Hemi growl question and gearing!

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Johnny Blaze

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Posts
36
Reaction score
42
Location
New York
Hello this is probably a very silly and stupid question but I have to ask I’m new to rams and am looking to get a ram.I was looking at a Ram up here in NY it was a 13 6 speed sport with 3.92 gears I fell in love with the look as well as the power and Peppiness of the sport this truck fell through too much potential Rot it was a kick in the gut but I’ve been searching for a sport without any rust and cannot find them up here in NY I came across another one up here but it had 140k miles and only had 3.55’s in it not knowing what I was going to find underneath I passed on it focusing my search to below the salt belt I saw a couple in VA but when I was sent pictures of the undercarriage they were almost as bad as up here!

So after doing some nationwide searches I came across some bighorns one in particular a 14 lone star spent its whole life in Texas from pictures the undercarriage looks really clean 121k it has the 8 speed with 3.21 gears Color maximum steel sharp looking truck I am planning to send a used car inspector to look it over on Monday or Tuesday as the vehicle is 10 hours away so this morning I sent out an email to a dealer I saw a sport at in PA to let them know I have my eyes set on a bighorn but my love is a sport I need pictures of the undercarriage they sent me pics of the undercarriage and it looked really good I was actually shocked being a PA truck so the sport being my love I drove 3 hours to PA to look at the truck only to find rot on the wheel wells what a bummer as the rest of the truck was beautiful.I just cannot find a sport that checks all my boxes south of the salt belt
No rust
Crew cab
If it’s a 6 speed 3.92 gears
Mopar hood

If I’m paying all this money it needs to check the boxes and I’m at a certain price point

With that being said even though the sport is my first choice this bighorn/lone star from pics looks gorgeous

I have 2 questions after hearing the Hemi in 3 sports and not hearing the engine directly on the bighorn does it have that same Hemi growl I know it’s a pretty silly question but I love the sound of the sports I would assume it’s the same Hemi growl just have to ask

Second question is after driving a 6 speed sport with 3.92 gears is the 8 speed bighorn with 3.21 gears going to give me that same powerfull push you back in your seat feel with the peppiness

I think the one thing that’s got me stuck on the sport is the sporty hood and color matched bumpers not necessarily the interior though the sport interior is sharp it’s more the outer looks of the sport and in the 6 speed the shifter I don’t like the column shifter on the 12’s and some 13 bighorns with the 6 speed

I know the bighorn is well more of a meat and potatoes type truck and the sport is well just a whole lot sportier looking as a friend of mine said to me who is a Ram guy at the job the sports are nice but people tend to run them a little harder because well they are sports and look the part.

I plan on going to a dealer tomorrow to test run a 13 bighorn they have there just to get a feel for if the 8 speed is for me it’s a year older a 13 but I really don’t expect for it to be as clean body wise as the one from Texas but I may be surprised!

So to it up do all 5.7’s have that same Hemi growl

How would you compare the 6 speed 3.92’s to the 8 speed 3.21’s

Gas mileage or pulling power is not a concern I won’t be towing anything

I’m looking for that Hemi growl where you can feel the power but it’s still got that quickness and get up and go of the 6 speed sport

Thanks guys after posting this was possibly posted in the wrong section if it was sorry did not know how to move it

I’ve attached a couple of pics of the truck and the undercarriage of the bighorn/lonestar
3AECBCC4-B2F1-4E58-8641-47D346E87D25.jpeg2F0A7213-B10B-4DC6-8110-FCCC2833EE2E.jpeg1DA01DA6-FB00-464D-A803-BBA957B65F9B.jpegCE57D8F0-565B-459C-914E-0C927E7E0910.jpegCEB27A83-FF0A-4287-8C32-5B75E0873BB8.jpeg
A68F6C2B-78E2-403F-855B-11BCD2B8F5DD.jpeg
 
OP
OP
J

Johnny Blaze

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Posts
36
Reaction score
42
Location
New York
Am I going to feel the same Peppiness of the 8 speed as I did with the 6 speed & 3.92 gears

