An update on HO's

[Bob W]

I was at the Eastern States Expo on Sept. 16th. , and asked at the Dodge display what the situation was on the HO in the 5 states that don't allow it now (CA, NY, VT, MA, ME). The first rep I spoke to immediately got someone else. His response, was that in the 5 non-HO states, they will get one in about 8 months, with a torque rating of 490, while in the other states it will jump up to 575. Anyone else hear about this?



I'm skeptical, because at the Big-E 2 years ago, I asked about the new Heavy Duties that were still a year away at that time, and I was told 2 things:



1) It would look like the Power Wagon Concept

2) There would be a 4500 and 5500 series truck



Neither one happened, so I'm reluctant to believe a "factory rep. "



If the engine ratings he gave me are accurate, I wonder if this is a ploy for DC to say: "We don't have a 50-state HO, but we have a Mercedes engine that would be just as good... "



I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories, but it seems like a good excuse for the DC brass to keep as much of their production in-house as possible.



Any thoughts?



Bob

 

[Bob W]

A question about torque....

How much torque does it take to make a noticeable difference in performance? Is 10 lb-ft a big difference, or does it take a larger increase to notice more performance?

 

[E7mack96]

I was told, years ago, that 10 ft. lbs is worth 1/10 in the quarter.



Now this is based on a 3,000 lb. car. so it probably is more like 1/20 sec in the quarter.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

They are usually pretty tight lipped about actual production power output because of fords oneupmanship. Look at this years cummins. Ford says 6. 0 will have 550. Dodge later says cummins will have 555. Ford then ups production #s to 560. They keep actual numbers closely guarded usually til the last minute to prevent being oneupped.

Although with the issues with the 6. 0 oneupmanship might be the last of fords worries. Figure it out before you make it worse.

 

[Ken F]

Originally posted by Big_Daddy_T

Ford says 6. 0 will have 550. Dodge later says cummins will have 555. Ford then ups production #s to 560.

Have you ever noticed how Ford and GM have a torque "spike", but then it immediately falls off. (Smoke-N-Mirrors if you ask me. )



The Cummins hits 555 @ 1400 RPM and maintains it until 2850. No game playing.



Ken.