ram 1500 6 cy vs ecodiesel 6?

[Charles Nails]

Hey guys, I am new to the forum but want to get your inputs on this topic. I am in the market for a Ram 1500. I am an efficiency minded guy. I want a full size truck with my tacoma gas mileage or better (if possible).

I am going to have 4x4 and I pull mostly a lawnmower, or Polaris Ranger UTV or a 17ft skiff that I fish out of.

I have heard good things about both the regular 6 cyl as well as the ecodiesel 6 cyl.

What I can't figure out is if the ecodiesel is worth the extra money as far as gas mileage? Any help any of you might can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thabnks!

 

[Can Water Geo]

I think you'd get decent mileage with both. Whether or not the extra cost of a diesel is worth it to you would be the bigger consideration.

 

[mohemipar]

Study and research the maintenance schedules on both engines. The diesel is going to require more maintenance and repairs/parts are going to be more expensive if you keep it out of warranty.

 

[zrfraser]

I'm averaging 22-23 MPG mixed driving in my V6. The ED gets more but it can cost more to maintain and the fuel costs more, about 30 cents a gallon more in my neck of the woods.

 

[Demon-HeMi]

pretty much the diesel is more in maintenance and where i live the cost of diesel is more, plus you have that DEF fluid crap to constantly worry about failing

 

[huntergreen]

A hemi with 3:21 hearing will get as good or better than your Tacoma. Between the Eco and Pentastar, I would get the Pentastar engine.

 

[Usual Suspect]

I've owned both. I still own, enjoy, and don't plan on getting rid of the Pentastar.

 

[walnuts4x4]

I've just hit 3500 miles in my penastar... Average around 22 mixed mpg...

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[clay282]

If you drive A LOT of highway miles and MOSTLY highway miles at higher speeds, I think the diesel would be worth the added expense.

This weekend for example... I ran quite a bit on secondary highway with speed limits 65 and under. My average mpg on my gas Pentastar went up to 23mpg. With a little city driving in Hot Springs it stabled out around 21mpg. On the way home I set the cruise control on 75mph and ran non stop about 150 miles of clear interstate and mileage dropped to 19.2mpg when I hit home.

I think it's a draw on the winner for city driving but long stretch highway, the diesel would win hands down. If you mainly do lower speed secondary highway miles at 70mph and under, the Pentastar wins. Anything under 65mph and the Pentastar shines.

 

[Jimmy07]

If you are only concerned about getting better fuel mileage, get the diesel. If you are concerned about spending less money on fuel throughout your ownership, get the gas.

The diesel option costs $4495 more. Throughout the year, diesel averages $.30 more a gallon. Right now, by me, diesel costs $3.10/gal and gas costs $2.89/gal. On paper the diesel averages 2 miles more per gallon than the gas engine. So let’s say the diesel averages 23 miles/gal and the gas averages 21 miles/gal (I’m talking the lifetime of ownership, not one 100 mile trip down a flat highway at 60mph). Using the fuel prices by me right now, you would have to drive the diesel 1,582,000 miles before you would get back the $4495 for the diesel option in fuel savings. AFTER that, every 100,000 miles, you’ll save $283 over driving the gas.

 

[FXCLM5]

No way will a pentastar beat a 3.0 diesel if both are going 55mph

No way, the diesel is j

If you are only concerned about getting better fuel mileage, get the diesel. If you are concerned about spending less money on fuel throughout your ownership, get the gas.

The diesel option costs $4495 more. Throughout the year, diesel averages $.30 more a gallon. Right now, by me, diesel costs $3.10/gal and gas costs $2.89/gal. On paper the diesel averages 2 miles more per gallon than the gas engine. So let’s say the diesel averages 23 miles/gal and the gas averages 21 miles/gal (I’m talking the lifetime of ownership, not one 100 mile trip down a flat highway at 60mph). Using the fuel prices by me right now, you would have to drive the diesel 1,582,000 miles before you would get back the $4495 for the diesel option in fuel savings. AFTER that, every 100,000 miles, you’ll save $283 over driving the gas.

I had the same thought when I bought my 14 hemi, fast forward 4 years.

Nobody is paying the $4k+ premium... NOBODY

And its really only a 1500-2k premium upgrade from the HEMI.

But again nobody is paying the 4k premium, maybe the very first few months when they couldnt keep them on the lots.

Running the #'s again I actually save on fuel costs due to the higher mpg of the diesel, it will still offset the def and fuel filter and oil change costs and put $$$ into my wallet vs gas within 10k miles or 1st year of ownership. Every other year its a win win scenario due to the MPG. Main reason why I traded the hemi in for the diesel, yes diesel is still 10-30 cents more expensive but the increased mpg wins overall.

 

[Jimmy07]

Nobody is paying the $4k+ premium... NOBODY

And its really only a 1500-2k premium upgrade from the HEMI.

But again nobody is paying the 4k premium, maybe the very first few months when they couldnt keep them on the lots.

True. Let’s say you could get the diesel option knocked down to $1000. Now you only have to travel 353,000 miles before you would make that money back in fuel savings. Then you’ll start saving $283 for every 100,000 miles.

 

[FXCLM5]

True. Let’s say you could get the diesel option knocked down to $1000. Now you only have to travel 353,000 miles before you would make that money back in fuel savings. Then you’ll start saving $283 for every 100,000 miles.

Lets go by Fuelly, and it looks like the avg is about 19 for the penta and 24 for the eco.

That is +5 mpg.

Per 10k miles driven on diesel you will use approx 416.66 gallons.

Per 10k miles driven on gas you will use approx 526.32 gallons.

Per 10k miles driven you will need to stop and pump a additional 110 gallons.