I assume the Hemi growl won’t sound any different between the two trim levels

Gas mileage isn’t a concern if it was I have no business looking at one of these rigs anyway with their 5.7 engines
 

hemihustlin

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Posts
1,553
Reaction score
915
Location
Montreal
Ram Year
2021
Engine
5.7 HEMI
8 speed is far superior to the 5 and 6 speeds in any situation. even more fun to drive hard with all the underdrive gears and lightning shifts. hemi growl can easily be obtained with a muffler swap.
best of luck!
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,718
Reaction score
23,372
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
Am I going to feel the same Peppiness of the 8 speed as I did with the 6 speed & 3.92 gears

I assume the Hemi growl won’t sound any different between the two trim levels

Gas mileage isn’t a concern if it was I have no business looking at one of these rigs anyway with their 5.7 engines
The 8 speed with 3.21's will kick a 6 speed with 3.92's to the curb. Tough to beat the 8 speeds 4.71:1 first gear and closer transmission ratio's. Guy on here just did an 8 speed swap and picked up a 1/2 sec on his 0 to 60 run,or roughly 5 lengths quicker then his old combo.Try to find an 8 speed truck,and unless you're racing it,or towing heavy don't worry about the 3.21's
 
OP
OP
J

Johnny Blaze

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Posts
36
Reaction score
42
Location
New York
8 speed is far superior to the 5 and 6 speeds in any situation. even more fun to drive hard with all the underdrive gears and lightning shifts. hemi growl can easily be obtained with a muffler swap.
best of luck!
Thanks Hemi that’s what I’ve heard alot 8 speeds are just a superior Tranny I would love to be patient and wait for the right vehicle it’s just hard with me living in NY and most of the ideal vehicles south of the salt belt.

I ideally would like to get into a sport love the look but I hate to pass on A vehicle that could be a Gem waiting for a vehicle that may or may never be there!it’s not like two or three years ago where used vehicles were plentiful now you are paying double what the vehicles are worth!

I really hate to wait on a vehicle that may never be there when I have a good vehicle that can be had as long as all checks out!

Ideally I would want a sport I don’t want to call this bighorn A fall back I look at it as option #2 ok so it does not have the fancy interior of the sport & the sport hood(which I love I know it’s fake it just gives the truck that mean look)

It is a very clean vehicle from what I can see it’s so hard shopping from deep in the salt belt at least 9 hours away but there is nothing to be had up north that salt has not sunk it’s teeth into

Ideally I would want the 3.92 gearing but from what I’ve read so far the 3.21’s are more than capable for my needs im not towing or racing I just want a nice weekend whip which I think this rig will be.

I’ve been told he patient wait it out!That may or may not work especially with decent vehicles so hard to find I hate to pass on a good vehicle holding out for something that may never appear!

As far as the growl goes it may or may not have it the dealer gave me a FaceTime walk around today before I left PA after seeing the Rot on the wheel wells of the sport.He started the truck for me it was hard to tell if it had that growl like you mentioned though that’s easy to achieve if it does not have it

I’m going to go test out a bighorn locally tomorrow get on it a bit and get a feel for the 8 speed I’m sure I’ll love it and it will suit my needs just fine!
 

Fediej

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 3, 2022
Posts
372
Reaction score
503
Location
Wisconsin
Ram Year
2017
Engine
EcoDiesel
Hello this is probably a very silly and stupid question but I have to ask I’m new to rams and am looking to get a ram.I was looking at a Ram up here in NY it was a 13 6 speed sport with 3.92 gears I fell in love with the look as well as the power and Peppiness of the sport this truck fell through too much potential Rot it was a kick in the gut but I’ve been searching for a sport without any rust and cannot find them up here in NY I came across another one up here but it had 140k miles and only had 3.55’s in it not knowing what I was going to find underneath I passed on it focusing my search to below the salt belt I saw a couple in VA but when I was sent pictures of the undercarriage they were almost as bad as up here!

