2020 GM Diesel gets crushed

Pastusak.t · January 29, 2020

16 hours ago, NWI Denali said:

TFL released an extended, behind the scenes cut of the IKE Gauntlet runs. The Ford's transmission temperature was 235 degrees and the electric fan was cycling on and off the whole run. The GM Allison trans was running at 185.

I notice that too. I wonder why they don’t normally give this kind of info. I also wonder why they didn’t report on that during the initial review. Seems to me that some might want to know that one trans runs way hotter than the other. What happens to that ford when it’s 110* out. Trans temp at 235* when the ambient air temp is 25* seems too high.

heymrdjCW · January 29, 2020

I notice that too. I wonder why they don’t normally give this kind of info. I also wonder why they didn’t report on that during the initial review. Seems to me that some might want to know that one trans runs way hotter than the other. What happens to that ford when it’s 110* out. Trans temp at 235* when the ambient air temp is 25* seems too high.

Probably because it’s designed for it. There’s a good few threads of people taking delivery of 2020’s and seeing 210-220F fluid range on the empty truck. We aren’t seeing what the computer sees and decides in terms of fluid flow. Modern transmissions have been designed to run hotter and hotter because that’s where efficiency is. A lot of them even take engine coolant to get the transmission to operating temperature faster. The MerconLV fluid is rated at 250F, and over 250F for 30 minutes before causing harm.

The powertrain engineers probably have it figured out a lot better than the armchair engineers.

FirstAscent · January 29, 2020

Probably because it’s designed for it. There’s a good few threads of people taking delivery of 2020’s and seeing 210-220F fluid range on the empty truck. We aren’t seeing what the computer sees and decides in terms of fluid flow. Modern transmissions have been designed to run hotter and hotter because that’s where efficiency is. A lot of them even take engine coolant to get the transmission to operating temperature faster. The MerconLV fluid is rated at 250F, and over 250F for 30 minutes before causing harm.

The powertrain engineers probably have it figured out a lot better than the armchair engineers.

True, but I do find it interesting that they were still 50 degrees different from each other, even if that was the intended design of each. We’ll never know the engineers true thought process

swathdiver · January 29, 2020

It's not unusual for GM to carry over engines from the previous generation for a year or so. Andre at TFL either just recently got his CDL or will have it soon. The guys were pretty apprehensive at the beginning of the first run due to traffic and weather conditions, the back story video shows the Ford first and then the GMC but they were executed/filmed the other way around if I remember right.

Edited January 29, 2020 by swathdiver

L86 All Terrain · January 29, 2020

All I see in the service line at my Ford dealer is new Diesel Super Duties, but then the Duramax isn't much more reliable either. All manfactures have been garbage since the introduction of DEF. They don't have a reliable DEF system, so the truck is unreliable as a result. Who wants to void warranty and delete the system on a brand new $80,000 truck?

IdoMRI · January 29, 2020

I'm a long time Ford owner " 8 trucks ,excursion, and expedition" and I switched to my first GM Truck due to cameras offered to help ease of towing my large toy hauler, no CP4, and HUD. That's why I went with GM this time for the first time in my life. I don't care if you can tow 30k up the divide of Colorado 1 min faster not why I purchase my HD truck. I want to have the better tools for actually towing safer for me and those around me.

jaybauman · January 29, 2020

5 hours ago, IdoMRI said:

I'm a long time Ford owner " 8 trucks ,excursion, and expedition" and I switched to my first GM Truck due to cameras offered to help ease of towing my large toy hauler, no CP4, and HUD. That's why I went with GM this time for the first time in my life. I don't care if you can tow 30k up the divide of Colorado 1 min faster not why I purchase my HD truck. I want to have the better tools for actually towing safer for me and those around me.

Before i owned my 2020, I considered most of these new "tools" to be gimmicks. But after towing with the new truck, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that they are really simple, intuitive, and useful. The trailer app, the much-improved side mirrors, the rear-view camera mirror, and "see thru" trailer camera all combine to de-stress the towing experience in heavy traffic.

IdoMRI · January 29, 2020

4 minutes ago, jaybauman said:

Before i owned my 2020, I considered most of these new "tools" to be gimmicks. But after towing with the new truck, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that they are really simple, intuitive, and useful. The trailer app, the much-improved side mirrors, the rear-view camera mirror, and "see thru" trailer camera all combine to de-stress the towing experience in heavy traffic.

Exactly why I went ahead and purchased a GM HD and to be honest was wondering if made a mistake at the time of order since I always had Fords. Glad to hear the positive feed back that it works as advertised. I plan on doing my first tow within the next month.

heymrdjCW · January 29, 2020

I'm a long time Ford owner " 8 trucks ,excursion, and expedition" and I switched to my first GM Truck due to cameras offered to help ease of towing my large toy hauler, no CP4, and HUD. That's why I went with GM this time for the first time in my life. I don't care if you can tow 30k up the divide of Colorado 1 min faster not why I purchase my HD truck. I want to have the better tools for actually towing safer for me and those around me.

