Super Duty gets a 10 speed and an updated diesel

philh wrote:

wilber1 wrote:

philh wrote:
Stupid question, but do more gears really make a difference on typical superduty diesel?

Yup. How much I don't know but having the perfect gear for every situation is definite plus.

I'm having a tough time understanding how it will help given the relatively flat torque curves on a diesel engine.

Because counter to Ford’s advertising a few years ago, torque is not power. Producing the same engine torque at a higher RPM means it’s producing more power.

Another way to think of it is this. If you can downshift and raise the engine RPM, you can now send this same (flat curve) torque through a lower gear and produce even more torque at the wheel than before the downshift. Lower gears multiply engine torque.

With less gears, a downshift may not be possible because it could push the engine up past its torque producing RPM.