V6 or hemi

[Jonesy57]

I had a 05 1500 big horn quad cab with a hemi 3.92 gears yes it was rocket fast and very few could out run me. Then I got a 2015 with a V6 4x4 full 4 door cab and a 8 Speed automatic it’s been great
Is the V6 as quick as the hemi no but it has hauled some heavy loads with the bed stacked with concrete bags and has served me well as a daily driver
The one thing I would not get is the pain in the butt air ride supension
Jonesy

 

[Munqee]

I went from the v6 to the 5.7 hemi and I can say it was the best thing I ever did. the v6 is ok, but I LOVE the hemi. As others have said it's preference, I WANTED a hemi, do I NEED it? nope, not at all but this is my dream truck, it has everything I wanted in it.

 

[1quick1]

Both are good engines. The torque in the hemi is nice.

 

[jboy2015]

Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

But seriously though, I think the hemi is what has helped dodge get some respect again in the industry. I think it's worth it. Test drive both if you haven't already

 

[tpnaquin]

had penta in a 2013 bighorn 2WD crew. great gas milage as long as I kept it under 65ish on the HWY. The minute you pushed past 70, you can see the MPG drop out the sky. Today I have a 17 longhorn 4x4 (only 2K miles, so too new to report MPGs).

I'll tell you, that Hemi is awesome! The 6 will do the job, but you won't feel as good doing it.

Good Luck

 

[Purplert]

Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

This



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[Jarhead67]

I have a 2015 Hemi powered 2WD Laramie. Love it. My wife drives a 2015 Grand Cherokee with the eco diesel.
With the 8 speed tranny, I average 18 all around and 21 on the hiway. Towing our 21 ft Ranger bass boat on a dual axle trailer, we get about 16, which is great.

 

[Wahrsuul]

I have the V6, worst mistake I ever made.
Around town mileage runs about 14-15, best highway ever seen was 19
Slowest thing I have ever driven.
Only reason I bought because it was a (way past) year end sale and the dealer just about gave it away.

You have an '06, at that time, the 3.7 was the V6 in the Ram (it was till '13 I think). Not a bad engine, I had one in a 2002 Ram Quad cab with the 6spd manual. Worked well enough for getting around town and hauling a bike or two, and got around 20mpg on the highway. Fun to drive with the manual. The 3.6 is a far better engine. HP numbers are pretty close to the 4.7 Corsair V8 (310 vs 305). TQ numbers are further apart - 330 vs 267, but the V6 feels dang good with the 8spd trans. Even with 3.21 gears.

 

[Dusty]

I have two references for Ram 1500 PentaStar gas mileage. A good friends brother has a 2016 QC 4x4 as a work truck. Carries a large bed mounted tool box, gas generator, jacks, etc. for heavy equipment repairs. He says 23-26 MPG on average. A neighbor had a Ram PentaStar for two weeks while her car was in the body shop. She recorded a 28 on a highway trip (about 300 miles one-way, summertime) which hand calculated out to 27.3 MPG for the total trip. I hear the 3.0 VM diesels do better, but the initial cost is a lot higher. If your considering a diesel you need to do a cost-benefit ratio.

 

[Rdeath]

Because of my hemi with pistón skirts bending at 70000 miles i went with what i thought at the time a wise decisión for fuel mileage. First week owning 14 mpg and less. I m currently at about 15.5. Sacrificed power for mpg amd lost both imho pentastar is junk keep this thing for maybe a year then chevy or ford will be. Bad is i like the rams but feel like dealership blew smoke ip my **** asked about getting a hemi instead. I have 2000 miles on mine. Said if i pay an extra 7-9 grand i could get a hemi. I have now called Dodge they have me taking it to different dealer to get checked out and go from there

 

[Rdeath]

Whats bad finally go my metallic blue fav color so was pumped. And to feel so disappointed in it took all the joy out of getting a new truck

 

[homeguy]

I was in a similar position you are now in. I had two 6 cylinder vehicles. I hated the "driveway shuffle!" One was a 2006 cadillac sts and a supercharged Bonneville ssei. The caddy was my daily driver and I used the Bonneville as a work vehicle when needed as it had a trailer hitch to tow a 5 x 8 trailer. I got rid of both of them and got the 2016 -1500 Laramie crew cab with the 6 cylinder Pentastar. There is also a 6 cylinder 3.0 diesel. When you do the math, unless you are driving 40k miles a year, the deisel wasn't worth the initial additional cost and ongoing maintenance costs.

