Ram vs Dodge/Chrysler - how complete is the separation?

[tacticalturnip]

The high performing v6 engines are more than adequate and better than the v8s of 30 years ago for 1/2 ton trucks. And diesel engines are so much better for heavy duty trucks and towing. There really isn’t a need for v8s in trucks anymore.

Needs and wants are different things; you're not going to explain the enthusiasm into me.

 

[jyoutz]

Needs and wants are different things; you're not going to explain the enthusiasm into me.

True enough. I prefer the 6 cylinders for economy and diesels for power. Really two different classes of truck.

 

[sd455dan]

True enough. I prefer the 6 cylinders for economy and diesels for power. Really two different classes of truck.

Which makes the Cummins straight six the winner
Sorry, couldn't resist- that was just too well set up.

 

[Snobdds]

Which makes the Cummins straight six the winner
Sorry, couldn't resist- that was just too well set up.

@Hay Dude

 

[jyoutz]

Which makes the Cummins straight six the winner
Sorry, couldn't resist- that was just too well set up.

I own a 5.9 Cummins, so no argument from me.

 

[Hay Dude]

I think they're keeping the 6.4L v8 as the gas engine in the HD RAM trucks. Turbo sixes have done really well in Ford's 1/2 ton line. The Hurricane six sounds pretty good on paper. And of course straight sixes have a long history in American trucks.

Straight six beats V-8 in tractors & trucks.
Its is the best diesel configuration you can buy in a light, medium, or heavy duty.

Duramax is a nice V-8

 

[Hay Dude]

Small displacement high HP/ TQ gas engines are here to stay and Im all for it. I was a "V8 or nothing" guy for years, until I drove the Ecoboost F-150's when they came out. Now I own one and it pulls my trailers far and away better than my older V8 F-150 could ever dream of and it hardly works while doing it plus it nets much better gas mileage. Not to mention around town unloaded its a rocket ship, especially with a tune. Ill never go back to an NA V8. That new inline 6 that Ram now has sounds impressive!

The beauty of turbocharging is finally setting in with the American driver.
If you are a diesel owner, you are already well aware.

 

[WinterDeere]

The beauty of turbocharging is finally setting in with the American driver.
If you are a diesel owner, you are already well aware.

Part of the problem here is history. Many of us bought really poorly-designed and poorly-implemented turbo cars in the 1980's and 1990's, with terrible turbo lag followed by insane uncontrolled boost, they really were terrible and almost undrivable for anyone with a heavy foot. Today's turbos are way better, in that regard, but so many wrote them off completely as a result of prior bad experience.

The worst one I ever drove was mom's ca.1990 (maybe 1993?) Saab 900 Turbo. You'd hit the gas to pull away from a light or stop sign, and get nothing. So you'd mash the pedal a bit farther, and still... nothing. Then the RPM's would get up near 2k, and it'd unleash like a bat out of hell, instantly breaking the tires loose. That was real fun on a wet road, making a right-hand turn away from a stop sign or light, given it was front-wheel drive. Worst car I have ever driven, in so many ways.

 

[Hay Dude]

Sad to see how ICE engines are literally apexing to perfection, only to have the current group of clowns regulate them right out of our hands and make us drive rechargeable battery cars.

 

[WinterDeere]

Sad to see how ICE engines are literally apexing to perfection, only to have the current group of clowns regulate them right out of our hands and make us drive rechargeable battery cars.

yeah, I can totally understand that sentiment. I feel like we've just lived thru the second golden age of the muscle car, with 700 hp - 1000 hp Challengers and Corvettes at price points within reach of so many going thru their midlife crises.

But at the same time, we both know car manufacturers are driven only by profit. Without said regulation, either domestic or foreign, it's very unlikely any of them would have ever hit the insane 130 - 140 hp per liter displacement numbers that got us here. We'd probably still be driving big cast iron V8's at 60-80 hp per liter, which people used to call a "muscle car", as there'd have been little to no payoff for the billions of dollars of engine R&D required to get us from there to here.

... and before anyone jumps to the next conclusion, I'm not saying 130+ hp/L wouldn't exist, of course it would. But it'd be reserved to the supercar elite, out of the cost range of us regular folk, if regulation hadn't forced regular production auto's in that direction. The volume sweet spot has always been 200 - 300 hp, and it's only the fleet emissions regulations have forced Detroit to find ways to make that minima with less displacement. That development is what was then pushed up the chain to the Hellcats and Corvettes of the world.