Towing...and stuff.5.7 vs 3.0 eco

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socalledchad

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I've only had my 5.7 for about 4 months...it's at 49k miles. Put about 12k on it so far..probably 8k of those pulling a 7x14 enclosed about 3500 lbs.
Well now the 5.7 is in the shop..started knocking horribly. .it is all covered under warranty and I'm not 100% sure what happened. ..all I know is they are doing rockers...valves and push rods...I will find out more details soon...anyways...it has me concerned. .and I'm also curious about the ecodiesel.

Wondering what kind of mpg people are getting while towing?

How does it tow vs the 5.7?

Would it be a step up...or a step down ? Haha

Overall what are your thoughts on the ed....and on the ed vs the 5.7?
 

EJR_3

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Test drove both recently and gladly purchased my 5.7L. Both have pros and cons depending on your application.

ED- More torque (fun), better MPG (Sweet), but have a lower towing capacity and less power. If that 3.5k trailer is the most you're hauling, it could be a awesome truck for you.

5.7- More power (cool), more towing capacity (awesome), but worst MPG and less acceleration.

To sum it up, if you're towing 7k pounds and under, the EC will be a great truck. 7k-10k I would recommend a 5.7. Just my opinion.
 

14hemiexpress

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My opinion on diesels stands as such. You should have 3-5000 dollars marked in a account or where ever for possible repair. Most people can't even afford a $500 let along a few thousand. The ED will prove soild for good torque and fuel mileage. The ED comes with a 4k premium you will probably only pay 80% of that, by the time you take into consideration the up charge for a hemi your talking 2k upgrade for the eco diesel. The nature of diesels is direct injection high compression and high fuel pressure. All of that equals expensive repairs with $500+ per injector and $2000 high pressure pumps it runs its own risk for costly repairs those are just 2 examples in comparison everything on a diesel is at 2x the cost of not more like 5x just for parts and labor is normally more expensive. To me I would stick with the hemi I don't believe the 8k miles worth of towing did any damage to your engine I believe it was previous ownership or just plain bad luck.
 

crash68

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Pulling an 3K lbs enclosed car hauler trailer in strong head winds with my EcoDiesel, I was getting about 16mpg. Effortlessly towed a 7K boat in stop and go traffic, still about 15mpg, the EcoDiesel doesn't know what a single digit MPG is unlike the Hemi that likes to makes friends with all gas stations along the way...lol. Even having CCLB 4x4 3.92, I get 20-22 mpg city, 26-29 highway.
Horsepower is speed, torque is what tows, the EcoDiesel has more torque then the Hemi at half the rpms of the Hemi.
 

CherryRed

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There have been several police Chargers with the 5.7 develop valvetrain problems, due to all the idling these cars do. Apparently it's a lubrication problem.

Some of the trucks have an engine hour meter that is accessible through the EVIC. They typically show hours idling, driving and total. Mine shows about 10% of the total hours is spent at idle. Somewhere around 700ish hours to travel 32,000 miles.
 

keithert

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My 2016 5.7 get 14 miles per gallon pulling my 3000 pound pop up trailer. Without the trailer it got 18.

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coldfusion73

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Hemi 5.7
2016 Ram SLT CC 4x4, 5.7, 8 speed, 3.21 rear.
Travel trailer is 2016 Jayco Jayflight SLX 264BHW dry weight 4700lbs, loaded for camping approximately 6000lbs.
Trip was 3500 km from my driveway back to my driveway mixture of hills and flat land. Tow/haul mode engaged entire trip. Works out to 9.7 mpg for you non metric people lol

I would love to try that same trip with an eco diesel just to compare.

d48380134b36f5e0a6273b38f9bd1db7.jpg


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muzupan

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On my recent trip of 2600 miles from SE Texas to SE GA with a side trip into the rolling hills of Alabama and Mississippi I averaged anywhere from 9 mpg to 10.9 mpg. My vehicle a 2015 1500 CC with the 5.7 hemi and 3.21 gears. My trailer and truck maxed out a 13700 GCVW. Trailer was at 7200 lbs loaded. I don't know if the ecodiesl would do much better but it would be interesting to try. When I was headed back home I hit strong headwinds of 20+mph and my mile dropped to about 8mpg. To figure This mpg I was using pen and paper.
 

THETANK

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Test drove both recently and gladly purchased my 5.7L. Both have pros and cons depending on your application.

ED- More torque (fun), better MPG (Sweet), but have a lower towing capacity and less power. If that 3.5k trailer is the most you're hauling, it could be a awesome truck for you.

5.7- More power (cool), more towing capacity (awesome), but worst MPG and less acceleration.

To sum it up, if you're towing 7k pounds and under, the EC will be a great truck. 7k-10k I would recommend a 5.7. Just my opinion.

5.7 less accel than the 3.0, interesting:favorites13:
 

U&A

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5.7 less accel than the 3.0, interesting:favorites13:

I also find it hard to believe form what iv heard when talking to owners. they say it slower than the 5.7 but iv never driven the ED so theirs that.


id get the 5.7 without even looking at the ED.
 