I am more than pleased with my truck's comfort, power and economy. No it's not a Hemi but I don't need that ball busing power, towing capacity and acceleration off the line. Never do I feel it is under powered. On the highway i get 22-23.5 mpg all day long. Combination (which varies depending on ratio of highwy/city) I get 16-19 mpg, all day long. When I first got it, I played a game with the truck to see how poor gas mileage I could get. Using winter blend, for a week I drove as inefficiently as i possibly could. Jack rabbit starts, very little coasting to a stop, etc. If I remember, I got it down to 14.5 mpg.

The guys who drive hemi's will, of course, swear by them. The guys who drive Pentastars, of course, will swear by them. Test drive the Pentastar engine and give it a work-out! Whatever decision you go with will be the correct decision! Enjoy!

I wish my 2014 JKU had a Hemi instead of the 3.6L


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[KingTuna]

Rdeath, I would give it a little more time to check on the mileage. Are you driving around town mostly, or highway? Are you driving 75 to 80 mph on the highway? Winter blend gas and cold temps can kill gas mileage pretty quickly, and coupled with city driving 15 mpg is probably about right.

 

[grizzstang]

Because of my hemi with pistón skirts bending at 70000 miles i went with what i thought at the time a wise decisión for fuel mileage. First week owning 14 mpg and less. I m currently at about 15.5. Sacrificed power for mpg amd lost both imho pentastar is junk keep this thing for maybe a year then chevy or ford will be. Bad is i like the rams but feel like dealership blew smoke ip my **** asked about getting a hemi instead. I have 2000 miles on mine. Said if i pay an extra 7-9 grand i could get a hemi. I have now called Dodge they have me taking it to different dealer to get checked out and go from there

Well your motor is still breaking in and you will be using winter gas, both will not equate to good gas mileage. We have the 3.6 in our Jeep Wrangler and it is far from junk. It sounds like you have limited mechanical knowledge and unrealistic expectations. If it were me I would drive it and worry less about the mileage until the summer when winter gas is gone and the motor is broken in.

 

[dgray2712]

I just checked my mileage yesterday when I filled up. I'm down to about 16.5 with the colder temps. I was getting 23 until early November. Once it warms up, I expect it to go back up. I am a truck driver. When I have a load going from Ohio to Florida this time of year, I get around 6 when I first start out. By the time I get to South Carolina, I am closer to 8. Temperature does have a big impact.


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[Rdeath]

Little update. Took truck in to fix couple things from day bought. I've been watching mileage and recording. They are believing me now. 16 mpg is best average I've got. I reset and calculated everything going to dealership yesterday morning with a tailwind, I never got to 15.9 I showed them video where I was seeing 7-12 mpg on any little hill I hit their faces kinda dropped to floor they are setting up test to check fuel system etc,

 

[Rdeath]

I just checked my mileage yesterday when I filled up. I'm down to about 16.5 with the colder temps. I was getting 23 until early November. Once it warms up, I expect it to go back up. I am a truck driver. When I have a load going from Ohio to Florida this time of year, I get around 6 when I first start out. By the time I get to South Carolina, I am closer to 8. Temperature does have a big impact.


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Hey dgray. I would love to see 16.5. My 2013 hemi would have been 20mpg with tailwind yesterday. I was under 16. I am seeing lots of time with this pickup seeing same mileage as your 18 wheeler

 

[Rdeath]

Rdeath, I would give it a little more time to check on the mileage. Are you driving around town mostly, or highway? Are you driving 75 to 80 mph on the highway? Winter blend gas and cold temps can kill gas mileage pretty quickly, and coupled with city driving 15 mpg is probably about right.

See and that makes me think I made a mistake hemi was getting better than 16 and I can't get this one to it

 

[Rdeath]

PS I might have got the friday built truck what I thought bumper just off a little that was one of things setup for yesterday, turns out had to losen up cab and adjust whole front end. Really how does a truck get away from quality control with cab wrong.

 

[Podcast]

I'll chime in here as well. I had a '13 Hemi and it was good to me but the mileage wasn't. I moved further from work a year ago and man did that put a dent in my wallet for gas funds. Last month I saw my dealer had 17k off of the Bighorn packages so I went to check them out. I now own an EcoD and my mileage is amazing. I can now go 2 week round trip of 60 miles a day 5 days a week to and from work on a single tank of gas. It cut my gas costs in half. Premium here is more expensive than diesel and I nearly always ended up using premium since it's the only gas that doesn't have ethanol in it. 3k in on my EcoD and only 5 fill ups. Can't complain although you do have to be aware of the drawbacks of the diesel such as short trips etc.