Engine size (liters)

[Gary68]

if i was in europe i would definitely go diesel if thats not possible a hi-lux v6 with camper would be my second choice

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

1997 Dodge 1500 pickup, 4X4, manual transmission, with bed cover (~150,000 miles of data):
  19 - 21 mpg at 55 MPH on gas without 'corn squeezins'
  17 - 19 mpg at 55 MPH on gas with ethanol.

2012 Ram 2500 pickup, 4X4, automatic transmission, 1250 lbf pop-up camper (~20,000 miles of data):
  16 mpg at 55 MPH on gas with ethanol,
  17 mpg at 55 MPH on gas w/o ethanol (only 2 data points).

Gas mileage was down significantly with higher speeds on both trucks.

 -- Spiff

 

[VenFan]

Even in the case of my old 4 cylinder pickup, I would get 27-28 MPG at 55...but if I drove 65-70, it dropped into the teens. Was pretty crazy.

What particular car/engineyou referring?

How could i identify what engine that has best MPG at 55mph if i have to compare many random ones, i assume using EPA results, but i cannot find anywhere at what speed "hwy" MPG is calculated by EPA?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

What particular car/engineyou referring?

How could i identify what engine that has best MPG at 55mph if i have to compare many random ones, i assume using EPA results, but i cannot find anywhere at what speed "hwy" MPG is calculated by EPA?

Ask, and ye shall receive . . .

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-truth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/heres-why-real-world-mpg-doesnt-match-epa-ratings.html

Regards
John

 

[johnny b]

Please don't take this as a diss....just a trivial Hot Rod correction.
"Wow,  a bucket brigade Turbocharger ?   It's a wonder they didn't just put Nitro Oxide on it. LOL "

'NITRO' is a term that is a contraction of 'Nitromethane'...used in the 10,000 HP Top Fuel and Funny Car classes. It is also model airplane fuel (love that smell).


'NITROUS OXIDE' is laughing gas just like the dentist uses. In Hot Rods it is injected into the intake along with an increased injection of fuel, either gasoline or alcohol. The extra oxygen content from the 'laughing gas' creates a combustion environment that allows the extra fuel to burn properly, thereby giving a horsepower boost.

Note to old Deadheads....the Nitrous Oxide sold at speed shops is 'altered' a bit with sulpher, so it CANNOT be used recreationally in balloons!

 

[akrvbob]

Spaceman Spiff, which engines did you have in those pickups?
Bob

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Note to old Deadheads....the Nitrous Oxide sold at speed shops is 'altered' a bit with sulpher, so it CANNOT be used recreationally in balloons!

*******s!

Regards
John

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Spaceman Spiff, which engines did you have in those pickups?
Bob

Sorry, I blame age related dimentia.  I proofread the text twice before I posted and didn't notice that 'minor' detail  :blush: 

5.2L (318 CID) in the 1997.
5.7L (~350 CID) in the 2012.

Both gas engines.  Numbers I posted were for constant speed driving between fill-ups.

 -- Spiff

 

[highdesertranger]

as far as the nitrous oxide around here they don't care where they get it or what's in it. the speed shops around here say more than 50% of the buyers don't even know how to use it in car. highdesertranger

 

[akrvbob]

Spaceman Spiff, I'm sort looking for a new pickup and was on a used car lot and saw a 2003 Dodge 4x4 with 5.7 hemi and I realized that I know nothing about the latest generation of Dodge engines. Of course the 318 is legendary, but how good are the new ones?

What's your opinion of the newer ones? Do you have the 5.7 hemi? Happy with it?
Bob

 

[Canine]

Bob,

My cousin has a 2011 5.7 and loves it. He says he gets 22 on the highway as long as he just goes 65 and is not towing. Towing, more like 10, which is normal.

Most everyone that I ever talked to who has one says their hemi is a solid motor. The Jeep GC owners love it.

 

[akrvbob]

No reliability issues or specific weaknesses like the Fords have had?
Bob

 

[Gary68]

No reliability issues or specific weaknesses like the Fords have had?
Bob

http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=109505

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

What's your opinion of the newer ones? Do you have the 5.7 hemi? Happy with it?

First, this is what I have:
2012 Ram 2500 SLT, 5.7 hemi, automatic, 4X4, standard cab, 8' bed with a Four Wheel Campers Grandby permanently mounted in it (adds ~1500 lbf).  Truck was purchased in 2013 with ~14,000 miles on it.  Odometer currently says 33,842.

