Ram 2500 Transmission Ratios

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APT wrote:
Ford/GM transmissions offer about 20 percent shorter gearing in the first two gears compared to Ram's 66RFE. If you like the Ram, the 6.4L/4.10 is a great combo unless you plan to tow up mountains at 65mph every trip.

FWIW, the Tundra transmission with 4.30 gearing is almost identical to Ford/GM's half tons with 3.73.

So that's the issue, I hadn't run all the numbers but should have noticed that. I was focused on the difference, not the absolute ratio. Now I know why Toyota has such a high ratio; given their poor mpg I wondered why they didn't offer a lower ratio.

The Ram 1500 6-speed has by far the worst absolute 1st gear ratio, 11.76 even with 3.92s. The 2500 is a little better, but even with 4.10s it's still worse than most of the others at 13.25. The Ram 8-speed with 3.92s has the highest ratio at 18.48 followed by the F-250 with 4.30s at 17.07.

My 2500 4x4 with the 5.7 shifts like **** too. Plenty of motor for what i use the truck for but the shift points are terrible Dealer says it is normal.

Can't compare trucks or campers cost between USA and Canada. Completely different animal. Both are costly up north.

camp-n-family wrote:

Have you considered going back to a new Tundra?

Yes, many times. I nearly traded it a year ago until I found out the resale value of the Ram. I had to fight to get the trade value up to $38k including the tax savings for a 1 year old truck that was $80k new. Can't afford to lose my shirt so I'm stuck with it.

Wow you took it in the shorts when you bought that truck. I realize that's Canadian but that's still over $60k US...for a gas truck!

Ford/GM transmissions offer about 20 percent shorter gearing in the first two gears compared to Ram's 66RFE. If you like the Ram, the 6.4L/4.10 is a great combo unless you plan to tow up mountains at 65mph every trip.

FWIW, the Tundra transmission with 4.30 gearing is almost identical to Ford/GM's half tons with 3.73.

Have you considered going back to a new Tundra?

Yes, many times. I nearly traded it a year ago until I found out the resale value of the Ram. I had to fight to get the trade value up to $38k including the tax savings for a 1 year old truck that was $80k new. Can't afford to lose my shirt so I'm stuck with it.

camp-n-family wrote:
I have the 6speed in my 2500 with the 5.7l hemi and hate it. Not sure if it's the same tranny as the 6.4l. I've made numerous complaints to the dealer. I had difficulty towing some hills last summer when starting out from a stop. Pulled good in 1st to redline but then it dies on the shift into 2nd, bogs down and can't accelerate. I was stuck manually shifting into 1st to hold it there and crawl all the way up the hill. This happened twice. My old Tundra, with the same trailer, would pull those hills and continue accelerating through the gears. Rear gears (3.73 vs 4.30) might have had something to do with it.

Towing at highway speeds on the flats the tranny is usually in 4th gear, rarely 5th unless downhill with a tailwind. The Tundra would hold 5th easily.

The other issue is that the truck always wants to start out in 4th gear, unless I come to a complete stop. It's bogged down trying to accelerate from a corner. It takes nearly full throttle to get it to downshift but then it drops 2 gears (to where it should have been in the 1st place) and accelerates like a bat out of hell. Very frustrating. I'm considering getting the truck tuned to help with this, even if it voids the warranty.

Have you considered going back to a new Tundra?

Gears are a little bit of a mixed bag though. They help in first, but then you end up shifting sooner so there are always speeds where the lower ratio will have more torque. But my 5.7 with 4.10 gears still got 19-20 mpg on the highway so that didn't seem to be much of a disadvantage. I see a fair number of Ecodiesels with 3.92 gears but very few Hemis.

I was leaning towards the 2500 because of the low payload capacity of the 1500, and it's easy to find a 2500 with trailering equipment, but I think I'll stick with the 1500 after all (the 8-speed, even though they charge a huge premium over the 6-speed), or another brand.

I could see the 5.7 with 3.73 gears possibly bogging under enough load. I would regear before I messed with a transmission tune. The 6.4 is quite a bit more engine, but I personally still wouldn't buy unless it came with 4.10s. I don't understand why someone would buy a "towing" vehicle with "economy" gears.

I sure love my 5.7 with the 8 speed and 3.92 ratio!