We came in expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of low-17-second quarter-mile times, and we were right. Sort of. Our first pass netted us 17.10 seconds at 82 mph, but we had an ace up our sleeve-we were only in 2WD. Locking the hubs and putting the truck in 4WD made power-braked, full-throttle launches no problem and dropped our quarter-mile time to an uncorrected 16.42 seconds at 81 mph.
Our 60-foot times (a measure of how well the vehicle gets traction) dropped immensely, and in 4WD, we were leaving the line on everything else at the track, except for a 12-second Subaru WRX. The lesson here is if you are going to race, do it in 4WD. Corrected for elevation, our best time was 16.17 seconds at 82 mph, so whether you buy into correction factors or not, we were looking at a mid- to low-16-second ride.
 The '08 Ford F-250 was easing...  The '08 Ford F-250 was easing into the beams. At this point, we were already on the throttle and the brakes trying to spool up the turbos before the launch; transmission temps stayed at normal. |  Associate Editor Jason Sands...  Associate Editor Jason Sands attempts to calculate the weight of our F-250 based on the horsepower and quarter-mile times. |  You can barely see the nose...  You can barely see the nose of the out-of-state 305hp '03 Dodge we were racing most of the night. It was only 2WD, so our advantage out of the hole made us hard to catch. |
Now we get into the numbers that may not be brought up initially but will come up when you're actually driving the vehicle. Weight affects acceleration, handling, and fuel economy, so we took a trip across the scales to see how our '08 F-250 4x4, crew cab, shortbed automatic weighed in. We figured our truck would be heavy, and it didn't disappoint. Our 7,500-pound guesses were dwarfed when we actually ran it across the scales and it came in at 8,080 pounds with a full tank and no driver. There's no doubt about it, the new Super Duty is heavy.
Our last test involved a factor that will be with you every day, whether you notice it or not: fuel economy. Many people are buying diesels now for their big horsepower and torque numbers. But let's face it, with fuel prices today, fuel economy factors in, too. In real-world driving situations, our F-250 came in at about 12 (city) and 18 (highway) mpg. In Los Angeles gridlock under normal driving conditions, our average hovered around 13 mpg.
If you're the type of person who skips to the end of the book to find out the conclusion, our '08 Ford F-250 test vehicle made 270-300 rear-wheel horsepower on the dyno, ran an uncorrected 16.42 seconds at 81 mph at the drags, and weighed in at 8,080 pounds.
 This is our fastest timeslip...  This is our fastest timeslip of the night, a 16.42-second pass with Diesel Power Editor David Kennedy driving. He also got reaction-time honors on this run, with a 0.06-second time (0.00 is perfect) and an excellent 2.08-second 60-foot time, beating a quicker and faster car on a holeshot. Way to go, Dave! |  This was our 2WD race with...  This was our 2WD race with the Dodge. We gave our competitor a head start, which is why the reaction times are so slow, but look at the difference in 60-foot times between 2wd and 4wd-2.08 seconds versus 2.46 seconds. Four-wheel-drive: If you have it, use it. | |