Ram 8 speed vs grand Cherokee 8 speed

[*tim*]

I just bought my wife a new grand Cherokee and love the way it drives. The transmission shifts alot crisper and firmer but not jerky. The only thing I hate about my truck is the 6 speed but i have test drove trucks with 8 speeds and there was a noticeable lag in between gears. Is this normal or was it just the truck I drove. Also the truck I drove had 3.92 gears also

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[69GWC]

My 8sp has no lag, best transmission I have used years.

 

[travelinty]

My 17 8 is incredibly smooth I never notice unless I'm pedal to the floor. I had a Cherokee with the 9 speed that I noticed all the time.


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[jasonw]

Some brand new Rams and Grand Cherokees will be jerky, as the 8-speed learns driving styles. It will get better with time. My wife's 2014 Jeep GC with the 8 and my 2014 Ram with the 8 are very similar in shifting, especially since her Jeep has the 5.7 too. Pretty smooth most of the time, especially with the latest software updates. Sometimes they can be a bit jerky when they are in MDS mode, and then you demand sudden power. MDS tends to be the "issue" more than the 8 speed.

 

[ColdCase]

Probably just the truck you drove.

There seems to be production variances as you will read complaints from both RAM and Jeep owners. It seems to be a transmission to transmission thing more than a RAM/Jeep thing, although the wider choices in RAM diff ratios may have something to do with it. Its like the throttle lag that some report and others don't.

My RAM 8 speed has no lag between shifts when on the throttle, but can be a bit slow and easy shifting on easy acceleration. The more you drive it like you stole it, the crisper the shifts. The throttle response is also instantaneous, almost too sensitive compared to other vehicles I drive.

 

[GreenClassic]

I had a 3.6L 8spd Grand Cherokee as a loaner for a couple days. It was very smooth at shifting, at least until you put it in sport mode, then the shifts were much more noticeable.

My 8spd 3.92 truck shifts very smooth.

 

[TerraNewf]

My truck shifts very smooth and I have the 3:21 diff

 

[Skubasteve!]

My truck shifts smooth unless im in town around 25-30 with the MDS kicking on and off its a little jerky. Its also very clunky in the cold mornings for the first few shifts. Much much better than my old 04 jeep grand cherokee transmission.

 

[mohemipar]

Does the GC have a sport mode? If so that will make the trans shift firmer and a little faster. The Rams don't come with a sport program.

If the GC does not have sport mode, then I'm not sure. But as jason said above, when new they will shift a bit "firmer" and start to settle down after 1,000 miles or so. The Ram 1500 probably has a little different transmission programming than the Jeep, but in my experience the Ram 8 speed never really lagged when shifting.

 

[clay282]

My truck shifts great, no issues.

 

[chrisbh17]

2017 1500 with Hemi, 8HP70 and 3.21 rear end. Added the Pedal Commander.

Once warm the shifts are basically imperceptible. When cold, the first 1-2 (or 2-3, I forget) is a little laggy and will "flare" (i.e. slip a little bit) if the truck has been sitting for an extended period. After that shift, though, everything else is perfect.

Once I added the PC, with better throttle response the 8 speed is so good, I drive my other vehicles and get annoyed at how long it takes them to respond and how not smooth they are once they finally do.

 

[McBroom]

I just bought my wife a new grand Cherokee and love the way it drives. The transmission shifts alot crisper and firmer but not jerky. The only thing I hate about my truck is the 6 speed but i have test drove trucks with 8 speeds and there was a noticeable lag in between gears. Is this normal or was it just the truck I drove. Also the truck I drove had 3.92 gears also

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Was the test driven truck a 2500 4x4?
I have a lot of lag and lugging in my 6spd. I also have a PC


I Love My 2018 RAM 2500HD 4x4

 

[mohemipar]

2017 1500 with Hemi, 8HP70 and 3.21 rear end. Added the Pedal Commander.

Once warm the shifts are basically imperceptible. When cold, the first 1-2 (or 2-3, I forget) is a little laggy and will "flare" (i.e. slip a little bit) if the truck has been sitting for an extended period. After that shift, though, everything else is perfect.

Once I added the PC, with better throttle response the 8 speed is so good, I drive my other vehicles and get annoyed at how long it takes them to respond and how not smooth they are once they finally do.

Yes, the ZF's are finicky when dead cold and they actually take a very long time to warm up to "normal" operating range. They are designed to have a much higher temp threshold than most people are used to or consider standard on a transmission. If I drive directly home from work via the fastest route and hit a lot of green lights, my 392 Charger will barely be just starting to show a reading on the trans temp monitor, which is about 105-110 degrees. But it only takes a few shifts and it starts to shift fast and buttery smooth. They do warm up to the 130+ range a lot faster in summer weather. My Ram 2500 with 66RFE on the other hand seems to warm up a lot faster.

 

[*tim*]

Must of just been the truck I drove

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[ST-8]

My wife has a grand Cherokee with the 3.6/5spd combo an we test drove the same jeep but in 8spd, holy **** saying it was night an day difference is a understatement

 

[Clever]

I also noticed this on my 2017 with a 3.92 that I picked up a few days ago, at this time I’m attributing the “jerkiess” or lag to it being new and the 8 spd adjusting. However, my last truck had a 3.21 and it didn’t have any jerky or lag issues. I’ll update in a few weeks if anything changes.

 

[ColdCase]

Yes, the ZF's are finicky when dead cold and they actually take a very long time to warm up to "normal" operating range.

They've recently been putting pan heaters in some of the 8 speeds.

 

[bryan28]

I have had 2 Rams with the 8 speed. A 2014 Sport with 3.21 and a 2017 Laramie with 3.92. Both have been buttery smooth. The 14 initially had the hard 2-1 downshift when coming to a stop but after a few thousand miles it went away and was great. The 17 has been great since the beginning.

 

[Gary's Hemi]

We have a 2015 Grand Cherokee 3.6/8 speed & a 2016 Ram R/T. I love the 8 speed in both. Both seemed about the same before the truck was tuned. The trans in the Jeep is the ONLY reason I came back to Ram. If Ram still had the 5/6 speed I wouldnt own another 1. I put a PC on the Jeep & oh man is it fun to drive now lol

 

[Wild one]

I just bought my wife a new grand Cherokee and love the way it drives. The transmission shifts alot crisper and firmer but not jerky. The only thing I hate about my truck is the 6 speed but i have test drove trucks with 8 speeds and there was a noticeable lag in between gears. Is this normal or was it just the truck I drove. Also the truck I drove had 3.92 gears also

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It almost sounds like what you ran into on the trucks was Torque Management.It'll make the shifts seem very laggy,almost like a slow shift with a manual transmission.The computer pulls power on a full throttle shift,and it can make it seem like a slow/laggy shift