Chevy, Ram, or wait?

Fly out to AZ my man. One way ticket on southwest airlines. Drive her back.

 

I was under the impression that their trans were built by Mitsubishi? The new 8 Speeds were designed by ZF which is European. (I could be wrong)

 

Limited's in Canada are pushing $60K. Everything is more expensive up here.

 

The Heavy Duty 3500 (1 ton) has an option to select an Aisin transmission. I think that the Aisin is standard for the 4500 and 5500.

The 2500s (and the standard option for the 3500) standard auto trans is the 68RFE, which I believe is a Chrysler built thing. Ram HD trucks also offer the G56 manual transmission.

 

Depends on year and model.

 

I do wish we had a choice of manual tranny but our Aisin auto is pretty good but a bit outdated. I'd like to see an updated version when the full blown next gen comes out.

 

I really wish we could get a manual transmission as well. I would "maybe" be all over that. Depends on how much the manufacturer interfered with the fuel map. I almost got a Ram with the G56 - and then I test drove one. They do so much to the fuel map on that it makes it extremely strange to drive. Excessive dead pedal, power gets taken away sometimes when it seems like you need it most. I didn't like it at all. I would only consider one if I could strip all of that factory tuning out.

 

The Ram 1500 transmission is a German ZF licensed transmission; besides the software it is the same you'll find in high end German cars. The transmission "horror stories" everybody refers to stem from the old Chrysler units which is a thing of the past, just like rusted out Tundra frames are a thing of the past. And I really don't believe that there are many axle failures in a Ram 2500/3500' they use Dana 70 and 80 axles. Doesn't get much tougher than that.

I also highly doubt that a F-150 with a 3.5TT feels week because it is "missing 2 cylinders", it will walk away from a Tundra pretty easily.

I am not a fanboy of any brand, I had them all besides GM, just being realistic and honest.

 

Thanks, Hans!

 

Hopefully we get the current 8 speed

 

You are right Ben.My comment was not helpful but I just couldn't resist.I apologize.I do wish you good luck with your decision though.

 

I real good indicator is on the big three forums. Where rumor can become fact. The Ford and RAM forums are full of serious issue complaints and whining. The GM forums seem to be a lot like ours. Mostly minor stuff and good vibes usually.

 

Talk to any ecoboost owner and they will openly admit that the eco gets nowhere near the advertised mpg.

 

I have owned several ecoboost (all 4 wheel drive) and the new raptor with the ecoboost. Mixed driving the first couple averaged 14.5-15. The Raptor averaged 16-16.5. I traded in the Raptor for an 18 Tundra. The Raptor was cutting out/backfiring.

For what it is worth, the wife had a 13 Eco Explorer Sport. Drove it like a Granny. It blew up in the Lexus dealership parking lot as I was trying to limp it in and trade it. Lost 3 of the 6 cylinders--was smoking like a mosquito truck. It had 33,330 miles on it. Traded it in and the next day got rid of the POS Raptor for the Tundra.

 

I had a 15 3.5 ecoboost. The powertrain was fine however the mpg were way off as the ford computer miscalculates the gallons used. Hand calculated mpg was 15.5 - 17 mpg during mixed driving. It was in the shop often for all kinds of issues unrelated to powertrain so I traded it in at 35,500 miles on a tundra. Yes the tundra lacks on the tech but so far my tundra has been in my driveway and not at the service center.

 

What about the 2019 GMC Sierra AT4? I would steer clear of the Ram. I have never been in a Dodge product that wasn't absolutely terrible reliability and feel wise.

 

I would NOT call the rotary tranny shifter an upgrade. Does it have sport mode? Would not seem right on a knob.

 

Some not all. The F150 fan club on the Texas Fishing Forum will swear they get 20+. When the daughter totaled her Escape she said she would be OK with another one. I heard the 4 banger Eco Bursts had lots of problem so I said first we are looking at Rav4s and second Rogues. We ended up with Rav4 Limited. I saw an Escape advertised yesterday that only had 24k on ODO. Price was $11k and probably could have knocked off some. Talk about shitty resale value.

 

I agree. Actually, a lot of these techno wiz things crack me up, and I laugh a little on the inside when people whine about not having them.

"Oh man, I really hate having to turn a key to start my car". Ok George Jetson, I realize that your thumb muscles might get a cramp - maybe you should go hit the gym from time to time.

"My truck doesn't have safety trailer backup assist". Learn how to tow a trailer. If you can't back up a trailer on your own, you shouldn't have one strapped to your truck.

"The little snowflake doesn't show up on my dash showing me that it might be icy". (I seriously have heard this complaint). Ummm.....you shouldn't be behind the wheel of a vehicle at all. Use that processor that sits on top of your shoulders, check the weather conditions (and maybe the temp readout on the dash) and adjust your driving accordingly.

 

My 2018 BMW X3 M40i has the ZF 8 speed and it’s awsome. In Sport mode, or Sport plus, very quick solid shifts; would think it’s a dual clutch if you didn’t know better.

 

Lol! Well said!!
“My other windows don’t have auto up or down!”

It’s so hard to hold a bouton down or up for 5 seconds

 

Right? I grew up with windows you had to actually roll up with a crank. People would freak out if they had to do that these days. I could see rotator cuff complaints all over the place!

 

Exactly! Like 4 months ago my dad bought his first Toyota with power windows!

 

The only time push button start would be beneficial to me is when I forget to take my keys out of my pocket the vehicle. Of course I normally lock it so I have keys in hand. Sometimes having the ring illuminated would help but I normally insert my key before the dome light go out. I have no use for trailer assist. The snowflake is the most ridiculous one. It popped up on my Tacoma mirrors at 38 degrees. Come on the road surface is not going to even freeze at 32.

 

HEY!!!!

I like my auto up feature. . .

 

Lol. I’m sure it’s a nice feature!
I’m just saying it’s not a necessity for me and something I would complain about the truck if it don’t have it.

 

When I was searching for a full size truck the extra features like rear locker and color matched front end on GMs almost swayed me but then I came to my senses. Since I have written off Ford due a bad experience and would never buy a Dodge. Choice was down to 3. "Dan the Man" at Nissan just kept telling me to come to the dealership instead of answering ?s via email so I wrote them off and it was down to 2. Local Chevy dealer would not match price from across town. In the end I made the right choice which was the one i was leaning towards anyway.

 

I'd at least go drive the two. Who knows, you might like them. Can't really go wrong with any of them.

 

Cant you add auto roll down window if you wanted to for the passenger side window? Plus a nice head unit pretty much there, or I am not thinking about extra items that those trucks have

 

I've got news for you: if you live in a cold climate with lots of road salt, any truck will be notorious for rust. I've seen 4runners with less than 7 years on the clock develop significant amounts of rust on the undercarriage....its just the nature of the beast.

The gassers do. The Cummins-equipped Rams, both the 5.9l's and the newer 6.7l's hold their value quite well. The only exceptions would be those high-trim Laramie's, which were arguably overpriced to begin with.