Hybridhunter wrote:
boocoodinkydow wrote:
interesting thread with a lot of pertinent info. there has been a great deal of focus on the admittedly anemic 240hp developed by the ram ed, but let's not loose sight of the fact that horsepower ratings sell trucks while torque is what pulls the load. with the ecodiesel & the ecoboost both developing 420 lb/ft of torque they would both be brought to there knees equally under conditions in the review quoted. by the way, i'm not sure i'd classify a 7% grade to an elevation of 5000' as a moderate climb. where the puny hp rating would come into play is the rate of acceleration; i.e., time required to reach highway speeds from a standing stop, which is not to be minimized. interstate on ramps or 2 lane passing with a load are definitely situations that could leave you wishing for more hp. let's face it, there's simply no replacement for displacement but,as previously mentioned....
You need to get a better understanding or torque and horsepower! On that climb, the ECO the ecoboost would put roughly 50% more torque to the wheels. (as would any engine with 360hp and and strong torque curve,150% of the HP means 150% more at the wheel, all else being equal). The Ecoboost would run away from the Dodge like it was broken. No it wouldn't get the mileage, probably not even close, but thems the brakes when you have power, and choose to use it.
There's the flaw in your thought process, it's not a race to the top of the mountain. The time the diesel gives away on the climb will be made up when you have to stop every 200 miles or less to gas up, and waste 15 minutes, while the diesel keeps on trucking down the road. It's funny how many people pass me 2 or 3 x a day, every time they stop for gas, and I just keep on going, and going, and going. I don't have too much problem getting 400 to 425 miles out of a tank of diesel, with the trailer on back. You'll never see that with a gas Dodge truck with a hemi motor.
You will also never see that 360 HP on that 5.7 liter motor either, or the torque at that rpm. You will easily see the torque on the Eco diesel, because it's easily in reach without twisting the b*lls off the motor near red line, like on a 5.7 hemi gasser. It all shows up under the HP curve, 1750 rpm to 2750, right in the meaty part of the tachometer... easily in reach, without even needing to come close to making the 240 HP it is capable of
Peak HP numbers and peak torque on gassers, are pie in the sky numbers, unless you run the motor full throttle. That is not the case with the Eco diesel, the torque is there far from full throttle, all the time, if you want it from 1750 to 2750 rpm.
It's what's under the curve on the graph, on a diesel, not what's at the line, at the upper limit, like on a gasser. I drive my vehicles and trailers on the road, not on the dyno.
