Ford's 2005 6.8L is going 3-valve...

HillHound · June 6, 2004

Ford's giving thier 2005 Triton 6.8L V10 the 3v treatment and bumping the power rating from the current 310hp/425lb-ft at 4250/3250 to 355hp/455lb-ft. I'm a GM fan too but I love this engine so no apologies. It's a great low-rpm engine in a mid-range displacement class and it makes a smooth, powerful daily driver that can tow good when you need it to. The new numbers sound great to me!

I like the 8.1L as well because it's the last big-ass gas engine out there, and I think it's great for the the big block fans to still be able to get this sized engine-especially with the Allison tranny. It's rated for 2004 at 330hp/450lb-ft at 4200/3200. As far as I know, GM is keeping the rating the same for '05. Anybody know for sure? If this is the case Ford will have GMC/Chevy beat on the larger gas engine department.

Even worse, Dodge has this new 6.1L Hemi which is supposed to be over 400hp. No doubt less torque than either of the other two engines but alot of people are looking only at HP these days which means it may sway some weak-minded buyer to buy a Ram over Ford or GM!

Thoughts? I hate to see Ford or GM beat each other too bad, and I hate even worse to see Dodge on top in the HD pickup class. Ford's base V8 engine is already so far behind it's a joke and probably another year before their new 6.2L V8 is out. Should be interesting competition soon if you're a gas engine fan!

SnakeEyeSS · June 6, 2004

hate to say it, but it'll be a sweet deal if dodge puts the 6.1 Hemi in their 1500 SWB RC. Their 1500 5.7 Hemi is aloready the best bang-for-the-buck truck on the market.

Frank S · June 7, 2004

While I believe that the 6.1 would be sweet in a RC SWB,I have to disagree with the "best bang for buck statement".

When I priced an EC SWB 1500 4x4 Hemi Ram,it was going for almost 38k with cloth interior.This was verified by checking with 3 other local dealerships.I also checked on an EC SWB F150 FX4 loaded with every possible option and it came in a 2g's less than the Dodge plus it felt stronger throughout the low-mid range RPM band than the Ram did.

If any Ford dealers around here would have been halfway interested in cutting a deal,I'd be driving an F150 right now instead of my Sierra.I discounted the Dodge almost straight out of the hole because it was by far and away the most overrated powertrain on the market from my experiences.

At any rate,any and all improvements are good acroos the board because as long as the products are better,there should be more competition and there should be more innovative vehicles out for consumers to choose from.

Truckman031 · June 7, 2004

Dodge is extremely overrated. The Dodge guys over at PUTC love to brag about their big "HEMI". That engine gets power in the high rpms. It is a car engine put into a pickup. Ford and Chevy are the only two truck builders IMO. Their engines are built to work and tow. The 6.8 and 8.1 are perfect examples. Both are big, powerful engines. It is nice to see auto companys still producing engines meant for work. I hope the new 6.8 puts up the big numbers like what HillHound says. It will light a fire under GM to get more power out of the 8.1. BTW, did anyone hear why the 8.1 went from 345 hp to 330? I never heard why they lowered the ratings

HillHound · June 10, 2004

I hope the new 6.8 puts up the big numbers like what HillHound says. It will light a fire under GM to get more power out of the 8.1. BTW, did anyone hear why the 8.1 went from 345 hp to 330? I never heard why they lowered the ratings

Some guys say GM didn't actually lower the 8.1's output, but they just did it on paper for various reasons. Don't know for sure but it didn't make sense to me, especially for marketing reasons.

snoman · June 26, 2004

Dodge is extremely overrated. The Dodge guys over at PUTC love to brag about their big "HEMI". That engine gets power in the high rpms. It is a car engine put into a pickup. Ford and Chevy are the only two truck builders IMO. Their engines are built to work and tow.

I tend to agree with this. A engine with a 4000 RPM torque peak is not best suited for a truck. It needs strength in the 2500 to 3500+ rpm range for towing and such. It wouls be a nice engine in a lighter weight car but not best choice for a truck. A stock dodge V10 ot a 8.1 in a truck would eat the Hemi towing and such and has about same HP rating too.

Chevy Tough · January 9, 2005

Chevy is dropping the big block for a V-10, cause on the radio they said that GM's famous big block was the cause of emission's being high or something but i did hear of a V-10 being made.

vhato · January 9, 2005

Chevy is dropping the big block for a V-10, cause on the radio they said that GM's famous big block was the cause of emission's being high or something but i did hear of a V-10 being made.

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That is right. GM is going to a 3-valve V-10/Direct Injection and D-o-D.

Mark_in_Tulsa · January 9, 2005

Dodge is extremely overrated. The Dodge guys over at PUTC love to brag about their big "HEMI". That engine gets power in the high rpms. It is a car engine put into a pickup. Ford and Chevy are the only two truck builders IMO. Their engines are built to work and tow.

I tend to agree with this. A engine with a 4000 RPM torque peak is not best suited for a truck. It needs strength in the 2500 to 3500+ rpm range for towing and such. It wouls be a nice engine in a lighter weight car but not best choice for a truck. A stock dodge V10 ot a 8.1 in a truck would eat the Hemi towing and such and has about same HP rating too.

