6 speed vs. 8 speed trans

[hemisport5.7]

I have a 14 Outdoorsman with the 3.92's and 8-speed. I tow a 7,000 lb TT with no problems at all.

Some things I've read about the 8-speed that haven't been mentioned here.

It's a sealed system....and virtually maintenance free.
It's synthetic lube is rated for higher temperatures. The 8 speeds normal operating temperature is between 185 degrees and 225 degrees IIRC. A 6 speed is in the danger zone if it gets near 200.

It's also designed to heat up faster because that leads to better efficiency in the driveline.

I've definitely noticed how fast the 8 speed gets up to operating temperature. When I first bought my truck I thought it was heating up abnormally fast for just putting around town.

 

[Ram Night]

I really liked the five speed trans that is on the Challenger, the Diablosport tuner gave it a nice firm shift with no torque management and throttle lag. But now I have a Rebel with the 8 speed transmission, and I like it a lot better even without a custom tune. Hopefully they will have a tune out in the near future that does not required a unlocked pcm. I do not want to change the pcm and loose my lifetime warranty.

 

[Ed loves guns]

Last question.... maybe

I talked to the dealership and spoke with a manager about the situation and they have a policy that basically says if I dont like it, bring it back and they will transfer the amount I paid towards a different truck. Now I already over spent with the first one and I cant go any higher. The problem is that they, at the moment, dont have a truck that would be somewhat comparable (extremely low miles, running boards, bed liner, tonnou cover, Uconnect 5, towing package with trailer brakes and flip up mirrors, etc) near the same price I paid for mine. He did tell me that they have a "bunch" more truck that just got bought and are on the way to the dealership in the next couple of days...

I love my truck, it has everything I wanted and more BUT it didnt come with the 8 speed that I was under the impression it had due to the paperwork I was provided at the dealership. With that being said, is it worth it? Is the 8 worth all the hassle ill have to go through to get it especially considering it will be near impossible to get the features I have now at a price I paid on one with an 8?

 

[69GWC]

All you need to do is go drive one for a little bit and see for your self.

 

[Ed loves guns]

All you need to do is go drive one for a little bit and see for your self.

Im off work in 20 mins and Im heading straight to a dealership.

 

[Numnutz]

I talked to the dealership and spoke with a manager about the situation and they have a policy that basically says if I dont like it, bring it back and they will transfer the amount I paid towards a different truck. Now I already over spent with the first one and I cant go any higher. The problem is that they, at the moment, dont have a truck that would be somewhat comparable (extremely low miles, running boards, bed liner, tonnou cover, Uconnect 5, towing package with trailer brakes and flip up mirrors, etc) near the same price I paid for mine. He did tell me that they have a "bunch" more truck that just got bought and are on the way to the dealership in the next couple of days...

I love my truck, it has everything I wanted and more BUT it didnt come with the 8 speed that I was under the impression it had due to the paperwork I was provided at the dealership. With that being said, is it worth it? Is the 8 worth all the hassle ill have to go through to get it especially considering it will be near impossible to get the features I have now at a price I paid on one with an 8?

Ed loves guns, keep it and drive it like you stoled it.
It has a warranty for 100,000 miles. Try to get the dealership to give you a maintenance package or something for misleading you.
You obviously liked the way the truck drove or you wouldn't have bought it.
I had a 2012 with the 6spd. that at 28,000 miles I had transmission issues. instead of dealing with them I traded it in. The dealer never knew because I never said a word. Every time I went in for an oil change they would tell me that they wanted my truck, they got it.

 

[Cordwood]

Hi, just signed up here

Edlovesgunes, definitely report back what you think when driving both of comparable years. I am also in the market for a 2013 to 2017 ram 1500. Here in Connecticut I have also noticed a few used certified rams with a lever shifter (6 speed) being incorrectly listed as "8 speed".

I have not driven either one yet, but I'm becoming a little scared of the 8speeds. You guys tell me if im paranoid or not but there are a large number of reports of the dial shifter trucks just rolling away. It's just come under investigation by the gov a few weeks ago, in progress now.