So after doing some nationwide searches I came across some bighorns one in particular a 14 lone star spent its whole life in Texas from pictures the undercarriage looks really clean 121k it has the 8 speed with 3.21 gears Color maximum steel sharp looking truck I am planning to send a used car inspector to look it over on Monday or Tuesday as the vehicle is 10 hours away so this morning I sent out an email to a dealer I saw a sport at in PA to let them know I have my eyes set on a bighorn but my love is a sport I need pictures of the undercarriage they sent me pics of the undercarriage and it looked really good I was actually shocked being a PA truck so the sport being my love I drove 3 hours to PA to look at the truck only to find rot on the wheel wells what a bummer as the rest of the truck was beautiful.I just cannot find a sport that checks all my boxes south of the salt belt
No rust
Crew cab
If it’s a 6 speed 3.92 gears
Mopar hood

If I’m paying all this money it needs to check the boxes and I’m at a certain price point

With that being said even though the sport is my first choice this bighorn/lone star from pics looks gorgeous

I have 2 questions after hearing the Hemi in 3 sports and not hearing the engine directly on the bighorn does it have that same Hemi growl I know it’s a pretty silly question but I love the sound of the sports I would assume it’s the same Hemi growl just have to ask

Second question is after driving a 6 speed sport with 3.92 gears is the 8 speed bighorn with 3.21 gears going to give me that same powerfull push you back in your seat feel with the peppiness

I think the one thing that’s got me stuck on the sport is the sporty hood and color matched bumpers not necessarily the interior though the sport interior is sharp it’s more the outer looks of the sport and in the 6 speed the shifter I don’t like the column shifter on the 12’s and some 13 bighorns with the 6 speed

I know the bighorn is well more of a meat and potatoes type truck and the sport is well just a whole lot sportier looking as a friend of mine said to me who is a Ram guy at the job the sports are nice but people tend to run them a little harder because well they are sports and look the part.

I plan on going to a dealer tomorrow to test run a 13 bighorn they have there just to get a feel for if the 8 speed is for me it’s a year older a 13 but I really don’t expect for it to be as clean body wise as the one from Texas but I may be surprised!

So to it up do all 5.7’s have that same Hemi growl

How would you compare the 6 speed 3.92’s to the 8 speed 3.21’s

Gas mileage or pulling power is not a concern I won’t be towing anything

I’m looking for that Hemi growl where you can feel the power but it’s still got that quickness and get up and go of the 6 speed sport

Thanks guys after posting this was possibly posted in the wrong section if it was sorry did not know how to move it

I’ve attached a couple of pics of the truck and the undercarriage of the bighorn/lonestar
View attachment 490181View attachment 490182View attachment 490183View attachment 490184View attachment 490185
View attachment 490187
I understand where you're coming from on wanting what you want at whatever your price point is. I also agree that the monochrome look of the Sport is pretty bada$$. But you can give a Bighorn that look through the aftermarket, if you had to. Good luck either way!
 
Joined
Nov 20, 2018
Posts
0
Reaction score
63
Location
Riverside California
Ram Year
2018 2wd
Engine
HEMI 5.7 Revolution 4.88s
I have a Big Horn with the 8 speed, it had 3.21s when it wasn't lifted and it had the growl, acceleration, speed everything that the sport has ... I lifted it, added 37" tires and regeared to 4.88s and it feels even better than when I had it stock with the 3.21s or other Sport Rams to me ..

I would shoot for the Big Horn with the 8 speed and 3.21s if you are not planning on lifting it, if you are look for one that has the 3.92s and you can get away with 35" tires .... I have driven the 6 speed sport and big horns and also a Laramies and honestly in the speed department they all feel the same and sound the same to me ...

Avoid the 6 speed Rams if you can, don't sleep on the Big Horns though they seriously kick @$$ !
 
OP
OP
J

Johnny Blaze

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Posts
36
Reaction score
42
Location
New York
I could go that route but really don’t want to.Rot already set in on both wheel wells I don’t really want to start dumping money into a vehicle that I have not started putting miles on replacing the whole bed then painting it if there is rot on the wheel wells there is rot probably about to surface in other spots I could not see yet.The downfalls on rolling the dice on a salt belt state vehicle I would not want to go down that road!
 