I’m curious what tools were different from the two. From what I’ve seen, all big three are offering the same packages when it comes to trailer mounted cameras, above cab cameras, trailer TPMS etc. I haven’t had a chance to check out a loaded out 2020 Ford as they have been selling them basically as they come in, but online I didn’t see much of a difference.

jaybauman · January 29, 2020

1 hour ago, heymrdjCW said:

I’m curious what tools were different from the two. From what I’ve seen, all big three are offering the same packages when it comes to trailer mounted cameras, above cab cameras, trailer TPMS etc. I haven’t had a chance to check out a loaded out 2020 Ford as they have been selling them basically as they come in, but online I didn’t see much of a difference.

When I was looking for a new truck, I spent most of last summer comparing and test driving 250/2500 and 350/3500 models of Silverado, Ram, Ford, and GMC. For me, there were 2 general categories of benefits that ultimately pushed me to GM.

Tools: Side Mirrors--while the ugliest of the bunch, the GM version gives the best view of rear/sides. Rear View Camera (only on GM) Mirror--really nice when not towing, and gives ability to see a bit around sides of trailer. Trailering app--remembers settings for any trailer, automatic trailer light testing. See-through trailer cam (only GM)--thought this would be a gimmick; it was easy to set up, it just works, and it's really useful when trying to change lanes in traffic. Heads-up display is quickly becoming a must-have when navigating unfamiliar places while towing. Payload--the GM trucks had 800-1400lb more payload capacity than comparable Rams and Fords (for example, my 3500 Duramax AT4 SRW has nearly 4000lb payload capacity).

Simplicity: Trailer TPMS--I had the sensors installed in my tires and simply used the trailering app to connect them to my truck display....no wires or repeaters or harnesses or other hardware required. Cameras--truck and trailer cameras act completely different (very intuitive) depending on whether or not a trailer is attached.

Bonus: Since my RV puller is also my also my daily driver, the independent front suspension ended up being perhaps the biggest differentiator for me.

Please don't take this post as me being a GM fanatic or think that I'm trashing Ford and Ram. I really liked the upper trims of all 4 makes (although the Chevy is just far too ugly, according to my wife), and each has its advantages and disadvantages. In fact, the Ram 3500 with Mega Cab and Ram Box was quite tempting. But overall, the considerations I must mentioned above made me go with GMC.

heymrdjCW · January 29, 2020

When I was looking for a new truck, I spent most of last summer comparing and test driving 250/2500 and 350/3500 models of Silverado, Ram, Ford, and GMC. For me, there were 2 general categories of benefits that ultimately pushed me to GM.

Tools: Side Mirrors--while the ugliest of the bunch, the GM version gives the best view of rear/sides. Rear View Camera (only on GM) Mirror--really nice when not towing, and gives ability to see a bit around sides of trailer. Trailering app--remembers settings for any trailer, automatic trailer light testing. See-through trailer cam (only GM)--thought this would be a gimmick; it was easy to set up, it just works, and it's really useful when trying to change lanes in traffic. Heads-up display is quickly becoming a must-have when navigating unfamiliar places while towing. Payload--the GM trucks had 800-1400lb more payload capacity than comparable Rams and Fords (for example, my 3500 Duramax AT4 SRW has nearly 4000lb payload capacity).

Simplicity: Trailer TPMS--I had the sensors installed in my tires and simply used the trailering app to connect them to my truck display....no wires or repeaters or harnesses or other hardware required. Cameras--truck and trailer cameras act completely different (very intuitive) depending on whether or not a trailer is attached.

Bonus: Since my RV puller is also my also my daily driver, the independent front suspension ended up being perhaps the biggest differentiator for me.

Please don't take this post as me being a GM fanatic or think that I'm trashing Ford and Ram. I really liked the upper trims of all 4 makes (although the Chevy is just far too ugly, according to my wife), and each has its advantages and disadvantages. In fact, the Ram 3500 with Mega Cab and Ram Box was quite tempting. But overall, the considerations I must mentioned above made me go with GMC.

I don’t think you’re a fanatic at all. I know they changed the 2020 stuff on the Fords but I wasn’t sure how much. Haven’t had a chance to play with one [emoji16]. I generally get good info out of the Elkhart teams, but I haven’t had a chance to talk about the 2020 Fords with anyone. And as I said, my dealer doesn’t have any decently loaded ones that aren’t sold already. I appreciate the first hand experience.