Some speculation blames user error, but i saw in a youtube video that if you turn the car off in drive it's supposed to automatically set it self to park. Is this correct? I have also read complaints of the dial getting stuck.

And there was already a 2014 ram 8speed roll away recall, unrelated.

Combine that with not wanting a dial in the first place, im kind of wanting a 6 speed now with a regular lever shifter. Also, there is a 3rd option with shifter in the center console. Is this the same 6 speed trans?

I dont know, sounds like a risk to me, what do u guys think of these reported issues with the dial shifter models?

Current rollaway risk
http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-12-20/govt-investigates-fiat-chrysler-shifters-for-rollaway-risk

2014 rollaway recall
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2014-ram-1500-recalled-for-rollaway-risk.html

High profile case of terminator actor being killed by his dial shifter jeep on rollaway 2016
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/20/autos/jeep-recall-anton-yelchin/

 

[Ronan]

If you haven't bought the truck yet , do NOT buy a six speed. The right speed is a superior transmission to the six. No question. There is so much info on here about the flaws in the six. See how much negative info you can find on the eight. Besides the huge performance difference

 

[Sportznut]

You guys tell me if im paranoid or not

You are paranoid.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[djarrett]

Cordwood, the grand cherokee jeep in the last link you listed was not a dial shifter. My wife has a 2015 grand cherokee and the shifter in those is really different. Its a normal looking console shifter but it only has one notch forward or back, extremely hard to describe and harder to get used too. Everytime I drive it I end up in reverse instead of Park.

I wouldn't worry about the 8 speed in the trucks. The dial system is very nice once you get over yourself worrying about a lever. I was just like you when I got it, it felt cheesy and unsafe, but now I really like the set up.

 

[LumberJakl]

Going from a 5/6 speed to a 8 speed, it's unbelievable how smooth the ride is and the shifting.
Technology is growing, and eventually we will all adjust

 

[Sportznut]

The only problem with the dial shifter is when you drive your wife's suv and go to shift using her a/c button.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[768mph]

I have not driven either one yet, but I'm becoming a little scared of the 8speeds. You guys tell me if im paranoid or not but there are a large number of reports of the dial shifter trucks just rolling away. It's just come under investigation by the gov a few weeks ago, in progress now.



Some speculation blames user error, but i saw in a youtube video that if you turn the car off in drive it's supposed to automatically set it self to park. Is this correct? I have also read complaints of the dial getting stuck.

The truck will NOT turn off if it is in gear other than Park
DIC will inform the operator to shift to park before hitting the start/stop button.
I have a 2016 Ram Sport 8 speed/3.92 gears. I love this truck.


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[Firebird]

Having owned several of both, there is no comparison! The 6 speed is junk compared to the 8 speed.

 

[SyN]

The 8HP70 along with the 3:92 Anti-spin was my main 2 items for choosing the Ram 1500!

The 5.7L Hemi was a Large plus as well even though it has a handful of gremlins. But which modern engine today does not? Not one is perfect!

 

[Ed loves guns]

The run around

Ok so I went to a different dealership and straight up told them "hey I bought a 6 thinking it was an 8, can I drive an 8 and see if I like it?" Sure. Test drove one, yea the mgp was noticeably better.... although I didnt notice much of a difference as far as performance but understandably this was only a test drive. So after speaking with the dealership I bought it from, only took 9 phone calls for them to pick up twice, I told them I dont want to wait for another shipment of trucks to get in so that I would have the possibility of finding a comparable truck. But instead that I wanted a back up camera installed ( I already have the uconnect 5) and/or a remote start installed. Immediately there was some hooplah about how the back up camera costs $1400 to install because they have to put in a new radio and they have to "route wires".... then he said he would go check on the remote start right now so I said ok let me know. 4 hours later and many phone calls to the main desk I finally get a hold of him. They cant put in a factory remote start because it will void the warranty. Even if the dealership installs it. So they would have to put in an aftermarket system. Which "shouldn't" void the warranty. The only thing with that is that I have 3 options: 1) carry an EXTRA key fob on my keys. 2) Press a sequence of lock-unlocks to get it to start. 3) They MIGHT be able to add the button to the existing key fob but most likely not. Also I will have to drive the hour north (with no traffic) on hwy 95, which is a joke, back to the dealership I bought it from so a third party can come pick it up and take it somewhere else, keep it for 2 days, and the have me drive the hour again back up there to pick it up. 4 hours minimum of driving and 170 miles when there is a dealership 5 mins down the road from me. Which I should have gone to in the first place but they didnt have anything I was interested in and I was already up in the DC area that day for other business. So all in all, Ill have to wait till monday to find out about the remote start situation.