PoMansRam

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Posts
2,089
Reaction score
2,549
Location
East Aurora NY
Ram Year
2019
Engine
Hemi
I don't know what your price range is, but if you're buying something in the People's Republic of NY that is 6+ years old, check it over really well for rust. Mash and release the parking brake a few times to see if it holds/releases and then crawl underneath to check for P-brake cable sag. If it's sagging, the p-brake hardware is seized and a dealer fix for this is like $1400 these days. It's a very common issue for rust belt Ram 1500s, but you can mitigate it. Lots of threads on this site on it. You've got a nice clean shot of the p-brake cable in your 3rd picture above for reference.

I know you say you want the hemi growl, but you say you're not towing or hauling anything. Have you driven a pentastar powered Ram 1500 w/ the 8spd? They're awesome too. I owned a 2017 quad cab 4x4 with the pentastar V6. The only reason I still don't have it is I wanted to upgrade to a crew cab and I couldn't find a used CC w/ the V6 at the time and got a deal on my 2019 classic hemi 4x4 @ $26K w/ 15K miles on it back in 2020. I get it though. You might be one of those 'V6 ain't a real truck' guys. The reason I brought up the V6 is you might find a better deal on a 2013+ V6, quad cab, 4x4 model.
 
OP
OP
J

Johnny Blaze

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Posts
36
Reaction score
42
Location
New York
The pics of the vehicle I posted is is NC driven it’s whole life in Texas so I don’t think I’ll have the rust issues I would up here.I actually just took a bighorn for a test run up here it was surprisingly clean for a ny vehicle anyway I know everyone says the 8 speed is light years better it probably Is after driving the 6 speed I would have to get used to the 8 it’s a lot more shifty the 6 speed had that immediate jump in first gear probably because of the 3.92 gearing the 8 speed took an extra second to kick in but when it did you felt lt like mentioned it’s just a lot more shifty I would have to get used to it!
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,718
Reaction score
23,372
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
The pics of the vehicle I posted is is NC driven it’s whole life in Texas so I don’t think I’ll have the rust issues I would up here.I actually just took a bighorn for a test run up here it was surprisingly clean for a ny vehicle anyway I know everyone says the 8 speed is light years better it probably Is after driving the 6 speed I would have to get used to the 8 it’s a lot more shifty the 6 speed had that immediate jump in first gear probably because of the 3.92 gearing the 8 speed took an extra second to kick in but when it did you felt lt like mentioned it’s just a lot more shifty I would have to get used to it!
If the 6 speed felt jumpier in 1st then the 8 speed,it might have been tuned
 
OP
OP
J

Johnny Blaze

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Posts
36
Reaction score
42
Location
New York
Could be I did not think of that!So straight up 8 with 3.21’s should have felt jumpier than a 6 with 3.92’s no tune!

Here I was looking for a 6 speed with 3.92’s because I liked the feel of it but could be it had that feel because of a tune good to know!

I’m learning more everyday from you guys

Thanks
 

Socalramfan

Senior Member
Supporting Member
TOTM Winner
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
Posts
4,271
Reaction score
5,104
Location
Huntington Beach
Ram Year
2011 Big Horn
Engine
4.7
Rust, cancer alike are a big NO.

There's too much real estate on a Ram to just be in one spot. It will show up again later, and that would be a *****.

For a while there was a trend to send vehicles that got flooded in the hurricanes from Florida / Louisiana to other places of the country, thinking that the rust so won’t actually show for a year…. and sure enough it did, not to mention the electrical gremlins that evolved.

All depends upon what you ok with. :waytogo:
 

Bigskyroadglide

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Posts
1,295
Reaction score
1,974
Location
Montana, except for work
Ram Year
2014
Engine
Hemi 5.7, supercharged
I have a 16 Laramie, 5.7/ 3.21. It's my road trip truck.

I swapped out the chrome bumpers and mirrors for a sport front end, color matched rear bumper and color matched mirrors. It looks exactly like a sport except for the sport hood, which is the last piece of the make over.

I sold my chrome mirrors and bumpers so my all in cost was less than a grand including paint.

If you have to have a sport. Conversation of a big horn is less than one day with the right prep work, and purchase of the parts ahead of time.

PS the hemi growl is present with 3.21s
 
Top