Torque and RPM

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Jeff-Ohio

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I read somewhere that the new ecoboost engines now produce their max torque at 3500 RPMs instead of 2500. I want it at 1500 RPMs. Has anybody seen a torque curve?
 

Truckzor

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I'm not sure why everyone gets so hung up on "max" torque, which these days is such an easily manipulated number.

It's really all about the curve. You want a flat one. Other than that, who cares.
 
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Jeff-Ohio

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I'm not sure why everyone gets so hung up on "max" torque, which these days is such an easily manipulated number.

It's really all about the curve. You want a flat one. Other than that, who cares.

I 100% agree and that is why I was interested in seeing the torque curve. If they generated 500 ft lbs at 1500 RPMs with a max of 510 at 3500, it seems like they would be advertising that. The only advertising I have seen is 510 ft lbs. Is that a manipulated number to top Chevy, or do we have a really good flat torque curve?
 

Pacific Wheel

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Was it just the Raptor that got bigger turbo's or was that just the new EB in general? If the turbos are bigger on the raptor I can only guess that it will be more peaky than the smaller turbo engine...
 

NASSTY

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Was it just the Raptor that got bigger turbo's or was that just the new EB in general? If the turbos are bigger on the raptor I can only guess that it will be more peaky than the smaller turbo engine...

Not sure about the size...but I read that they have lighter turbine wheels and electronic wastegates to reduce turbo lag.
 

Chris's FX4

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From Mike Levine's Instagram

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Dredlin

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Thank you for posting these graphs. I was waiting to see how the HP and torque curves looked.
 

BurnOut

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Based on the graph, it looks like the new motor comes on pretty quickly... looks like 2100 or so where it crosses the torque line for the '14 6.2L. Obviously, these results are at WOT (for both motors), so the new setup might be a little soggier (compared to the old truck) at initial tip-in and under low throttle/low engine speed cruising conditions.

Then again, there's the lighter weight and additional gears in the transmission that may well help keep the motor where it needs to be in order to deliver the torque... torque converter stall speed could also be adjusted to allow for a 2100+ RPM "flash" stall, but that wouldn't help with the low throttle/low engine speed scenario described above (it might make it worse, in fact).

Really, based on the graph, I would expect almost any work/towing/"enthusiast" use to favor the new truck vs. the old. Under those circumstances, you're typically looking at 2k+ RPM and heavier throttle use that would get the 3.5 up into the meaty part of the torque band pretty quickly. I can only think of a couple of scenarios where the lower torque between idle and 2100 would be a detriment for the new truck... things like pulling fence posts out of the ground, where the ideal approach is to chain the post to the truck, then let off the brake and let the idle torque of the truck do the work... maybe with just a breath of throttle. The work around for the one-off scenarios like that, though, is to put the (new) truck in 4-low for the torque multiplication; it's a step that might not have been necessary with the old truck, but we really are talking about an EXTREMELY low percentage use case (for the vast majority of users), here. In fact, the more that I think about it, the more I think that with the new truck there might be more call to use 4-low than with the old truck, but I can't fathom how, for most users, that would be a problem.
 

EricM

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Torque-less wonder without boost. Gas *hog* with boost. What's the point of a boosted V6 again?
 
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Jeff-Ohio

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Based on the graph, it looks like the new motor comes on pretty quickly... looks like 2100 or so where it crosses the torque line for the '14 6.2L. Obviously, these results are at WOT (for both motors), so the new setup might be a little soggier (compared to the old truck) at initial tip-in and under low throttle/low engine speed cruising conditions.

Then again, there's the lighter weight and additional gears in the transmission that may well help keep the motor where it needs to be in order to deliver the torque... torque converter stall speed could also be adjusted to allow for a 2100+ RPM "flash" stall, but that wouldn't help with the low throttle/low engine speed scenario described above (it might make it worse, in fact).

Really, based on the graph, I would expect almost any work/towing/"enthusiast" use to favor the new truck vs. the old. Under those circumstances, you're typically looking at 2k+ RPM and heavier throttle use that would get the 3.5 up into the meaty part of the torque band pretty quickly. I can only think of a couple of scenarios where the lower torque between idle and 2100 would be a detriment for the new truck... things like pulling fence posts out of the ground, where the ideal approach is to chain the post to the truck, then let off the brake and let the idle torque of the truck do the work... maybe with just a breath of throttle. The work around for the one-off scenarios like that, though, is to put the (new) truck in 4-low for the torque multiplication; it's a step that might not have been necessary with the old truck, but we really are talking about an EXTREMELY low percentage use case (for the vast majority of users), here. In fact, the more that I think about it, the more I think that with the new truck there might be more call to use 4-low than with the old truck, but I can't fathom how, for most users, that would be a problem.

I think you summarize things very well. Other than hauling a side-by-side once a month, I will mostly be using my truck as a daily driver. That said, I would love to have more torque and horsepower at the lower RPMs. This engine does make more of both, but unfortunately it does it higher in the powerband than where I like to frequently live. I will find a way to like my truck, but I didn't think the 2013 Raptor that I test drove felt particularly spirited and it has a fair amount of additional HP and torque at the RPMs I like to use. Unless the 10 speed tranny works wonders, I will have to settle for what will feel like mediocre performance to me. Bummer!!!!
 
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