New here...enlighten me; 6.4

[973604x4]

I’m new to this forum. I was a retired forum addict. Any of you old timers may recall my username from back in the day of DTR or even DTW. I had an 05 CR single CP3 single turbo with 600+hp in 2007...hot stuff back then. Anyway, I’m down with the lingo and what not, just now getting back into the dodge (Ram) world. Still have my old 97 half ton 5.9 4x4....but we all know that’s nothing worth discussing.

Last weekend, I brought home my 2018 2500 Lonestar CC SWB 6.4 4x4 with 3.73’s. I could not find a 4.10 comparably equipped truck in Texas. I love it though...way more features than my previous ‘15 LTZ Z71 5.3 3.42 in my mind.

I’ve read plenty about the pedal commander...but does it help with the downshifting at highway speed? I’m confident my issue is gears but is there a solution like the pedal commander or tuner to help?

I’ve read a little about Rough country’s
steering brace. Is this product all it’s cracked up to be? Any long term effects?
https://www.roughcountry.com/dodge-steering-brace-31000.html

TIA!

 

[busterbrown]

Welcome. Congrats onthe new truck. A pedal commander changes (increases mostly) throttle response...that's it. It doesn't change the transmission timing or shift points. It does give a good feel off the line without the need to drop the hammer to the floor. I think most owners who use a pedal commander will say it helps tremendously with 'drivability'. It won't change the factory performance of your engine, transmission, or gearing. Just moves the truck with less foot action. I'm glad I bought mine. The truck just feels slow when ithe PC is turned off.

A tune will wake up the engine dynamics a bit more with the right add ons. Header and exhaust will augment those results. A CAI will sound good but will not contribute too much to one's quest for more power.

Gearing will provide the most dramatic performance gains. 4.56 or 4.88 have been discussed extensively on these boards. Your truck is in its infancy (and under warranty) and you may be reluctant to make those changes.

Again, congrats on the truck. Post a pic so we can see what she looks like.

 

[GsRAM]

Congrats on the new truck and welcome! There are lots of friendly, helpful people here. The advice given by buster is spot on. Also I wouldn't feel too bad about your 3.73s. With the 6 speed they do just fine. There's not much seat of the pants difference between them and the 4.10s really. Unless your going to tow heavy. Good luck

 

[ronheater70]

I’m new to this forum. I was a retired forum addict. Any of you old timers may recall my username from back in the day of DTR or even DTW. I had an 05 CR single CP3 single turbo with 600+hp in 2007...hot stuff back then. Anyway, I’m down with the lingo and what not, just now getting back into the dodge (Ram) world. Still have my old 97 half ton 5.9 4x4....but we all know that’s nothing worth discussing.

Last weekend, I brought home my 2018 2500 Lonestar CC SWB 6.4 4x4 with 3.73’s. I could not find a 4.10 comparably equipped truck in Texas. I love it though...way more features than my previous ‘15 LTZ Z71 5.3 3.42 in my mind.

I’ve read plenty about the pedal commander...but does it help with the downshifting at highway speed? I’m confident my issue is gears but is there a solution like the pedal commander or tuner to help?

I’ve read a little about Rough country’s
steering brace. Is this product all it’s cracked up to be? Any long term effects?
https://www.roughcountry.com/dodge-steering-brace-31000.html

TIA!

You just brought it home, so heres a plan, let it gel for a bit. Honestly, many of us that have/ had the 6.4 notice a nice bump on performance and MPGS the more miles you get on it, for me it was like 8K or so on my old 6.4. I live in NC, and drive regularly into WV and such so there are some decent hills, and it would rarely downshift after it was good and broke in, much less frequently than it did when it was new. My truck went from towing my old camper primarily in 4th and sometimes third, to primarily 5th and sometimes 4th on our annual beach trip.

 

[MADDOG]

Welcome to RamForum.

 

[jaflowers]

I’ve read plenty about the pedal commander...but does it help with the downshifting at highway speed?

TIA!

If you are NOT using cruise control then yes. Depending on your PC setting you're getting quicker throttle inputs with less push of your foot so if you're slowing on a hill or want to pass and you give it a touch more gas then your truck downshifts quicker....much quicker if you're in the "Sport" settings. It's a nice little upgrade at a relatively minimal cost.

 

[Fitz-0518]

Welcome home. As you see great, no nonsense help here.

 

[Firebird]

Welcome, and as a 5 time Cummins owner myself, you will love the 6.4 with a pedal Commander!

 

[turkeybird56]

Welcome from Central Texas...

 

[McBroom]

Welcome Aboard from Denison Texas


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

 

[mtnrider]

I’ve read plenty about the pedal commander...but does it help with the downshifting at highway speed?
TIA!

Pedal commander will do nothing to "change" your shift points. All it does is alter the input signal for a given throttle position.

For instance, lets say a stock pedal uses a 0 -10 Volt linear range from pedal at rest to pedal to the floor. So pedal position vs voltage given to engine would look like this.
Pedal .... Voltage
0 ........... 0 V
25% ...... 2.5 V
50% ...... 5 V
75% ...... 7.5 V
100% .... 10 V

Lets say sport mode is somewhere in the middle, your throttle input would look like this.

0 ......... 0 V
25% .... 5 V
50% .... 10 V
75% .... 10V
100% .. 10V

While the pedal commander may make it feel different in reality it does nothing but shift the linear range of the pedal. So in sport 25% pedal position simple feels like pushing the pedal 50%
Nothing you can't do without the pedal commander by simply giving it a little more pedal but it does give the illusion of it being more "peppy" .

.

