2020 Ram 1500 3.0L ECO DIESEL upgrades

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
Am I the only one not ignoring the current eco diesel issues? And I’m not talking about the recall! Too many problems that make them unreliable!

No problems with mine. The biggest issue with all diesels are they are being killed by carbon build up from the egr system. Ford is going to have the same issues with their 3.0 V6 also. Just wait and see.

The people that use the Ecodiesel to tow and are not afraid to get into the throttle are not having issues. The ones running the stock tune and running it in the city all the time are having the issues.

This new gen 3.0 seems to be addressing the egr system and is a totally new engine. Looks like 2021 I might be ordering a new truck.

Don

Offroad heavy equipment sees the same thing. When SCR machines are run hard, very few issues. However when run at idle, especially in the Winter then the problems surface. I run my SCR machines at or near capacity and I have yet to have any issues. I did the same with the Tier 4 Interim machines and had zero problems with filter plugging.

troubledwaters wrote:
Only problem is, companies and truck owners can face huge fines for defeating emissions systems.

That goes for both diesel and gas tuners and owners, but most go after diesels since the emissions can be seen even though gas engines emit way more CO2 and DI gas engines emit more PM. Gas tunes increase power at the expense of increased emissions just like a diesel tune does. In the case of a diesel, you can negate most of this added NOx by utilizing the SCR/DEF system more similar to what the EGR-less diesels do in Europe.

Anything that has "ECO" in it's name F that!!!

dodge guy wrote:
Am I the only one not ignoring the current eco diesel issues? And I’m not talking about the recall! Too many problems that make them unreliable!

No problems with mine. The biggest issue with all diesels are they are being killed by carbon build up from the egr system. Ford is going to have the same issues with their 3.0 V6 also. Just wait and see.

The people that use the Ecodiesel to tow and are not afraid to get into the throttle are not having issues. The ones running the stock tune and running it in the city all the time are having the issues.

This new gen 3.0 seems to be addressing the egr system and is a totally new engine. Looks like 2021 I might be ordering a new truck.

Don

13k tow rating on any 1/2 ton platform is stupid & only invites problems from the uninformed. Now Ram is being stupid as Ford. 8k is a reasonable max for a TT for a 1/2 platform axles & suspension assuming you have an appropriate power plant, gearing, (now pretty much assured with 8 & 10 speeds) & WDH.

With conservative tow tune my ED converts to about 268HP 465TQ and has the 3.92. Well I transport TTs & boats commercially with it mostly 5 to 8k. It has plenty of torque & gearing to get it moving from a stop to say 55 in short order. It also has enough low end torque to make it very efficient & comfortable on the flats at 65 mph. But a 6 percent grade will pull it down to 55 mph sometimes flat on the floor.

Once you have sufficient torque to move the load you need/want more horsepower with it to move it faster. Unlike torque I’m not sure there is horsepower overkill or unusable horsepower. I mean certainly there can be more horsepower than you need but more than it makes (at 268) would be useable & welcome when pulling a long 6 percent interstate grade.

To my point for mine and many users towing application if 465TQ is comfortably enough with its gearing to get the load moving and 268HP leaves me wishing I had a little more horsepower on the interstate grades.. well I would rather have kept the only 465 TQ and saw 300 HP instead of 260. I’m sure emissions & fuel economy have a lot to do with this.

All that said it will be a really nice truck crazy efficient seeing 30 mpg Hwy unloaded. Main thing is that they have corrected the bearing failures issue and with J2807 apparently they solved the cooling issue. I’ll trade the zero or hero for dead reliable any day. As some here know I believe me not catching low coolant soon enough led to mine pushing a head gasket at 371k. Truck has put on another 200k since then for 571,000 on the odometer.

ShinerBock wrote:
...Tuning these systems out of the engine will add power and increase efficiency. A tuner can turn the EGR system off and force all NOx reduction to be done by the SCR while still keeping the EGR on the truck so you can return it to stock for emissions testing since you will still have slightly more NOx emissions at certain engine loads by doing so. Turning of the EGR alone increases power and efficiency while also cutting back on future repairs since most come from the soot that is produced from the EGR system.

Only problem is, companies and truck owners can face huge fines for defeating emissions systems.
Harley Davidson $15M
Bully Dog $300K
Edge Products $500K

delete

While adding more power to a gasser will generally reduce mileage, that is not always the case with a diesel. Modern diesels have a lot of emissions devices holding them back and most performance components of the engine are made and tuned to meet emissions.

The VG turbos are programmed to increase EGR flow at all rpms and also keep the exhaust temps hot enough while in regen. This programming is not the best for power and efficiency and not to mention longevity due to all of the soot and contamination from injecting exhaust gas back into the intake. The injectors are also timed meet emissions and will reduce fuel along with adding more exhaust gases into the intake if cylinder temps get too high because high cylinder temps lead to increased NOx output.

Tuning these systems out of the engine will add power and increase efficiency. A tuner can turn the EGR system off and force all NOx reduction to be done by the SCR while still keeping the EGR on the truck so you can return it to stock for emissions testing since you will still have slightly more NOx emissions at certain engine loads by doing so. Turning of the EGR alone increases power and efficiency while also cutting back on future repairs since most come from the soot that is produced from the EGR system.

Power ratings in this segment are much different than in the HD segment. Adding more power to the half tons generally means a reduction in MPG. There is no ceiling in the HD's for power. MPG doesn't mean as much in that HD market, but it is a big consideration in the half ton market. An example is the Nissan/Cummins diesel, their half ton makes great power, identical to the GM HD's of the early to mid 2000's. One of the biggest complaints of the Nissan half ton is MPG and payload. The more power you add, the heavier the running gear and more fuel you burn. A half ton diesel that comes too close to an HD in power and too close in MPG ratings will not be successful. There is no advantage except ride quality in buying a half ton diesel at that point. There is a balance to be struck in the half ton diesel market. Ram I think hit it spot on with their first Ecodiesel, with decent tow numbers and very good MPG.

dodge guy wrote:
Am I the only one not ignoring the current eco diesel issues? And I’m not talking about the recall! Too many problems that make them unreliable!

Hopefully they learn from version 1 and address any issues.

I'd still buy a 2500 6.4L Hemi if I was shopping (which would likely be the same price as a 1500 EcoDiesel), but many may want the high mpg this should deliver.