Tick the ‘H.O.’ box on the order sheet, and Ford will kit your F-250 Platinum up with the 6.7L High-Output Power Stroke turbo-diesel V8, good for 500 horsepower and a mighty 1,200 lb-ft of torque as the top-dog upgrade over the standard 7.3-liter gasoline V8. First introduced for the 2023 Super Duty redesign, the H.O. Power Stroke makes a major output and performance leap over the standard-output unit from the same 6.7-liter displacement. In H.O. configuration, drivers can expect 0–60 MPH in 5.5 seconds – neck and neck with the early supercharged F-150 SVT Lightning – which definitely couldn’t tow 22,800 pounds.
Output aside, a major reason to choose the H.O. upgrade in this application lies in the hardware, a clever plumbing trick, and a 1,200 lb-ft headline that’s actually a promise of extended durability once you understand the hardware changes involved.
H.O. Power Is Available On The Super Duty Platinum And Here’s What You Get
2023 – 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty exterior – front 3/4 angle in red while parkedFord
Ford’s 6.7-liter Power Stroke H.O. is the engine equivalent of a morning person. At 1,600 RPM, most engines are sluggish, rubbing their eyes, and rolling out of bed. Throttle response is lazy at best. At 1,600 RPM, the high-output Power Stroke in the F-250 has 1,200 lb-ft of torque already up and at ’em, ready to pluck a tree stump from the earth’s crust or whisk your construction trailer up a mountain. Generating that much torque so low in the rev range is extremely impressive, even for diesel engines, which are experts at low-RPM pulling power.
Sometimes, power upgrades like this come from a simple tweak to engine management software that turns up the boost from the turbocharger. In some, maybe many, turbocharged applications, extra horsepower is a few lines of computer code away. Thing is, if you’re trying to sell a big-money pickup to a shopper who will work it extensively, that approach alone is far from sufficient.
Solely turning up the boost on a standard HD diesel engine can wear, break, cook, melt, and destroy things. That’s because heavy-duty diesel V8s are incredibly hard on their turbochargers and downstream components, and doing more power properly means a considerably more complex approach. For the Power Stroke H.O. engine, that more complex approach actually turns in a few major durability ‘wins’ on the hardware side for owners who plan to keep their truck, and work it, for the long haul.
So, is the extra $2,500 for the Power Stroke H.O. upgrade worth it? Probably. Let’s take a look at why, beyond the output metrics.
A Unique Plumbing Enhancement Helps Beat The Heat In A Serious Way
Ford’s 6.7-liter High Output Power Stroke V8Ford Pro
The Power Stroke H.O. you might be considering has been fifteen years in the making. As documented by diesel specialists at SPELAB (spelab.com), it’s a power plant that’s been extensively evolved with each subsequent version.
After Ford severed its longstanding relationship with Navistar to build a clean-sheet, in-house diesel, the ‘Scorpion’ V8 first arrived with 390 horsepower and 735 lb-ft of torque. That initial engine, says SPELAB, laid down the architecture that defines the family today.
In 2015, engineers upgraded the turbocharger and the engine’s fueling capacity, bringing outputs of 440 horsepower and 860 lb-ft initially before closing out the generation with 450 horsepower and 935 lb-ft.
Ford Super Duty 6.7L Power Stroke badgeFord
Between 2020 and 2022, output climbed to 475 horsepower and 1,050 lb-ft, thanks in part to new forged steel pistons and the latest ultra-high-pressure injection system. Hardware-wise, the Power Stroke was now ready to split into two performance tiers: the 475-horsepower, 1,050 lb-ft Standard Output, and the flagship 500-horsepower, 1,200 lb-ft High Output.
