Ram 1500 owners…Hemi & 3.92s?

[Grit_dog]

What better place than RVnet to get some good unbiased opinions…:B

I need to purchase a work truck soon. Company truck going away, vehicle allowance starting (with a gas card).
It’s gonna be a half ton. Has to be <5 y/o.
Having been impressed with the overall reliability of our last 2 Dodge gassers, SRT Chargers, I’m pretty well honed in on a 2019+ Ram 1500. Hemi, no Etorque (I’m on the hook for repairs to my vehicle) and trying hard to find one with 3.92s. May as well be as quick and fast as it can be for the budget…I don’t drive Miss Daisy…
Who’s got one?
Better yet anyone have a newer 8speed with 3.21s and 3.92s? As much of a seat of the pants difference as it should be?
How well does tow/haul work on the 8HP? Our Charger can change shift profiles on the fly and it’s literally the only transmission that appears to not be able to be confused by the driver. (Although props to the new Ford/GM light duty 10 speed. It too knows what to do 99.9% of the time).
Is the MDS very noticeable like one of those “great” Dodge features that make you want to press an extra button every time you drive it? Or is it seamless? It is seamless in our SRT but different vehicle different engine and tuning and it really only works in Eco Mode it seems in the Charger.
Reason for questions is if I don’t find a decent price used one soon I’ll probably go new which will mean basically buying sight unseen back east somewhere not called the PNW where cars cost more than they should! (Although if I have time I’d probably go test drive one locally if going new)

[Grit_dog]

Well Habibi won't quit blowing my phone up, so he's definitely a used car peddler...too bad really. I liked that truck.
Also hasn't sold it.
In fact, to the "dealer lots filling up" thread, so are the used car/truck adds. Got about half who think their junk is worth more now than they bought it for and the other half who are trying to get out of newer trucks (haven't looked at cars/suvs) that they likley paid too much for and see the writing on the wall.

Now I'm getting preliminary buyers remorse chasing the market down!

But there's a dang nice Black 6.2 Trailboss that isn't priced through the roof and it's been for sale now for a couple weeks. Actual legit private party, not Apu who sells slurpees and roller food by night and auction cars during the day.

[RoyJ]

Grit dog wrote:
Thank you, makes sense. Maybe why MSD rarely kicks in on our Charger. It hits 8th so soon in normal or Eco mode that I have to kick it down a gear (can't in Eco, paddles and manual mode are disabled) so it's not borderline lugging at that 45-55mph range.

Not sure about the Charger, but on my truck Eco is independent of MSD. Careful listening and with a scanner verified it.

In 8th, at 55 mph / 1200 rpm, I can maybe maintain 4 cyl if road is absolutely flat with a tailwind. In 7th, 50 mph, 1500 rpm, it'll maintain 4 cyl comfortably.

8th gear will maintain Eco "status" up to 70-75 mph or so, but V8 mode.

I bet a Charger can maintain 4 cyl mode longer due to much less drag.

[FishOnOne]

Bionic Man wrote:
I’ve been on the waiting list for recall on the cam phasers for over a year. Add that to being without the Expedition for 8 1/2 weeks this summer due to no parts to rebuild an axle that failed at 30,000 miles, I’ll take my “chances” with MOPAR problems any day.

Cam phasers is a simple rattle at startup with no internal engine damage like the failed Hemi lifter. I will stick with the facts and leave you with the chances. Roll the dice!

[Bionic_Man]

I’ve been on the waiting list for recall on the cam phasers for over a year. Add that to being without the Expedition for 8 1/2 weeks this summer due to no parts to rebuild an axle that failed at 30,000 miles, I’ll take my “chances” with MOPAR problems any day.

[FishOnOne]

Would rather have a engine with cam phasers failure than a lifter failure any day.

Enjoy...

Link

[Grit_dog]

Well was planning on looking at a 2019 Rebel. Nice lookin truck, panoramic sunroof and 3.92s. And a decent price if he would come down 10-15%...
But alas it appears the seller is likely another of the many Russian and Habib used car peddlers around here.
Communication has been weird and well, movin on from that one probably...
It was even local!

The % of "private party" sellers that are actually the owners of the cars seems to be getting smaller by the day around here.
Probably have to find one from the rusty side of the Cascades or go back to looking for new.
Got a couple months anyway.
Keep lookin!

[Grit_dog]

RoyJ wrote:
I have a 2014 with 3.21. You'll find the final ratio of a 3.21 vs 3.92 truck is exactly 1 gear apart.

i.e. A 3.21 truck in 4th is nearly the same as 3.92 truck in 5th, etc.

Empty, they're traction limited off the line. The 3.21 is faster as you're shifting less. Both will spin 1st gear to redline with a good launch.

The 3.21 revs low enough in 8th that MSD will never kick in, the 3.92 revs higher (equal to 7th on the 3.21), but MSD will kick in more often. If you get 33+ tires, then get the 3.92. Otherwise I feel 3.21 is perfect.

Thank you, makes sense. Maybe why MSD rarely kicks in on our Charger. It hits 8th so soon in normal or Eco mode that I have to kick it down a gear (can't in Eco, paddles and manual mode are disabled) so it's not borderline lugging at that 45-55mph range.

