Ram V-6 EcoDiesel

[LMITOUT]

Quote:

It's official: The Ram 1500 will be the only half-ton pickup to offer a small turbodiesel as one of its engine options. Set to go on sale by the third quarter of this year, the Ram 1500 will get the same small turbodiesel that's supposed to go into the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is the VM Motori 3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesel rated at 240 horsepower and 420 pounds-feet of torque.

According to USA Today, Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler's Ram brand, said that customers have been asking for this and, according to some sales experts, the move is likely to add as many 10,000 sales annually. Pricing has not been announced but it's likely the diesel option will be more expensive than the Hemi premium engine option, meaning several thousands above the base 4.7-liter V-8/six-speed transmission combination. We expect the new ZF eight-speed transmission will be the standard transmission.

No word yet on whether there will be a manual or automated-manual transmission option.

This new engine option will make the Ram half-ton the first in the current segment to offer the torquey motor, and it is likely to significantly help the lineup improve its fuel economy averages. Pricing and EPA mileage numbers will be released closer to the on-sale date, but fuel economy numbers for the Grand Cherokee, on average a few hundred pounds lighter than a Ram 1500, are 21 city/30 highway (EPA estimates) for the 4x2 and 20 city/28 highway for the 4x4. Those numbers are likely to be similar for the half-ton truck as well.

[PurpleFloyd]

So much for the ecoboost.

This is good news IMHO. Should really be a good option for the 1/2 ton market.

[Scott K]

I am glad some one finally got one in their line ups here in the US.

[LMITOUT]

Could be a game changer if it works and smokes the other brands out of hiding with their mini-diesel programs.

I've been thinking of getting the new GMC later this year but now I may have to wait a bit to see what happens, although with the absurd price of diesel these days I might just say the heck with it and get the GMC anyway.

[Scott K]

I agree, for many years, all 3 manufactures have been promising one, but have blown it off. Hopefully they all get one rolling after this. I know Ford said they were going to roll with the EcoBoost, rather then going with the new diesel engines, but it would be nice for GM, Dodge and Ford to start producing some smaller turbo diesel engines.

[JohnMickish]

It could be interesting but it's being put together by a company that has gone bankrupt twice in the last 40 years and had more owners than I can remember.

[Dave S]

Could be a game changer if it works and smokes the other brands out of hiding with their mini-diesel programs.

I've been thinking of getting the new GMC later this year but now I may have to wait a bit to see what happens, although with the absurd price of diesel these days I might just say the heck with it and get the GMC anyway.

The highest I saw diesel yesterday was $4.20 @ Casey's in Winsted. The Cenex at the other end of town was $4.10.

For me anyway, as long as there's a difference of no more than $1.00/gallon, diesel is still the cheaper option.

[Ryan_V]

anyone have any idea of what towing capabilities will be?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I LOVE the idea of a half ton diesel. I won't own a Dodge, but hopefully this will push Ford or Chevy to jump in with their diesels that were close to production.

[Scott K]

They are in production in Europe, just not here.

[Powerstroke]

This is the Fiat diesel motor. While I love the idea of the half-ton diesel, they better not price it out of usefulness.

The idea of $1 a gallon difference means a lot of dollars in gas extra. If this truck doesn't get 30mpg then there isn't much cost savings over their gas options, especially if there is a $10-15K premium for the diesel option.

Thats the main reason I went to ecoboost over my diesel. Even today at a savings of 50 cents per gallon I save $15 on a tank of gas over diesel fuel, plus of premium of 1-2mpg creates added savings.

I love diesel, don't get me wrong, but they are going to have to make it affordable to be practical. I thought the Penstar V-6 was pointless with a tow rating of under 4000lbs, but most guys don't tow more than 2000, so this application has to prove cost efficient in my mind to be worth it.

[LMITOUT]

How much more is the cost of the Ecoboost package compared to the standard Ford V8 (5.4?)?

[flyfisher03]

The way it looks on fords web-page about $1100 more.

[BartmanMN]

Ecoboost upgrade is 1095.00. Standard motor is 5.0.

I pick up my EcoBoost SuperCrew tomorrow. Pumped!

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Ecoboost upgrade is 1095.00. Standard motor is 5.0.

I pick up my EcoBoost SuperCrew tomorrow. Pumped!