 

[Ratket]

People who have pedal commander o their 6.4 say it does help slightly with towing, “quicker to downshift” when set at higher settings. When in town driving “ 55 and under I would leave tow haul active as it will hold lower gears longer and not hunt, pissed me off to be at 45mph and lugging in 6th gear on mine. The pulsar seems to be a pretty nifty preace of tuning equipment and is a affordable price comparison vrs a unlocked pcm. However jay greene and hemifever are the two top tuners and both tune the 6.4 and people who have used them have been nothing but happy. You really want it to move then gears are the best bang for the buck, if you plan to go 35”s or bigger I would go 4.88”s personally and good luck wiping the grin from your face.

 

[SixFOURhemiHD]

Pedal commander will do nothing to "change" your shift points. All it does is alter the input signal for a given throttle position.

For instance, lets say a stock pedal uses a 0 -10 Volt linear range from pedal at rest to pedal to the floor. So pedal position vs voltage given to engine would look like this.
Pedal .... Voltage
0 ........... 0 V
25% ...... 2.5 V
50% ...... 5 V
75% ...... 7.5 V
100% .... 10 V

Lets say sport mode is somewhere in the middle, your throttle input would look like this.

0 ......... 0 V
25% .... 5 V
50% .... 10 V
75% .... 10V
100% .. 10V

While the pedal commander may make it feel different in reality it does nothing but shift the linear range of the pedal. So in sport 25% pedal position simple feels like pushing the pedal 50%
Nothing you can't do without the pedal commander by simply giving it a little more pedal but it does give the illusion of it being more "peppy" .

.

That’s not entirely accurate. Stock pedal mapping is not linear like that, with a 1:1 ratio of pedal travel to throttle opening. The drive by wire system actually is less than 1:1 which is why lag is perceived when the pedal is depressed and it’s map is likely not linear. It’s not like a cable throttle where you get exactly the amount of throttle you want. According to PC, city mode approximates a cable throttle, and sport/sport+ is above linear.

As far as the OPs question about shift points and such, although it won’t change anything like that or add power or anything it can make it easier to modulate and control downshifts with the throttle.


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[SixFOURhemiHD]

People who have pedal commander o their 6.4 say it does help slightly with towing, “quicker to downshift” when set at higher settings. When in town driving “ 55 and under I would leave tow haul active as it will hold lower gears longer and not hunt, pissed me off to be at 45mph and lugging in 6th gear on mine. The pulsar seems to be a pretty nifty preace of tuning equipment and is a affordable price comparison vrs a unlocked pcm. However jay greene and hemifever are the two top tuners and both tune the 6.4 and people who have used them have been nothing but happy. You really want it to move then gears are the best bang for the buck, if you plan to go 35”s or bigger I would go 4.88”s personally and good luck wiping the grin from your face.

Or 5.13s


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[973604x4]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I appreciate the more technical talk. I was big time into the technical stuff back when I had my 05 common rail. Great responses about the pedal commander. Like stated, my truck is in it’s infancy so I won’t be making any changes yet. 534 miles on the odometer today. It’s been raining so much in central Texas that I really haven’t had a good chance to drive it best for mileage. I drive a company vehicle during the week and it’s been raining every weekend...but with that said, the lie-o-meter is showing slightly north of 17mpg. Very pleased!

Didn’t hear much about Rough Country’s steering brace. Has anyone had one long term?

And for anyone wondering...yes my truck was purchased to be Aggie maroon. I was on row 2 last weekend on the north end zone at Kyle Field. Robert Earl Keen was about ten feet from me when he entered the field. GIG ‘EM!!

 

[Stampederfan]

Pedal Commander is a good addition as mentioned by other members here. Steering Box support brace is also a good idea especially if you’re running heavier and/or larger tires. Both Rough Country and BD Performance Diesel make them and both are good quality. I run stock size tires and my steering was definitely tighter after the install. Best to install when your steering box is newer with less wear. Only 50k km on my truck and I noticed a difference.

 

[22hemi13]

View attachment 143467

Thanks for the warm welcome. I appreciate the more technical talk. I was big time into the technical stuff back when I had my 05 common rail. Great responses about the pedal commander. Like stated, my truck is in it’s infancy so I won’t be making any changes yet. 534 miles on the odometer today. It’s been raining so much in central Texas that I really haven’t had a good chance to drive it best for mileage. I drive a company vehicle during the week and it’s been raining every weekend...but with that said, the lie-o-meter is showing slightly north of 17mpg. Very pleased!

Didn’t hear much about Rough Country’s steering brace. Has anyone had one long term?

And for anyone wondering...yes my truck was purchased to be Aggie maroon. I was on row 2 last weekend on the north end zone at Kyle Field. Robert Earl Keen was about ten feet from me when he entered the field. GIG ‘EM!!

Comanche tx. Man that’s my neck of woods. My farm is in Gustine but am temporarily placed here in Fredericksburg.

 

[973604x4]

Comanche tx. Man that’s my neck of woods. My farm is in Gustine but am temporarily placed here in Fredericksburg.

Spent many nights shooting hogs around Gustine on dairy land. My family’s place is just over the county line in Hamilton county...sorta between hwy 36 and Pottsville.

 

[22hemi13]

Spent many nights shooting hogs around Gustine on dairy land. My family’s place is just over the county line in Hamilton county...sorta between hwy 36 and Pottsville.

Very cool man. I’m pretty much neighbors with wildcat dairy. Lots of hogs out there.

 

[McBroom]

Very cool man. I’m pretty much neighbors with wildcat dairy. Lots of hogs out there.

Should’ve brought my 300 blackout with me


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road