I drove the new Power Stroke 6.0

[Carli_max]

My cousin is a diehard F**d guy, and he stoned me to come with him to test drive the new Power Stroke 6.0 After he drove it, he let me drive it. My conclusions:
It will out accelerate a stock Duramax. Not because of a more engine power, but because of very little turbo lag. That turbo allows instant throttle response. My Dmax on level #2 normal juice will wipe it up, but you have to give them a little credit for using that variable turbo. Our trucks would benefit a great deal from this type of turbo!
Also the down shifting in tow/haul mode did not come on as quick as my truck, and you really had to lay on the brake quite a bit to get it to downshift.
All and all the Truck is much improved over my cousin's 2002! His truck has Banks exhaust, Power Programmer, and an aftermarket turbo on it, and I honestly believe the stock 2003 6.0 Power Stroke will give him a good run if not beat him!!
Don't get the wrong idea, I still don't like F**ds, just thought I'd share my observations with you folks!
This Power War should get real interesting for us!!
Happy Holiday's to everyone!!

[bryantch]

I also drove a new powerstroke last friday and was not particularly impressed. the power is there but the engine noise is just slightly less than a 7.3. I asked the salesman to check the sticker to make sure it was a 6.0! even after warming up to full operating temp the truck is still noisy...in comparison to a duramax. power? yes, quiet? no...

just my observations...

[mtomac]

I took a F250 XLT 4x4 FX4 CC SB w/6.0 & Torqslip for a testdrive the other day. The engine is much quieter than a 7.3 but not a quiet as I thought it would be. It's almost as quiet as a Duramax but both engines have totally different sounds to them (it still sounds like a powerstroke). The truck had 9.9 miles on it and I took it easy until the engine & tranny temps came up to operating temp (Ford's gauges suck, how many degrees is H & C anyway? ) After putting almost 20 miles on the truck in the city and on the highway I thought it had decent power. At highway speeds 65-80 I thought it wanted to downshift too soon when passing. I put it to the floor getting onto the hwy a couple times and it accelerated fine but it didn't have the neck snapping acceleration I thought it would. Also, it was wierd seeing a diesel shift at 3500 rpm. Granted power was way better than a 7.3 but it was not noticably faster than a stock Duramax. The engine bay is packed but the 6.0's airbox is about the best I've seen so far (direct from behind the grill to the turbo). The steering, handling & ride wasn't anything to write home about but I wasn't expecting much either. I liked seeing Rancho shocks but would have liked to see the BFG's instead of Firestone Steeltex on the FX4. The interior is slill blah, the grab handle on drivers side a-pillar is in the way of mounting gauges and the back seat on the CC doesn't fold down, but the cloth seats weren't bad for a Ford.

Now on to the transmission. It upshifted & downshifted smooth in reg mode but when I put it in T/H mode it upshifted fine and downshifted into forth fine but it downshifted into third so hard the truck jerked and I thought someone rear-ended me on the off-ramp, then it downshifted to 2nd fine but there was more gear whine than I would like to hear. With the tall 2nd gear I don't think the whine is avoidable. After the harsh shift I looked over at the salesman and he had a priceless look of suprise on his face. As we headed back to the dealer, I told him not to worry the trans is just learning.

In summary the 6.0 & Torqslip are not what the hype led me to believe but hype aside they still seem like a good powertrain. Time will tell how good they really are. I'm skeptical about the tranny more than the motor, but the 6.0 has egr, cats, & emissions crap to contend with. I wonder how long before the egr has the intercooler and the rest of the intake half plugged.

After test driving a 6.0 PS I believe the truck tested in the Pickuptruck.com test was a tweaked Ford test mule against a Cummins & Duramax that were not broke in yet. The power was decent, but not enough to put up numbers like it did in the test. My truck w/o the juice (just airbox & muffler) could out accelerate a 6.0 loaded or empty. Put the VVT on a stock Duramax and it will definately outrun the new powerstroke.

It's a step up from the 7.3 & 4 speed auto, but it isn't going to make me run down and trade in my Duramax/Allison. One of my good friend just traded in his 99 Ford PS in on a Dodge. After driving the new PS vs the new Cummins he knew the ford wouldn't cut the mustard towing. He didn't look at the Duramax because he would have to order a truck with the 6 speed and he can't get employee discount on GM like he can with Ford or Dodge.