[RoyJ]

I have a 2014 with 3.21. You'll find the final ratio of a 3.21 vs 3.92 truck is exactly 1 gear apart.

i.e. A 3.21 truck in 4th is nearly the same as 3.92 truck in 5th, etc.

Empty, they're traction limited off the line. The 3.21 is faster as you're shifting less. Both will spin 1st gear to redline with a good launch.

The 3.21 revs low enough in 8th that MSD will never kick in, the 3.92 revs higher (equal to 7th on the 3.21), but MSD will kick in more often. If you get 33+ tires, then get the 3.92. Otherwise I feel 3.21 is perfect.

[Grit_dog]

blt2ski wrote:
Id stay in the 3.42, 3.55 or 3.73 on how you drive. The 3.92 will not accelerate that much faster.

GM for what it's worth, with an Eaton kicker is the best strongest one used vs Dodge. Toyota gas an electric Eaton, iirc 4.10 gears, 10.5" r&p.they chew up fuel!

I dought you'll find one, but the GM / Dodge 3.xL diesels could be fun too. But have to admit, they are a bit shy HP of the gaz rigs. Plenty of torque.

As many have said, as have you, many ways too look at this, all are correct, ALL are wrong too!

Marty

Not much chance of a Yoder sitting in the driveway of this red blooded, beer drinkin, chew spittin American...purely for the optics of it, of course, but I do belive it would be a good choice as far as resale goes. Although kinda like a diesel, you pay the premium and then wait to get it back later.

I would totally consider and likely buy a 3.0 diesel pickup if I was footing the fuel bill. And it would be a new baby Dmax with the bump in power. Not a Ecodiesel or whatever Frod offered for like 2 years and didn't sell any of.
But my deal with my new job is an allowance paid monthly, that frankly would cover the insurance and payment (if I took a loan) on a new $80k big boy diesel...AND a fuel card.
As fuel is approx 50% of the total $ equation and "free" to me, fuel mileage is of little concern and reliability of repairing my own truck is of primary concern. However the propensity for emissions issues and the cost to repair out of warranty, in this case, kicks the baby diesel to the curb.

[rjstractor]

Grit dog wrote:
I'm now surmising the results were from 2wd launches/traction control doing its thing, inconsistent data or inconsistent runs.

I think that's it, those trucks have to be traction-limited off the line. But with twice the power and twice as many gear ratios as the trucks our dads drove, the taller gears aren't going to matter much.

[blt2ski]

Id stay in the 3.42, 3.55 or 3.73 on how you drive. The 3.92 will not accelerate that much faster.

GM for what it's worth, with an Eaton kicker is the best strongest one used vs Dodge. Toyota gas an electric Eaton, iirc 4.10 gears, 10.5" r&p.they chew up fuel!

I dought you'll find one, but the GM / Dodge 3.xL diesels could be fun too. But have to admit, they are a bit shy HP of the gaz rigs. Plenty of torque.

As many have said, as have you, many ways too look at this, all are correct, ALL are wrong too!

Marty

[Grit_dog]

blt2ski wrote:
For how you drive, a 3.0-3.5 ratio would be best. The 3.9+ tatios just burn fuel on the hwy. IF you are like me, drive in the 0-50, 10-15% max at 60+ mph. Then lower gears make sense.

Marty

This will be predominately highway miles like you guessed. I'd expect slightly lower mileage bombing down the highway at 80-90mph. But by that point drag is probably more of a factor than gears with the deep OD ratio.
And a mpg here or there is not a concern for me.

[Grit_dog]

dodge guy wrote:
I have a 16 Ram 1500 Hemi with 3.21’s I don’t tow with it, but it move very well for its size!
As far as the MDS, it is very seemless. You have to really be honest in to tell when it kicks in.
FWIW right now, I just had a lifter start ticking. So I need to tear into that and hopefully the cam is still good! I’m a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram tech. So I know these things fairly well!

So not escaping lifter issues possibly. That puts a Chebbie back in the mix, lol.

Thank you all though. This is the real world info I was looking for.
I won't rule out the highway geared trucks since they seem to be almost as sprightly as the deeper gears.
Although the possibility of larger tires going on anything I buy is strong, so I'm keeping that in mind too.
Everything is a compromise of some sort, just like campers...lol.

[Grit_dog]

dodge guy wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

IdaD wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

To reiterate the question in more simple terms, how handily will a 3.92 geared Hemi blow the doors off a 3.21 geared Hemi?

Apparently...it won't.

Wow!
To say I’m surprised would be an understatement!
Thank you for that!
Can’t imagine the tires making that much difference. They must just work as good with the higher gears!

That’s because the 3.92 truck had larger diameter tires. So in the end the ratios were very close.

Running a quick gear ratio calculator, the little bump in tire size doesn't make up for the big difference in ratio. Picking top gear at 2200rpms is about 16mph difference, with the different diameters.
Plus looking at the results a little closer, the 3.92 /bigger tires pulled a bit quicker towing, which tells me it actually should be quicker empty.
I'm now surmising the results were from 2wd launches/traction control doing its thing, inconsistent data or inconsistent runs.