The new 6.4TT will NOT be maxed out from the factory by a long shot. Ford has to run this engine for 3 years, and you better bet that the hp/torque wars will still be very alive. Not to mention, the 6.4L is based off of the 6.0L, and the 6.0L is in no way maxed out from the factory....look at some of the power these programmers are releasing.

SLE's post makes so much sense. Everything we have, and the quality of our lives is ususally driven by a need, caused by a want.

 

Thanks for the good words guys! Nick, I can only make sense so many times a day, by the time I get to typing on FTE its usuallly a 20 line run on sentence that makes no sense, every once in a while I get lucky, lol lol!!

 

Haha...you're not alone SLE...I'm the same way after being on here for too long.

 

well what ford needs to do is offer several diesels. a light duty for guys that just want a diesel like the new 4.6. a medium duty like a 7.3 that has been tweaked for more hp + tq and a 6.0. and finally a heavey duty like the new suposed 6.4 or possibly a I-6 diesel. this way you can buy a diesel but dont have to have too much excese hp/tq and buy on what your needs are. ford could even through the suposed 4.6 V6 in as the light duty.

 

all those options would cost too much to manufacture. they want one kind of diesel.
i have a 7.3L 97 with 116k miles. and a heavy utility body on it. i don't even tow anything right now, and i know this truck needs more power. i'm not sure whether to buy a 6.0 now that they've supposedly sorted out their problems with them, or wait and buy an 07. i know one thing, i hope the rumor about it not smelling like a diesel, has me worried, i want a diesel truck to smell like a diesel truck. i feel like these higher RPM diesels these days are just gas motors running on diesel fuel.
if i could buy a ford with a cummins installed from the factor(one ton that is) i would.
cummins is a far better motor than the 6.0 is. and it does the work like a big rig, straight 6. V8 is not the best design for a diesel. ford needs to realize this.
no need to have a diesel truck running 4000 rpms or more. with 800lbs torque, all you'll be doing is replacing all the parts that break due to the added torque and strain you are putting on a pickup. if you need that much torque you are doing things with this pickup, that aren't meant for a pickup to be doing. buy a big rig.

my plan is to wait to see what the 07 is in summer if it's out. if it's ugly and the 6.4 appears to have issues right away, then i'll buy a left over 6.0L. i just hate buying a leftover when i know the next model could be better. but it's time to replace my 7.3L soon. util body is shot and don't want to buy a new body to put on a 9 year old truck.

 

Ughh...I get tired of you closed minded guys sometimes. The 6.0L, or the Navistar VT 365 was designed to produce a whopping 620 ft/lbs at 1400 RPM. Last I checked...that was more then a Cummins 5.9L, and at a lower RPM.
http://www.nav-international.com/site_layout/engine/vt365detail.asp
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with a V8 diesel engine.

 

Nick I agree. Nothing wrong with a V8. I would take a I6 if the offered more gears, like maybe 7.

 

V-8 diesels are some of the best around. just ask a CAT guy. they make several type's and sizes of V-8 diesels for a huge varriity of tasks. and one questoin for dapgar. if the V engine configuration is so bad then why dont you see many straight config's on large ships like Cutters, tugs, trains, ect. my brother in law is a coast gaurd diesel machanic and he siad they use almost no staights of any kind.

 

comparing ships to trucks? two totally different worlds. if i had my choice, it woudl be an inline 6. i've had straight 6 gassers and they were incredibly reliable motors. and i know enough people with cummins to know that the cummins design is better than the V8 of a psd. not trashing ford, just stating they'd be better off with a straight 6 diesel.
i don't like the high rpm diesels. that's not what a TRUE diesel is made for. my 7.3 does so much work 2000rpm or less. that's what ford needs to focus on. not some truck that's running 4000 or more rpms. again, it's a gas motor, running on diesel.
a REAL diesel of the old days would run by itself without a battery or anything hooked up. too many computer and crap in these trucks these day. no room under the hoods at all compared to my 97.

 

i really beg to differ that a diesel has to be a low rpm slug that has no hp at all. it is great that an engine can pull below 2000, i doubt that any new diesel has a problem with that, but to make hp you need to spin the motor a little bit. as far as engine design goes, the in line design is technically better. since the pisotn is strait over the crank all of the energy is translated straight down to the crank. with a v engine the piston is pushing at an angle the entire time, just not as efficient a way to produce power. don't get me wrong, i'm a sucker for a v8, but its not without its disadvantages.

 

I believe the inline 6 is a better design for constant rpm pulling and lugging ability. The v-8 will rev more easily and perform over a higher RPM range (needed in a street vehicle). There is a reason that farm tractors still have inline 6 diesels, pure lugging ability and good performance at a constant RPM. Just some thoughts, and here is a comparison of a ? con rod, Ford 7.3 con rod, and a 5.9 Cummins con rod:

 

i'm not saying no HP, but some guys are saying 900-1300. thats way too much HP unless you are into drag racing and i believe diesel trucks are for working. if i didn't use it for work and for pulling a trailer sometimes, i wouldn't own a diesel. ok, maybe i would but i wouldn't go racing it. jmo. sorry
500-600 hp is PLENTY of hp for a PICKUP.

 

don't let perceived angles fool you, the pistons still push straight towards the crank. If you lay a i6 or i4 on its side, the power wouldn't change. the porsche boxer engine proves that!

 

Correct, the pistons push straight down at the crank regardless of their orientation with the horizon.
The problems with the I-6 are being ignored. An I-6 has a very long crank that results in a lot of twist and vibration. True an I-6 always has 2 pistons moving in oppisite directions but the pistons are far apart from each other and so the block must be rigid enough to hold and absorb the flexing of the crank. I-6's are thus limited by their design to low RPM motors usually. Combined with long strokes, they can make good low RPM torque. The Cummins engine is a wonderful motor but the good torque figures are not because it is an
I-6 but because of the long stroke.
Often I hear that the V-8 only has 5 main bearings and that 2 piston/rod assemblies must share main bearings. That is true but usually only one piston is firing. V8's are ultimately a superior design to the I-6. Just ask GE and EMD. Train locomotives all use V-12's , 16's and V-20's. No inline anything. I drive trains for a living and one locomotive I had recently had a V-20 with more than 1180 C.I. per cylinder. If you want low end torque and towing capacity, look no further.
Thats not a typo, it is 1180 C.I. per cylinder X 20

 

The point still stands. Just because it's a different application, doesn't mean anything.

You are allowed an opinion...but I disagree. You have no proof the V8 design is inferior...all you're running on is
"my buddy has a Cummins and it's good..."
...hardly any proof in that.

The 7.3L is a V8 design...and it's a supposedly "fake" diesel according to you. Interesting how your opinion changes in your exact same post.

And the angle at which the piston is to the ground when it fires has nothing to do with the angle it's at when at TDC.




RedRage...I agree with you whole heartedly. V20 with 1180 cubes per cylinder!!?!?!








O, and Dagpar (mhannick, uuranium, etc)...you're not fooling anyone.