Will Ford Increase New Power Stroke Diesel Power Rating to Beat GM?
Steve.Diehlman
Posted Today 10:00 AM by Steve Diehlman
Category: News
Think the diesel power wars are over? Far from it -- in fact, Ford revealed it may soon increase the power rating of its newest Power Stroke engine to best General Motors' latest oil-burning engine.
For a short while, Ford's new 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel V-8 seemed to be king of the hill, with 390 horsepower and an earth-shattering 735 pound-feet of torque. A few short weeks later, GM announced its revised 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel V-8 produces 397 horsepower and 765 pound-feet of torque.
This, apparently, hasn't gone over too well with the truck engineers in Dearborn. An insider told
PickupTrucks.com that the automaker wouldn't be settling for second best. Sources suggest the new Power Stroke responds well to mild tuning, and could reach figures approaching 400 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque with a software recalibration alone. GM's Duramax, however, is an older design and may have already been pushed to its performance limit.
Ford may be able to add power to its new Power Stroke fairly easily, but the challenge lies with adding said power without eating into fuel economy numbers or impacting emissions certification.
If Ford decides to up the power ante, expect to see the bump arrive in approximately a year. We'd imagine if the upgrades are limited to ECM flashing, early adopters will be able to upgrade their trucks to the new specifications as well.