Diesel vs Gas

6.4 dude · Jan 22, 2016

I pull over 15k every 2-3 weeks and never once have I experienced it.

SouthTexan · Jan 22, 2016

drittal said:
Who has experienced it at low altitude?

"Feature" is what Ram called it.

The speed bumps in texas wouldn't trigger it.

1. Go to RV.Net, there have been multiple posters that have experienced it at lower altitudes. I distinctly remember one stating that it kicked in on him going onto the foothills of the Appalachians in Tennessee where it was still below 1,200 ft elevation.

2. Ram marketing probably also calls traction control and torque management a "feature" for those who drink the Kool-Aide, but does that mean they are "features" to all buyers? No.

3. Yes, there are mountains in west Texas and I would be willing to bet some roads like State Highway 118(6,138 ft) going into the Davis Mountains would trigger it. Although, I said what I said as a jab back at what Skrap's post meant for me. I don't see you going after Skrap or Thevikings posts that you know aren't true yet you say mine isn't? Double standard?

Donnieram2012 · Jan 22, 2016

My vote is for diesel I have one of each!!!

drittal · Jan 22, 2016

I experienced it at 18,500 combined weight climbing into the Bighorns. Nasty hairpin turns with 25mph limits. I would accelerate out of the turns, the truck would shift into 2nd, then I'd have to slow down for the next. Finally after the constant shifting and 10+% grade the 'feature" kicked in. Oil and Trans temps dropped. They were never in the red, or even 3/4 on the gauges, but that shows some reasoning behind it. I ended up cruising to the top at about 32 once it straightened out a bit. Up and over the steepest parts 20-35% grades at 32. About 6 miles total before it let me out of 1st. Climbed another 1,000' after that. It just wasn't as steep or twisty. A total of 4300' gained in 16 miles. Ike Gauntlet gains 2300' in 8.5 miles, but no hairpins. Just really damn high and pretty steep.

The next day my father came up at 19,480 combined with his tuned cummins 4.10 DRW. Of course no hold feature and he manually held 3rd. He made better time for sure, but was also limited by the hairpins and was watching his EGT and trans temps pretty close. It is a hell of a climb with 11k of camper behind this hemi.

On the way out, at the top there is a turnout that all vehicles towing a trailer must turn out and do a brake check. A little ways down the road a lighted sign telling motorists to use a lower gear the stating the number of fatalities on the pass the previous year, if i rember it was 7. So I went down the exact same way I went up, in 1st gear. I only had to hit the brakes to slow for the hairpins. Worked well.

Cummins defiantly was better for that situation. However, 95% of our truck's driving is empty with my wife hauling the kids all over creation. Camper has been parked for 2.5 months now as our 6months of winter has set in. Feels more like 9.

drittal · Jan 22, 2016

SouthTexan said:
1. Go to RV.Net, there have been multiple posters that have experienced it at lower altitudes. I distinctly remember one stating that it kicked in on him going onto the foothills of the Appalachians in Tennessee where it was still below 1,200 ft elevation.

2. Ram marketing probably also calls traction control and torque management a "feature" for those who drink the Kool-Aide, but does that mean they are "features" to all buyers? No.

3. Yes, there are mountains in west Texas and I would be willing to bet some roads like State Highway 118(6,138 ft) going into the Davis Mountains would trigger it. Although, I said what I said as a jab back at what Skrap's post meant for me. I don't see you going after Skrap or Thevikings posts that you know aren't true yet you say mine isn't? Double standard?

Davis max's out at 10% and only 6,000'. No hair pins. Average from FT. DAVIS to the observatory is 2% and 1400' gained in 15 miles.

SouthTexan · Jan 22, 2016

drittal said:
I experienced it at 18,500 combined weight climbing into the Bighorns. Nasty hairpin turns with 25mph limits. I would accelerate out of the turns, the truck would shift into 2nd, then I'd have to slow down for the next. Finally after the constant shifting and 10+% grade the 'feature" kicked in. Oil and Trans temps dropped. They were never in the red, or even 3/4 on the gauges, but that shows some reasoning behind it. I ended up cruising to the top at about 32 once it straightened out a bit. Up and over the steepest parts 20-35% grades at 32. About 6 miles total before it let me out of 1st. Climbed another 1,000' after that. It just wasn't as steep or twisty. A total of 4300' gained in 16 miles. Ike Gauntlet gains 2300' in 8.5 miles, but no hairpins. Just really damn high and pretty steep.