[HD Hauling]

Hi Fellows,
I believe the only way you are going to see what the Ford 6.0 has is by putting a load behind it and then judge the performance,not only on the hills but also just going down the road.
You can not judge these trucks of any make by just taking it for a little drive especially when these trucks are made for hauling.
Taking a truck and seeing who you can blow the doors off of just don't do it to test the truck.
It's good that there are dealers out their that will let you test drive these trucks to get the feel of it before you buy anyone of them.
I believe for the Ford and Dodge trucks with all the improvements it will make the bidding for power more interesting for all three truck compannies.
It will be very interesting to hear all the comparisons from all.
Enjoy your truck and have a great New Year!

[FisHn2DMax]

I took my girls up Snow boarding today and had a lady in a new stock 2003 Ford 6.0 diesel blow past me up the 6-7% grade on I-80 & Parleys canyon. Even under Full throttle, I couldn't stay with her until the downward side of the canyon. It turns out she was taking her kids to the same Park City, Utah ski resort. I parked next to them in the parking lot and asked her how she liked her new truck? She said she loves the power (somehow,I already knew that part)and extra interior room of the New Ford SD, but misses the ride quality and turning radius of her 2001 DMax CC that they just traded in for the new Ford. Overall she personally preferred Chev's for comfort and handling, but her husband was not happy with the number of problems they experienced with the 2001 DMax, so this time they decided to try the new Ford diesel.

As we both sat idling in the parking lot getting the kids ski gear out and all set-up, I did notice the New 6.0 was very quiet at idle! It was just slightly louder than my 2003 DMax (with the typewriter tick), but not by Much!

Ford has done a great job getting everything out of that new 6.0! However in IMHO, they still need to prove the New 6.0 & Auto tranny reliability and they need to improve the driveability of the truck! I owned a 99 Ford SD CC for four years, I recently sold it after getting my 2003 GMC DMax. Based on my own experience and what I've heard and seen on the new 2003's, the Ford still handles poorly, rides rough and takes a city block to turn it around. If and when Ford finally decides to address the driveability issues on their Super duties, My next truck could again be a Fo$d. Don't get me wrong, I love my New GMC! But it really doesn't really compare to Ford's roomy super duty cab interiors? GM needs a larger TRUE Heavy duty cab, Larger OEM tires, stronger/thicker bed sheet metal, and needs to get rid of that stupid dip in the Frame rail!

I'm sure others will disagree, but it's just my $.02 opinion after owning both trucks. :D

[hoot]

I don't see GM going head on with the SuperDuty body design anytime soon. I think it's a major marketing mistake and it's showing. GM has gained market share but a gain is all they get. No overtaking cause the SuperDuty caters to a much broader customer base. It really impresses me how Ford figured out that they could design a truck that basically teeters between a med duty and a regular pickup and sell millions. GM left out the construction side of it and produced a truck for the road only.

Love my truck for what I use it for. The GM cab is plenty big. Absolutely no complaints there. I don't see where the larger SD cab makes all that much difference over the GM but there are those that want the biggest for the money. How many people driving Suburbans complain of lack of interior space? We have the same setup (crew cab).

But if cost is similar, and in this case I believe the SuperDuties actually come in a little less expensive, the Ford wins in size and power.

Now reliablity is the kicker. Let's see how the new Powerstroke/TorqueShift does. Then with the more powerful Dmax out, power could be a bigger player but until GM takes the SuperDuty head on, they will always be second place.

[MountainMax]

Yeah Capitalism! We all win with the truck wars. When I decided to buy my first crew cab/diesel, I decided to go in with an open mind. I have to admit that I liked the appearance of the Ford. Dodge doesn't have a true crew cab yet. so they were eliminated. I test drove the Ford 2500 cc 4x4 first. I came away depressed. It was May 01 I I didn't think I could find A Dmax if I wanted one. What depressed me about the Ford was the handling. Yes it is a big cab. But it also sits high and the 4x4 is top heavy. Just doing a moderatly fast lane change caused it to lean and sway in a manner that scared me. I could just imagine trying a panic manuver or negotiating switchbacks in the mountains with a load in the bed. We'll I test drove a Dmax and the rest is history. Much better handling. Yes, I agree the bed rail metal is way to thin. And the dip to accomodate the allison is a real problem off road. But, for me it's a safer truck and I love the performance. Nothing in the Ford a little aftermarket can't cure. I expect the Dmax will have a VVT soon. Happy New Year. Pray for our troops. Even more so for our intel assets.

[More Power]

Moved to "General Diesel"