Ram EcoDiesel Questions

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Originally Posted By: pb379
Interesting article on the OP engine. Thanks for sharing.

The Fiat I4 3.0L diesel (174 HP/295lb/ft TQ) in the RAM ProMaster seems a bit weak for a 6,000lb RAM 1500 pickup.
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/ProMaster.html
I'm not sure what numbers the I4 VM Motori would/could make.


The 3.0L V6 VM diesel would have been a better choice.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: pb379
Interesting article on the OP engine. Thanks for sharing.

The Fiat I4 3.0L diesel (174 HP/295lb/ft TQ) in the RAM ProMaster seems a bit weak for a 6,000lb RAM 1500 pickup.
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/ProMaster.html
I'm not sure what numbers the I4 VM Motori would/could make.


The 3.0L V6 VM diesel would have been a better choice.

The engine looks large in the Allpar photo.

Maybe getting it to fit transversely was the problem?
 
The new Cummins v8 is sadly an Engine of the old design...
Big, Heavy, bulky etc.
Ram choose to go with
a truly modern small size "super turbo diesel" that
more reassembles the modern diesels we se in passcars today.
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: pb379
Interesting article on the OP engine. Thanks for sharing.

The Fiat I4 3.0L diesel (174 HP/295lb/ft TQ) in the RAM ProMaster seems a bit weak for a 6,000lb RAM 1500 pickup.
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/ProMaster.html
I'm not sure what numbers the I4 VM Motori would/could make.


The 3.0L V6 VM diesel would have been a better choice.

The engine looks large in the Allpar photo.

Maybe getting it to fit transversely was the problem?


That could very well be the reason.
 
Originally Posted By: ac_tc
The new Cummins v8 is sadly an Engine of the old design...
Big, Heavy, bulky etc.
Ram choose to go with
a truly modern small size "super turbo diesel" that
more reassembles the modern diesels we se in passcars today.


The new Cummins V8 has nothing in common with the old Cummins V-series engines.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Still think they should have stuck with the inline 4 VM diesel like I have in a 2006 Jeep Liberty. They could have opened it up to 3.0 and had a great engine that was easy to get to things on. If it fit in a Liberty along with the 545 trans, it would fit in a Wrangler or especially a 1/2 ton pickup. There is no good reason to go to a V engine in this class. Just more complicated with no appreciable benefit over a inline 4 of the same displacement.


No it's pretty good with VM 630 V6, very quiet, minimal nvh, most are surprised to hear its a diesel. The ZF trans compliments the engine reasonably well, could use a higher speed overdrive top gear, but that's marginal.
 
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Originally Posted By: CT8
I looked at the Ram with the diesel as well as the Hemi. My 1996 Tacoma runs great but is old. I am to scared to buy a new vehicle and have it turn out to be a piece of junk. Knock on wood other that scheduled maintenance the Tacoma has been flawless. I just couldn't write the check.



That is also a concern for us as well. My old tech cars and trucks are running just fine right now and I'm concerned about the expenditure.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: CT8
I looked at the Ram with the diesel as well as the Hemi. My 1996 Tacoma runs great but is old. I am to scared to buy a new vehicle and have it turn out to be a piece of junk. Knock on wood other that scheduled maintenance the Tacoma has been flawless. I just couldn't write the check.



That is also a concern for us as well. My old tech cars and trucks are running just fine right now and I'm concerned about the expenditure.


That's a concern for most people myself included.
 
I didnt say that it shared anything with older Cummins did i?
But the design isnt as modern as the vm, the Cummins is designed like
an old gas v8 with pushrods, big and bulky.A heavy cast iron pig.
That doesent mean that its a bad Engine in any way but its not as modern as the vm.
 
Anyone with a disdain for pushrods should note that GM seems to do quite well with it.

The reason the new Vette has the LOWEST CG ever measured in a street car is pushrod packaging. Simple, small, extremely powerful, great efficiency. Doesn't seem to lack for much.