That is not only your $$$ but your time to stop and go and visit the gas station what 5+ more times?

Gas right now is $3.85 and diesel is $3.99.

So per 10k miles driven on gas it costs $2026.33

Per 10k miles driven on diesel it costs $1662.47

Per 10k miles driven you are saving $364 using Diesel

Not sure how your math comes out to 3-400k before you see some savings from going diesel vs gas

 

[Jimmy07]

Lets go by Fuelly, and it looks like the avg is about 19 for the penta and 24 for the eco.

That is +5 mpg.

Per 10k miles driven on diesel you will use approx 416.66 gallons.

Per 10k miles driven on gas you will use approx 526.32 gallons.

Per 10k miles driven you will need to stop and pump a additional 110 gallons.

That is not only your $$$ but your time to stop and go and visit the gas station what 5+ more times?

Gas right now is $3.85 and diesel is $3.99.

So per 10k miles driven on gas it costs $2026.33

Per 10k miles driven on diesel it costs $1662.47

Per 10k miles driven you are saving $364 using Diesel

Not sure how your math comes out to 3-400k before you see some savings from going diesel vs gas

I just used more realistic numbers. Not sure who’s Fuelly you’re using, but I’m talking about the average mpg’s throughout the life of each vehicle, not an average on a couple of tanks of fuel in one particular situation. So, most people are getting 23 on the eco, and 21 on the penta. Also not sure where you’re at paying those fuel prices, but I’ll use today’s national average of $2.97 for gas and $3.19 for diesel.

If both vehicles travel 364,963 miles, you’ll spend $51,616 on gas for the penta at 21mpg, and you’ll spend $50,618 on diesel for the penta at 23mpg. There’s the $1000 you made up IF your able to get the eco option for that price.

 

[revitupmoto33]

I have the penta 4x4 with 35’s, a not so aerodynamic bumper, camper shell with roof rack and I still manage to get 19mpg fwy. Lifetime avg of 16mpg (39,000 miles). Never towed anything bigger than a jet boat but no lack of power even with the tires.

Also, previous truck was a 12 Tacoma dc 2wd. The ram has outperformed in every way.

 

[FXCLM5]

Which fuelly website you going to?

Avg is 19 not 21 for the v6 and 23 for the 3.0, 16 for the hemi for 4th gen rams 1500.

Pricing can be all over the place, but that is the price at my current Chevron.

Like I could drive to a costco next town over and get diesel the the same price as my local Chevron wants for regular. I live in cali where the fuel taxes are crazy.

 

[Demon-HeMi]

Which fuelly website you going to?

Avg is 19 not 21 for the v6 and 23 for the 3.0, 16 for the hemi for 4th gen rams 1500.

Pricing can be all over the place, but that is the price at my current Chevron.

Like I could drive to a costco next town over and get diesel the the same price as my local Chevron wants for regular. I live in cali where the fuel taxes are crazy.

ive never looked at fuelly but those are some odd numbers, ive never owned an eco but i have owned alot of Hemi trucks and i have a pent in my driveway, my 4th gen hemi trucks have always gotten over 19mpg and even higher on straight hwy driving obviously, my pent gets around 24mpg all day long, ive checked it on paper, and the dash computer always reads within 1.5mpg of 24mpg for the almost 2 years ive owned it, the only time my pent saw the teens in mpgs is when it has a trailer attached, so i dont know how much i trust those fuelly numbers, ultimately MPG depends on how heavy the drivers foot is.

BUT... i will say this, anything the OP does will be a large improvement over having a taco as a daily driver

 

[TerraNewf]

I owned a Pentastar and loved it in my previous truck. It had plenty of power and great on fuel. The way my current truck is configured wouldn't accommodate the Pentastar here in Canada. I opted for the Hemi and I'm very pleased. If I was purchasing a lower trim truck again I would definitely opt for the Pentastar.

 

[Shawn226]

I bought a 2017 ecodiesel recently, I’m averaging 23-24 mpg, but mind you I’ve only got 2000 miles on the truck. Haven’t hauled anything yet, but have plans to get a 9990# trailer, so I can haul around a Farmall H tractor.

As far as the cost goes, if you look around at a few different dealers,

Dave Smith in Idaho
Dennis Dillon in Idaho
Kernersville in North Carolina

These three dealers discount their trucks heavily because they move such a high volume of them.

My truck is a big horn crew cab, it stickered at 51,000$. I got it for 35,200$ before downpayment because of all the dealer incentives they were running. The old 4,000$ premium for the ecodiesel doesn’t exist anymore and certainly won’t once Ford and Chevy push out their 1/2 tons with their 3.0L powerstroke and duramax next year.

Did I need a diesel? Nah.
But I wanted a diesel, and this is America so by god I bought one

 

[Demon-HeMi]

I bought a 2017 ecodiesel recently, I’m averaging 23-24 mpg, but mind you I’ve only got 2000 miles on the truck. Haven’t hauled anything yet, but have plans to get a 9990# trailer, so I can haul around a Farmall H tractor.

As far as the cost goes, if you look around at a few different dealers,

Dave Smith in Idaho
Dennis Dillon in Idaho
Kernersville in North Carolina

These three dealers discount their trucks heavily because they move such a high volume of them.

My truck is a big horn crew cab, it stickered at 51,000$. I got it for 35,200$ before downpayment because of all the dealer incentives they were running. The old 4,000$ premium for the ecodiesel doesn’t exist anymore and certainly won’t once Ford and Chevy push out their 1/2 tons with their 3.0L powerstroke and duramax next year.

Did I need a diesel? Nah.
But I wanted a diesel, and this is America so by god I bought one

Cheers to that!