Sint

US: Cummins in talks about new V8 diesel
By: John Mortimer, Tuesday, December 22, 2009, AutomotiveWorld.com

Cummins Inc is in talks with the ‘new’ Chrysler Group LLC about the introduction of the engine maker’s new V8 diesel engine for light duty trucks.

Chrysler recently completed the sale of its assets to the ‘new’ Chrysler Group LLC as part of its bankruptcy filing. Following this, the engine maker’s contracts with Chrysler for the Heavy Duty Dodge Ram were assigned to Chrysler Group. As a result, Cummins continues to produce and supply the 6.7-litre Turbo Diesel for the Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 pick-ups and chassis cab trucks as before.

However, in January Chrysler noted that it was delaying introduction of the diesel light duty Ram until at least 2011. As a result, a new contract for the V8 light truck diesel was not assigned to Chrysler.

However, according to a Cummins insider, the engine maker has been "talking with Chrysler for months about changes to the programme and will continue to do so."

According to the insider, although the programme is delayed, development has "continued towards delivering a superior V8 diesel engine."

He added that with the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards the US government has laid out, clean diesel is likely to play a key role in the future for most vehicle manufacturers. The proposed legislation would see fleet averages for passenger cars rise 30% from 27.3mpg in 2011 to 35.5mpg in 2016.

By delivering approximately one-third better fuel efficiency than gasoline engines, clean diesels such as the Cummins V8 can help manufacturers meet the new CAFE regulations. Clean diesels also offer improved towing capability while using less fuel.

The Cummins V8 diesel engine is under development to meet the needs of a wide range of applications requiring a clean, compact and reliable engine that is light and powerful. Although Cummins has not discussed the detailed technology of its engine, one feature strongly rumoured is a compacted graphite iron cylinder block to combine light weight with high strength.

Published on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

patdaly

All I want for Christmas 2011 is a 4 Cyl ISB Ram 1/2 ton...........that gets 30 MPG.

Oh Santa, can you PLEASE tell Chrysler how to make something like that happen?

You can point out the cult like following of the 5 Cyl. Sprinter owners.

SlowJeep

What is the point of a V8 diesel engine? What does it do that an inline 6 can't?

Sint

I think it will be shorter and consuming less fuel.

roughstock

Remember when Detroit diesel tried the V engine idea? It gave them a bad rep. Inline will give u more power. Plus inlines are easier to work on. Only one head, one exhaust manifold etc.
IMO this is a whole new set of problems I don't need.

Sint

Wait and see for the Ford 6.7-liter so you can compare old and new tech. It´s just a few months from now.

As the old Cummins inline is at the same volume it will be a fair comparison..

patdaly

Yea, maybe you won't have to remove the cab to change an Injector.......But the fuel mileage will still be lousy and you will still have to wind the bejesus out of it to get it to move.............

Danderson

A Cummins tech I know here was invited to drive a V configured prototype Cummins diesel installed in a 1500 3rd gen truck. This was quite a few years ago. It averaged over 25 mpg and hauled tail. The only thing he disliked was the lack of easy servicability. It was as tight as the 6.4 Fords. The upcoming CAFE standards may make it happen.

SOhappy

Good info, thanks for posting.


(Note to admin, this should probably be moved to the 1500 forum)

graphitecumnz

All of you inline 4 cylinder guys just need to move along. The only way you're going to get one is to build it yourself. The V8 Cummins is already built and has been used in test trucks to compare mileage, power, driveability, etc to the Hemi powered 1500's. If a diesel powered Dodge 1500 ever makes it to market, it will NOT have a 4 cylinder ISBE.

JTCHess

It sure would be nice for RAM to be a leader in putting diesels in half tons as opposed to playing follow the leader. The contractors in some of the crap holes I have been deployed to use only foreign brand trucks since they offer diesels. They'd buy American if they offered same. Geez, even minivans and Jeeps have diesels in them, everywhere but here. Are we a bunch of dopes or what???

djcheez

does "foreign or American" really mean anything or have a distinction these days? I have a buddy with a Toyota that was built in Tennesse and my new dodge was built in Mexico. As a matter of fact, i think all HD Dodges are being built in Mexico

RamPB331

And weigh about 300 lbs less than the ISB. This engine gets better fuel economy AND kicks the 5.7 L HEMI's butt, from what I last heard. If I can find the link for that, I will post it. For 3/4 ton and up, certainly, I'll take an I6 any day of the week, don't get me wrong.

patdaly

Baloney, and if they DO NOT listen to us, we will continue to see wound to the moon Hotrod POS bombs waiting to explode.

Hey, I like a fast car or truck as much as the next guy, but for them to not address a HUGE SEGMENT of the market is insane.

Believe it or not, there exists a market for a 250 Hp, 30 plus MPG 1/2 ton truck that simply goes. The first company to figure that out, and STICK WITH IT, wins.

Dodge had that with the Sprinter, at least until they chose the V-6 path of least resistance.

RamPB331

My 09 Challenger R/T will do 5600 RPMs RELIABLY!!! Don't see your point about anything waiting to explode. Is my 5.7 Hemi a pulling motor? Well, not if your talking about pulling a 3/4 ton maxed out pickup load, no, but in roughly the same size and configuration engine, you get considerably better low end torque and fuel economy, in a half-ton configuration, and will actually outperform the Hemi where the Hemi is supposed to excel (hard acceleration) and have a similar noise level to the gas engine it replaces. Cummins has been working on this engine family for over ten years. If you read the attached info, it shows (in 2004) an engine with about the same HP as the mid-90s engine and TQ similar to the early 90s engine, with avg fuel economy that is at least 2-3 MPG better than the 2007 1500 my dad just bought with MDS HEMI.

Cummins Light Duty Diesels PPT show from around 2004