Ram 1500 diesel review

wilber1 wrote:

I keep repeating it because some people like to haul their trailer down the road at 60 MPH in eight gear instead of in seventh or even sixth. They like to do it without their truck shifting down at every little 2% rise in the highway.... If you want relaxed cruising, buy the diesel.

That's what I mean by downshiftaphobia. Downshifting takes zero effort from the driver, so I don't understand how it's any less relaxing. All I do is push the cruise control button and let the truck do the rest. I'll admit that frequent downshifting can be a minor annoyance, though, and in that case, I'd be content to lock out 8th and cruise in 7th. Others may not, and for them, diesels are more appealing.

wilber1 wrote:

Just because it doesn't get up a hill fast enough to suite you doesn't mean it can't tow as much.

Actually, that's exactly what it means, by definition. At whatever vehicle speed you choose, the one producing more power can pull more weight.

wilber1 wrote:

Yes, multi speed transmissions make a difference but they do it for all engines

Of course they do. The whole point is the more gears you have, the less important the torque output of the engine becomes. And that's precisely because you have more options for trading off engine torque for wheel torque. This very concept is why it's wrong to say that peak engine torque is what gets the job done.

wilber1 wrote:

they can only adapt the engines power band to the conditions, they can't change the engine speed at which the engine produces its power.

No, they can't change the characteristics of the engine, but they can ensure the engine speed is kept near its peak power output as the road speed varies underneath it.

wilber1 wrote:

Although, I must say you barely notice it when the 8 speed ZF in my Audi kicks down a cog at highway speeds, but it is a car and isn't towing anything.

Right. The closer the gears are spaced, the less noticeable the shift will be. With my 5-speed Hemi, dropping from 3rd (1.00:1) to second (1.50:1) resulted in a 50% increase in RPM, which is very noticeable. But a multi-speed transmission might result in only a 20% change. So from 1600 RPM, the next gear down would be around 1900 RPM. Lock that in place, take the 20% increase in power, and go.

wilber1 wrote:

I've never said that 240 HP can do more than 400 HP

Ah, but the article does when it says the 430 lb-ft EcoDiesel gets more work done than the 410 lb-ft Hemi.


-- Rob