going to be pretty sick, so dont buy it for that. Ford needs an equilanvant V8 to compete. People might start buying gassers agian after they get tired of paying 30 or 40 cents more a gallon for diesels, not to mention the fact that most diesels, espcially when towing, get only a little better mpg then an equilvant V8.

 

Like I said the V-10 will out perform the 8.1. The 8.1 will burn more gas then the V-10. GMs next generation HDs will have the V-10 in it. You got to try that new V-10. Itys like a night and day difference between the old V-10. You puut a trailor on you wont even know its back there and the superduty is a heck of a lot better truckthen what GMs got on the market now. Look ubnderneath heavier components fronm front to back. Fords the real work truck here. Thats what you want.

 

my 05 250 v10 had no problems towing a 7500 pound boat. i raced a 3500 hd 8.1 and while it was tight by about a 1/2 truck the v10 won in the 1/4 mile timing lights.. guy in my hood owns a 3500 hd with a 6.0 states he gets 7 and 8 mpg with a load.. "brick mason" best was 10 unloaded. my v10 gets almost 12 on a av. and pulled 10 towing.. it's a tough choice both are good trucks. the 8.1 is a strong motor but likes to use oil. immo the ford is a bit more heavy duty

 

your numbers are comparable with the 12 average/10 towing split that i have heard of from the 8.1 guys.

 

Just because it tows faster does not mean its the better engine. Just like from that other thread.

 

Really if an engine tows faster isnt that better. I dont get it. It has more power and tows faster. That sounds better to me and surly wont burn as much oil as the 8.1. Its better its not even close.

 

IDK i like to be able to tow as fast as I want. do i need 500hp? prolly not. will i ever have enough brake to stop it? that is part of it. but oil use is nothing serious really my dad has an IH 466 in his dozer that burns a 2.5 gallions that's right a 2.5 gallion every other day.

doesn't mean the engine is bad, it means it is being worked and has 20k hours on it and never been rebuilt, that's all.

my guess is all the oil used in the 8.1 is on start-up so it is not like it drinks oil. although i am not wild about a bran-new truck burning oil even though dad's 350 used the same amount of oil new as it did with 140k on it. (about a quart every oil change)

 

From an architectural stand point, any V8 is going to be more stable than a V10. Any V design engine with an odd number of cylinders comes with unique balancing and harmonics problems. Take a look at most V6's. Most will have a balance shaft. During developement of the Ford V10, they ran into a boatload of these problems. Modifications were frequent and in my opinion, were never dependably addressed. I wouldn't suggest any V10 on the market regardless of maker. The Ford V10 while a strong engine is prone to oil useage and is not suitable for "other" environments like the 8.1 or any other V8. The 8.1 lives just fine in the bilge of some of the hottest race boats in the world making over 1500 hp and run for hours at 8,000 rpm. Try that with any V10.

 

If that engine is burning that much every other day. Its probably due for an overhaul although will still run good. Most if not all people that have the 8.1 complain about heavy oil usage. 1 qt per thousand miles. About a gallon every oil change. Somethings not right. No engine should do that especially a gas one. A lot of these vortech engines have piston slap. So whats the deal here and they still have it. Many V-10s have run over 300,000 miles with no issues. And run as smooth as new.

 

So you are admitting that the hemi is better than the 5.4 also. I love proving loyalists wrong. Just trying to get ford lovers to open up.

 

With all due respect I gotta weigh in on this one! I have some experience towing with both of these engines.

A 6.0L GM might keep up with a 1st generation 270hp(?) '99 V10 but nobody here is going to belive a 6.0L GM that only makes 360lb-ft @ 4000rpm is going to tow with a 2nd Gen V10 (the 2 valve design) that makes 400lb-ft @ 1900rpm and peaks at 425lb-ft @ only 3250rpm??? The new 3v V10 will destroy the 6.0L GM engine when it comes to moving weight.

My cousin, who lives near me has a Silverado 6.0L. It's a 2001 4x4 2500 ext cab short bed with 4.10 gears. We go on atv trips several times a year together and I have pulled the same trailers with his and my F250 V10 several times. The trailers we use weigh anywhere from 3000 to about 6500lbs loaded

There's no comparing these two engines!! My V10 (the 2003 310hp version with 3.73s) will flat out tow cirlces around his 6.0L. The 6.0L will keep up with my V10 but it has to rev/work alot higher to do it and it spends alot more time in low gear to keep up the speed up. Whereas my truck tows that load in OD and 3rd, his tows it in 3rd and 2nd.

Plus he gets worse mileage. With a 5000lb trailer on a 400 mile highway trip doing 65/70mph my V10 gets right at 10mpg and the 6.0L Chevy is under 9mpg. Futhermore, my F250 feels faster accelerating unloaded than his Chevy 2500 6.0L but we've never actually lined them up. The 6.8L is just a stronger overall engine that makes it's power at lower rpm the way a real truck engine is supposed to.

As far as comparing the V10/8.1L: I recall a shootout Truck Trend did in 2001 comparing similarly equipped Ford V10(2 valve), Chevy 8.1L and a Dodge 8.0L V10. Same cab, bed, all 4x4s with same gears and trannys. The results are as follows:

Towing the same trailer (think it was an 8000lb load) the Chevy finished 1st in 0-60 and 1/4 mile. The Ford was a very close second place and the Dodge V10 was last by a pretty wide margin.

Unloaded accleration the Ford 6.8L was first and the Chevy 8.1 was a very close second. The Dodge was third by a long ways.

In other words, the 2000 to 2004 2-valve 310hp V10s kept up with the 8.1L just fine and I think the new 3 valve V10s will out perform it towing and unloaded!

GM may be up on Ford with the diesel game but the 2000-2004 v10 and the new 3v V10 have GM up against the wall when it comes to gas truck engines and GM and the GM truck fans know it. GM actually derated the 8.1L for the 2004 model year while Ford increased the 6.8L's HP & torque!! Case closed.