RAM 1500 V6 8-speed test.

[Dmace]

Pretty neat review of the new RAM 1500 with the base Pentastar V6 and new ZF 8 speed transmission.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2013/03/rampage-the-test-at-davis-dam.html

I'm impressed with the fuel mileage numbers for a crew cab 4x2 short bed both empty and trailering 5,500lbs. 23-26 mpg empty and 10.6-11.7 mpg towing 5,500 lbs.

Their praise for the new transmission sounds very promising too!
They compare the numbers up the Davis Dam to the recently tested F150 Ecoboost. Considering the much more powerful Ford had a 9,000 lb trailer vs the 5,500 lb trailer on the base V6 RAM, I'm surprised how close they were. Even empty both trucks were nearly identical in 0-60 and 1/4 mile time and speed. Impressive for a little NA V6 engine.

This 8 speed in the HEMI and V6 diesel is gonna be a real winner!

 

[Diamondpilot]

The tranny is going to be built just up the road from me about 40 miles. Its been big news here and the plant expansion that goes with it.

Comparing the Dodge V6 to the Eco Boost is like comparing a gas V8 to a diesel. Not in the same class.

Chris

 

[Dmace]

Comparing the Dodge V6 to the Eco Boost is like comparing a gas V8 to a diesel. Not in the same class.

Obviously, they only show how it compares since they recently tested the Ecoboost in the same way. Not a direct comparison just the only comparison they have right now.

Since most people think of a base V6 truck engine as weak and slow, seeing the base plain and simple normally aspirated RAM V6 closely keeping up with Ford's "hot rod" Ecoboost engine in acceleration test is impressive. Even a die hard Ford fan can't deny that.

RAM 1500 crew cab (4 full doors) V6 Pentastar- 16.09 @ 88.39 mph 1/4 mile

F-150 ext cab EcoBoost -- 15.37 sec. @ 93.32 mph 1/4 mile

Considering the power difference, 0.7 seconds and 5 mph is not much for similar sized vehicles.

Towing up the Davis Dam:
RAM 1500 V6 towing 5,500 lbs 1/4 mile - 24.35 @ 55.5 mph

Ford F150 Ecoboost towing 9,000 lbs 1/4 mile 24.56 @ 58.47 mph

Not a direct comparison but the I bet the Ford and GM base V6 engines won't be even close to these numbers.

 

[Bob77064]

That eight speed transmission is nice, I wish I had that in my truck.

 

[Dmace]

That eight speed transmission is nice, I wish I had that in my truck.

I haven't driven one yet but it sounds good, especially for towing.

 

[Dan Hunter]

The tranny is going to be built just up the riad from me about 40 miles. Its been big news here and the plant expansion that goes with it.

Comparing the Dodge V6 to the Eco Boost is like comparing a gas V8 to a diesel. Not in the same class.

Chris

What's a riad? Could you explain the transitive logic in your post?

 

[aczlan]

What's a riad? Could you explain the transitive logic in your post?

Its probbaly a typo and he meant road, the I and the O being next to each other on standard QWERTY keyboards and road making sense on that sentence.

Aaron Z

 

[94BULLITT]

Considering the power difference, 0.7 seconds and 5 mph is not much for similar sized vehicles.

Actually it is. Ask anyone who drag races what it takes to gain 5 MPH .7 seconds.

 

[PoorPlowboy]

Actually it is. Ask anyone who drag races what it takes to gain 5 MPH .7 seconds.

I've hung around a few. In the neighborhood of 75HP at those speeds in a boxy truck to make that much difference.

 

[GGB]

The older I get, the more amazed I am at the continuing improvements in performance from technology from all the manufacturers.

It would be better yet if the engineers actually had to work on what they design, and if the bean counters had to work on what they are approving so they'd be less likely to try to save pennies which end up costing big money to repair down the road. But I'm not an optimist regarding this.......

 

[Ford850]

Dmace, you have to take off the Ram blinders, the power and speed part with unloaded trucks is not that close. If you think they are close, then the little V-6 is even closer to the Hemi since the Ecoboost beats that. But the Ram's V-6 MPGs look great unloaded, and the 8 speed sounds like it performs awesome.
An interesting comment on that other thread points out how similar the performance is between the Ford and Ram when loaded close to each trucks respective limits. They said it looks like they may be honestly rated for towing after all.

 

[Diamondpilot]

What's a riad? Could you explain the transitive logic in your post?

Road. Stupid spell check.

Chris

 

[B7510HSD]

Actually it is. Ask anyone who drag races what it takes to gain 5 MPH .7 seconds.