2023 – 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty front 3/4 angle in blue while driving through waterFord
Creating 1,200 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 RPM under full boost comes with tremendous thermal challenges, especially in an engine likely to spend plenty of time under high-load, high-boost driving. The 6.7-liter Power Stroke utilizes a “Hot-V” layout, sometimes called ‘reverse-flow’, where exhaust from each cylinder is routed out towards the center of the V8 engine’s ‘V’, to a turbocharger installed there. The air intake comes in from the outside of the ‘V’, where you’re probably used to seeing an engine’s exhaust manifolds (and turbochargers, if equipped). In this way, the intake and exhaust are reversed, allowing the turbocharger to sit inside the V, as close as possible to the combustion chamber’s supply of hot exhaust gases.
2023 – 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty exteriorFord
On the plus side, the turbocharger in this engine layout, which is common to all 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8s and numerous diesel and gasoline engines elsewhere in the market, gets the advantage of early access to that stream of violently expanding exhaust gases. For the driver, that’s more power earlier, and less lag to get there. With the turbocharger inlet and exhaust valves now separated by mere inches in the Hot-V layout, there’s no excess plumbing. Exhaust is rammed straight into the turbine wheel before it has a chance to slow down or cool down, and throttle response is virtually instant.
Ford-F-Series_Super_Duty-2023 power stroke engineFord
On the downside, life as a turbocharger living between a set of cylinder heads is no easy feat. The turbocharger itself is a giant heat sink, bolted in between the two hottest parts of the engine. Also, it’s driven by literal fire: an inferno of glowing, high-velocity gases that can push past 1,200 to 1,350 degrees for extended durations while towing.
2023 Ford F-250 Super DutyFord
Maximum exhaust gas temperatures can surpass the structural limits of conventional cast iron, risking micro-cracking and manifold warpage over years of heavy towing. The solution was an upgrade to heavy-duty cast stainless steel exhaust headers and up-pipes that hold their shape better during years of intense heat cycling. Where the S.O. engine uses a conventional cast iron exhaust manifold for strong thermal stability, the H.O. engine’s stainless manifold was selected to take heat tolerance to the extreme.
Beyond this, the H.O. Power Stroke comes with a turbocharger upgrade that includes a clever plumbing enhancement designed for an additional advantage in the thermal battle.
2023 – 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty exteriorFord
In either S.O. or H.O. configuration, the Power Stroke engine uses a turbocharger with a liquid-cooled center section, which uses engine coolant to actively pull heat out of the turbocharger unit to keep things from melting. Both versions also use a charge-air cooler, working on the same principle to pull heat out of the intake charge after it’s compressed by the compressor wheel. That’s pretty standard stuff. The H.O. engine however takes liquid cooling to the next level, and the turbocharger in this application has a unique water-jacketed turbo compressor housing alongside the liquid-cooled center section. Exclusive to the H.O., this is another means of actively pulling heat out of the turbocharger assembly and reducing intake air temperatures to the benefit of power and torque. By wrapping the compressor housing in a continuous flow of engine coolant, heat buildup in another particularly challenging part of the turbocharger system is mitigated in real time.
Picture heat soaking through the metal parts of your engine like moisture seeping through a dry sponge, and you’re most of the way to understanding the challenges at play. Still, let’s let the experts explain a little bit about why liquid cooling is so important for long-term dependability.
“Water cooling dramatically improves mechanical durability and lengthens turbocharger service life, but its most critical engineering benefit actually takes place after the ignition key is turned off. During hard usage, high exhaust gas temperatures dump massive amounts of heat into the exhaust manifold, turbine housing, and turbine wheel. While the engine is running and oil is flowing, that circulating lubricant continuously sweeps heat away from the bearing system and seals. Once the engine is shut down, however, both oil flow and exhaust gas flow stop dead. The intense thermal energy trapped inside massive, heavy turbine housings must go somewhere. Through conduction, it naturally migrates straight into the less heat-tolerant center housing, bearings, seals, and shaft. This phenomenon—known as heat soakback—is a notorious turbo killer, elevating internal temperatures far beyond normal running conditions and cooking residual oil.