The next day my father came up at 19,480 combined with his tuned cummins 4.10 DRW. Of course no hold feature and he manually held 3rd. He made better time for sure, but was also limited by the hairpins and was watching his EGT and trans temps pretty close. It is a hell of a climb with 11k of camper behind this hemi.

On the way out, at the top there is a turnout that all vehicles towing a trailer must turn out and do a brake check. A little ways down the road a lighted sign telling motorists to use a lower gear the stating the number of fatalities on the pass the previous year, if i rember it was 7. So I went down the exact same way I went up, in 1st gear. I only had to hit the brakes to slow for the hairpins. Worked well.

Cummins defiantly was better for that situation. However, 95% of our truck's driving is empty with my wife hauling the kids all over creation. Camper has been parked for 2.5 months now as our 6months of winter has set in. Feels more like 9.

I wonder why they don't at least give you a warning saying that it is about to kick in. That way you can at least kick it down to 1st gear manually. That would allow you to get to 45 mph hitting max 410 hp at 5,600 rpm before hitting the rev limiter. Although the engine is only making 384 lb-ft of torque at that rpm instead of the peak 429 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm, but at the same time the engine is making 327 hp at 4,000 rpm so maybe staying about 5,000 rpm powerband might give you a good mixture of torque and hp.

SouthTexan · Jan 22, 2016

drittal said:
Davis max's out at 10% and only 6,000'. No hair pins. Average from FT. DAVIS to the observatory is 2% and 1400' gained in 15 miles.

Well go try it and see, or 6.4L dude can come down and do it since he is closer. I would be willing to bet it will kick in on him towing that 15k he says he tows on a regular basis going up that hill.

6.4 dude · Jan 22, 2016

85,000 miles, over 55k towing has only solidified my choice in buying a gasser. Flawless ....

Csanders1992 · Jan 22, 2016

Personally I have neither, but these arguments are kind of useless. Each motor has its place in the market, that's why they offer both. If they were meant to compete that wouldn't make sense. IMO if your towing heavy on a regular occurrence then you need a diesel hands down. If your the weekend warrior who tows mainly smaller loads and the occasional big load than the gasser will do fine.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

drittal · Jan 22, 2016

Here is a video of a bike going up the way we went. It doesn't show the climb really well, but it gives a good idea of the twisties. It's a really beautiful drive. There is a view of the plain below that makes you feel like you can see forever.
https://youtu.be/cybNZtLE8Z4

6.4 dude · Jan 22, 2016

Sweet pic. As soon as I get a camper, I'm heading your way!

theviking · Jan 23, 2016

In the end, I am the 6.4L hater when all I was doing in the first place was debating wrong information that was posted or responding to posts trying to get their jabs in like the one posted earlier by Skrap or the one by Theviking in that last thread. But hey, I am the evil one that starts crap, right?

SouthTexan, you distort the facts more than Hillary in a Benghazi hearing. Let me refresh your memory, again, about what started the 4500 post shenanigans.

How dare you say the "C" word is a smarter decision over a 6.4L in any situation. It is 6.4 or nothing because you don't "need" a Cummins. Your opinion and what you think doesn't matter. Do that again mister and you are out of the He-man Cummins Haters Club.

You were busting chops, I took it has humor and busted your balls in return. To which you got all emotional over everyone picking on you, again....

So, once again, man up and stop acting like everyone is just picking on you. Maybe you just need to switch beers or something. No more Blue Moon

SouthTexan · Jan 23, 2016

theviking said:
SouthTexan, you distort the facts more than Hillary in a Benghazi hearing. Let me refresh your memory, again, about what started the 4500 post shenanigans.

You were busting chops, I took it has humor and busted your balls in return. To which you got all emotional over everyone picking on you, again....

So, once again, man up and stop acting like everyone is just picking on you. Maybe you just need to switch beers or something. No more Blue Moon

And I responded to you to in busting your balls back by saying......

