jet

Am selling my Super Duty and coming back to the Ram. Started out wanting the hemi, but listened to the new CTD yesterday and am trying to decide. How is the acceleration with auto on the CTD compared to the Hemi. I drove the Hemi but not the CTD HO. It was allot quieter though. Just don't know if I want to fess up the 5000 for the CTD. Any helpful thoughts?

drecu

if your gonna get an auto I would get the hemi cause it's got the 5 speed auto trans, but i am partial to the diesel &amp; would defanatly get the HO but if you wait till Jan. they will have the new 48RE auto, &amp; that will be at least a 5 speed. <br>For accelleration I drove the hemi &amp; all I can say is WOW! but I have not driven the Diesel yet (Tomorow) but that can all be fixed on the diesel with a box when they come out with one!! ;D ;D ;D<br><br>DRecu!

Shovelhead

How long are you planning to keep the truck?
The Hemi will probably be ready for a rebuild at 100K miles.
The Cummins will just be getting &quot;Broke-In&quot;
There are a few CTD owners with low 12 sec trucks in the 1/4 mile.
Is that fast enough acceleration?

jet

Yeah, I'm still leaning towards a 3500 Hemi SLT. I figure there will be a big aftermarket for the Hemi and another 30-40 HP won't be too hard to get. But the mileage on the CTD would be nice.

pwabbott

Shovelhead, the last two gassers I had were used in towing neither engine was ready for an overhaul or any major repairs at 150,000 miles. The secret is proper maintenance regular oil changes. Dino oil is cheap.<br><br>The Hemi can't compare to the standard Cummins engine. Hemi fuel is mid-grade 89 octane. Hemi 345 bhp @5400 rpm. How often will you run it close to that rpm. Hemi torque 375 lb-ft @ 4200 rpm. <br><br>Standard Output Cummins 250 bhp @2900 rpm, 460 lb-ft of torque @1400 rpm-2900 rpm. Torque is pulling power what you need<br><br>Best towing combo with hemi is rated for towing 11,600#<br><br>Best Combo for towing with Standard Cummins 13,800#<br><br>Because of the flat torque curve Cummins will out pull and accelerate the hemi. <br><br>The new 5 spd automatic, 45RFE has almost no advantage over a 4 spd. Here are the ratios for each gear: 1st 3.00, 2nd 1.67, 3rd 1.00, 4th 0.75, 5th 0.67.<br><br>Notice there are two overdrive ratios 0.75 and 0.67. (47RE trans ratio for 4th is 0.69) How useful are two closely spaced overdrive gears. Will they be useful in a towing situation. If 4th gear was a 0.84 it would make more sense.<br><br>I would Opt for the Standard output Cummins any day over the Hemi. The difference on invoice is $4000 and you will have a real truck, not a &quot;Soccor Mom's Town car.

wick

[quote author=drecu link=board=17;threadid=6571;start=0#61453 date=1036373602]<br>if your gonna get an auto I would get the hemi cause it's got the 5 speed auto trans, but i am partial to the diesel &amp; would defanatly get the HO but if you wait till Jan. they will have the new 48RE auto, &amp; that will be at least a 5 speed. <br>For accelleration I drove the hemi &amp; all I can say is WOW! but I have not driven the Diesel yet (Tomorow) but that can all be fixed on the diesel with a box when they come out with one!! ;D ;D ;D<br><br><br>I bought the Diesel. Spoke with the deal (good friends with new car manager) he said that the 48RE will not be available for delievery untill late 2004. I would not hold your breath, who knows if it will even come out. The new 47RE that they have stacks shifts quick. I am extremely impressed with the trans. The dealer is going to give me a Hemi when I take thr truck in for the Remote start and the alarm system gets put in. So I will let you know how that turns out.... <br>DRecu!<br>[/quote]

