3.92 8 speed experiance

[kah68]

I am looking at buying a 15' Limited and am leaning toward 3.92 Most of my miles will be empty on single lane highway, 55-65 mph. When I do tow it will be about 5-7,000. lbs and about 10-15% of total miles driven. Who has this combo and how do you find it as a daily driver?

Thanks

 

[N1ck]

I have 3.92's with the 8 speed, I do not tow so I cannot help you with that. The truck is a blast to drive and gets up and goes like a ***** ape! Lots of passing power on the highway and reasonable mileage, I do a fair amount of highway travel for work. It can get tempting to mash the pedal though, 2 months into owning my truck I've got 2 tickets, first offences I've had in 7 years lol

 

[14hemiexpress]

I want the 8 speed 3.92 does that help? And I don't tow often.

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

3.21's are going to get you better MPG but yer already losing payload with the Laramie pkg. If yer gonna haul 7k (TT/boat?) in stop and go situations go 3.92. If it's just to the local lake or camping spot go 3.21 or 3.55 and use the gas money you save to get beer and Swizzlers or whatever. If yer just asking about the 5.7/3.92 combo, well, Beast. Arguably too much for the frame and a whole lot of fun.

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[EagleChief]

I have a '14 Big Horn with the 3.92 8 speed. As a daily driver, it is awesome! I drove a '14 with the 3.55 gears and it just didn't have the umph that the 3.92's have. I'm so glad I held out for the 3.92 gearing. Go ahead and get it, you may regret it if you don't. As for mileage, my wife gets anywhere from 15-16 with mixed highway/city. I can get anywhere from 16.5-17.3 in the same traffic. Our speeds are a little higher than what you're predicting... we drive between 70-85 on the highway. Once the RPM's get above 2k, your mileage will drop quite a bit.

We took a trip this weekend (560 miles round trip) in snow/ice/rain mixtures and I averaged 20.3 mpg's. But, with the weather, I think my max speed was 60 mph... and that was only in a few places. We were mostly traveling 45-50.

 

[NorthTexasHemi]

I just happened to get that combination and its a zippy beast. I get about 17mpg in the city, and I have not taken it on a long trip yet. When you mash the peddle it just goes and I can typically be the first off the line late at night. So far I have not gotten any tickets, but you can be speeding without realizing it lol. You look down and notice you are 85+ mph whoa let off the petal to slow back down.

 

[audio1der]

8 spd is the only major feature of the 13+ which I lust after. If you ever tow, 3.92 is worth the fraction less MPG. Given the variances between any two trucks anyway, I genuinely believe you'd be hard pressed to measure the difference between the 3.92 and 3.21.

 

[Andy578]

best towing experience i've ever had and i've drove plenty of the big diesels. the 8 speed is really amazing when it comes to towing and i haven't had any issues with gear searching. you take a mpg hit with the 3.92 but it's really not enough to matter and the performance/fun that comes with it is worth the extra gas anyway

I genuinely believe you'd be hard pressed to measure the difference between the 3.92 and 3.21.

it's something like 200-300 rpm difference and most say about 2-3 mpg. over time it'll add up but really i don't think it's enough to justify shying away from it. the 8 speed also really helps limit the mpg loss

 

[Jerry1984]

Loving mine so far and will be towing 8000 pounds through the mountains in about a month so I will then know how it tows.

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

Loving mine so far and will be towing 8000 pounds through the mountains in about a month so I will then know how it tows.

Rockies or Appalachians? Threadjack, sorry.

 

[xrsman]

The truck is a blast to drive and gets up and goes like a ***** ape!

Lmao!! Haven't heard that one before!

