Ram 1500 Hemi vs Ecodiesel

[hemismith]

I can see how the Hemi has faster 0-60 times than the Ecodiesel because it has higher hp, but I would expect its towing performance to be better. But the test numbers, comments, tow rating, and seat of the pants feel make me question whether it really has 420 ft-lbs of torque. Do those towing tests keep it in gear all the way to redline? I'd like to see real-world tests run at no more than 4000 rpms or so.

I just like the idea of low-end torque, and no loss at altitude. At my elevation the Hemi would be down to 350 ft-lbs, and over some of the passes I go it would be under 290.

[NinerBikes]

I don't hear my wife in a gas or a diesel going up hill.



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Much easier to deal with a girlfriend. :W

[mich800]

45Ricochet wrote:

Vintage465 wrote:

45Ricochet wrote:
It all boils down to if you want to listen to your DW or not pulling the grades:W
Gasser you won't hear her, diesel you will :B

Not sure I agree with that statement. I don't hear my diesel up any hills. Even if it downshifts to 4th(very unlikely)it's still quieter than any gasser that I've had when they get up over 3500 RPM's

WHAT? How could anyone take this any other way. Let me state it clearly for the lower reading level group
Gasser is louder pulling grades because of high RPM's so you can't hear the wife talking. Diesel has a much lower RPM thus you can hear the wife talking pulling grades. :B

Unless you are some sort of redneck running no mufflers on their modern truck you will hear your wife just fine gas or diesel pulling the grades. Now if this is your little trick to tell the wife "I didn't hear you so it's not my fault", your secret is safe with us. :B

[hvac]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
There are after market filter now for the Ecodiesel and all of the major oil companies now make the Euro blend oil. Amsoil now makes an oil for it. European Car Formula 5W-30 I-ESP Synthetic Motor Oil they are still working on getting their filter certified.

The Mopar filter can be had for 19.99 and less on eBay.

Don

Local dealer doing ours for 140.00.not bad Every 10k miles Our Hemi 2012 300c is almost 100.00 bit every 6kmiles. All synthetic.

[45Ricochet]

Vintage465 wrote:

45Ricochet wrote:
It all boils down to if you want to listen to your DW or not pulling the grades:W
Gasser you won't hear her, diesel you will :B

Not sure I agree with that statement. I don't hear my diesel up any hills. Even if it downshifts to 4th(very unlikely)it's still quieter than any gasser that I've had when they get up over 3500 RPM's

WHAT? How could anyone take this any other way. Let me state it clearly for the lower reading level group
Gasser is louder pulling grades because of high RPM's so you can't hear the wife talking. Diesel has a much lower RPM thus you can hear the wife talking pulling grades. :B

[Vintage465]

45Ricochet wrote:
It all boils down to if you want to listen to your DW or not pulling the grades:W
Gasser you won't hear her, diesel you will :B

Not sure I agree with that statement. I don't hear my diesel up any hills. Even if it downshifts to 4th(very unlikely)it's still quieter than any gasser that I've had when they get up over 3500 RPM's

[hemismith]

Thanks everyone. I was talking to a dealer last night and he said he let some guy take an ecodiesel on a test drive without him once. He didn't come back for a couple hours -- he went home and hooked up his trailer and went up I-80 to Park City, which has about 9 miles of 6% grade. He came back and bought it luckily.

I just noticed the Hemi comes standard with 3.21 gears on most trims; I thought it had the 3.55s like the diesel. But they both have 3.92s as an upgrade.

[hvac]

I have a 3d. Towing is what this little diesel is all about. Then add the 8 spd zf and full air suspension. Nothing compares.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

Sport45 wrote:
My wife must talk louder than 45Ricochet's. Never had any trouble carrying on a conversation even when the 6.8 V-10 was pushing 5000 rpm. Sure, you could hear it, but it was hardly deafening.

I wonder what the straight piped CTD's sound like climbing grades? The only diesels I've been in still had their mufflers.

My 04 was so loud I had them put a glass pack on it. It still was loud under load but at least it didn't wake the neighbors up when I pulled in the driveway at 2:30 in the morning! lol

Don

[Sport45]

My wife must talk louder than 45Ricochet's. Never had any trouble carrying on a conversation even when the 6.8 V-10 was pushing 5000 rpm. Sure, you could hear it, but it was hardly deafening.

I wonder what the straight piped CTD's sound like climbing grades? The only diesels I've been in still had their mufflers.

[45Ricochet]

It all boils down to if you want to listen to your DW or not pulling the grades:W
Gasser you won't hear her, diesel you will :B

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

there is a reason all stock engines have a rev limiter on them. Ford ran the Eco-boost flat out for something like 24 hours towing a trailer at Daytona Raceway when they were getting ready to launch it. Running at the upper limit of the RPM band does not hurt an engine. Today's full synthetic oils and proper cooling will protect the engine.

Don

[Tystevens]

hemismith wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

I'd like to see real-world tests run at no more than 4000 rpms or so.

Why? Why not run the engine up to where the engine makes it's rated power? People really need to get over their fright of high RPM's. If they don't like high RPM then the only alternative is a supercharged engine where it gets it's air in early or a diesel engine.

The problem with modern computer control engines is they can pull power out at any time they want.

These high power hot rod engines have a very low duty cycle. Sure, they make big HP but then they will pull power to keep from melting down.

Yeah, you're not the first that's said that, and I agree that these engines are designed to rev. But as you mentioned it's about duty cycle; I'm not so much interested in brief acceleration but rather constant output for hill climbing. I've often had to drop to 2nd and rev to 4500 rpm to maintain a reasonable speed (50-55) for extended periods of time. Not only is that not comfortable, but I think that has to have an effect on the longevity of the engine.

So a tow rating is one thing, but how well it does it is another. I will watch the videos tonight, but in the past I've tried to have a 20 percent margin, but I wondered if the diesel didn't really need that margin.

Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about high rpms for a bit. We've been towing at high rpm in Utah and Colorado for a long time with no problems. That is just what you have to do towing over passes in a naturally aspirated vehicle. The hemi seems to be a stout engine -- I wouldn't worry about it. But if you want to towing at elevation and low rpm, you might want to check out an Ecoboost 3.5.

Anyway, I also drove the ED, and wasn't too impressed with the power. As you can see from my signature, I went another direction.

[Sport45]

hemismith wrote:

Yeah, you're not the first that's said that, and I agree that these engines are designed to rev. But as you mentioned it's about duty cycle; I'm not so much interested in brief acceleration but rather constant output for hill climbing. I've often had to drop to 2nd and rev to 4500 rpm to maintain a reasonable speed (50-55) for extended periods of time. Not only is that not comfortable, but I think that has to have an effect on the longevity of the engine.

I don't see high revving on occasion as having a significant impact on longevity. Say you normally cruise at 60 mph at 2000 rpm and you're comfortable with that. Now you have to pop it up to 4500 rpm for 10 minutes to climb a hill. That's an extra 2500 rpm for 10 minutes or 25,000 revolutions of the engine. 25,000 revolutions would normally carry you 12.5 miles at your normal driving speed. So you could consider that hill climb cost you a dozen miles worth of engine life. Big deal.

My 2000 V-10 would really sing on the hills. But when I traded it at 185,000 miles it still felt as peppy as the day I bought it.

[hemismith]

ShinerBock wrote:
2015 Ram 1500 Ecodiesel 8-speed 3.92 towing 7,850 lbs up the Ike

2016 Ram 1500 Hemi 5.7L 8-speed 3.92 towing 9,000 lbs up the Ike

Interesting, so sure enough they had the rpms of the Hemi at its power peak and kept it there.