Hunter

Jet<br><br>Do you really believe Dodge will come out with a (cross my fingers) &quot;reliable&quot; auto?<br><br>Give us all a break, ask wanabee how he likes his new Dodge Cummins with auto<br><br>The auto is the weak link, always will b<br><br>Talked to a Duracrap owner today, he is worried about his &quot;sorta&quot; Allison, already having problems.<br><br>Seen any big rigs running down the road with Automatic trannys?<br><br>Nope, would never get our fruit, produce and BEER hauled if the boys in the big rigs had an auto.<br><br>The choice is yours, you want a truck that is reliable? or a truck that is easy? take your chances. I took mine on a 6 speed.<br><br>Just my 6 speed thoughts! <br><br>Hunter

pwabbott

Wantabee's auto is OK, the weakest link was the guy who forgot to put the synthetic GL-5 in the rear axle. No matter how tough you build them they must have lubrication. That is an eternal truth. ;D

Hunter

And, the CTD will pay for itself in mileage costs over a gas eaten monster in the long run.<br><br>Why use all that dino gas up when you can use like 1/2 as much with a CTD <br><br>Hunter

Superduty12v

Hemi service life - 150,000 miles on average
CTD service life - 500,000 miles on average

Miles Per Gallon/MPG Towing - CTD!!
Ease of service/Tune-ups (No plugs, coil packs etc) - CTD!!
Best resale value - CTD!!
CTD will pay for itself in fuel cost alone.
Diesels have a much higher torque at lower RPMs than gas engines.
As long as the engine can rotate it'll run. No ignition system.
NO EMISSIONS testing has to be done. On newer vehicles if you have even a &quot;check engine light&quot; from a lose gas cap you fail.
Towing in the mountians - CTD!! Turbo-Charged!! Air too thin to make power? Boohoo. That's what a turbo's for. Pack the cyls full of air.
In-line 6 vs. V8 - CTD!!! (6 pistons/7 main bearings - 8 pistons/5 main bearings )
Peace of mind owning a REAL truck. - CTD!!
Bragging about your 400hp and 20mpg truck - CTD!!
Being able to laugh at other gas power trucks and take sides with the truck drivers in a fight - CTD!!!

I think I made my point. 8)

phox_mulder

[quote author=Superduty12v link=board=17;threadid=6571;start=0#63824 date=1036736183]<br>As long as the engine can rotate it'll run. No ignition system.<br>[/quote]<br><br>True in the undervalved engines :<br>Not so true with the 24v'ers.<br>Still, no ignition system, but pump is controlled by the computer, if the computer fails, the truck won't run.<br><br>Still, go with the CTD.<br><br>phox

Lone Star Ram

I would really like to know where some of you guys get the &quot;life expectancy&quot; mileage for a gasser. It boggles me. ??? ??? I'm just currious how far down the AET (A**L EXTRACTION TABLE) y'all had to go to come up with these numbers. ;D ;D Lots of gassers go several hundred thousand miles before a new engine. Yes they have to be well taken care of, but so does a CTD to go that many miles. Any way to answer the original question:<br><br>1) Do you like to hear rubber squeal each time you leave a red light? - Get a Hemi<br>2) If you really don't care about the above but want lots-a-torque for towing - Get a CTD<br>3) What can your wallet afford?<br>4) How many miles do you plan to drive this truck before trade? - work the mileage numbers.<br><br>The hemi is nice. I was very impressed with it off the line. Even broke rubber (a slight chirp) between 1st and 2nd and the 2nd and 3rd shift in an auto.

Superduty12v

Also, the CTD makes more HP for the $$$ when upgrading. The CTD is much easier on the wallet to get the horsepower. And &quot;on average&quot; most gas engines used for towing out pretty quick. Gas engines don't last a great deal over 150,000 miles when used to tow with. They last longer if it's just a driver... but not otherwise...&quot;most of the time&quot;

dealseeker

I drove the S/O CTD and the Hemi, both automatic, one after the other in 2500 QuadCab 4x4s. I did a lot of number crunching and kept in mind that I'd be towing a 7000lb travel trailer some of the time. Still, I was expecting the fun factor of the Hemi might be enough to sway me away from the extra $6000(cdn) for the CTD. Not a chance! The diesel was actually more fun and more useful. The Hemi's power comes at such high rpm it is just not as usable as that even low end grunt of the diesel.

jet

Thanks for all the input guys. Good stuff to think about. Anyone got firm news on when the auto for the HO CTD will be out. I heard beginning of 03. Really don't want a manual, I'd like to stand it, but can't. Been there, did that for 8 years.<br><br>jet