4x4ord wrote:
I'd be willing to bet the Cummins/Ram engineers have got things set up so that their 400 HP 6.7 Cummins/Aisin will tow light loads, such as a 13k fiver on a level road, at 1500 rpm before downshifting to 5th and towing at 1833 rpm.
:S So will my truck, but that does not mean that 6th is the most efficient gear when towing 13k.
This is why Ram and all makes have rear gear options so you can pick the best gear on how you will be using your truck. My 3.42 is perfect for those who daily their trucks and want the lowest rpms possible unloaded while having the option of putting it in 5th when towing giving you slightly more torque multiplication and higher rpm as a 4.10 gears truck in 6th. For those who tow more often, the 3.73 or 4.10 is the option to go. The makes don't alter trans shift tunes for every rear gear option. You are suppose to pick the rear gear option that best suits how you will be using the truck and utilize the trans gear selection feature as needed.
This is why there are soo many options in the medium/heavy duty world. The customer specs out each truck based o how it will be used. For every truck model. there are generally 1-3 engine options, 4-8 engine power options per engine, 3-10 different trans options with different speeds and ratios, and at least 10 rear gear ratio options. Even in the medium/heavy professional world of hauling/towing, the customer is suppose to spec out the truck based on how it will be used. There is no one size fits all magic truck that the engineers put together. The light duty world has a lot less options and the are mainly tuned for general purposes.
