RAM 1500 V6 8-speed test.

[Diamondpilot]

Yet another in the thousands of "my friend/neighbor/BIL" stories.....

That's how things work in my world. See I have friends and loan out my equipment when the stuff they have fails.

Chris

 

[jejeosborne]

You really think this 8 speed transmission is worth 8 years of development over what Ford currently offers? Wow, little faith in your product huh?

Wasn't it you that said the 8 speed transmission would only be a bandaid for an engine with a poor torque curve? Now your precious Ecoboost would benefit from one?

How did you derive this 8 years development case? The point is just as you mentioned, comparing two vehicles with differing technology. Who cares if it takes 1 year or 30 years. Btw ram didn't spend any time in developing any of that powertrain. Bought from other vendors.

It wasn't me who said anything about a bandaid. Please find that post and quote it. What I said was that an eight speed will improve the performance of an engine which produces its peak torque at a high rpms. That makes sense doesn't it?

Again, from a post earlier that got deleted, great transmission. The best gas combo one could have in a gas pickup would be an ecoboost with this transmission.

I would be scared to buy a ram until the labor disputes are resolved. I doubt the employees are putting forth their best effort at this time.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130301/AUTO0101/303010342
I originally though being made in Mexico was a bad thing but it may go back if people don't want to work.

 

[Dmace]

How did you derive this 8 years development case?

Your the one who said comparing the new RAM transmission and Ford transmission is like comparing a new truck to one from 8 years ago. You really think Ford is that far behind? :laughing:

Comparing a new 8-speed transmission to a 6-speed is similar to comparing an truck from 8 years ago.

Btw ram didn't spend any time in developing any of that powertrain. Bought from other vendors.

True, I wish RAM could develop their own products like Ford...
Oh wait a minute, isn't Ford currently getting sued for stealing technology from other companies...?
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/04/ford-staring-down-f-150-fuel-injection-patent-lawsuit/

What I said was that an eight speed will improve the performance of an engine which produces its peak torque at a high rpms. That makes sense doesn't it?

Not exactly.
An 8 speed transmission will help an engine stay in it's torque curve but it doesn't matter if that engine produces it's peak torque at high or low rpms. You seem to think only engines producing torque at high rpms will benefit from more gears which is wrong. ANY engine will benefit from a transmission that allows it to stay in it's peak power/efficiency range.

The best gas combo one could have in a gas pickup would be an ecoboost with this transmission.

You said this transmission would help the Ecoboost, so are you saying the Ecoboost "produces its peak torque at a high rpms"...? You keep contradicting yourself so much, it's hard to keep up.

I would be scared to buy a ram until the labor disputes are resolved. I doubt the employees are putting forth their best effort at this time.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130301/AUTO0101/303010342
I originally though being made in Mexico was a bad thing but it may go back if people don't want to work.

If your scared about whining UAW babies that are crying because a company is giving them more hours instead of layoffs like most companies then you should not buy ANY vehicles. They're all built by the same whiners.

You and DP like to put down Chrysler for Mexico built vehicles but you also don't understand trade tariffs which will allow auto manufacturers more freedom to sell in North AND South America by building in Mexico vs USA. Blame Congress not the auto companies.
Little statistic for you guys too.
Ford - 55 percent of parts made in the U.S. or Canada. More than 15 percent of its parts come from Mexico.
Chrysler - 61 percent of the components it uses for its Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lines come from the U.S., while about 20 percent come from Mexico and Latin America, about 10 percent from Canada and just under 10 percent from the rest of the world.
autos.aol.com/article/is-your-car-really-american/

So Chrysler has 71% of its parts from US and Canada vs Ford at 55%...

Lastly, I agree this sounds like a great transmission but only time will tell. Believe it or not, I wasn't looking for a Ford vs GM vs Chrysler debate but wanted to show just how well this new combo is performing. The fact that they compare it to an Ecoboost was purely coincidence due to recent testing.
This tranmission strapped to the HEMI or V6 diesel will be a very good combo!

 

[jejeosborne]

Not exactly.
An 8 speed transmission will help an engine stay in it's torque curve but it doesn't matter if that engine produces it's peak torque at high or low rpms. You seem to think only engines producing torque at high rpms will benefit from more gears which is wrong. ANY engine will benefit from a transmission that allows it to stay in it's peak power/efficiency range.

You said this transmission would help the Ecoboost, so are you saying the Ecoboost "produces its peak torque at a high rpms"...? You keep contradicting yourself so much, it's hard to keep up.

