Greg B is 110% correct and could you imagine if the diesel was used to charge the battery of a hybrid F150?? If it was in the F150 and used the diesel to pull hills and heavy loads but use the electric to do daily driving with no load, the motor would last forever!! I would buy that in a second!! Even if the F150 just came out with a diesel that would get 20 mpg would be nice too. Just my .02

 

They've had the technology for decades. That's basically how diesel/electric locomotives work for trains. Don't know if it's a packaging problem or what, but that would be very energy efficient. That would make it worth the premium if they wouldn't rust out after 5 or 6 years. I can just hear the tree huggers whining about the smell now.

 

You don't really need a diesel to make a series hybrid. I think it would just make the cost ridiculously high. If it was a series hybrid, the internal combustion engine has no impact on performance, it's all down to the elec motors. A diesel generator might be a little bit more efficient, but if the gas series hybrid was $6000 extra and got 60mpg, and the diesel cost $15,000 and got 75mpg... i don't think they would sell many of the latter. Plus diesels as generators can be prone to glazing. This is because diesels don't like to sit at constant rpm. But either way, there is so much more that can be done than just making V8 gas engines to do the job.

 

Diesels don't like to sit at a constant rpm? Wait, what? er.....

 

Diesel locomotives operate with a diesel generator powering the electric motors at the wheels. Very efficient. Don't see any reason a full size truck couldn't have a similar package. Wouldn't need as large of a diesel engine as the turbo diesel now powering our SD's. Just enough to power the generator. Same could be accomplished with gasoline engine, but diesel is the most fuel efficient and will run as long as you want with proper maintenance. But with the cost of a rig such as this, the manufacturers would definately need to build a product that wouldn't begin rusting in 5 or 6 years. It would have to be rust resistant for at least 12 years in the northern winters for it to be cost efficient to purchase.

 

On a series hybrid you could have a smaller diesel then needed, because you have batteries with reserve.

With a train-like diesel electric setup, you would need just as big of an engine as you normally would, as most of them power the electric motors directly from the generator.

 

if your tired of waiting for ford to put a diesel in a f-150 or a small truck / suv.
others are tired of waiting as well and making their own.
here's just one site:
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=23
cc

 

Ford needs to develope their own straight6 diesel. They might be doing something new and scraping the 4.4L.

It would be cool for Ford to have the only diesel 1/2 ton truck.

 

Why does it need to be a straight 6?

 

That is what happened to me, I got tired of waiting for Ford to make a diesel 1/2 ton so I made my own (with the help of www.4btswaps.com ). I now have a 4x4 F-150 that gets 25mpg on the highway. Wouldn't it be nice if politics didnt get in the way of innovation and efficiency?


Also, what most people don't realize is that it doesnt take a huge engine to make a truck go down the road and pull decent loads. The 3.9L 4-cylinder does just fine.

 

Well I thought it would be cool for Ford to have a straight 6 something new for Ford guys.

 

Inline diesel's typically have a slightly different torque curve that makes them better in heavy duty or towing situations. I am a Powerstroke fan, but I think Ford would be better off with an inline diesel. In the F150, I dont understand why they are developing a 4.4L v8, when they could simply get a 4.5L inline 4 cylinder Deere, CAT, or Cummins motor and use that (fitted with proper emissions equipment). In south america, the super duty trucks use 3.9L cummins 4 cylinder engines.

 

Yeah CAT or Deere motor would be awesome in a f-150.

 

I agree. Why not just design a 300ci (relative to the gasser) to be an acceptable diesel that can compete with the 5.9 Cummins??? Use the same dimensions as the gasser 300ci (height, width, length) as a foundation to begin with.

 

I run heavy equipment for a living, all excavators run at steady rpm's all day long. What do you mean by "glazing"? Other diesels in loaders, dozers, trucks, etc vary rpms like a normal (gas) engine, but the engines in the excavators are the same engines found in other equipment.