Hemi 6.4 Ram vs Ford 6.2 (gas)

labren wrote:

ib516 wrote:
Here's a much more comprehensive (and scientific/fair) test on video.

VIDEO

The reference is made many times about the HD trucks. When looking at the 2500 or the F250, are those considered HD trucks or is there something else has to be ordered?

some people consider hd trucks anything other than 1/2 tons, and some don't call anything HD until you get into the 450/4500 series.

personally I don't care what you call them, you just need to pick the one that meets your needs for both towing and payload.

when you are talking about the Ford, the difference between the f250 and f350 is the rear springs, I'm told everything else is the same, my F250 has a payload of 2,850lbs compared to the 1389lbs on my Tundra by the door stickers.

I consider all of the 3/4 ton trucks HD, how much they can handle depends on how they are equipped. I believe if you get the "camper package" with the Ford F250 it is pretty much the same as the F350. The camper package adds the overload rear springs.

ib516 wrote:
Here's a much more comprehensive (and scientific/fair) test on video.

VIDEO

The reference is made many times about the HD trucks. When looking at the 2500 or the F250, are those considered HD trucks or is there something else has to be ordered?

katoom400 wrote:
I came from a 2010 Tundra 5.7/4.30. (pulling 7500lb TT) I just picked up a 2015 f250 XLT for ~36k, I looked at all three for months and months...test drove each extensively and for me the GM just wasn't doing much interior wise, I thought the Ram had a much nicer interior and the Ford was "same old ford" (which is not a bad thing).

so for me it came down to the 6.4 vs 6.2 or Ram vs Ford. interior wise I felt the Ram looked nicer but the Ford just felt nicer for myself and wifey.

I have owned a Dodge back in 96 and really had no complaints about it, but many friends have owned Gen 3's and had many troubles, one even got them to buy it back under the lemon law. While I have owned many Fords without trouble I liked the look of the new Rams, so I wanted to really give the Ram a shot, but 6.4's with 4.10 gears where really hard to find on dealer lots.

my local dealer only had 6.4/3.73's on the lot and I test drove 2 that had the check engine light on. One even went into limp mode on a test drive.....I didn't think we were going to make it back. He called me a few days later and said they replaced a coil pack and everything is fine. I came back to drive it and the same thing happened.....so that truck was out.

I then located a 6.4 with 4.10's 1.5 hrs from my house, so I took a ride to check it out...even called first to let them know I was coming from a distance so they would have the truck ready for me. I get there and hop in for the test drive and wouldn't you know it....check engine light was on...that did it for me.

I'm not knocking Ram, I know any brand can have problems, it just left a bad taste in my mouth and if I had bought one and had problems the wife would have given me a bad case of the "I told you so's".

I know that many guys are reporting great things about their 6.4's and I'm sure it was just some bad luck for me.

I ended up with the 6.2 with 3.73's since I would have had to order to get the 4.30's and I think I got a pretty good deal. I'm not pulling heavy and don't plan to in the future so I went for the 6.2/3.73 combo based on many positive reviews of people pulling much heavier than I.

coming from the Tundra both the 6.4 and 6.2 feel like dogs....Anyone to who thinks the Tundra can't pull or doesn't have torque has never towed with one! The motor was never the problem for me. I wanted a Truck that handled the weight a little better than the "stout for a 1/2 ton" Tundra could.

It's true that the Ford Drive by wire took a little getting used to, it didn't have the initial snap that I was used to, but the Ram was only slightly better. And it's true what they say about it getting better the more you drive it (adaptive transmission). with only 2k on the odo it feels much better now you can tell the torque is in there....it's just not snappy like my Tundra was. which is fine by me as I drive with a very light foot most of the time.

I haven't towed with it yet and it will be a couple months before I get the chance, but I'm expecting it to do just fine!

As far as the Ike Guantlet garbage...well that stuff means nothing to me! they knocked the Ram for not shifting while they held the pedal to the floor the entire run....is that how anyone really drives? and if the tranny is not automatically downshifting to the gear I want on a very steep grade, I'll do it myself. I do like the SuperDuty's ability to both lock out gears and go into full manual mode!

I know the guys at fast lane trucks kept it floored to try and keep everything consistent between tests, but that's just not real life towing, so those tests while interesting to watch, mean nothing to me regardless of which brand got to the top first.

Please keep us updated after you tow with the 6.2 .... I enjoyed your honest post, thanks

Here's a much more comprehensive (and scientific/fair) test on video.

VIDEO

I don't think there is a bad choice to be made with any of the big 3 gas HD trucks. Find the dealer you like best and the truck and go from there.

I totally agree with what others have said about the TFLT. It really bothers me how the only test they do towing is at altitute (i.e. Davis Dam). What does that really prove? The only vehicles which will do well there are diesels or turbocharged/supercharged gas motors. Really how many tow at 11K feet and keep it floored the whole time?

labren wrote:
Regarding the 6.4 Hemi...with the cylinder cut out option......has this made an appreciable difference for your mileage, or not so much noticed yet?

