RAM EcoDiesel a Flop for Towing

wilber1 wrote:
I would never run my truck or any of my other vehicles at WOT up a long grade or just about any other time for that matter, so what it will do at WOT doesn't mean much to me. I don't believe in abusing the machinery just to get up a hill a minute or two faster.

wilber1 wrote:
Why do you have to go up the mountain at 50 mph? Everything is a compromise and everyone choses the compromise that works best for them.

Huh?!? First you say you would never WOT your truck up a long grade and don't believe in abusing machinery. Now you are defending a truck that had to go WOT and was stressed out barely holding 50 mph(10 mph under the speed limit) when it was not even carrying the max weight the Ram rated it for versus a truck that was considerably less stressed pulling the same weight while easily able to do the speed limit. You are contradicting yourself which makes me wonder what is more important to you, your own beliefs or your need to defend a Ram product? It seems like your own beliefs are taking a sideline here.

wilber1 wrote:
They do? I think they are both interesting trucks and if I was looking for an economical half ton I would check them both out. I do take some exception to the idea that the EB is working less hard because it is working below it's rated max power. Everything else being equal, I would expect a 2.7 L engine to be more stressed than a 3.0L engine when producing equal HP. I would also wait until more real world fuel economy numbers come in as the smaller diesels have a reputation of meeting or exceeding EPA estimates while gassers never seem to. Time will tell but I think both trucks will sell well.

No, the Ecoboost would be less stressed than that Ecodiesel. Not only was the Ecoboost running at a lower RPM, but the higher compression ratio of the Ecodiesel puts more stress on the block than the Ecoboost. However, that is a moot point since the both these engines have a CGI(Compacted-graphite iron) block like the the bigger diesels do to handle the stress. Diesel engines are inherently "overbuilt" to handle the stresses of compression ignition which is one of the reasons why they last longer, and the 2.7L EB is built the same way with less stress on the block to make it's power.

Lastly, the reason why gasers never achieve EPA numbers has more to do with the fuel uesed and the test itself. If you read how they do the test you will find that they never exceed 60 mph so if one thinks they will get the EPA numbers at 70 mph then they are being overly optimistic. Another factor is the fuel. The EPA test uses non-ethanol gasoline which is rare in the real world. Most gasoline at the pumps is E10 which reduces your fuel efficiency by about 5% which is a 1-2 mpg loss for most trucks. For the diesel test, the EPA uses the same stuff you get at the pumps as summer #2 diesel so you don't get that loss right of the bat like gasoline. However, you will get a loss in the cold months(usually October to March) when stations switch over to winter #1 diesel that has about a 5,00-8,000 Btu reduction in energy which reduces your power and fuel economy.