2011 Ford Superduty test drive

[haven]

The embargo on stories about the 2011 Ford Superduty pickups has expired,
and several web sites are running articles that describe the new trucks. The
folks at pickuptrucks.com do a better job than most in describing what's
changed for 2011

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/03/first-drive-review-2011-ford-fseries-super-duty-part-1.html

The F250 longbed diesel, carrying 1000 lbs of concrete mix in the bed, produced
22 mpg while driving on secondary roads and freeway. Page 4 of the review has
a few comments about driving off-road.

 

[upcruiser]

735 ft/lbs of torque in the Powerstroke! :Wow1:

 

[maXTERRA]

Thanks for the great link.

Looks like Ford may have finally removed thier heads from their behinds as fas as diesels go. The 6.o's and .4's were total crap, though I do know one guy with an early 03 "extradition" 6-er that is still running fine (didn't they recall a bunch of those for leaky injector seals?).

I still love my trusty ol 7.3 but if I ever hit the lotto...:drool:

 

[charlieaarons]

I don't see 22mpg in the story. If true, that's amazing considering the horror stories from the 6.x engines. I can only guess that it would do 23-24mpg with an (unobtainable) ZF 6 spd manual.
Also, if true, it means massive amonts of fuel are no longer being wasted on wasteful emission control strategies like retarded timing and extremely high EGR rates (I imagine the EGR on the 6.7 is in-cylinder). Hopefully they've switched to the (european) strategy of higher NOx, more efficient combustion, burning particulates in an oxi-cat with high NOx exhaust, then reducing NOx with the urea, then occaisonal (less often than in the 6.x engines) DPF burn-offs. Because most of the soot is already burned in the oxi-cat by the higher NOx concentrations, which they can allow because of the urea injection downstream.
Less wasted fuel = less internal heat = hopefully greater reliability.

Charlie

 

[PAToyota]

I don't see 22mpg in the story.

Last page under the photo of it tearing through a mudpuddle:

Our last driving exercise was a fuel-efficiency challenge. While some on the trip hypermiled their diesels over 28 mpg, we drove 70 miles back to Phoenix on rural roads and the Interstate 10 freeway near the speed limit or keeping up with traffic. The diesel didn't shrug a bit with 1,000 pounds of concrete in its bed while returning an excellent 22 mpg.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

That part about being on "rural roads" kind of caught my attention.
It's possible that high mileage number was helped by slightly lower speeds on those roads when compared to the average highway.
I know my Durango gets very high mileage going 40 mph vs to 65 or 70...

 

[milo12]

I expect the mileage number is from the trucks own computer display. Those displays are called the lie-o-meter for a reason. Still, if the display said 22 it probably wasn't off by more than a few mpg and even 16 would be good considering how the truck was being driven.

 

[SunTzuNephew]

I expect the mileage number is from the trucks own computer display. Those displays are called the lie-o-meter for a reason. Still, if the display said 22 it probably wasn't off by more than a few mpg and even 16 would be good considering how the truck was being driven.

I'd be very happy with 15 and ecstatic with anything over 18...

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Here's another report, with even better mileage:


http://www.pricedigests.com/price-digests/2010/3/7/test-drive-ford-2011-f-series-super-duty.html


Best line in it:

One of the most striking visuals at the rock quarry was seeing an 8100# rock strapped on a new Dodge sitting on top of a fifth wheel trailer being towed by an F-550. The Dodge was at maximum capacity with the truck, rock and bed alone.

 

[Carlyle]

Sounds good, as I've been waiting patiently for Ford to bring out something to beat the last two diesels. I'll wait at least a year or two to see how reliability is though.

 

[dzzz]

Another encouraging mpg report


http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29955

from the same guy

___This engine is so strong that the TC will stay locked up all the way down to 900 RPM and Fuel cut will only disappear when you approach the 900 R level from what I was seeing. In addition, the 2011 Super will not buck or lug down to 900 RPM. It simply does not lug! I was towing a 10,000 pound load up a 4 to 6 percent grade at the 35 mph PSL in switchbacks and she was holding 1,200 RPM's without a care in the world. The Silverado HD was having trouble and shifting around between 1,800 and 2,200. Same with the Dodge and its Cummins. The Dodge Cummins felt really crude, loud and handled very poorly when towing. The GM Duramax was simply struggling. When coming down the same grades, the Chevrolet was a handful. The Dodge was scary. The Ford was tap on the brakes and she would drop a gear and hold speed. No switches, no buttons and simply forget about what you were hauling and pay attention to the road ahead. Very impressive. And it idles at just 600 rpm too.

 

[Rot Box]

Although I could NEVER justify owning one right now I would really like to pull 10K+ pounds just to see what this new truck is capable of! :smiley_drive: From the sounds of it Ford didn't hold anything back.

 

[haven]

Now Pickuptrucks.com has posted their brief review of the Ford F250 single rear wheel 4x4 with diesel power.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/08/offroad-test-2011-ford-f250-super-duty.html

Author Dan Sanchez reports that the suspension has sufficient articulation and compliance to make for an easy ride over rutted dirt roads. Mike says the limiting factor is the stock machine's clearance.

 

[Heimz]

I put a couple hundred miles on tuning a 2011 and though its got some great pulling power, its a slug out of the hole. It rips when the turbos get lit though.

Cool thing is the instrument cluster has a built in inclinometer, pitch, and steering input feature. All measured in tenth's of a degree. A lot of cool features too, like a e-locker in the rear, fancy nav with Sync, and lockable underseat storage.

I just wish the steering gear ratio was more friendly, it takes like 3 full turns to go from straight to a full left or right u-turn. my dodge takes less than 2.


Overall, its like driving a couch out of the family room. A fancy couch. Theyre nice trucks though!

 

[Rovertrader]

EGR now has it's own cooling system...