Torque converter lock up.
I have been inclined to look at the Ram Cummins because of it's manual transmission availability. I always thought it would give better EB on the steep two lane mountain roads that I travel on. But...
Forum Discussion
Buddylam,
None of the new automatic transmissions lock the torque converter in first gear, and second gear at 1000rpm does not do much for exhaust braking on any brand. I drive a 2011 F350 6.7 4x4 at work 83,000+ miles, almost all of my driving is in the Sierras, and can honestly say from my experience that the exhuast brake doesn't even compare to working as well as the Ram/Cummins or the GM/Duramax. This isn't a slam on the Ford, it just doesn't work as well as the others until the 2015 model year. The truck in my signature will unlock the torque converter using the ebrake at 20 mph, and does not work below that. The GM/Durmax ebrake works down to about 15 mph in second gear, but as I said, does not hold back much at that low of rpm's.
I previously had a 2007 Dodge 5.9 Cummins Dually with the 6 speed manual (G56) and with the PacBrake exhaust brake. Not even a comparison using the ebrake at low speeds. It worked in first gear all the way to idle speed, which is much lower than any of the automatics first gear, and second gear on the manual is still much lower that the automatics second gear and ebraking was great at slow speeds.
For hiway use such as I-80 for example, with my camper and towing my Jeep, I could go down from Donner Summit to Truckee at about 2100 rpm's and hold speed where I wanted without using the brakes at all on either of the Duallys which both had 3.73's. It was only on the secondary roads at slow speeds that I was actually disappointed with the factory ebrake and automatic.
Just my experience and honest opinion comparing the automatic to the manual. If Hiway driving is the majority of your driving the automatic is really nice. For slow speeds you can't beat the manual for exhuast braking. Also, comparing the horsepower difference between the two, which wasn't as big of a difference as it is with the new trucks, the 5.9 performed great and there wasn't really that much difference pulling the grades with the 6.7. With the new manual trucks having 350 Horsepower, it's not like it's lacking in the power department.
Rich
None of the new automatic transmissions lock the torque converter in first gear, and second gear at 1000rpm does not do much for exhaust braking on any brand. I drive a 2011 F350 6.7 4x4 at work 83,000+ miles, almost all of my driving is in the Sierras, and can honestly say from my experience that the exhuast brake doesn't even compare to working as well as the Ram/Cummins or the GM/Duramax. This isn't a slam on the Ford, it just doesn't work as well as the others until the 2015 model year. The truck in my signature will unlock the torque converter using the ebrake at 20 mph, and does not work below that. The GM/Durmax ebrake works down to about 15 mph in second gear, but as I said, does not hold back much at that low of rpm's.
I previously had a 2007 Dodge 5.9 Cummins Dually with the 6 speed manual (G56) and with the PacBrake exhaust brake. Not even a comparison using the ebrake at low speeds. It worked in first gear all the way to idle speed, which is much lower than any of the automatics first gear, and second gear on the manual is still much lower that the automatics second gear and ebraking was great at slow speeds.
For hiway use such as I-80 for example, with my camper and towing my Jeep, I could go down from Donner Summit to Truckee at about 2100 rpm's and hold speed where I wanted without using the brakes at all on either of the Duallys which both had 3.73's. It was only on the secondary roads at slow speeds that I was actually disappointed with the factory ebrake and automatic.
Just my experience and honest opinion comparing the automatic to the manual. If Hiway driving is the majority of your driving the automatic is really nice. For slow speeds you can't beat the manual for exhuast braking. Also, comparing the horsepower difference between the two, which wasn't as big of a difference as it is with the new trucks, the 5.9 performed great and there wasn't really that much difference pulling the grades with the 6.7. With the new manual trucks having 350 Horsepower, it's not like it's lacking in the power department.
Rich
