The New 6.8L V8 Thread

[ESP08]

7 hours ago, SoonerLS said:

Yeah, that doesn't make any sense as a business case. Right now, you have two unique engines in the SuperDuty lineup, and only one of them can go across the full lineup, so increasing the displacement of the smaller one (which had already been rejected for use in anything beyond the F-250) leaves you with two unique engines. At least if you build the 6.8 off the Godzilla architecture you get some economy of scale by having the opportunity to share components between them.

 

It makes sense if the 6.8 was intended to be a dedicated high-performance engine or a 5.2 Predator replacement.    

Boss and Godzilla share bore spacing after all.  

 

With 6.8 reportedly showing up in Super Duty that's clearly not the case.  

Edited September 13, 2022 by ESP08

[Bob Rosadini]

Well a lot of good points here and I'm sure mine will be a very minority opinion but I would say;

 

-Assuming the 6.8 is in fact a push rod engine developed off the 7.3, and therefore has a good "lineage".

-Assuming more and more people recognize the premium you pay for a diesel including acquisition AND proper maintenance and they say.."no way" to those costs,

-Assuming not everyone runs high annual miles and doesn't always run the loads that the diesel torque ratings handle,

-Assuming Ram and GM sales appeal to a large number of buyers who want gas but also the simplicity that gives them a comfort level over a complicated OHC engine regardless if that comfort level is justified....

 

Then the 6.8 would do well in 150 and the base 250 GVW ratings.  It would be the absolute "king" when it came to capability and would better both the Ram and GM gas offerings and I think would keep a lot of defections to those brands in check.

And to those who  say.."150 is the leader -look at the numbers", I say "look over your shoulder, the other guys seem to be gaining ground".

[akirby]

40 minutes ago, Bob Rosadini said:

Well a lot of good points here and I'm sure mine will be a very minority opinion but I would say;

 

-Assuming the 6.8 is in fact a push rod engine developed off the 7.3, and therefore has a good "lineage".

-Assuming more and more people recognize the premium you pay for a diesel including acquisition AND proper maintenance and they say.."no way" to those costs,

-Assuming not everyone runs high annual miles and doesn't always run the loads that the diesel torque ratings handle,

-Assuming Ram and GM sales appeal to a large number of buyers who want gas but also the simplicity that gives them a comfort level over a complicated OHC engine regardless if that comfort level is justified....

 

Then the 6.8 would do well in 150 and the base 250 GVW ratings.  It would be the absolute "king" when it came to capability and would better both the Ram and GM gas offerings and I think would keep a lot of defections to those brands in check.

And to those who  say.."150 is the leader -look at the numbers", I say "look over your shoulder, the other guys seem to be gaining ground".

If the 6.8 is that great and it fits both 150 and 250 then just use that.  No need to keep it and the 7.3.

[twintornados]

3 hours ago, akirby said:

If the 6.8 is that great and it fits both 150 and 250 then just use that.  No need to keep it and the 7.3.

 

7.3L / 6sp Auto is the powertrain of choice in Medium Duty, E-Series, and Stripped chassis.

[7Mary3]

I don't see the 6.8L in the F-150, it would screw CAFE up.  Still think it's going to replace the 7.3L, at least in F-600 and below Super Duty trucks.

[akirby]

1 hour ago, twintornados said:

 

7.3L / 6sp Auto is the powertrain of choice in Medium Duty, E-Series, and Stripped chassis.

Then keep using it on Super Duty.  No need to add a 6.8.

[jpd80]

3 hours ago, twintornados said:

 

7.3L / 6sp Auto is the powertrain of choice in Medium Duty, E-Series, and Stripped chassis.

I think this was Ford saving money by doing least possible changes to MD, E-Series and Stripped Chassis,

All Ford did was replace the 6.8 V10,  leave the V10’s 6F140 and use that new calibration across several vehicles.

Edited September 13, 2022 by jpd80

[7Mary3]

Ford may have figured the 7.3L might not be viable in a few years due to more stringent emissions/GHG regulations and new fuel economy standards for medium duty vehicles.  A slightly smaller direct injection V-8, possibly with AFM/cylinder cutout might deliver the same performance with better economy and emissions.

[SoonerLS]

3 hours ago, akirby said:

Then keep using it on Super Duty.  No need to add a 6.8.

I still think the 6.8 makes the most sense in a SuperDuty Hybrid.

[akirby]

42 minutes ago, SoonerLS said:

I still think the 6.8 makes the most sense in a SuperDuty Hybrid.

Probably but it still doesn’t make sense to have both a 6.8 and 7.3.

[Bob Rosadini]

8 hours ago, akirby said:

If the 6.8 is that great and it fits both 150 and 250 then just use that.  No need to keep it and the 7.3.

Well sounds like the horse is out of the barn.  They  have what is needed to begin producing 6.8's in Ontario so sunk costs are in place for both.  And some say the 7.3 isn't big enough for 750.  But as I have previously stated, the 7.3 has numbers that exceed the old Super Duty 401 and the SD 477-and there were plenty of tandem dumps/mixers in use with both of those motors 40-50 years ago.

