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2011 Ford vs 2011 Chevy in Diesel Power Magazine's 18,900-pound tow test

112K views 568 replies 149 participants last post by  96powerstroker 
#1 ·
#3 ·
I knew that duramax would be tough to beat. I love my ford, but my dad has always had the duramax, hands down an awesome truck.

Im still drivin a ford tho :ford:
 
#4 ·
Said the Duramax finished the climb TWO MINUTES FASTER than the 6.7 Powerstroke, can you imagine sitting there for TWO FULL MINUTES waiting for a truck rated at MORE power to finally get there. This has officially made me sick.
 
#5 ·
Something doesn't smell right with this one. I'm not saying the Duramax might do a little better, but I wonder if they really were equal. Like if maybe they got one on purpose that hadn't been reflashed, but claimed that it was, since GM supplied the trucks something doesn't seem Kosher. A brand that is supplying vehicles for a test is going to somehow skew something in there favor so they always win. The only way I would trust a test like this would be if someone like Consumer Reports (or someone that is non-biased) went and got the vehicles and performed the test. Also I don't believe the speed that the Powerstroke got going up that hill, because I have had my truck at similiar altitudes and grades towing heavy and could get the truck to go as fast as I wanted up the hill with power to spare.
 
#19 ·
BIGCSS,
You're right to be skeptical of vehicle tests like this--especially when the results are a surprise. But, I think I can alleviate your (and others') very reasonable concerns.

First let me say that this: The Ford F-350 with the 6.7L Power Stroke we tested was great truck. Anyone that buys one will be more than happy with its capabilities.

But, what our test did was show that if you hook an 18,900-pound trailer to the back of a Ford F-350 DRW with 3.73 gears, and drive up the 8-mile stretch of I-70 East of Dillon, Colorado, to the 11,000-foot pass--you will not be able to do it as quickly as a comparably equipped Chevy can do it.

Look, in the 10 years I've been doing vehicle tests, I have never seen two more equally-equipped vehicles from two different manufacturers. The two trucks we tested were both 4-door, 4x4, dual-rear-wheel diesels with automatic transmissions. Both the Ford and Chevy had 3.73 axle gears, weighed within 200 pounds of each other (the Ford was heavier), cost within $65 of each other (the Ford cost more), and had nearly an identical number of miles on them.

So let's take each of your points one-at-a-time:

Question: Did the Ford F-350 we test have the 400hp/ 800-lb-ft tune?

Answer: The Ford we tested was built in September of 2010. That puts its assembly date after the 400 hp/ 800lb-ft reflash program was initiated in August, 2010 (per Ford's press release, dated August 3, 2010).

Question: Is it possible that the Ford we tested (that was built in September) left the plant in Kentucky with the old 390hp tune?

Answer: Again, all Super Dutys built by Ford after August 31, 2010 were to have the high-output (400hp) tune.

Question: What if the Ford you tested got out of the plant with the 390hp tune by mistake?

Answer: Even if it did (not very probable), the dealer (Harold Zeigler Ford Lincoln Mercury, in Elkhart, Indiana) would have updated it as part of its dealer preparation while it sat on the lot.

Question: Would Consumer Reports have done a more "trustworthy" "un-biased" story?

Answer: Everyone has a bias. Anyone who tells you otherwise has never looked in a mirror. We all have a bias. The bias of our test was that it was conducted by a magazine and a website that was interested in finding out which truck would climb the I-70 quicker with 18,900-pounds in tow. And honestly, of the four guys sitting in the trucks the night we did the test--we were all surprised by the results--that's why we tested each truck four times.

Question: How could this Ford have only seen the speed it did, when you (BIGCSS) "have had [your] truck at similiar altitudes and grades towing heavy and could get the truck to go as fast as [you] wanted up the hill with power to spare"?

Answer: Unless you were to tow the same 18,900-pound trailer we had, up the same grade out of Dillon, Colorado, over the same 11,000-foot pass, on the same night--you're experiences with your 2011 Ford are not comparable. Right?

Here's what I want to know:

Question: Why did it take the Ford 2 minutes more to climb the same grade that the Chevy did? Towing the exact same trailer?

Question: Would this test have had the same results if we towed more? Or, less weight?

Question: Would we have seen different results if we had conducted this test at lower elevations?

Question: Would we have seen different results if the outside temperature was 110 degrees, and not 5 to 10 degrees like it was the night we did out test?

Question: Which manufacturer did more testing on I-70 with it's 2011 HD diesel truck? Ford? or Chevy?

Final question: When are we going to have a reason to do a rematch?
 
#6 ·
"The Silverado made it through the quarter-mile more than 2 seconds quicker......"

I wonder if this was an unloaded (no trailer, no payload) test? With the 6.7 running 15's in stock trim, there's NO way the Duramax is in the 13's. Something ain't right.
 
