Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few eyes.

[Dmace]

Ford had the air ride that did the same, lower when off, raise when in 4x4. Nothing new here.

Ford had a turbo engine before too so is the EcoBoost "Nothing new"...?
Once again, comparing old technology with new is irrelevent...

24 mpg on Highway? What are you basing this on? The current transmission has a final overdrive ratio of .67:1. The new transmission has the same final ratio. The current EPA rating I see is 14/20 for 2wd and 13/19 for the 4x4 with the so called 6-speed. Will the weight, lower ride height, and electric power steering add 20% increase on the road? Maybe so but I doubt it. I think it will help city milage possibly but maybe not an optimistic 21%.

If you look at the large increase in the first five gear ratios, you can see where they could easily run a much taller rear end. Something like a 3.2X or even 2.X, this would make the overall gear ratio taller at higher transmission gears which will lead to higher mpg's.
That HEMI 4x4 gets 19mpg with a 3.73 rear end, now install a 2.95 in there you'll see a huge increase. Just like a 4.10 vs 3.55.

It seems to me that all the starting and stopping of the engine is just going to accelerate the wear on the internal parts.
Doesn't the conventional wisdom state that the more start/stop cycles you have, the longevity goes down?

Starting an engine is tough but really only after it's been sitting for an extended time where the oil drains back to the pan. With a start/stop feature like this the engine is shut off and immediately restarted within seconds. With such a short time between cycles, not only is the engine oil still all throughout the engine but even the cylinders still have some fuel wash on the walls keeping them lubricated plus a warm start is much easier on components like the battery and starter than a cold start.

 

[sam5570]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

my 07 2500 5.9 cummins dodge pick up best pick up i ever owned and i have had several no comparrison.

 

[kenmac]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

Only Ford I ever owned was a new 1976 Ford Elite. Biggest pile of **** I have ever owned. It was my 1 st & last Ford

 

[Mikeeemo]

I thought we were talking Dodge.

Never fails, Diamondpilot makes a comment good or bad about Ford or any other brand for that matter, and you all go off the deep end.

Let's go back to the Dodge, none of us care what the others drive.

 

[deerefan]

If they can hit 22 mpg average, that would be really appealing to me. I am not a big turbo fan with gas engines, therefore not overly excited about the eco boost.

 

[scrappy isb67]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

24 mpg on Highway? What are you basing this on? The current transmission has a final overdrive ratio of .67:1. The new transmission has the same final ratio. The current EPA rating I see is 14/20 for 2wd and 13/19 for the 4x4 with the so called 6-speed. Will the weight, lower ride height, and electric power steering add 20% increase on the road? Maybe so but I doubt it. I think it will help city milage possibly but maybe not an optimistic 21%.

I do believe that this transmission will be a great addition and make it a rocket 0-60 and better towing if all works as planned. I am anxious to drive one.

The 45RFE later became the 5-speed 545RFE.

Gear Ratios:
1st 3.00:1
2nd 1.67:1
2nd Prime 1.50:1
3rd 1.00:1
4th 0.75:1
Reverse 3.00:1
545RFE only:
5th 0.67:1

65RFE 6-speed

1st 3.00:1
2nd 1.67:1
3rd 1.50:1
4th 1.00:1
5th 0.75:1
6th 0.67:1
Reverse 3.00:1

The new 8HP45 and 8HP70 transmissions have twice as many gears, and the bandwidth is impressive: 4.71:1, 3.14:1, 2.10:1, 1.67:1, 1.29:1, 1.00:1 0.84:1 and 0.67:1. Reverse is 3.30:1.

the 45RFE IS the 545RFE, it was re designated because it didn't match dodge's transmission description that the 1st digit is the # of speeds in the transmission.
according to your source the 545rfe had 6 gears!

Well think about it, if I got 20 mpg with my 2007 Ram, take off the 4 wheel drive, which reduces weight and the height of the vehicle, make it a regular cab, which further reduces weight, and throw in some new technology, such as the 8 speed, which might be a more efficent tranny, take off the heavy 20" wheels and tires my truck had and put on a set of 17's, and you get 24 mpg. Something Dodge did in 2009 was do a major redesign of the hemi. They redid a lot of the parts in the hemi, increasing the economy and the power. I don't doubt the 24 mpg is very possible. Will the average truck buyer get the mpg, probably not, but I can see 20 mpg all day long being possible.

my buddy has an '09 1500 crew 4X4 with 20" wheels and has gotten over 20 on the interstate with it.