But AK perhaps your thought is correct-and the 7.3 was just a developmental "place holder" and provided the testbed for a slightly smaller V-8 that just might be a bit more economical.

[SoonerLS]

43 minutes ago, akirby said:

Probably but it still doesn’t make sense to have both a 6.8 and 7.3.

Unless the 6.8 can't do the same job as the 7.3. I'm thinking the 6.8 is going to be close enough in output for the electric to make up the difference, but you can't go all hybrid in those classes right out of the gate. That really would push buyers to Ram and GM.

[Bob Rosadini]

Well any thought of a Mustang application should be cleared up tomorrow.

[7Mary3]

There MIGHT be some 2023 Super Duty news as well.

[jpd80]

6 hours ago, akirby said:

Probably but it still doesn’t make sense to have both a 6.8 and 7.3.

 

I don’t know about hybrids but a 6.8 V8 with more low end torque would seem to be a better base engine than the 6.2 

Edited September 14, 2022 by jpd80

[twintornados]

12 hours ago, akirby said:

Then keep using it on Super Duty.  No need to add a 6.8.

 

I can see Ford migrating F250 down onto the F150 chassis and then Superduty is F350 on up. But, I agree on 6.8, I think it is DOA.

Edited September 14, 2022 by twintornados

[NLPRacing]

Do we know if the 6.8 will have an aluminum block? 

[akirby]

33 minutes ago, NLPRacing said:

Do we know if the 6.8 will have an aluminum block? 

We know nothing except it’s 6.8L and it’s going into Superduty first.

[NLPRacing]

29 minutes ago, akirby said:

We know nothing except it’s 6.8L and it’s going into Superduty first.

 

Building an identical engine to the 7.3 except making it a 6.8 doesn't make much sense. But if the block is aluminum or made stronger for boost, that would make more sense. An EcoBoost 6.8 with Port & Direct injection and cylinder deactivation would be interesting. 

[akirby]

32 minutes ago, NLPRacing said:

 

Building an identical engine to the 7.3 except making it a 6.8 doesn't make much sense. But if the block is aluminum or made stronger for boost, that would make more sense. An EcoBoost 6.8 with Port & Direct injection and cylinder deactivation would be interesting. 

Supposedly confirmed that it’s naturally aspirated (for super duty at least) according to Ford Authority.

 

But the original statement from the union leader was that it would go in mustang and F150, so the assumption was that the 7.3L wouldn’t fit and this was just a downsized Godzilla.  Nothing about this makes sense u til we get more details.

[fuzzymoomoo]

39 minutes ago, akirby said:

Supposedly confirmed that it’s naturally aspirated (for super duty at least) according to Ford Authority.

 

But the original statement from the union leader was that it would go in mustang and F150, so the assumption was that the 7.3L wouldn’t fit and this was just a downsized Godzilla.  Nothing about this makes sense u til we get more details.

That was also 2 years ago and we know plans have drastically changed since then. 

[silvrsvt]

I could possibly see this go into the Mustang down the road a bit as the GT350/500 replacement in 24-36 months. 

[Bob Rosadini]

2 hours ago, akirby said:

Supposedly confirmed that it’s naturally aspirated (for super duty at least) according to Ford Authority.

 

But the original statement from the union leader was that it would go in mustang and F150, so the assumption was that the 7.3L wouldn’t fit and this was just a downsized Godzilla.  Nothing about this makes sense u til we get more details.

"Naturally Aspirated"...KISS!  And although old info, think maybe the union head had some info from line workers who had input on the 6.8 and the manufacturing process?

And as JP suggested-perhaps low end torque.

Makes sense for the true 150 work truck  that pulls skid steer trailers etc.

[akirby]

26 minutes ago, Bob Rosadini said:

"Naturally Aspirated"...KISS!  And although old info, think maybe the union head had some info from line workers who had input on the 6.8 and the manufacturing process?

And as JP suggested-perhaps low end torque.

Makes sense for the true 150 work truck  that pulls skid steer trailers etc.

No this came from union discussions with the company.

[SoonerLS]

3 hours ago, NLPRacing said:

 

Building an identical engine to the 7.3 except making it a 6.8 doesn't make much sense. But if the block is aluminum or made stronger for boost, that would make more sense. An EcoBoost 6.8 with Port & Direct injection and cylinder deactivation would be interesting. 

It doesn't make sense to build an identical engine with reduced displacement (although Ford does have the 400/351M in its history), but if you can use a smaller block with a lot of shared components, you get an engine that's maybe only marginally less expensive than the 7.3, but significantly less expensive than the 6.2 it'll replace--and it will at least have the potential of being used in the F-150 and Mustang. It's kind of the inverse of the 302/351 Windsors, where the 351 came from the 302. 

 

If it's going in the SuperDuty, chances of it having an aluminum block would seem very low, although a variant for F-150 and/or Mustang would almost require one. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by SoonerLS