Ram Cummins Vs GM Duramax Ike Gauntlet
VIDEO My summary: - they both can tow 12.5k lbs anywhere, even in the toughest conditions, with ease. - the Duramax exhaust brake works too good? - the GM's hitch is heavily reinforced and you m...
Forum Discussion
The 3.42 axle in the Ram might cause it to use more fuel when towing than the 3.73 in the GM if it has to run at a lower gear at a higher rpm(which it seemed to do from the limited screen shots). Peak power doesn't really matter here since they are trying to stay at or below 60 mph and both trucks can easily do that. So it just boils down to rpms each needs to keep it at 60 mph and how much power it is making at that rpm.
As you can see in the video, the Ram was at 2,050 rpm at 60 mph which is 4th gear(1.00:1) doing the math. The Cummins torque curve is fairly flat and the 800 lb-ft at peak probably dropped off to about 775 lb-ft by this rpm. Using this, the Cummins is making just over 300 hp(not calculating for elevation loss) at full engine power and the gears are multiplying engine torque to 2,650 lb-ft to the wheels.
The GM was in 5th gear(.71:1) at around 1,600 rpm at 60 mph in the limited shots of the dash. This is the rpm that it reaches peak torque of 910 lb-ft. With that, we know that the Duramax is making almost 280 hp(not calculating for elevation loss) at full engine power and the gears are multiplying engine torque to 2,409 lb-ft to the wheels.
If the Duramax dropped to 4th, then it would have been making more horsepower and sending more torque to the wheels, but would have been revving at around 2,250 rpm. I am not too fond of pulling a load like that up a hill at 1,600 rpm and would rather be in the 1,800-2,200 rpm range to keep EGT's as low as possible.
As you can see in the video, the Ram was at 2,050 rpm at 60 mph which is 4th gear(1.00:1) doing the math. The Cummins torque curve is fairly flat and the 800 lb-ft at peak probably dropped off to about 775 lb-ft by this rpm. Using this, the Cummins is making just over 300 hp(not calculating for elevation loss) at full engine power and the gears are multiplying engine torque to 2,650 lb-ft to the wheels.
The GM was in 5th gear(.71:1) at around 1,600 rpm at 60 mph in the limited shots of the dash. This is the rpm that it reaches peak torque of 910 lb-ft. With that, we know that the Duramax is making almost 280 hp(not calculating for elevation loss) at full engine power and the gears are multiplying engine torque to 2,409 lb-ft to the wheels.
If the Duramax dropped to 4th, then it would have been making more horsepower and sending more torque to the wheels, but would have been revving at around 2,250 rpm. I am not too fond of pulling a load like that up a hill at 1,600 rpm and would rather be in the 1,800-2,200 rpm range to keep EGT's as low as possible.