I think the engine is fine.  It is quiet, has a lot of power, gas mileage is about where I thought it would be.  I don't know about reliability yet.  Dodge knows how to make good engines.  Transmissions are a different story.  It doesn't shift where I think it should and has an annoying lag when downshifting.  This is the first automatic I have owned since my teenage years, so I am probably biased (I like to shift).  Throttle response (to me) is slow and coarse.  Transfer case shifting is via knob on the dash.  Works OK but I don't like it.  I want a lever mechanically linked to the Xfer case.

The truck rides nice with the camper in it and rides like a buckboard without.  Other than a better ride, the truck doesn't seem to notice the camper (although adding the camper cost ~1.5 mpg).  I have taken a couple of trips with it: to North Carolina and to Wyoming.  Seats are comfortable; I put a 14 hour day as driver (and navigator) to N. Carolina.  Cab is not as quiet as the '97: more wind and road noise.  Camper is adding some of the wind noise and the tires (E rated) could account for the added road noise.  Camper makes using the sliding rear window as ventilation while driving very noisy.

I had the truck (with camper) on a lake this March to test handling.  In two wheel drive the truck has some oversteer (rear wants to come around when turning), in four wheel drive steering is neutral.  For comparison, the '97 (driven on ice) with an empty box had massive oversteer in 2WD and slight oversteer in 4WD.

Overall, I am happy with it, although I would be much happier with a stick  

Hope I didn't ramble too much and answered your questions.

 -- Spiff

 

[highdesertranger]

good review. but what's your normal/average fuel economy. highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

I had my Friend's 2013 Ram Powerwagon for almost 3 weeks.  Impressive machine, fun to drive, but an absolute Gas hog in around town driving.

Even when I drove it conservatively, I could watch the needle move.


Its max torque at 4500rpm seemed a bit high for a truck.  It was impressive how hard it would start pulling above 3800 rpm.

I am not upto date on the actual Hemispherical combustion chamber heads or if the modern Hemi is still actually a Hemi.  While the truck had more than enough power down low, I thought that powerband would be better at lower rpm rather than up at 4500, but I think the Hemi is all about combustion chamber flow, and that is not a requirement for low rpm.

I was unused to the transmission shift points and never really was able to anticipate a shift and force a shift just through the gas pedal. Driving it in Tow Haul mode was a bit more predictable.  Manually pressing the button to force a downshift or upshift was possible, but I never got used to it and quit trying.

I really like manual transmissions too.  It forces an intimacy with the machine being driven, and a much better understanding of getting power to the road and navigating traffic properly.

The right pedal go left pedal slow mentality of so many overly distracted drivers is infuriating.  But add in a cell phone crazed generation and a manual transmission, only 5 cars would get through each traffic light, with 15 car lengths between each accelerating vehicle.

My old man forced me to learn to drive on a manual transmission vehicle, actually a Cub cadet tractor well before I was legally able to drive.  Transferring the cub cadet skills to a vehicle was simple.

It was probably the best thing he ever taught me.  if I could have a 5 or 6 speed manual transmission in my Van, I would do so.

 

[highdesertranger]

I her you stern I learned on a Ford tractor, then others. by the time it was time to drive a stick in a truck it was easy. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Guess I'm just lazy.  I learned to drive on a stick, too.  Specifically the three speed on the column.  When I first started working, I was a counterman/delivery driver for an auto parts store and we had Datsun pickups with 4 speeds and floor shifters.  I drove them for years - they were a lot of fun.  But these days I'm happy to use an automatic - ESPECIALLY when I have to stop for a traffic light on a hill.  Because I did learn on a manual, I'm conditioned that my left foot is the clutch foot and the right foot is for both the gas AND the brake.  Never unlearned that.

Can't really say I leaned to drive on a tractor.  Pop didn't get rid of the plow horse and buy a tractor till AFTER I had already learned how to drive.

Regards
John

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

good review.  but what's your normal/average fuel economy.  highdesertranger

I get ~12.6 mpg overall, but that number is so dependent on where and how you drive.  A lot of stop signs and stoplights in that number.  I keep a spreadsheet for my truck, with miles, gallons, type of driving, etc.  The 12.6 mpg number is current over the last 10 fills.  I loose about 1 mpg in the winter, mostly due to the change in gas mixture.  I have gotten a low of ~9 mpg (traffic jam, ~5 mph for 3 hours; computer reported not calculated) to a high of 22 mpg (no camper and using all the 'Mobile Economy Run' tricks I could remember).

Current truck is an automatic because it is almost impossible to find a decent used gas engined truck with a manual transmission.

Learned to drive on the farm in a '51 Power Wagon.  Non-syncro'd stick.  Think I was about 12; too young to pitch bales, blocks on the pedals.  Still have the truck.

 -- Spiff

 

[akrvbob]

Thanks much for all that information!
Bob