SouthTexan said:
Aren't you the one that got mad at me for talking about Ecoboost motors in a thread about Hemi's? Yet you bring up an Ecoboost motor in a Hemi thread? Huh???

Although if you want to turn this into an Ecoboost thread then I'll be your huckleberry! Just say when.

Where did I say everyone is picking on me? I do believe I did say "Then I have to respond in kind because it is my very nature" earlier in that post you quoted. I don't mind the jabs, and can dish them out just as well. Hell 6.4L Dude hates my guts and he gets his jabs in all the time. Do I care? No, I think it is hilarious as I said earlier and just return the favor. Trust me, not one person in this forum has ever gotten me pissed. If I start insulting shouting all sorts of obscenities and telling people to leave threads like many have done at me here then yeah I am pissed, but it hasn't even come remotely close to that. So by all means jab away, just expect to get one back.

Another thing I find hilarious....... double standards.

1500ram12 · Jan 23, 2016

To direct some heat off of SouthTexan for a brief second, the one issue I have with any gas engine is tuning. I miss the ease of making big power gains through a tuner in a diesel. Yes custom tunes help with a gasser but you need a lot more supporting mods to build a good amount of extra hp/torque.

drittal · Jan 23, 2016

1500ram12 said:
To direct some heat off of SouthTexan for a brief second, the one issue I have with any gas engine is tuning. I miss the ease of making big power gains through a tuner in a diesel. Yes custom tunes help with a gasser but you need a lot more supporting mods to build a good amount of extra hp/torque.

That's a turbo thing, not diesel. A naturally aspirated diesel is gutless. I owned a 1986 GMC Sierra with a 6.2 NA diesel.

SHOOT2KILL · Jan 23, 2016

Heres my opinion... I have owned these motors since 1980
(2) 5.7 diesels (cars)
(3) 5.7 gassers
(2) 6.0 gasser
(1) 6.2 diesel
(1) 6.5 diesel
(2) 7.4 gasser
(1) 8.1 gasser
All G.M. and all 3500 series w/4.10 gears
I had my fill of diesels before the Duramax was introduced, so I never bought one...Yes diesels tow better than gassers...but when they get tempermental or break something big they can be expensive...

Bottom line...I'll give up some towing ability...and save some coin...and have less worry about what the next diesel repair bill will be...Im a gasser guy now...

1500ram12 · Jan 23, 2016

drittal said:
That's a turbo thing, not diesel. A naturally aspirated diesel is gutless. I owned a 1986 GMC Sierra with a 6.2 NA diesel.

It's not necessarily a turbo thing. Additional fuel is needed and the ability to change settings on the fly with a tuner on a diesel is nice

drittal · Jan 23, 2016

1500ram12 said:
It's not necessarily a turbo thing. Additional fuel is needed and the ability to change settings on the fly with a tuner on a diesel is nice

An Ecoboost can net 100 hp gains from a tuner. That is from a 3.5l motor, vs 6.7l.

It isn't about the type of fuel, but the forced induction.

WaterBoy1 · Jan 23, 2016

Csanders1992 said:
Personally I have neither, but these arguments are kind of useless. Each motor has its place in the market, that's why they offer both. If they were meant to compete that wouldn't make sense. IMO if your towing heavy on a regular occurrence then you need a diesel hands down. If your the weekend warrior who tows mainly smaller loads and the occasional big load than the gasser will do fine.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This^

I, on the other hand have owned both. For me, the gasser just fit MY situation better (very short commute/extremely cold temps in winter/not towing heavy). No more, no less.

This is NOT me bashing the diesel (SouthTexan) simply what works better for me.

To each their own definitely applies here!

SouthTexan · Jan 23, 2016

1500ram12 said:
It's not necessarily a turbo thing. Additional fuel is needed and the ability to change settings on the fly with a tuner on a diesel is nice

You are correct. When it comes to diesels, additional fuel and injection timing will greatly increase power. I remember the old days with the mechanical 12V where you can add lots of power with just a screwdriver by taking off or adjusting the fuel plate. It is the same with my EDGE JWA module on my current truck. The only thing it alters is fuel delivery and timing.

Diesel vs Gas

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