Ford will make significant upgrades and design changes to its 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbo-diesel for the 2015 model year, the automaker announced at the 2013 State Fair of Texas.
Although no exact power ratings have been released, Ford says this will be the most powerful Super Duty engine ever. Whether it will beat the Ram HD’s 850 pounds-feet of torque produced by the current Cummins or Ford’s own class-leading 400-horsepower number, we’ll have to see. (Nobody strings us along better than Ford.)
“Truck leadership means never resting, and the Super Duty team has been tireless in finding ways to improve the industry’s most popular heavy-duty pickups,” said Joe Hinrichs, executive vice president and president of the Americas at Ford, in a statement.
The engine will remain the same size, meaning Ford has not touched the bore or stroke of the engine, but in just about every other way, engineers have improved it. To begin with, they’ve pulled the twin-compressor turbocharger in favor of a larger single unit that will have a larger turbine. The turbo is a key upgrade for the 2015 model because it allows Ford engineers to create a much-improved exhaust brake setup that will now offer an activation switch on the dash — something that was missing on previous versions.
The extra power required the torque converter to be upgraded as well, helping to more solidly deliver the increased power to the wheels. Many other aspects of the engine have been upgraded, including the main bearings, crankshaft design, dampers and gaskets. Ford engineers have even added material to the cylinder heads and exhaust manifold to compensate for the increased power.
No details were offered as to how this new engine and technology will be phased in or if the existing and new engines will be offered at the same time. However, this will be the only engine available on the new 2015 F-450, which will include many changes as well. See our for more details.
To read the complete 2015 Super Duty and Power Stroke press release, .