My question to yall would be does any of this sounds remotely accurate? A dealership having to use a third party to install an aftermarket remote start because a stock one would void the warranty? Ive read elsewhere that they just have to update the VIN or something of the sorts.

 

[R.L.K.]

Lots of dealerships have kits and such installed by a 3rd party depending on the level dificulty.

With that said , post your remote start question In 4th gen Radio & electronics.
The long & short of it is a dealer can install the factory remote start.

As for the backup cam , if you already have the RA2 5.0" Uconnect radio , the Factory backup cam kit only cost about $250.00 -$275.00 .and is a pretty easy install you can do yourself if your capable of depopulating two connectors , running a long harness and tie wrapping it up 2 ea soldered wires and pulling out the radio and plugging in three wires into the radio connector .

 

[Mpgrimm2]

Lots of dealerships have kits and such installed by a 3rd party depending on the level dificulty.

With that said , post your remote start question In 4th gen Radio & electronics.
The long & short of it is a dealer can install the factory remote start.

As for the backup cam , if you already have the RA2 5.0" Uconnect radio , the Factory backup cam kit only cost about $250.00 -$275.00 .and is a pretty easy install you can do yourself if your capable of depopulating two connectors , running a long harness and tie wrapping it up 2 ea soldered wires and pulling out the radio and plugging in three wires into the radio connector .

This ∆∆∆

I call a bit of BS.

The dealership should know by now that the factory 2013 and up RA2 - Ra4 radios support a backup camera displayed on the radio. @$250 for the kit and $400-$500 installed by the dealer.

We have a how to thread for this (be sure to check post 10 of it.

Remote start can be added for about $350 for the kit and $500-$600 installed. (I had the same reasons as you did the official remote start)

Both do require a trip to the dealer for adding the sales codes/programming even if you install them yourself (charge about an hour of labor)

There's a good chance they are trying to keep you from backing out of the 6 speed truck (if I read your post correctly)

Sent from my non-flammable Galaxy S7!

 

[Mpgrimm2]

Also, if you go to the dealer website's service page, and click on the Mopar "e-store" you can go through the electronic accessories, select backup camera or remote start and see their prices for the kit vs installed and even download the PDF install directions.

What's your current zip code and link to this dealers website? I will pay up kinda you need to compare as soon as I can.

Sent from my non-flammable Galaxy S7!

 

[Ed loves guns]

This ∆∆∆

I call a bit of BS.

The dealership should know by now that the factory 2013 and up RA2 - Ra4 radios support a backup camera displayed on the radio. @$250 for the kit and $400-$500 installed by the dealer.

We have a how to thread for this (be sure to check post 10 of it.

Remote start can be added for about $350 for the kit and $500-$600 installed. (I had the same reasons as you did the official remote start)

Both do require a trip to the dealer for adding the sales codes/programming even if you install them yourself (charge about an hour of labor)

There's a good chance they are trying to keep you from backing out of the 6 speed truck (if I read your post correctly)

Sent from my non-flammable Galaxy S7!

Thanks for the replies fellas. Yea Im pretty sure this has turned into the typical "tell the customer whatever you can while keeping the implied cost down, and then lets not follow through and see if he just forgets about it" situation. Ive been looking through the other sections of the forum and have found a ton of helpful threads.