It makes about a 25% difference on the "instant" mpg screen when it kicks in. Any kind of headwind or sidewind will prevent it from kicking in on the highway though. It most often activates in my truck in the city at 60 Km/h or so, or when on the hwy with no wind. I have nothing to compare it to, but it certainly won't decrease your fuel economy.

labren wrote:
This has really helped, it seems that all three makes have quite a good reputation and capable of pulling 8500 lb dry weight 5th wheel.

I am curious though, almost all show the 2500HD in their profile rather than a 1 ton. I was also told that in USA this is because you do not have to go through the commercial scales. Could someone confirm if this is the reason please, or is there something else?

In Canada, it's almost all 1 Ton's because they are looked at as commercial vehicles and sidestep the 3% extra luxury tax, where as the 2500HD' a 3% extra tax for nothing is mandatory!

comments?

If you get a Ram 3500 Single rear wheel (SRW), you forego the coil spring rear suspension for the leaf spring set up. The 2500s coil springs are very heavy duty, robust, and give a much better ride than leafs.

I came from a 2010 Tundra 5.7/4.30. (pulling 7500lb TT) I just picked up a 2015 f250 XLT for ~36k, I looked at all three for months and months...test drove each extensively and for me the GM just wasn't doing much interior wise, I thought the Ram had a much nicer interior and the Ford was "same old ford" (which is not a bad thing).

so for me it came down to the 6.4 vs 6.2 or Ram vs Ford. interior wise I felt the Ram looked nicer but the Ford just felt nicer for myself and wifey.

I have owned a Dodge back in 96 and really had no complaints about it, but many friends have owned Gen 3's and had many troubles, one even got them to buy it back under the lemon law. While I have owned many Fords without trouble I liked the look of the new Rams, so I wanted to really give the Ram a shot, but 6.4's with 4.10 gears where really hard to find on dealer lots.

my local dealer only had 6.4/3.73's on the lot and I test drove 2 that had the check engine light on. One even went into limp mode on a test drive.....I didn't think we were going to make it back. He called me a few days later and said they replaced a coil pack and everything is fine. I came back to drive it and the same thing happened.....so that truck was out.

I then located a 6.4 with 4.10's 1.5 hrs from my house, so I took a ride to check it out...even called first to let them know I was coming from a distance so they would have the truck ready for me. I get there and hop in for the test drive and wouldn't you know it....check engine light was on...that did it for me.

I'm not knocking Ram, I know any brand can have problems, it just left a bad taste in my mouth and if I had bought one and had problems the wife would have given me a bad case of the "I told you so's".

I know that many guys are reporting great things about their 6.4's and I'm sure it was just some bad luck for me.

I ended up with the 6.2 with 3.73's since I would have had to order to get the 4.30's and I think I got a pretty good deal. I'm not pulling heavy and don't plan to in the future so I went for the 6.2/3.73 combo based on many positive reviews of people pulling much heavier than I.

coming from the Tundra both the 6.4 and 6.2 feel like dogs....Anyone to who thinks the Tundra can't pull or doesn't have torque has never towed with one! The motor was never the problem for me. I wanted a Truck that handled the weight a little better than the "stout for a 1/2 ton" Tundra could.

It's true that the Ford Drive by wire took a little getting used to, it didn't have the initial snap that I was used to, but the Ram was only slightly better. And it's true what they say about it getting better the more you drive it (adaptive transmission). with only 2k on the odo it feels much better now you can tell the torque is in there....it's just not snappy like my Tundra was. which is fine by me as I drive with a very light foot most of the time.

I haven't towed with it yet and it will be a couple months before I get the chance, but I'm expecting it to do just fine!

As far as the Ike Guantlet garbage...well that stuff means nothing to me! they knocked the Ram for not shifting while they held the pedal to the floor the entire run....is that how anyone really drives? and if the tranny is not automatically downshifting to the gear I want on a very steep grade, I'll do it myself. I do like the SuperDuty's ability to both lock out gears and go into full manual mode!

I know the guys at fast lane trucks kept it floored to try and keep everything consistent between tests, but that's just not real life towing, so those tests while interesting to watch, mean nothing to me regardless of which brand got to the top first.

goducks10 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

ScottG wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
Here's a video of the '14 models 0-60 performance.

Link

No offense but as soon as I see a reviewer (magazine, etc) mention 0 to 60 times when reviewing HD trucks, I immediately dismiss them.
The difference between all of them is so minor and so unimportant to actually towing something that it is meaningless.
When someone is contemplating the purchase of a real HD truck, pretty much everything else is more important.

No offense taken... but a 0-60 is a means (but not limited to)to demonstrate a powertrains ability to put power to the wheels.

So we take the average locomotive and a Ferrari and do 0-60. The Ferrari wins so it must be the better at towing.

No, you would compare two trains of different design or makes.

Regarding the 6.4 Hemi...with the cylinder cut out option......has this made an appreciable difference for your mileage, or not so much noticed yet?