Option advice 1500

[Andy578]

Helpful comment but not sure why worse in city mpg and better highway although mine will be more highway than city. Did you ever compare the 3.23 axle with your 3.92? I go back and forth on this option and ready to pull the trigger otherwise. Most of my towing will be infrequent and less than 7,000 lb. Thanx for observations.

bigger tires are worse in the city because the have a larger circumference meaning it takes more work to get it rolling but each tire rotation moves the vehicle slightly further then a small tire would so once it's actually rolling and up to speed it's more efficient

as for the gearing i personally wouldn't go with 3.23. 3.55 is a good middle ground but i really love the 3.92, with the hemi and the 8 speed the truck really wants to go, if i don't let it warm up for a few min the dam thing will literally launch a few feet when i put it into gear and towing has been a dream. as a comparison i also have a 2011 silverado with the 4.8 4 speed and 3.42 and it's by far the worst truck i've ever towed with. a large part is due to only having 4 gears but the dam thing struggles keeping highway speeds with only 2500lbs behind it

 

[plainsman]

That makes sense on the tires. Agree on the "go" part on the 3.92. Ram seems to think the 8 sod makes up for not having the 3.55 option but that would be my choice. Would I notice a difference in road sound driving on the highway at 75 - I know the rpm would be up a little.

 

[Andy578]

That makes sense on the tires. Agree on the "go" part on the 3.92. Ram seems to think the 8 sod makes up for not having the 3.55 option but that would be my choice. Would I notice a difference in road sound driving on the highway at 75 - I know the rpm would be up a little.

the 8 speed does make up for it some since the first 2 gears are pretty low but those low gears can also be a pain since almost the second you touch the gas it wants to shift into 2nd and has caused me some issues when using 4x4 low

rpm with 3.92 is a bit higher, i'm not exactly sure at 75mph but i run about 1800-1900rpm going 65 so probably around 2100 going 75. it's probably only about 2-3mpg difference. wouldn't really be much difference in sound, actually most of the noise from the hemi is in acceleration then once holding a speed it gets pretty quiet

if you really want fuel economy you could get the V6 with the 8 speed which i believe still has tow ratings up to around 7500 or there's the ecodiesel which still has ratings up to about 10k but costs more and maintenance is a bit more and it's not as snappy as the hemi

 

[plainsman]

Thanks for the input - I'll probably go for the greatness. I like the power and the go (still 16 at heart) and can save my gas expense somewhere else.

 

[Andy578]

[edit] replied to wrong thread lol

 

[HAMMER77777]

Concerning options I am wondering about the 17" wheels as shown in the 2014 1500 catalog/Ram website? There can be certain advantages over the 20" such as better ride, mileage, more tire choices, less unsprung weight, etc. Has anyone gone this route? This size is very common on work trucks. I'm ordering 1500, 5.7, quad, 4x4. When I ordered my 2012 Grand Cherokee the advice was to stay with 18" over the 20" on the Overland. I have not seen this discussed. Seems main reason is folks like the look of 20" but I'm not seeing other advantages at this point. Anyone have experience with this?

I got the 18's on mine (not the optional 20"ers), for better ride quality. That combined with Air-Ride, gives an excellent ride!

 

[HAMMER77777]

bigger tires are worse in the city because the have a larger circumference meaning it takes more work to get it rolling but each tire rotation moves the vehicle slightly further then a small tire would so once it's actually rolling and up to speed it's more efficient

as for the gearing i personally wouldn't go with 3.23. 3.55 is a good middle ground but i really love the 3.92, with the hemi and the 8 speed the truck really wants to go, if i don't let it warm up for a few min the dam thing will literally launch a few feet when i put it into gear and towing has been a dream. as a comparison i also have a 2011 silverado with the 4.8 4 speed and 3.42 and it's by far the worst truck i've ever towed with. a large part is due to only having 4 gears but the dam thing struggles keeping highway speeds with only 2500lbs behind it

Excellent point, on city/hwy mpg. Surprised that your Chevy struggles so much...thats disappointing.

 

[Andy578]

Excellent point, on city/hwy mpg. Surprised that your Chevy struggles so much...thats disappointing.

i took it on a fishing trip in northern Ontario, it was about a 6 hour drive and the bed was loaded with a few coolers, fishing gear and clothing plus a few other random things but maybe 500lbs at the most. the trailer was just a small utility trailer loaded with an ATV and a few more small things which was probably about 1500lbs including the trailers weight. the entire trip it struggled to maintain any speed, limit was 100km/h and i tried to stick to it but the truck would shift into OD then slowly lose speed till it down shifted then ran about 3500rpm till it picked up enough speed to shift back into OD. this went on for the entire trip

it also struggled towing a 2200lbs car trailer loaded with 2 ATVs so about 3000lbs total. with the Ram towing the same trailer i don't even know it's there

 

[HAMMER77777]

i took it on a fishing trip in northern Ontario, it was about a 6 hour drive and the bed was loaded with a few coolers, fishing gear and clothing plus a few other random things but maybe 500lbs at the most. the trailer was just a small utility trailer loaded with an ATV and a few more small things which was probably about 1500lbs including the trailers weight. the entire trip it struggled to maintain any speed, limit was 100km/h and i tried to stick to it but the truck would shift into OD then slowly lose speed till it down shifted then ran about 3500rpm till it picked up enough speed to shift back into OD. this went on for the entire trip

it also struggled towing a 2200lbs car trailer loaded with 2 ATVs so about 3000lbs total. with the Ram towing the same trailer i don't even know it's there

Wow, quite disappointing for GM. Glad i bought a Ram!

 

[markyfly]

bigger tires are worse in the city because the have a larger circumference meaning it takes more work to get it rolling but each tire rotation moves the vehicle slightly further then a small tire would so once it's actually rolling and up to speed it's more efficient

as for the gearing i personally wouldn't go with 3.23. 3.55 is a good middle ground but i really love the 3.92, with the hemi and the 8 speed the truck really wants to go, if i don't let it warm up for a few min the dam thing will literally launch a few feet when i put it into gear and towing has been a dream. as a comparison i also have a 2011 silverado with the 4.8 4 speed and 3.42 and it's by far the worst truck i've ever towed with. a large part is due to only having 4 gears but the dam thing struggles keeping highway speeds with only 2500lbs behind it

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't all the stock tires 34" in diameter overall?

 

[markyfly]

I got the 18's on mine (not the optional 20"ers), for better ride quality. That combined with Air-Ride, gives an excellent ride!

I've got 20s and air ride and it rides like a dream

 

[loveracing1988]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't all the stock tires 34" in diameter overall?

No, they are almost 33" though.

 

[dRAMbuie]

No, they are almost 33" though.

The 20's at least.
I actually requested the base 17's on mine to keep my ride height a hair lower so I could still fit into the garage and most u/g parking.
Marginally better for towing as well.

 

[loveracing1988]

The 20's at least.
I actually requested the base 17's on mine to keep my ride height a hair lower so I could still fit into the garage and most u/g parking.
Marginally better for towing as well.

I wanted 17's for the thicker profile, cheaper tires, and looks. Big rims on a truck do nothing for me.