aw man they got rid of captain's chairs with 6-speed - Diesel Forum

DieselRules · 11-02-2006, 01:52 AM

why, why, why. That was one of the things that they really had going over the Dodge. I've realized that I am constantly being disappointed by vehicle manufacturers.

noa1794 · 11-02-2006, 09:39 AM

There is always the after market. Get yourself a pair of captains chairs and a set of Yosemite Sam "Back off!" mud flaps and you will be king of the road.

frobozz · 11-02-2006, 11:06 AM

It seems to be that just here on these forums there are always a fairly balanced number of people who say "My truck has X but I wish I had Y" vs people who say "My truck has Y but I wish I had X." The captain's chairs vs the 40/20/40 is a classic example, as was the Superduty-vs-Excursion grilles for their respective owners. So I bet if you get a 6-speed truck with the bench, you won't have to wait too long before someone ends up with a hankering for a bench and would trade the captain's chairs and console they don't like.

Duncan

Old_Dog · 11-04-2006, 11:51 AM

Geez, if that's really true, what does getting a 6-speed hafta do with
the captain's chairs?

Like a few years ago they brought out the King Ranch and you couldn't
get a 6-speed with the King Ranch. Makes no sense, except maybe to
bean counters. Can't the guys at KTP figure out how to put a 6-speed
in a truck with captain's chairs without running up the assembly cost?
Ford and their mickey-mouse option restrictions. You just about hafta
rebuild the truck to get it the way you want it since you can't order
it from Ford the way you want it. That's one of my big complaints
about the Dodge trucks -- can't get what I want. And Ford seems to
be getting worse in that area too...

--Old_Dog

frobozz · 11-04-2006, 12:03 PM

It only has to make sense to the bean counters. Every additional option expands the huge matrix of possible build configurations, so they're forever trying to prune back the ones that "nobody ever orders anyway." I bet they're right, that only a handful of "luxurious King Ranch edition" owners would want to row the gears themselves, but it is annoying for those few that do. Their spreadsheets only tell them how many pennies are saved by limiting the matrix; it can't tell them how many customers they piss off or how that affects sales. That's the problem with bean counters: they only count the beans they can see and touch and hold, and ignore all those other beans.

Duncan

Old_Dog · 11-04-2006, 12:41 PM

Well, I just checked the order guide and its true... I found the
6-speed/Captain's Chairs restrictions listed three places in the
2008 order guide. Sucks. At first I thought maybe it was a
restriction on upgrading an XLT to Captain's Chairs, but it applies
to the Lariat. If you order Captain's Chairs on a Lariat, you
gotta get the slush box. This may not be a bean counter thing.
Note that in the 2008 CrewCab models that they now have ducted
heat to the back of the cab. So it might be that putting the
air ducts into the body, Captain's Chairs and the 6-speed (which
is physically bigger and heavier I think than the slush box) may
be the problem. May be something to do with how they anchor the
Captain's Chairs with the air ducts running thru there and still
having room for the 6-speed. And thus doing a field swap out from
a bench seat to Captain's Chairs might be physically problematic...

On the plus side I noticed that the 6.4-L with the 6-speed is not
derated from the slush box configuration: The order guide lists the
350-HP (@3000-rpm) and 650-ftlbs (@2000-rpm) torque specifically for
the 6-speed configuration. With all this power and torque, Ford also
needs to be more flexible on the diff ratios -- particularly on the
F-450. For hauling a heavy camper one does not need 4.30:1 diffs.
That's overkill... Especially if the 6.4-L engine lives up to the
published specs.

I hope something can be done about the Captain's Chairs with the
6-speeder. I love the 6-speed and Captain's Chairs... I don't want
a slush box and I don't want a friggin bench seat in a Lariat...
No way, Jose... A Lariat ain't no XL work truck....

--Old_Dog

jeffwoehrle · 11-04-2006, 04:16 PM

Is this restriction on the 450 as well? That would suck as that's exactly what I want. Hmmm. If it is a bean counter thing and not a physical limitation, I would consider springing for the swap myself...

I do agree that you can't please everybody.

I would, however, prefer to be pleased myself... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

DieselRules · 11-05-2006, 04:50 AM

I feel better knowing I'm not the only one PO'ed by this. I really am not to happy about the '08's. The only improvements they have made, memory seats, rear HVAC ducts, supplemental heater, you can't even get with a manual. WHAT DOES THE HEATER HAVE TO DO WITH THE TRANSMISSION??? Otherwise it seems like everything else is either a downgrade or it could easily be added to a '07> (tailgate, tail lights, mirrors, etc.). I wouldn't mind if the truck was say maybe 20 thousand brand new but 45k to not be happy, not be able to modify things, to have to swap seats..... I don't know. I'm a little upset to be honest.

texasrick · 11-05-2006, 04:57 AM

Looking at the size of the new center console offered with the buckets, I can see why they nixed the 6-speed offering with that setup.

DieselRules · 11-05-2006, 05:21 AM

On edit a few other anomalies- cannot get skid plates without getting the limited slip, need captain's chairs to get extra power points, not that the gauges did anything before but now there is one less gauge,

DieselRules · 11-05-2006, 05:25 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Looking at the size of the new center console offered with the buckets, I can see why they nixed the 6-speed offering with that setup.

[/ QUOTE ] Well it consists of an armrest and two cupholders. The old console had the same and it fit. This brings me to another thing they ditched. The paper clip on the console lid. I personally used that every day, and if you didn't it wasn't in the way.

texasrick · 11-05-2006, 02:32 PM

Granted, but the size of the '08 console looks to be significantly larger than the previous console.

looking at this pic, you can see there's not going to be much room between the console and the dash.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/wp-conte...dg=1&idi=7

Old_Dog · 11-05-2006, 03:39 PM

So the bigger console that goes with the Captain's Chairs interferes
with the stick shift... Lovely... Well, if I were gonna trade/sell
my '02, I'd keep my Captain's Chairs and console to put in the '08
and put the bench seat from the '08 into the '02... Geez... What
ya gotta do to get a $50K truck the way ya want it... But at least
it sounds like the Captain's Chairs can be retrofitted with a
smaller console between the seats and the stick.

--Old_Dog

LariatPSD · 11-05-2006, 04:08 PM

I dunno guys, I had to look around to find my Lariat with a bench seat. I think the bench with the big old armrest is far more comfortable than the captains chair's little nubs that stick out. The new console offered in '08 looks to be better than the current offering, which is too low to comfortably lay your arm on.

DieselRules · 11-06-2006, 03:23 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Granted, but the size of the '08 console looks to be significantly larger than the previous console.looking at this pic, you can see there's not going to be much room between the console and the dash.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/wp-conte...dg=1&idi=7

[/ QUOTE ]

Your right, it appears as though that compartment on the bottom sticks out really far.

[ QUOTE ]
I dunno guys, I had to look around to find my Lariat with a bench seat. I think the bench with the big old armrest is far more comfortable than the captains chair's little nubs that stick out. The new console offered in '08 looks to be better than the current offering, which is too low to comfortably lay your arm on.

[/ QUOTE ] To each his own. I personally would never have a bench seat. The old captain's chairs had there own armrests to lean on. The new captain's chairs do not thus the new armrest is higher, for comfort.