It is hard to keep up? Really? I said the same thing you did in different words. The 8 speed will help any engine stay in the sweet spot of the torque curve but benefit an engine which produces peak torque at a high rpm more. Not rocket science here. Why would you assume I meant the ecoboost makes peak torque at high rpms? I have posted the torque curves in the past showing the peak torque at 2500 rpms.

If your scared about whining UAW babies that are crying because a company is giving them more hours instead of layoffs like most companies then you should not buy ANY vehicles. They're all built by the same whiners.

You and DP like to put down Chrysler for Mexico

Nope, I now see why they choose to use Mexican labor. I agree whining babies.

Realize we are just playing the game you wanted with this thread. It is funny how everyone is now using the ecoboost the standard to compare. Put an ecoboost engine in that same truck with that transmission and see what it will do. I would buy that.

Also, you were wrong. You can purchase a ecoboost for less than $30,000. Even an extended cab.

 

[jagyzf]

True, I wish RAM could develop their own products like Ford...
Oh wait a minute, isn't Ford currently getting sued for stealing technology from other companies...?
Ford staring down F-150 fuel-injection patent lawsuit

Things like this happen all the time. That is being sued for things you may or may not have created or someone did. Caterpillar about 6-7 years ago was sued and had to prove the tech they were using had been developed before the patent holder claimed.

My company was involved in a case similar. We had bought a machine that had been produced for 30-35 years.Yet some idiot patented parts of the machine 3-4 years prior and the application of the machine and then tried to sue us for using "his patented tech". In the end he lost because there were actually several companies producing this type of machinery for this process and all of them went back 30 years plus.

I also remember reading about Ford playing with direct injection and turbos for several years and to this day is testing different applications. This would include a dual tank system that would inject E85 and regular gas to allow higher pressure in the engine. All of these things go back a ways, and the story points out the F-150. Yet several other models were made years before the Ecoboost was put in the F150.

Not saying Ford didn't steel it, but until the case is over none of us here know for sure.

 

[jagyzf]

I don't think this 8 speed is all that new either. ZF has been selling versions of this for several years. BMW has been using it, I read Volkswagon is looking at it, Land Rover I have read is using it. So it might be in several auto lines soon. ZF was selling transmissions to both Ford and Chevy for heavy duty manuals (6 speed I think) so they might very well sell this to Ford and/or Chevy.

ZF’s 8-Speed Automatic Transmission - Tech Dept. - Car and Driver

I also read Land Rover is going to be using a 9 Speed ZF soon and that ZF thinks 9 is the limit for speeds.

 

[madmax12]

I don't think this 8 speed is all that new either. ZF has been selling versions of this for several years. BMW has been using it, I read Volkswagon is looking at it, Land Rover I have read is using it. So it might be in several auto lines soon. ZF was selling transmissions to both Ford and Chevy for heavy duty manuals (6 speed I think) so they might very well sell this to Ford and/or Chevy.

ZF’s 8-Speed Automatic Transmission - Tech Dept. - Car and Driver

I also read Land Rover is going to be using a 9 Speed ZF soon and that ZF thinks 9 is the limit for speeds.

Is the RAM engine/tranny combo the same as the charger? That was available last year.

 

[dodge man]

Is the RAM engine/tranny combo the same as the charger? That was available last year.

The engine is maybe similar, I'm pretty sure the transmission is totally different.

 

[Ford850]

Ford - 55 percent of parts made in the U.S. or Canada. More than 15 percent of its parts come from Mexico.
Chrysler - 61 percent of the components it uses for its Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lines come from the U.S., while about 20 percent come from Mexico and Latin America, about 10 percent from Canada and just under 10 percent from the rest of the world.
autos.aol.com/article/is-your-car-really-american/

So Chrysler has 71% of its parts from US and Canada vs Ford at 55%...

Here's a fresher link for those stats, since yours is from 2010. The Cars.com American-Made Index - Cars.com
So Ford went up to 60% in 2011, and then up to 75% domestic content this last year. The F150 is in second place among all vehicles. The only other truck in the top ten is the Tundra at number 7.

 

[jejeosborne]

Here's a fresher link for those stats, since yours is from 2010. The Cars.com American-Made Index - Cars.com
So Ford went up to 60% in 2011, and then up to 75% domestic content this last year. The F150 is in second place among all vehicles. The only other truck in the top ten is the Tundra at number 7.

Quite a bit different than what was posted earlier. Thanks for the update.