EJR_3

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5.7 less accel than the 3.0, interesting:favorites13:

I also find it hard to believe form what iv heard when talking to owners. they say it slower than the 5.7 but iv never driven the ED so theirs that.


id get the 5.7 without even looking at the ED.

I think you both are misinterpreting what I meant. Off the line, the ED picks up, I'll give it the best 60 ft, not 0-60 mph. the 5.7 is more powerful and will pass it easily stock vs stock. Just was sharing my experience of test driving both before my purchase.
 

CherryRed

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Looks like the ED has a 0-60 of 8.9 seconds (Motor Trend). The 5.7 Hemi clocks in at 6.9 seconds. The Pentastar V6 has a published time of 7.6 seconds for 0-60
 
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xrsman

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I can attest for the ecodiesel being slower than the hemi. My 2014 Ram 1500 Hemi would 0-60 in around 7 seconds stock. Hemifever tuner, S&B CAI, MBRP cat back on 35's my 0-60 was 6.34.

My Ecodiesel is around 9 seconds with an AFE CAI only.

As for towing. Power seems great, I don't remember how much of a difference there is between it and my Hemi, but it isn't much anyway. Fuel mileage is way different though.

Averaged 12 L/100 KMS towing my 4000 dump trailer. That's 20 MPG. My Hemi would average 16 L/100 KMS (15 mpg) with the same trailer.

f990df8486b8865a3a707f34c482081f.jpg


Not towing the mileage is even more amazing. Last night I beat my mileage record. 8.2 L/100 KMS. (29 mpg).

Average daily driving hand calculated I average mid 9 L/100 kms. (25 mpg)

6a2d8ea7df051a3b8d77c6b71f03d5fb.jpg

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xrsman

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Yeah, I've been looking but can't find that info anywhere.
I purchased an Edge CTS2 monitor for mine last week. I could have sworn it had a 60' timer, but I can't pull up the feature list on my phone for some reason. It'll be here tomorrow so if it has that I can see how quick it is for you guys!

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xrsman

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I purchased an Edge CTS2 monitor for mine last week. I could have sworn it had a 60' timer, but I can't pull up the feature list on my phone for some reason. It'll be here tomorrow so if it has that I can see how quick it is for you guys!

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Update - no 60' timer on the CTS-2

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dRAMbuie

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When I bought my 2014, I seriously looked at the eco diesel.
That particular month, they were offering a "free upgrade" to diesel, which made it very tempting.

In the end I chose the 5.7 Hemi for the higher tow capacity, but also because it seemed like it would be more fun as a daily driver.
I also chose the 3:92 rear end, to make towing in the mountains a little easier on the truck.

Over the last two years I've been told many times by my service adviser that I made the right choice. He tells me they've had a lot of problems with the eco diesel, and that they regularly see them in for repairs.
Meanwhile I haven't had any issues with my 5.7L (struts has been the only repair).

Who knows, maybe they've improved reliability on those eco diesels over the last couple of years.
Either way, if I had to do it all over again I'd still buy the Hemi. It's a dream to tow with and a beast off the line with those lower gears in the rear end.

Admittedly the fuel mileage does hurt a little.
With about 6,500lbs behind me and a full truck, I'm only getting about 9 to 10 mpg (about 24L/100km) according to the EVIC. But to be fair, that's driving around in the Rockies and surrounding foothills.

Side note:
Don't know if it's true or not, but I've actually been told that the 3:55's get worse fuel mileage when towing.
 
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retep

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I find this an interesting thread. I toggle back and forth between ED and the 5.7. I plan on traveling with a trailer (in the 21 - 23 ft 4000 lb range) throughout Canada and the USA. Which means I will be in the Rockies and the Appalachians. Speed is not my concern so ED would be fine, but I do keep my vehicles longer than most. I like the MPG of a ED and enjoy the seemingly reliable 5.7 but dislike the fuel consumption. I have owned many diesels in my life as well as good old American iron gas. I have always had good reliability with minimal repair on the diesel and the gas. Diesels need regular oil and filters. They like steady highway driving and don't shy away from working. If I had the funds I would be investing in the Cummins but I dont. I think total cost of ownership for an ED will only pay after 4-5 yrs of my driving. I don't think I have ever toiled over making a car purchase as much as this one.

Thanks
Peter
 

THETANK

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I purchased an Edge CTS2 monitor for mine last week. I could have sworn it had a 60' timer, but I can't pull up the feature list on my phone for some reason. It'll be here tomorrow so if it has that I can see how quick it is for you guys!

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thanks for all your posts and trying to figure this topic out:favorites13: As of Wed night my lifetime average with the R/T is 22.7 mpg and the odo is sitting at 6600 miles or approximately 10,500 km. What I drive it like my Grandma stole it:sleepy10:
 
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