Well, up until yesterday Chevy led the payload race:
This from Performax: Officially these are the maximum payload figures from each manufacturer for their 3500/350 variants for 2011; Chevrolet 2596kg, Ford 2426, Dodge 2326.
Today, however American Performance received the following and sent it to me as a potential customer:
I have attached some info for you - The F-350 DRW will now have the capacity to go up to a 3207kg payload.
To: All Ford Dealers
Subject: EFC0202250DC Announcing 2011MY Super Duty Performance and Capability Enhancements
The 2011MY Super Duty is off to a phenomenal start, with total retail sales and market share exceeding objectives. This truck is a homerun! Well, the best heavy-duty truck in the segment is about to get better! We are thrilled to announce performance, fuel economy, and capability enhancements to the new 2011MY Super Duty. These enhancements are a credit to the continuous improvement and testing efforts of our Engineering and Manufacturing teams. We know customers value power, capability, fuel economy and durability, and we moved quickly to bring these enhancements into the market place.
In addition, we are announcing a new, first-ever Customer Satisfaction Program – 10B17 to provide the same horse power, torque and fuel economy upgrades for customers that have already purchased or leased a 2011 Super Duty pickup with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke® diesel.
Attached are the press releases sent to media today. Here are the details:
Performance/Capability Enhancements
• The Ford built 6.7-liter Power Stroke® V8 turbo diesel, already praised by customers and journalists for its power, quietness, and fuel economy will raise the bar even higher. The result of additional durability and capability testing, the new 6.7L Power Stroke® diesel will now be rated at best-in-class 800 lb.-ft. of torque and 400 horsepower, an increase of 65 lb.-ft. of torque and 10 horsepower compared to when the all-new Ford-engineered and Ford-built engine went on sale earlier this year. The 6.7L Power Stroke® diesel's best-in-class fuel economy will be improved as well – now 20% better than the outgoing pickup models (vs. 18% at launch). Production at Kentucky Truck Plant with these performance upgrades will begin on August 5th.
• Starting with production on August 9th, one of the heavy haulers in the 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty lineup – the F-350 Dual Rear Wheel (DRW) - will add vehicle upgrades that will bring maximum payload and maximum fifth-wheel towing to best-in-class levels. Higher-strength steel in the frame will boost the payload and towing ratings as follows:
o F-350 DRW maximum payload to 7,070 pounds, from 6,520 pounds
o F-350 DRW maximum fifth-wheel towing to 22,600 pounds, from 21,600 pounds
Customer Satisfaction Initiative
Super Duty has more loyal owners than any truck in the heavy duty segment and many of these customers have already purchased a new 2011 Super Duty pickup. We understand the importance of these customers! With this in mind, we are pleased to announce we will be offering a first-ever, no-charge horsepower and torque upgrade Customer Satisfaction Program 10B17 to all owners that have purchased or leased a new 2011MY Super Duty pickup with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke® V8 turbo diesel. Here are some high level details:
• SERVICE ACTION: It is anticipated that Customer Satisfaction Program 10B17 will be provided to dealers by August 31, 2010, once the IDS service release is available. Dealers will then be able to reprogram the PCM and TCM to the latest calibration.
• CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION: Owners of affected vehicles will be notified approximately one to two weeks after the release of Customer Satisfaction Program 10B17.
• OASIS AND FSA VIN LISTS: OASIS will be activated when Customer Satisfaction Program 10B17 is released to identify the affected vehicles. FSA VIN Lists will also be available to identify vehicles assigned to individual dealerships. Owner names and addresses will be available after the customer notification.
• STOCK VEHICLES: Dealers are strongly encouraged to begin updating their affected in-stock vehicles once Customer Satisfaction Program 10B17 is released.
A more detailed communication of Customer Satisfaction Program 10B17 will be sent out later this month.
Please note, due to hardware changes, there are no plans to upgrade the payload and towing capability of 2011MY F-350 DRW's already sold to customers or in dealer stock. Only F-350 DRW units built after August 9th will receive this additional capability.
