Ram 1500 is getting a 3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel... THIS YEAR!

[daddy]

I agree the diesel has a better powerband and will pull better than a gas V8 just saying that if it was too much for the Hemi to handle it's too much for a half-ton chassis. For GM, if it's too much for the 6.2/6-speed it's too much for a half-ton chassis. The 5.3/4 speed isn't very hard to overwhelm.

I still don't get this. I get what you are saying, I just don't see how it's so definitive.

If it's too much for the Hemi, it's too much for the Hemi. How does that instantly transfer into the chassis being too weak and the diesel being wrong for this application? GM offers a towing package, what if RAM does the same with some upgraded brakes and stiffer suspension? Just because an engine has a tough time hauling a heavy load that doesn't immediately mean the chassis is weak.

 

[slims]

I agree the diesel has a better powerband and will pull better than a gas V8 just saying that if it was too much for the Hemi to handle it's too much for a half-ton chassis. For GM, if it's too much for the 6.2/6-speed it's too much for a half-ton chassis. The 5.3/4 speed isn't very hard to overwhelm.

I still don't get this. I get what you are saying, I just don't see how it's so definitive.

If it's too much for the Hemi, it's too much for the Hemi. How does that instantly transfer into the chassis being too weak and the diesel being wrong for this application? GM offers a towing package, what if RAM does the same with some upgraded brakes and stiffer suspension? Just because an engine has a tough time hauling a heavy load that doesn't immediately mean the chassis is weak.

What he said....

 

[NMRam]

I agree the diesel has a better powerband and will pull better than a gas V8 just saying that if it was too much for the Hemi to handle it's too much for a half-ton chassis. For GM, if it's too much for the 6.2/6-speed it's too much for a half-ton chassis. The 5.3/4 speed isn't very hard to overwhelm.

OK, here is a real-world example......I pulled 6-8k with my 2010 Hemi on a few occasions, and the engine had no problem handling this weight (nor did the chassis for that matter). BUT, in order to have this capability, I had to deal with getting 16 mpg while driving daily and 11 mpg towing. This mileage wouldn't have been much different if I had the 4.7, but I wouldn't have had near the power.

If I had waited until 2013 and bought the 3.6 Pentastar, I could have gotten significantly better mileage daily driving, but I am not sure that it would have the power to pull the heavier loads. We have this motor in my wife's Avenger, and it SCOOTS in a midsize sedan, but I do not have the impression that it would have nearly enough power to pull around a fullsize truck towing 6-8k.

IF I could have the option to spend a little more for the diesel in a truck that would still have the torque to pull the 6-8k, but would average mid 20's in daily driving and maybe mid teens while towing, I would jump all over that in a second. For the type of use I personally have for a truck, this diesel would fit the bill perfectly.

 

[mr_bots]

If you tow a lot, the diesel makes sense as the pay off period would drop very quickly. For normal use with occasional towing the pay off is a few years. Based on my driving and how I use my vehicles it'd be about 3 versus the Hemi. I'm fairly content with my Pentastar and I'm sure it will be better with 3 more gears but I wouldn't want to throw a heavy trailer behind it If I could do over (now that they have a decent transmission behind the V8) I'd go that route.

 

[drperry]

If you tow a lot, the diesel makes sense as the pay off period would drop very quickly. For normal use with occasional towing the pay off is a few years. Based on my driving and how I use my vehicles it'd be about 3 versus the Hemi. I'm fairly content with my Pentastar and I'm sure it will be better with 3 more gears but I wouldn't want to throw a heavy trailer behind it If I could do over (now that they have a decent transmission behind the V8) I'd go that route.

Stock for stock, unloaded, the gas and diesel will get close to the same mileage, unloaded, so even if you tow occasionally, it will pay for itself in a few years...

But honestly, these days, the average person doesn't keep ANY vehicle long enough for it to be a price difference.

 

[CoRrz]

No thanks. That diesel costs $2100 more than the Hemi in the GC so I bet it's atleast that much in the Ram. Take the better mileage, add $0.60/gal, and then add the $2100 and it works out where that it will take years to even out. Drop the price to even with the Hemi and we'll talk. For pulling: if it's too much for the Hemi, it's too much for a half ton.

I don't agree with that last part at all. With the right trailer, 420 ft-lbs should perform nicely.

I didn't say the TDI wouldn't pull better I said that if it was too much for the Hemi (which has 407lb-ft), it's too much for a half ton chassis, brakes, etc. Is a gain of 13lb-ft (at a lower rpm) and loss of 155hp worth $2000+? Not to mention the extra maintenance, increased complexity, urea injection, etc. Good sense where diesel is not so much more than unleaded. Here, not so much.

For the way I use a truck (lots of miles, mostly highway unloaded, with occasional towing of my camper or stock trailer) the diesel makes lots of sense.

My Hemi (390 hp, 407 ft-lbs) got 16-17 mpg and cost $1200 over the 4.7 when I bought my truck. The new 3.6 v6 costs $500 more than the 4.7 and is rated at 25 mpg, but only has 305 hp and 269 ft-lbs of torque, which would make the towing I do a miserable experience. If the diesel cost ~$2k and could pull off 25+ mpg, it would be worth it to me in the long run to buy it. The hp is not great, but the torque would make it livable.

That's why they offer different options, each buyer can figure out what works for them, I guess.

would have to be in the 30's to justify it. My duramax gets a steady 20-22MPG on the hwy empty. but a SBRC Diesel would be tits.

 

[NMRam]

Official MPG ratings released today...pretty impressive!

News: Ram diesel: official mileage

2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel nets car-like 28-mpg rating - Autoblog

 

[Darkanion]