See that red thing that’s being towed by a 2017 Ford Super Duty pre-production prototype? Ford is adamant that it had to develop a custom dyno sled to simulate steep grades because the new Super Duty is so powerful, the old dyno sled couldn’t be used to test the capabilities of the workhorse.
That’s the proper thing to do because, as you may know already, the Super Duty is marketed as being Built Ford Tough. If you think about it, the American manufacturer isn’t bluffing with this thing because heavy-duty truck drivers often want to haul stuff up steep grades. Like properly steep.
The video below features the 2017 Ford Super Duty towing the dyno sled on the flat roads of the Ford Arizona Proving Grounds. The thing is, that curious-looking sled contains a dynamometer inside it that generates up to 5,620 lbs (2,549 kg) of pull on the heavy-duty truck. That’s enough pull to simulate the resistance experienced when driving up a steep grade.
Therefore, the newly-developed dyno sled allows engineers to test the 2017 Ford Super Duty on challenging roads without leaving the controlled environment of the proving grounds. "Any test engineer in North America knows about Davis Dam," said Jim Sumner, product development engineer.
"It's a demanding hill going from sea level to more than 3,000 feet in 11.2 miles, and is an ideal location to test towing capability. With this dyno, we can test the all-new Super Duty on that hill - but from right here on the level surface of our Arizona Proving Grounds," he concluded.
The other hill that was used for testing the Super Duty is the 16-mile-long Townes Pass, a steep hill that features an average grade of 5.1 percent and a max grade of 10.1 percent. As a refresher, the 2017 Ford Super Duty range will roll out later in 2017. Available engine choices include 6.2-liter and 6.8-liter gas engines with CNG/propane capability, as well as a 6.7-liter Power Stroke Diesel.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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