HAHA actually when I first started racing it was pretty cheap to do that but now in the 8 sec bracket it takes an awful lot to do just that!!

 

[94BULLITT]

I think they are comparing the ecoboost to the pentastar because of the eco mode.


Motorweek got a a different 1/4 mile time.

http://www.motorweek.org/reviews/road_tests/2013_ram_1500/

 

[Peacock]

That one is 4wd.

 

[Whisper35]

Amen GGB, I just bought a new F-150 FXT Crew cab 4x4. It is a beautiful truck, but working on it myself......not going to happen. It is far more advanced than the old 350 that I had when I was in high school. On the plus side I did get a 7yr/100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Hopefully it will be a good truck and I won't have to be bringing it back to the dealer all the time like I did with my 6.2L GMC.

 

[Dmace]

Dmace, you have to take off the Ram blinders, the power and speed part with unloaded trucks is not that close. If you think they are close, then the little V-6 is even closer to the Hemi since the Ecoboost beats that.

No blinders here...
Even compared to the HEMI that's impressive. In the test PickupTrucks.com did for the best truck under $30k (which the RAM won), they got a 15.76 at 89.64 mph in the quarter mile so it's right between the two trucks. With this new 8 speed transmission though I bet it will beat or match the Ecoboost speed and fuel mileage. No turbos or direct injection needed.
http://special-reports.pickuptrucks.com/2011/09/30k-shootout-quarter-mile-test.html

Also, the F150 was only an extended cab and not a full four door crew cab like the RAM's.

 

[Hay Dude]

Typical Phord Phan still doesn't get it. If these were two equally comparable trucks that would be a huge difference. Considering one truck is the Top performer for Ford with all this expensive technology (direct injection, twin turbo, etc...) and the other is the base standard plain and simple V6 at the low end of the RAM truck engine line, those numbers are very close. That 8 speed in the HEMI and V6 diesel will really show the difference in comparable powertrains.

That's the beauty of the 8 speed. Makes an otherwise pretty mundane gas v-6 look a lot better. The efficiency of a Diesel engine is magnified when you give is a close ratio, efficient shifting transmission with an extra gear or two over the competition.
GM showed up Ford on speed and towing tests the same way. Back a few years ago when Ford has all their glossy brochures and keyboard racers touting their new 400+ HP scorpio diesel, GM was still able to out pull and outrace the new Ford with a 390hp older dmax. It's also how GM was able to build a consistently faster truck than ford since the advent of the dmax over 10 years ago. GM always had the more efficient transmission with better tc lockup and more locked up gears than ford.
Buddy of mine that owns a local transmission shop for over 30 years and he would show me bench top comparisons of internal parts on opened up GM & ford transmissions since the mid 90's. The consistent theme was GM was always bigger, stronger, more efficient and most of all, less often repaired in the transmission shop. The Allison was an unbelievable leap forward over anything Ford had and forced ford to finally start building something more than a 4 speed car transmission with a bigger torque converter on the front of it. I rebuilt a bunch of them e4ods and 4r100's. Never rebuilt an Allison. Torqshift was big improvement but probably never would have been built util ford was forced to step up to the plate and do it.
Now I don't know how that compares to a "BIL" or neighbor story because I know it's just a guy who's never been on the internet with thousands of rah rah ford posts. He just owned a transmission shop and repaired thousands of transmissions for over 30 years, but I thought I'd share my personal experience.
Transmissions make a HUGE difference in the performance of the engine it is mated to. I would much rather have a lower powered diesel with a 6-8 speed than a more powerful diesel with a 5-6 speed. Fuel efficiency and towing performance is better. That's what these trucks are made for.

 

[Bob77064]

I haven't driven one yet but it sounds good, especially for towing.

Yes sir a big advantaqe and better mileage with or without a trailer.

 

[ham]

Here is what gripes me. When we get by the obvious baiting idiots that try to pit one brand against another I prefer to stay solution based....the Next Gen approach.

My 2011 F 150 ecoboost heavy duty with 3.73 that out hauls and out tows my 2003 Dodge Heavy Duty (which I loved) gets a strong 17.5 city, and 21.9 on two lane at 68 and 18.5 on interstate at 75mph...whew...it takes a long time to get all that out there to keep the bone heads from challenging stupid stuff. With these electronic trannys that can be easily re programed....well there is a certain consistency with these engines, keep them below 2000RPM like at 1850 they get far better mileage so get your gearing to allow this at 78 mph on the interstate, gives us a switch to make this decision...etc. The next several MPG will come from trannys and ratios.