Post a picture for us.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I pick up my EcoBoost SuperCrew tomorrow. Pumped!

Nice! You're going to love the truck!

[LMITOUT]

And what is the realized MPG gain of the Ecoboost over a similarly equipped Ford without the Ecoboost?

From what I've been hearing and reading the mileage isn't markedly better than a typical V8 so I'm trying to understand why someone would pay the $1100 adder, other than to say that they have an Ecoboost.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Mileage is substantially better than my 5.4L trucks, by over 4mpg. In 52,000 miles, I've saved $3,000 in fuel, and when I bought my truck the Ecoboost was a $750 option. I don't know what guys with the 5.0 are seeing for mileage.

The reason for doing the Ecoboost vs the 5.0L is power. Max torque is 420 ft lbs @ 2500rpms vs 380 ft lbs @ 4500rpms, max hp is 5000rpms vs 5500rpms. Saying I have an Ecoboost means nothing to me, but hooking it up to a trailer and towing in 6th gear without downshifting means a lot. It's pretty sweet to be able to tow my fish house and easily keep up to traffic without going over 2500rpms. I've tried with the V8s, and they are almost constantly shifting, and going over 4,000rpms, which is extremely annoying.

[LMITOUT]

So then the whole mileage thing is kind of a farce, since it's all about the power. Kinda what I figured.

I'm thinking the folks in the Ecoboost marketing department at Ford all got promotions after this deal.

[randerson]

Well we have a 2011 F-150 with 5.0 and a 2012 F-150 with 3.5 eco boost the 5.0 I believe has the 3.55 and our eco has 3.21 (not exactly sure of those gear ratio #'s but I know Im close) The 5.0 went to florida last winter down managed almost 17 mpg and coming back it was a touch less daily driving he only drives 2miles to work each day so it never gets warmed up but does get to highway speed and has been averaging 13-15 in the summer months for the EcoBoost he just reset the milage on his way to work today just less than a 10 mile commute and it was saying 13.4 today I think the extreme cold is a little hard on the ecoboost in the summer months he was more like 16-19 which is about on par for my 2010 hemi but my winter milage is better even with me using my auto start (EcoBoost we have doesn't have) I have about 12 mile commute and I see 14-15 right now and thats with Cooper Zeon LTZ tires which are much more aggressive than the factory good years that I replaced about 5k ago. I think I would have seen 1-1.5mpg better with the goodyears. The EcoDiesel sounds intriguing since I bought this Ram after I had a06 2500hd Cummings before which diesel was $.90 a gallon less when purchased and about $1.00 gal more when I bought this 2010 1500 Hemi. I think if the MPG #'s are anything that they claim it will be a good run but at what cost.

[mabr]

So then the whole mileage thing is kind of a farce, since it's all about the power. Kinda what I figured.

I'm thinking the Ecoboost marketing department at Ford all got promotions after this deal.

I've giving up on getting anything above 14-15. I went and drove a 2013 Eco boost a month ago after being frustrated with my 11 chevy's mpg. I reset the instant mpg monitoring gauge and it showed worse than my chevy gets. This was with the salesman with me and I wasn't driving it hard. He wasn't sure why, I had him set and and see if i did something wrong. It didn't matter. I do know I was ready to trade, but the test drive made me wonder if it was a smart decision.

I then went to a site called Fuelly. Look it up! There is no perfect truck out there thats going to get sticker mpg for everyone. I decided to hold on to mine for a while longer. Warranty alone makes it good for me now. 75K remaining on mine where as 60K on a brand new truck didn't add up.

[LMITOUT]

That's what I'm wondering about with this proposed EcoDiesel from RAM. When you figure the extra cost for the engine/tranny and the "real world" mpg are you really ahead? What is even worse about this is that you aren't comparing two gas engines with a fixed gas price, but rather a fuel that has cost considerably more than gasoline. Short term (tank to tank) you feel good about the mileage its getting, but it'll take quite a few miles before it actually pencils out. By that time you have a rusted out truck thanks to Minnesota's over use of salt in the winter.

I say the heck with it and just buy what you like.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

I wounder if the 3.2L that will be going in the Transit will make its way into the f150....

[hoppe56307]

Hopefully this will push GM to finally introduce their 4.5 Duramax in their 1/2 ton trucks.

[BartmanMN]

[quote=Mid-Lake

Post a picture for us.