By integrating dedicated water ports and routing lines to leverage natural thermal siphoning, cooler liquid continues to pull through the center housing via convection even when the engine’s water pump is completely stationary. This process continuously wicks stored thermal energy away from delicate internal seals and bearings without external mechanical assistance, preventing severe heat damage on high-load applications.
— Source: Garrett Motion Engineering
Here’s How It Stacks Up To Key Competitors
2019 – 2026 Ram 2500 exteriorRam
Of course, the Power Stroke isn’t without compromise. The extra hardware and reinforcements required to run it add roughly 800 pounds compared to the 7.3-liter gas engine. Ford rates a 7.3-liter gas F-250 for up to 4,246 pounds of maximum payload, but the maximum payload for an equivalent 6.7L H.O. diesel drops to 3,903 pounds. Step up to the Crew Cab 4×4 configuration, and it’s up to 4,034 pounds of base payload for the Godzilla and 3,669 pounds for the Power Stroke. Choose accordingly.
Also, mind that advertised 40,000-pound maximum gooseneck rating, which belongs exclusively to commercial-grade F-450 dually platforms. On a three-quarter-ton F-250 H.O. diesel, real-world capabilities top out at 18,000 pounds on a conventional receiver and 22,800 pounds on a gooseneck or fifth-wheel setup.
Selected Specifications
- Ford 6.7L High-Output Power Stroke: 500 hp @ 2,600 RPM | 1,200 lb-ft @ 1,600 RPM
- Ford 6.7L Standard-Output Power Stroke: 475 hp @ 2,600 RPM | 1,050 lb-ft @ 1,600 RPM
- Ram 6.7L High-Output Cummins Turbo-Diesel: 430 hp @ 2,800 RPM | 1,075 lb-ft @ 1,800 RPM
- GM 6.6L Duramax Turbo-Diesel (L5P): 470 hp @ 2,800 RPM | 975 lb-ft @ 1,600 RPM
- Ford 7.3L Godzilla Gas V8: 430 hp @ 5,500 RPM | 485 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
- Ford 6.8L DEVCT Gas V8: 405 hp @ 5,000 RPM | 445 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
- Ram 6.4L HEMI Gas V8: 410 hp @ 5,600 RPM | 429 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
- GM 6.6L L8T Gas V8: 401 hp @ 5,200 RPM | 464 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
Lined up against heavy-duty rivals, Ford’s 1,200-lb-ft H.O. remains the torque king, capable of hitting 60 MPH in 5.5 seconds. Ford’s standard 6.7L diesel hits 60 in 6.1 seconds and pulls 22,000 pounds (saving $2,500).
2024 – 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4th Gen (GMTT1XX) Facelift PickupChevrolet
While Ram previously split its Cummins inline-six into a sluggish 370-hp / 850-lb-ft Standard Output and an optional step-up, the current line is streamlined with the older S.O. base tune scrapped entirely. Now, the High-Output tune leaves Ram 2500 models clocking 0–60 in roughly 6.9 to 7.2 seconds, with gooseneck limits capped around 20,000 pounds. General Motors also takes a unified approach, offering its 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel V8 in a sole calibration backed by an Allison-branded 10-speed, trailing the Power Stroke slightly with a 6.4-second sprint to 60 and a 22,500-pound gooseneck ceiling.
2023 – 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty exteriorFord
Meanwhile, Ford’s pushrod gas Godzilla V8 manages 6.2 seconds to 60 MPH and 17,200 pounds—trading outright pulling muscle for maximum bed payload, even if the H.O. Power Stroke claws back ground on interstate hauls by getting a third more miles out of every gallon.
Base Trim Engine
6.8L V8 Gas
Base Trim Transmission
TorqShift 10-speed automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
Rear-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
405 HP @5000 RPM
Base Trim Torque
445 lb.-ft
Base Trim Battery Type
Dual lead acid batteries
Infotainment & Features
7 /10
Sources: Ford, CarAndDriver, TrueCar, TruckReportGeeks, GarretMotion