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The 5.7 Hemi makes it peak torque lower than the 5.3 and the Ford 5.4, so I dont' know where that 4000 rpm comment came from. You have to compare the Hemi to those 2 motors not a big block, or V10.

The new Hemi 6.1 thats goin in the 300M, is going to have 425 HP and 420 TQ.

Now there are no numbers for the Truck version of the 6.1, other than the fact it is going to have more TQ, and a better TQ curve with the cylinder deactivation thing, or whatever they call it.

502Python · January 18, 2005

The new V10 is actually rated at 362hp/457lb.ft. torque in the '05 brochure. I have the "old" V10 in our Excursion. It pulls very good with the medium weight rigs I pull and gets about 10mpg pulling a 5k lb load and about 11.5 mpg around town. I just bought a 2002 GMC 3500 with the 8.1L and am looking forward to the comparison. As for the Dodge...my last company truck was a Dodge and although the Hemi is a very nice motor, the rest of the drivetrain and other stuff was not very good. The trans slipped after about 25k miles, dealer said it was normal. The front brake rotors warped at 14k, dealer said they were only warrantied until 12k. The fan clutch went out, the A/C went out, the brake rotors warped every 30k miles like clockwork, and the trans would not engage if it was under 15 degrees until the truck warmed up and you cycled the gears a few times. My current company truck is an F150 and after 90k miles I have only changed the oil, 1 set of brake pads and new tires. The GM's that I have had were similiar to the Fords,,,very few issues. My experience with Dodge may have been isolated, but I will never get another one.

Mark_in_Tulsa · January 18, 2005

The new V10 is actually rated at 362hp/457lb.ft. torque in the '05 brochure. I have the "old" V10 in our Excursion. It pulls very good with the medium weight rigs I pull and gets about 10mpg pulling a 5k lb load and about 11.5 mpg around town. I just bought a 2002 GMC 3500 with the 8.1L and am looking forward to the comparison. As for the Dodge...my last company truck was a Dodge and although the Hemi is a very nice motor, the rest of the drivetrain and other stuff was not very good. The trans slipped after about 25k miles, dealer said it was normal. The front brake rotors warped at 14k, dealer said they were only warrantied until 12k. The fan clutch went out, the A/C went out, the brake rotors warped every 30k miles like clockwork, and the trans would not engage if it was under 15 degrees until the truck warmed up and you cycled the gears a few times. My current company truck is an F150 and after 90k miles I have only changed the oil, 1 set of brake pads and new tires. The GM's that I have had were similiar to the Fords,,,very few issues. My experience with Dodge may have been isolated, but I will never get another one.

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what size rims did you have. There was a TSB for the 20 inch, because of warped rotors

F-250 diesel · February 1, 2005

I think i read it a couple years ago in truck trend, but they did a comparison between the ford 250 w/the 6.8 v10, the chevy 2500 w/ the 8.1 v8 and the dodge 2500 when they still had the 8.0 v10 (last year). well for empty acceleration, the ford beat them all, the chevy was in 2nd and dodge was last. But when towing, the chevy was just able to beat the ford while the dodge was out back. for low end torque, they said the dodge was the best as the chevy and ford had to rev a little higher to get max torque. now with the 6.8 getting 3 valves, i think it will be close between the ford and chevy while towing........but im still waiting to see what that 6.1 does in that dodge

HillHound · February 3, 2005

now with the 6.8 getting 3 valves, i think it will be close between the ford and chevy while towing........but im still waiting to see what that 6.1 does in that dodge

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The magazine articles I've read comparing the larger gas offerings from all three, about three articles I think, put the 8.1L and 20v 6.8L neck and neck in towing and unloaded acceleration. I know in the T.T. article the 6.8L won by a very slim margin 0-60/1/4 mile unloaded and the 8.1L won by an equally slim margin towing an 8000lb trailer. Pretty sure it was 800lbs.

The Dodge 8.0L V10 wasn't even competetive in any of those tests-it was third every time. Still, I like that engine. It was just a big, slow torque machine.

The new Ford 6.8L 30 valve seems like it gets mixed reviews on the Ford boards. Some guys who've driven it say they can't tell much diffrence while other guys say it shows imprressive gains. I haven't driven one yet. There's not enough extra power over my V10 F250 to make me want to buy one-mine's paid for, I like it alot, it's trouble free and I'm not going to bite for an extra 7.5% torque than I have now. The 2003 Ford V10 like mine still makes 400lb-ft torque under 2000rpm and I doubt the real world towing performance with the new V10 is significantly better.

I do like the Ford built-in brake controller and accesory switches on the 05 Superduties though! Hopefully GM will do something similar with the new HDs. If I was buying a new one I'd still be looking hard at a GM 2500HD with a 6.0 or 8.1L. The only deal-breaker is the low chassis clearance and the fact that the GM dealers in this areas are tough to work with.

8100 Power · February 15, 2005

Like ive said, GM needs to get more out of the big block, it a big engine, the marine motors have little over 400 horses stock, in fact me and my friend have houseboats, a couple have the 8.1's in the boats, and they will haul @$$...

Just my $.02