 

[xrsman]

OP - I have the 8 speed with 3.92 gears and I do tow. Before I got my 35's
I had one longer towing trip (1500 kms-4000 lb dump trailer doing 70-75 mph) and 2 shorter ones
(500 kms -3000 lb rv doing 55 mph)
(500 kms with 4500 lb trailer) (2 atvs on it included in weight doing 55 mph-60 mph)

1500 km trip - truck performed great! Lots of get up and go with the 4000 lb dump on the back. I never had the desire for more power. It handled the weight at 75 mph like it wasn't there. My fuel mileage was around 17-18 L/100 kms

500 km RV trip - truck did very well. Didn't know the trailer was on behind and when I needed to accelerate there was no hesitation. Shifting was smooth as butter. Mileage was 16 L/100 kms

500 km trip with 4500 lb trailer- this was 2 weeks after I bought the truck. Went on some winding roads where you'd have to slow down and then speed back up. Truck had no issues, temps were good (hot summer day) and shifting was smooth. I even wanted to see how quick I would accelerate so I was stopped and then punched it. I left 2 black lines on the road with a 4500 lb trailer in tow mileage was around 16.5 L/100 kms

As a daily driver I love the 8 speed 3.92's. The truck is fast, smooth, revs at 1400 RPM doing 55 mph (with 35's! ) and gets decent mileage. I was getting around 10-11 L/100 kms before my lift and tires. That's roughly 23-24 US MPG.

Plus even with my 35's it'll break the tires loose if I want to!

mods installed: hemifever tune with 91 octane, S&B cai, MBRP cat back exhaust. (4500 lb trailer trip had just the exhaust. Other 2 trips had all of the above mods)

 

[The Crow 1994]

As a daily driver I love the 8 speed 3.92's. The truck is fast, smooth, revs at 1400 RPM doing 55 mph (with 35's! ) and gets decent mileage. I was getting around 10-11 L/100 kms before my lift and tires. That's roughly 23-24 US MPG.

How did you manage that? I couldn't get that with my 8 speed and 3.55's. Maybe going 40 mph downhill...lol.

 

[xrsman]

How did you manage that? I couldn't get that with my 8 speed and 3.55's. Maybe going 40 mph downhill...lol.

I just babied the truck and used cruise at 90 km/h lol. The hemifever tune, cai, and MBRP exhaust help though! This is highway mileage though not mixed. Also it had stops a d some good hills. I was very happy with the mileage! Now I've got 35's and it's all gone to **** haha

 

[THETANK]

I have had the 3:92's and presently have the 3:21's both on rcsb Ram 4x4 5.7's. I have yet to and will never tow so this I can't help you with sadly. The difference in the gearing for my application was negligible, mind you even though I drive like gramps 99.99% of the time the .01% where I do hit the gas I have yet to find a vehicle that impresses me. This includes the GT500 and 12 SRT8 Challenger in the stable, I guess I need to buy a rail and head for the track otherwise nothing satisfies me. Good luck and happy motoring.

 

[Jerry1984]

Rockies or Appalachians? Threadjack, sorry.

Neither. But more like the Rockies. Some 6-7% grades. Horseshoe bend hill http://lb.511.idaho.gov/idlb/truckr...view=state&text=m&textOnly=false&current=true
Not like the Ike gauntlet but it will let me know how the truck can handle the load.

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

Fun. We crossed Kentucky to Virginia last fall with ~8k on some snaky back mountain log truck routes. This tranny/gearing combo doesn't hunt for gears, it hits 'em. Never once did it try to figure out where to be. Engine braking impressed me as much as the ass it had going up the sharper grades. Hey OP, still on the fence?

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[xrsman]

Neither. But more like the Rockies. Some 6-7% grades. Horseshoe bend hill http://lb.511.idaho.gov/idlb/truckr...view=state&text=m&textOnly=false&current=true
Not like the Ike gauntlet but it will let me know how the truck can handle the load.

I pulled the 4000 lb dump trailer up 4 & 5% grades through Ohio. Truck did fantastic and kept me at speed!

 

[kah68]

Fun. We crossed Kentucky to Virginia last fall with ~8k on some snaky back mountain log truck routes. This tranny/gearing combo doesn't hunt for gears, it hits 'em. Never once did it try to figure out where to be. Engine braking impressed me as much as the ass it had going up the sharper grades. Hey OP, still on the fence?

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Yes Not going to be towing a huge amount but the boat is a 24' Edgewater with twin 150 Yam's and T Top so it's heavy enough and pushes a fair amount of wind but nothing too bad. Will be a long draw back from the Keys to Ontario. I'm thinking it will just stay in 7th and drop down to 6th and 5th when required.

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

Yep, 7 mile and chanel #5 bridges are a hoot in that South Florida east wind. Go 3.92. You'll be glad you did when you hit the turnpike and throttle it.

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