FCA hikes Ram diesel torque rating for 2016

[kscarbel2]

Automotive News / June 22, 2015

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Ram (aka. Dodge) division is firing the opening salvo in the 2016 model pickup wars by boosting the torque rating of its high-output, 6.7-liter diesel engine to 900 pounds-feet -- highest in the industry.

The increased power comes standard on all versions of the heavy-duty Ram equipped with an optional beefed up Aisin six-speed automatic transmission.

The high-output Ram 3500 also has an industry best maximum towing rating of 31,210 pounds, an increase of 1,210 pounds from a similarly equipped 2015 Ram 3500 with an Aisin six-speed transmission, FCA said today.

Heavy-duty Ram trucks with FCA’s regular six-speed automatic transmissions remain unchanged at 800 pounds-feet of torque.

Ford’s recently revamped PowerStroke diesel V-8, which is optional in its Super Duty pickups, is rated at 860 pounds-feet of torque, while General Motors’ Duramax V-8 diesel engine in its heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups carries a torque rating of 765 pounds-feet.

GM and Ford are not expected to make major changes to their pickup diesel engines for 2016.

Nissan plans to introduce an optional 5.0-liter Cummins diesel V-8 this fall in its redesigned Titan pickup. That engine develops 555 pounds-feet of torque, Nissan says.

Ford, GM and Nissan offer their diesel engines with only one power rating.

Torque -- not horsepower -- is the more important measure for heavy-duty trucks because it is directly related to the vehicle’s towing and hauling capability.

[Red Horse]

Wonder how much they have been upgrading the rest of the power train beyond the transmission-like u joints, drive shafts, rear differential.

These torque numbers (all of them-PStroke and Duramax as well) can be real killers when an idiot driver puts his foot in it and in a worse case scenario, his tires have good traction because of heavy axle loading. Tires may not break loose-but something else will!

[mrsmackpaul]

if these torque figures are true and not made up bull shit thats a lot of power 31,000 pound towing thats about 14.5 ton what are you fellas towing ?????????? somebody has got some big horses in a horse float

I was watching the the Top Gear TV show the other night a pommy show about cars and the like and they were say Ford pickup's are the best sellers one is sold every 31 seconds in the States and the chevy/GMC is a dud because they only sell one every 1 minute and 3 seconds WOW thats some pretty impressive sales figures to Dodge never got a mention

The first thing that came to my mind is how can the US car makers be going broke with this many cars been sold ???? something is just not right over in the states at the moment somebody is bull shitting somebody

Paul

[Wobblin-Goblin]

These hp/tq ratings have been stupid for a while now. Four hundred horses? 800...860...900 lb/ft of torque? In a pickup? Sheesh.

My '03 F-350 7.3L Powerstroke has 250/525 and it has towed some pretty hefty stuff. I've always thought 325/600 was about perfect.

[carlotpilot]

if these torque figures are true and not made up bull shit thats a lot of power 31,000 pound towing thats about 14.5 ton what are you fellas towing ?????????? somebody has got some big horses in a horse float

I was watching the the Top Gear TV show the other night a pommy show about cars and the like and they were say Ford pickup's are the best sellers one is sold every 31 seconds in the States and the chevy/GMC is a dud because they only sell one every 1 minute and 3 seconds WOW thats some pretty impressive sales figures to Dodge never got a mention

The first thing that came to my mind is how can the US car makers be going broke with this many cars been sold ???? something is just not right over in the states at the moment somebody is bull shitting somebody

Paul the amount of bullshit here far out weighs the total amount of bulls

[Tuffguy707]

I have a 2013 Ram 3500 Cummins with the Aisin transmission with such the truck is rated at 850lb tq from the factory. The new trucks have torque management which basically keeps you from breaking the truck, some trucks are worse than others and I seem to be one of the lucky ones who doesn't seem to have the tq management as bad. The 13+ 3500 Ram trucks they did beef up. New frame, front end, suspension trans etc. I do not have that many miles on it yet so I do no know how much better the longevity of the parts are compared to the older models. I had a n 07 3500 with the 5.9 cummins and build wise the 13 is way way better of a truck. Now my 07 was built and was putting down around 500hp and I had a built transmission and to be honest I do not notice much of a difference in power between the 13 and the 07 other than the quickness from a stop as the tq management does hold the truck back just a little, almost like turbo lag.

The Aisin trans is supposedly rated to handle up wards of 1000 lbs tq but who knows for sure. The Aisin trans is deffinetly a good step in the right direction for Ram as long as they do not screw that up somehow.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Geez... We had no problem moving 40 tons GCW with 237 Maxidynes and even less.

[HeavyGunner]

I keep wondering when everyday joe's (non commercial) are going to have to take extra driving courses/training to get a certificate and a med card to be able to legally pull 14.5 tons with shitty electric trailer brakes!? Drives me nuts here in Montana that any farmer or person who works for a farmer can legally drive class A trucks without a cdl. I think it's a crock that they get away with it and it takes jobs away from actual commercial drivers and hurts the cdl carrying trucker by diluting his or her pay because only some people have be able to pass all the tests, pee quizzes and keep a med card. If your hauling heavy you should be licensed accordingly. Just my 2 cents.

[Tuffguy707]

Actually I thought in all states it was 26001lb you needed a cdl. Here in Ohio if your combination equals over 26k lbs then you must have a class A CDL even in a private pickup truck. My neighbor argued this fact with me but when he got pulled over in Columbus and he was over the 26k lbs and they wouldn't let him drive his truck and trailer home he called me wanting me to come get his truck. I should have said no but being the nice guy that I am I got the truck for him.

[Brocky]

According to the SC Dept of Public Safety the defination of "commercial" in CDL is "If the truck and/or the driver receives any form of compensation." They said you can drive any sized vehicle for personal / hobby use on a regular drivers license. I realize each state has they own interpitation of the federal rules so the actual operating rules will vary from state to state.

[HeavyGunner]

Actually I thought in all states it was 26001lb you needed a cdl. Here in Ohio if your combination equals over 26k lbs then you must have a class A CDL even in a private pickup truck. My neighbor argued this fact with me but when he got pulled over in Columbus and he was over the 26k lbs and they wouldn't let him drive his truck and trailer home he called me wanting me to come get his truck. I should have said no but being the nice guy that I am I got the truck for him.

In Montana there is an exemption for farmers/ranchers to be able to operate their own class A trucks with out a cdl. Hell they can legally hire high school kids 16 and up to drive truck during seeding and harvest. Couple of wrecks every year but hey they didn't have to hire a fella with a cdl.