The question is how many pople would buy an ISB 4 cylinder Ram as an option? If the engine cost was half of what is being charged now, AND get mid 20s MPG? Most of us could get by with less power if geared properly. I know there had been much discusion about using a 4 cylinder bread truck engine. Granted, towing 17000 pounds up a mountain might be out of the question, but what about a towing 8000 pounds on flat land, and how many people care if the combo downshifts to say 52 mph...in other words performance to match say a small V8 with the economy of a 4 cylinder. Or another question should be asked What if there was a derated program for the ISB which would limit horsepower but give better milage at a touch of a button (from the factory) and not using a programer.

 

Not only yes, but I already own one.

I believe in my little beastie so much that I am getting ready to swap it into a newer truck, from teh trusty 79 GMC 3/4 ton to a 95 GMC 1 ton.

26 MPG out of the 79 and though not a lot of passing power, that thing would pull a house over.

Won't happen though, the marketing types have taken over, the only important thing is acceleration and number of cylinders.........

 

I would consider a dakota with an isb4... Every batman needs a robin

 

Definitely would. It would be like driving the Jetta, enough to get the job done and a little more, but probably not going to set any land speed records. Always wanted to drop a 4bt in my 93 heavy half chevy, but havent gotten around to more than just dreaming.

 

a 4 cyl 4bt in a 1/2 would be amazing.

 

it would be great, but you're living a pipe dream if you think the cost would be half of that of a 6B

unfortunately the only way to get one is going to be to build one... the 4B will never meet NVH standards, and they're not going to spend an arm and a leg updating the emissions to meet 2010 regs when they've already got V6's and V8's they've invested so much money in

 

Get a Jetta IMO. Got 47.24mpg on the last tank. Good investment for going back and fourth to work IMO.

 

A 2005/2006 VM Motori 2.8L CRD from a Jeep Liberty transplanted into a Dakota would be awesome..........I love the wife's 2005 Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4 CRD.

Greg

 

It takes a certain amount of horsepower to push a ram through the air. Mileage would not vary much based on moving the extra mass around of a 4cyl powertrain vs the current 6 cyl 6.7 or 5.9. I have gotten 26mpg on my 2006 2wd QC 5.9 6sp going just under 60mph. It makes a big difference on a NA gas engine where you need tha 14:1 air fuel and the engine is wanting to dump 5.7L of air in with every 2 revs. With the combination of a variable fuel ratio of 1:85 to 1:25 and a turbo that can vary the air anywhere from 6.7L to around 17L, there is a wide HP range where even a large 6.7L can be almost as thrifty as a 1.9L VW TDI when it comes to puting down the 35-50HP that most use to cruise down the highway. I would not be surprised if there are more choices in a few years, look at the VW polo and bora(jetta) in europe- they have(or had, it's been awhile since I followed them close) around 5 diesel engines to choose from. Some with different displacements, but mostly just turbo and pump differences. in 2000 when I had my 90hp TDI, I believe they had anywhere from a 60hp NA diesel to a 150hp 2 stage pump turbo diesel.

 

I would consider a dakota with an isb4... Every batman needs a robin
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I like this plan

 

I may be able to tell you later. I am seriously considering installing a 4bt in place of the 6bt in my 97 4wd club cab with tow body. Chek out the specs a healthy 4bt puts out near as much as the earlier 6bt engines. Lighter weight and other benefits. Are you saying that a ram is harder to push down the road than the larger bread trucks?

 

Much easier to push a ram through the air than a bread truck. Just saying that it will require about the same HP out of the 4bt as it does from the 6.7. You might get down the road with a little less power/fuel with the 4bt since it would be 5%+ lighter truck which would have slightly less rolling resistance. I just don't think the smaller engine would last as long since it would be using a higher percentage of it's available HP. With the right gearing, a 5.9 could be put into a mack truck and do the job. Some of the big trucks don't have 350hp. I guess the only negative would be longevity and less torque, kind of like a mack with a 5.9. I do think it would be great if the GCWR was 15K.

 

See we come from a different perspective. I hauled quite a few gross (at the time) loads of plastic chips between New Jersey and Connecticut in 40 foot vans, weighed right at or over the 73,280 limit. With what, a 1961 Chevy 348 gas job. A local trucking company had dozens of flat face White tractors powered by 4-53 Detroit's laid out horizontal. In the '50s there were plenty of 235 Chevy six cylinder tractors as well as Ford stub nose flathead tractors. In the early '60s a friend had an R model Mack with a quad transmission three axle tractor, powered by a 413 Chrysler engine with Mack valve covers. I personally put over 1,000,000 in an International CO4070 tag axle pulling 80,000 gross loads 48 states powered by a 238 Detroit that had less horsepower and torque than my 24 valve. Of course like everyone else I am now spoiled pulling 60,000 pound loads with 500 hp. It used to be work to climb western passes, but they got the job done, just as a small foreign diesel would pull 30,000 pound gross in a ram if you wanted.

 

I know cummins rates their ISX 5.9 for GCWR up to 50K, so I would think the 4bt could be rated for more than enough for a 3500 ram. I don't think I have used more than 200hp out of my engine for any more than 1000 miles out of the last 150K and that is only because I like to stay above 55mph no matter what hill it is. I would be happy with the 180hp 12v from my 96 dually, so I'm sure a 4cyl could do the job, I just think a larger engine would last a little longer.

 

I saw a pic. of a 4bt with twins awhile back on a site. Can't remember who built it or what it was planned to go in. I will try to dig it up