Pentastar vs Hemi, which should you choose?

[indept]

I say Hemi. You'll never see this guy asking " that thing got a V6?"

 

[tap4154]

I say Hemi. You'll never see this guy asking " that thing got a V6?"


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I don't really think I'd care what that guy thinks.

 

[ramffml]

I love my hemi but I bet if you did a stats comparison, the v6 has less ... "issues". The hemi can be a bit of a drama queen with all the ticks and knocks and noises to keep us poor owners flustered.

 

[PoMansRam]

I love my hemi but I bet if you did a stats comparison, the v6 has less ... "issues". The hemi can be a bit of a drama queen with all the ticks and knocks and noises to keep us poor owners flustered.

I'm with you. I love both. Both have their goods and bads

Regardless, like you say, I don't think you'd ever see a hemi in commercial applications like the Pentastar is.

 

[ramffml]

I'm with you. I love both. Both have their goods and bads

Regardless, like you say, I don't think you'd ever see a hemi in commercial applications like the Pentastar is.

What do you mean by "commercial" though? The 5.7 was in the 2500 for years.

 

[Dean2]

What do you mean by "commercial" though? The 5.7 was in the 2500 for years.

WAY more 5.7s have been used commercially than 6s. The oil patch is 100% V8s. If 6s worked better they would have switched immediately.

 

[Jim Bowker]

I can't say that i wanted a Ridgeline, just that it would do everything I've done with the Ram. It's not near as pretty, and honestly from what I've seen, the mpg is about the same, at least with the original Ridgeline. I didn't think they were ugly, just different. But for the same price and mileage, I have a big-@$$ yellow truck. Honda builds some great vehicles.

You can still order a Classic Tradesman in Yellow, I'm just not in the mood to pay $40k for everything I want. I usually buy used anyway.

Having had both, if I didn't have to tow a heavy 21' walkaround boat, I would have stayed with the Gen 1 Ridgeline I had. Quiet inside, comfortable, handles really well, has a higher payload than people realize, plenty of storage, and a reliable engine. There's another guy in my town who has one, and last I saw him, it had over 600,000 miles on it.

In terms of oil changes, the Pentastar is NOT easier. The plastic cap on top of the plastic oil filter housing can get stuck, and applying any decent amount of torque on the plastic hex nut on the top of the cap will either round it or possibly crack the oil filter housing. And if you crack that housing, you're done. You either have to buy a knockoff from ebay or possibly wait months for an OEM one before you can drive the vehicle again. The oil filter change is the only thing I dislike about the Pentastar, and we have two of them - one if daughter's 2015 Jeep GC and another in my wife's Wrangler.

 

[Dusty]

"The V6 engine takes longer to warm up than the V8. However, the V6 has a transmission warmer as well as a cooler, and in cold Canadian climates, the trans warmer is welcome. The V8 only has a trans cooler, and takes about 4 times as long to warm up. "

Are you sure about this? As far as I know every Ram DT with a 5.7 has the transmission heat exchanger.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 064222 miles.

 

[HickoryC]

As I said earlier, I paid $21,900 for a brand new Quad Cab with 3.6L, 845RE trans, Uconnect 3.0 w/Bluetooth & voice command, Factory sprayed in bedliner, cloth seats, fully carpeted+floor mats. My radio with 6 speakers sounds better to me than my wife's SUV with 14 speakers. One more thing: there are no mountains around SE Louisiana so I only experienced the downshift issue on the 3 trips to Sedona while towing. Coming up on 3 years and 22,000 miles with absolutely no problems or issues. I am happy that it did not have the Hemi.

 

[Tracy in IL]

I've driven two Ram's with the V6. I thought they were V8's. Of course I grew up driving 165 hp V8s. Now the V6s have over 300 hp. I know the V6 is the most dependable engine Ram has. Since I don't drag race (anymore), and don't plan on towing anything big, my next Ram will be a V6. Now, If could order a Rebel, quad cab, short bed, auto, V6, I would trade in my '17 crew cab with longer bed, ED, and self-added off-road pkg in a heartbeat. Need shorter truck to fit in shorter garages that modern condo's have.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Trans oil cooler has nothing to do with how rapidly engine warms up. It is an entire different circuit.