I kinda like the new exterior look and absolutely LOVE the interior of the 4th gen rams!

 

[Dmace]

the 45RFE IS the 545RFE, it was re designated because it didn't match dodge's transmission description that the 1st digit is the # of speeds in the transmission.
according to your source the 545rfe had 6 gears!

The 545rfe DOES have six gears, even my 2003 RAM has 6 gears BUT it only uses 5 in sequence. There are two 2nd gears depending on whether your upshifting or down shifting. When my truck down shifts to 2nd, it rips your arms off with acceleration! Even slightly damp roads causes wheel spin.

 

[scrappy isb67]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

The 545rfe DOES have six gears, even my 2003 RAM has 6 gears BUT it only uses 5 in sequence. There are two 2nd gears depending on whether your upshifting or down shifting. When my truck down shifts to 2nd, it rips your arms off with acceleration! Even slightly damp roads causes wheel spin.

IT is NOT a 6spd! It IS a 5spd(hence the 5 as the 1st digit of 545RFE). One(or more) of the "gears" you are feeling is the torque converter locking up. The torque converter will lock 3rd and 4th and make you think it has shifted 5 times when in actuality it only shifted 3 times. it goes like this, 1st->2nd->3rd->TC lockup->unlock/4th->TC lockup. it will not shift thru both 2nd gears, one is for high load/throttle and the other is for light load conditions. so in all technicality it is a 4 spd with 2 second gear ratios. If you don't believe me disconnect the TCC solenoid and drive it and see how many times it shifts. I had a durango with the 545RFE and yes it does feel like it has shifted 5 times but it was only 3 shifts and 2 tc lockups

 

[JJZ 109]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

I'd hate to sound stereotypical but I'm not surprised some arrogant Phord Phan made a response like that...

You don't know me from the next guy that posts here, so save your "arrogant" comment.
I didn't brand bash, I said nothing about the quality of any manufacturer. I simply stated the reason why I won't drive 2 specific manufacturer's vehicles.
I love the old Mopar muscle, in fact I owned a '68 Dodge Coronet R/T convertible for many years. The fact that I won't buy something from a bailed out car maker (twice in Chrysler's case) doesn't give you any reason to go off the deep end on me. I've never been disrespectful to you or anyone else on these pages and don't deserve that BS response of yours just for stating a preference.

 

[Dmace]

IT is NOT a 6spd! It IS a 5spd(hence the 5 as the 1st digit of 545RFE). One(or more) of the "gears" you are feeling is the torque converter locking up.

If one of the "gears" was just TC lock-up then why are the SIX gear ratios listed?
Once again, THERE ARE SIX FORWARD GEARS IN THE 545RFE TRANSMISSION! In my book, that makes it a six speed.
1st 3.00:1
2nd 1.67:1
2nd Prime 1.50:1
3rd 1.00:1
4th 0.75:1
5th 0.67:1
Reverse 3.00:1
During normal operation only 5 are used but a seperate 2nd gear is used for downshifts. The 68RFE uses all 6 and each gear can be held with the ERS (Electronic Range Selector)
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/transmissions/545RFE.html

Engineers decided that instead of having six forward gears, it made sense to program the transmission to act as a five-speed with an alternate second gear for downshifts.

The torque converter will lock 3rd and 4th and make you think it has shifted 5 times when in actuality it only shifted 3 times. it goes like this, 1st->2nd->3rd->TC lockup->unlock/4th->TC lockup.

Wrong, under normal operation it's 1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th but will use that 6th gear when down shifting to 2nd (1.67:1 instead of 1.50:1). The difference is the 68RFE is programmed to use ALL 6 gears normally.
The 545RFE may ACT as a 5 speed but it DOES have 6 speeds. Call it what you want, it really doesn't matter since they already moved on to a 6 speed 68RFE and now 8 speed...