#8 ·
If it was a 1/4 mile then it was an unloaded drag race. They only go thru the 1/8 if it's loaded. So yeah, there's definitely something up there.

.
 
#176 ·
i think you hit it on the head when they said that gm bought both trucks i already knew that the test was one sided
 
#12 ·
I honestly believe that their 1/4 mile was timed as the first 1/4 mile of their uphill adventure. I seem to recall them saying that the flat footed both trucks from the get go and held them there to the top of the climb and that they were using some G-Tech type device to do their timing.

This makes me believe that their timed 1/4 was part of the full test and not done at a dragstrip.
 
#13 ·
Somebody needs to do some explaining. Because this makes no sense.

2 MINUTES of disparity doesn't just pop from thin air.... that represents a gap of ~1.5 MILES....

We're talking SERIOUSLY different amounts of applied power.


Anybody got a dyno sheet for each engine? Because unless these two engines have vastly different powerbands, there is a big time problem here.

I'm trying not to be captain obvious, but come on.
 
#23 ·
We currently believe that the difference between the two trucks' power output may be related to the amount of air each of their Garrett turbos makes available to the different engines at high-elevations. It is possible that the Ford (Garrett) turbo is not optimized for such high-ellevation testing. That's not to say the Ford (Garrett) turbo is bad--it's just that it may not have been the ideal conditions (elevation) for that turbo.
 
#20 ·
2011 Ford vs. Ram vs. GM Diesel Truck Shootout - Dragstrip Test Results - Diesel Power Magazine


I got a kick out of that test! What a bunch of BS! Their idea of making it fair because GM supplied their trucks was to have a FORD engineer drive the trucks??? WHats that got to do with anything? How does that change what has been obviously been done to the Chevy. They have already did comparison tests prior to uping the power on the FORD. It was Chevy vs FORD vs RAM. They were very close in all segments. Usually tents of a second apart. The dodge lagged in all tests. Now Ford has upped its power in all levels, and the Duramax ran a 13 in the quarter mile, it ran a 16.90....2 tenths faster and the same speed in this test! It makes me want to toss their magazine in the garbage...or look for a Duramax advertisement in the story. The Chevy truck is not stock...they know it isnt, cuz they tested it a few months ago. SAD!
 
#25 ·
David, thanks for taking the time out of your day to post this thread and to reply to the questions being posted. Like many, I'm surprised by the results. I have no doubt that the staff at Diesel Power conducted an unbiased test, but I have to wonder if there was:

1) Something wrong with the Ford
2) Something modified on the Chevy

Or I wonder if the Ford just hates altitude.


On edit -- you just addressed what I was wondering about. I'm leaning towards the Ford hating altitude.
 
#27 ·
David Kennedy,

Glad to see you here.....

But the Point is...GM bought the Trucks...unless you or an impartial 3rd Party bought the trucks, without prior knowledge that they are being sold for a Match/Test, the the BIAS still weighs to GM...

Can you HONESTLY say, 1000%, that the trucks weren't touched by anyone at GM or the Dealer before the test?

I'm just saying...
 
#28 ·
I think that the turbo on the Powerstroke is also the weak point. The other is transmission and torque converter efficiency. According to these tests the Chevy has the more efficient drive train. Chevy has also had 10 more years perfecting it than what ford has on their table.. I'm sure ford engineers are hard at work making tweaks. Ford has never been a company to be pushed out of 1st place for long.
 
#32 ·
Humm I don't know what to think of this. Almost seem lie so how some where there was a un fair advantage to the chevy.
 
#35 ·
Doesn't Adam Branna have a dyno from his 6.7 when it was stock? I know it would've been before the update but still something.

.
 
#36 ·
I honestly dont see how there can be a 2 minute spread on 2 trucks that are supposed to be so evenly matched. I can see a few seconds if there was a loss in turbo efficiency. But 2 minutes. Did you melt the 6.7 pulling the grade? Becuase the EGT's must have been through the roof.

Something isnt jiving with this article. Im going down to the dealership with a buddy and we will test ourselves...LOL
 
#37 ·
Welcome to PSN, David. It was great to meet you at SEMA. I agree with the others that something about these results just doesn't sound right. That sounds like quite a bit more than just simple bias.
 
#38 ·
I just have a hard time believing there's that much time/speed difference. If the test was actually on the up-and-up, then Ford still has some work to do.
 
#42 ·
hate to point out the obvious, but you do know that ford uses a different strategy for their engine braking correct? The gm has a switch, ford's " switch " is the brake pedal transducer, so yes you will have to tap your brake pedal to drop gears, engine braking increased with pedal pressure, etc. Its been the same since 03 on the 6l. Which were by the way the first with a so called exhuast brake. (closed turbo vanes).

Thus saying you had to touch the ford brake pedal is a mute point, turn off the switch on the gm and try again, that would be the same as not pressing the brake pedal on the ford.
 
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