DOHC engines are needlessly complex, with dozens more parts to fail and yards of chain to chew up your oil. Then the packaging issues set in...
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Anyone with a disdain for pushrods should note that GM seems to do quite well with it.

The reason the new Vette has the LOWEST CG ever measured in a street car is pushrod packaging. Simple, small, extremely powerful, great efficiency. Doesn't seem to lack for much.

DOHC engines are needlessly complex, with dozens more parts to fail and yards of chain to chew up your oil. Then the packaging issues set in...


Sometimes old school is better.
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Originally Posted By: ac_tc
I didnt say that it shared anything with older Cummins did i?
But the design isnt as modern as the vm, the Cummins is designed like
an old gas v8 with pushrods, big and bulky.A heavy cast iron pig.
That doesent mean that its a bad Engine in any way but its not as modern as the vm.


You don't know what you're talking about.
The new Cummins engine is DOHC.
Iron block, aluminum heads, 4 valves per cylinder, HPCR fuel system.
The VM Motori engine is also iron block and aluminum heads.
If you want to design a diesel that lasts a long time, you'll have to use an iron block.
So let's not hear anymore talk about "heavy cast iron pigs".
 
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Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: ac_tc
I didnt say that it shared anything with older Cummins did i?
But the design isnt as modern as the vm, the Cummins is designed like
an old gas v8 with pushrods, big and bulky.A heavy cast iron pig.
That doesent mean that its a bad Engine in any way but its not as modern as the vm.


You don't know what you're talking about.
The new Cummins engine is DOHC.
Iron block, aluminum heads, 4 valves per cylinder, HPCR fuel system.
The VM Motori engine is also iron block and aluminum heads.
If you want to design a diesel that lasts a long time, you'll have to use an iron block.
So let's not hear anymore talk about "heavy cast iron pigs".


Ok your right but the vm is a smaller Engine both in wheight and size and it fits the needs
that a ram owner have. Engines are downsizing for a give performance and the Cummins is designed in the "good" old days.
 
You apparently have something against Cummins Engine Company, but I have to tell you; Cummins has been in the "downsized" engine business for about 80 years. They have been using 14-15 liter engines (and even 10-11 liter engines occasionally) to power 80,000 lb GVW trucks since about the mid-1930's. The owners of those trucks depend on them to earn money, and if they don't go 600,000 miles between rebuilds, it's considered a failure.

So how hard are these two engines working?
For the big truck: 80,000 lbs GVW / 15 liters = 5333 lb/liter
For the Ram 1500: 15,400 lbs GVW / 3 liters = 5133 lb/liter

So in reality, the VM Motori engine that you think is so "downsized" is actually not working as hard as (but nearly) the 15 liter engine in a class 8 truck. And Cummins has been building engines for such applications for over 80 years.

Let's wait and see how many of the 3.0L VM Motori's get to 600,000 miles before requiring a rebuild.
 
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I'm sure this is a bit off topic but a question i do have about this engine/truck combo is what type of cold weather problems would i expect out of the vehicle as temperatures drop well below freezing? I always remember (and still see a few) older diesels that need to be plugged in during the colder months of the year. Is that still the case for the Ecodiesel?
 
I wouldn't consider towing a camper working the truck unless it is an everyday occurrence..i have one and love it. Only 3000 miles and avg 26.5 mpg in a 4x4 1/2 ton truck. Do not expect any freezing issues either.
 
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No, i dont have anything against Cummins ( how can i im a mopurist...)
But for diesels rules have changed dramatically the last 10 years and the v8 Cummins isnt one of them modern "super" diesels
that the vm is.
As for Engine Life...600 000 miles in a truck that lasts a third of it...not really interesting.
 
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Originally Posted By: ac_tc
As for Engine Life...600 000 miles in a truck that lasts a third of it...not really interesting.



This comes as news to me.
My truck has 250,000 miles on it, and is still going strong.
 
Originally Posted By: ac_tc
But for diesels rules have changed dramatically the last 10 years and the v8 Cummins isnt one of them modern "super" diesels
that the vm is.


"Super" in what respect?
 
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