Engine warmup affected by long block material and thermostat setting.

 

[Atcer2018]

Excellent write up. I own a 2018 V6 CC BigHorn and have driven several late model Hemis. The V6 does feel more nimble than the V8 but really does lack that low end grunt. As everyone else has pointed out it all depends on your needs. I’m 58, Harry homeowner and I do use the 4X4 for access to hiking trails but haven’t towed anything in decades. The V6 is fine for my needs but if I had to tow I’d be skeptical of the Pentastar. I was super happy with the price of the Pentastar powered Ram when I purchased it CPO the summer of 2019. At that time no one wanted a V6 powered Ram CC and I was thrilled with the $25K price tag on a one year old BigHorn with 16K miles and a 100K/10 year powertrain warranty.

 

[PoMansRam]

What do you mean by "commercial" though? The 5.7 was in the 2500 for years.

With commercial, I was referring to FedEx, Amazon and other delivery van type vehicles that seemingly run all day, every day.

 

[Huliodude]

"The V6 engine takes longer to warm up than the V8. However, the V6 has a transmission warmer as well as a cooler, and in cold Canadian climates, the trans warmer is welcome. The V8 only has a trans cooler, and takes about 4 times as long to warm up. "

Are you sure about this? As far as I know every Ram DT with a 5.7 has the transmission heat exchanger.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 064222 miles.

My 2021 Classic Hemi definitely doesn't have the 3-way coolant valve under the air filter box. Therefore there's no way to send hot coolant to the heat exchanger on the side of the transmission. I can send a pic if you want.

 

[Huliodude]

Trans oil cooler has nothing to do with how rapidly engine warms up. It is an entire different circuit.

Engine warmup affected by long block material and thermostat setting.

Agreed. I was just pointing out that the V8 engine warms up faster than the V6, however if you're missing the three-way coolant valve like mine, the V6 trans warms faster than the V8 trans, as I believe all V6's have the 3-way coolant valve.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Agreed. I was just pointing out that the V8 engine warms up faster than the V6, however if you're missing the three-way coolant valve like mine, the V6 trans warms faster than the V8 trans, as I believe all V6's have the 3-way coolant valve.

Shiit - I remember riding to college in a VW beetle....the original with boxer 4 air-cooled engine. Damn near froze to death.

 

[PoMansRam]

My 2021 Classic Hemi definitely doesn't have the 3-way coolant valve under the air filter box. Therefore there's no way to send hot coolant to the heat exchanger on the side of the transmission. I can send a pic if you want.

Without the 3-way electronic valve, the ATF heater on the ZF8 is able to see full coolant flow all the time. The thermostat is on the ATF side of the heater. ATF either goes through the heater or bypasses it internally.

 

[huntergreen]

Nice write-up. I have the standard cab V6. It's a work and personal truck with the 3:21, and I absolutely love it. Of course I'm much older than you are, and long since gotten past caring about having a V8 or Hemi badge on the side of my truck. I don't tow with it, but it gets up and goes, and gets great mileage. Plus that it would shift down to the 7 or 6 gear on an incline is not a surprise. It's an 8 speed transmission. In fact it's the perfect marriage to the Pentastar.

But have fun changing those 16 spark plugs, and doing oil changes on your Hemi. You can walk out each morning to see that Hemi badge on the side, and really feel like a man.

Have fun pulling the manifold to change those 6 spark plugs !. I agree though the pentastar is a great engine. Even changing the air filter is a pia.

 

[Wahrsuul]

/sarcasm on: And changing the 16 plugs on the Hemi is SUCH a joy. Especially the older ones that get changed every 30K /sarcasm off:

 

[huntergreen]

/sarcasm on: And changing the 16 plugs on the Hemi is SUCH a joy. Especially the older ones that get changed every 30K /sarcasm off:

All modern engines suck to work on anymore.