5thGenRams Forums

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Looking for advice on two options - sunroof and e-Torque

habu987

Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All
Joined
Apr 27, 2018
Messages
556
Reaction score
459
I have a Longhorn with the sunroof. I rarely open it (I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've opened it in the last 10 months), but the added light is fantastic.

My last vehicle, a sedan, had a pano roof and I loved the added light. Unless it is wrapped up in some sort of gonzo extra cost option package, I can't see myself getting another vehicle in the future that doesn't have a pano roof.
 

Scott6069

Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
Man I live in Texas too, I had a panoramic on my previous truck and it was just too hot to use it most of the time. Does the tint help that much?

I had the sunroof tinted with 80% ceramic tint. It does make a big difference but let’s face it, if the truck sits in the sun for hours it’s still going to get hot. Biggest difference is when driving, very little heat and light get in.
 

RammyShand

Active Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
44
Reaction score
20
I have a loaded Rebel I custom ordered in April 2018. I had every possible option available at that time except etorque, ram box, and engine block heater. I would choose the moonroof over the etorque as it only makes sense if you are in stop and go traffic a lot. (Also some reliability issues) The most important option really is the big 33 gallon tank in my view. In the winter the moonroof lets in more light on dreary days. Highway driving can get you 500 plus miles to a tank. second pic is in entry exit mode of air suspension. kinda looks sinister! Etorque trucks sometimes have dinky tanks if no option ordered. View attachment 35701 View attachment 35702
Damn, damn, and damn that's nice!
 

VaderRebel

Ram Guru
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
1,655
Reaction score
1,602
Location
Canada
Pano sunroof all the way. I don't believe in stop/go tech. Try turning a lightbulb on and off constantly for a while... it burns out much faster. What do you think happens to the starter and engine. The most wear you'll put on an engine is starting it.

Sunroof... more vitamin D from the sun please! Pano roof worth every penny.
 

Ellisstrong

Spends too much time on here
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
2,075
Reaction score
1,165
Location
Atlanta Ga area
Pano sunroof all the way. I don't believe in stop/go tech. Try turning a lightbulb on and off constantly for a while... it burns out much faster. What do you think happens to the starter and engine. The most wear you'll put on an engine is starting it.

Sunroof... more vitamin D from the sun please! Pano roof worth every penny.
Etorque doesn’t have a starter
 

Fidomac

Active Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2018
Messages
183
Reaction score
42
I've done lots of searching on the forum and haven't gotten a clear answer on two choices that my wife (and I) are trying to decide about.

We are shopping for a Rebel 12. We have found two that meet all of her required criteria. However, one offers a sunroof and the other e-Torque. For all of you that have shopped, driven, and purchased a Rebel would you choose one of these over the other? Or would you prefer to have neither of them (exploding sunroof/unknown nature of this e-Torque engine, etc)?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
etorque will give you about a mile better mileage ..... If you live in a hot climate the sunroof is a liability and you have to keep the Shade closed most of the time so what's the point?
 

klail

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2019
Messages
269
Reaction score
187
Location
Meridian, ID
Sun roof: Yes
E-torque: No
I don’t use the sunroof a huge amount but my rear passengers love it. The back of trucks can be quite claustrophobic and the glass ceiling really opens it up
 

Ellisstrong

Spends too much time on here
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
2,075
Reaction score
1,165
Location
Atlanta Ga area
Sun roof: Yes
E-torque: No
I don’t use the sunroof a huge amount but my rear passengers love it. The back of trucks can be quite claustrophobic and the glass ceiling really opens it up
You must not have ever sat in the back of your truck if you think it can get claustrophobic back there even without the pano roof! Lol
 

Str8Cracker

Active Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2018
Messages
72
Reaction score
33
I would say it depends on whether you will use the sunroof. For me, I will never buy a vehicle without a sunroof. Aside from winter and rain, mine is open most every time I drive the truck. To be honest, e-torque does nothing for me and would take a long time for any fuel savings to catch up to the cost of the option. Any failures after warranty would make that situation even worse.
 

Str8Cracker

Active Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2018
Messages
72
Reaction score
33
I would say it depends on whether you will use the sunroof. For me, I will never buy a vehicle without a sunroof. Aside from winter and rain, mine is open most every time I drive the truck. To be honest, e-torque does nothing for me and would take a long time for any fuel savings to catch up to the cost of the option. Any failures after warranty would make that situation even worse. I would even try to avoid buying a truck with e-torque.
 

VaderRebel

Ram Guru
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
1,655
Reaction score
1,602
Location
Canada
Etorque doesn’t use the starter
That's a valid point (I corrected it for you) but it still doesn't change the fact that the oil pump is off and the constant start/stop will have some effect on engine longevity. What that impact is... to be determined I guess.
 

SpeedyV

Ram Connoisseur
Staff member
Site Supporter
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
5,102
Reaction score
4,773
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
That's a valid point (I corrected it for you) but it still doesn't change the fact that the oil pump is off and the constant start/stop will have some effect on engine longevity. What that impact is... to be determined I guess.
If anything, this is a good justification for running a high-quality synthetic oil.
 

MQQSE

Active Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2019
Messages
55
Reaction score
59
I've done lots of searching on the forum and haven't gotten a clear answer on two choices that my wife (and I) are trying to decide about.

We are shopping for a Rebel 12. We have found two that meet all of her required criteria. However, one offers a sunroof and the other e-Torque. For all of you that have shopped, driven, and purchased a Rebel would you choose one of these over the other? Or would you prefer to have neither of them (exploding sunroof/unknown nature of this e-Torque engine, etc)?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
First off, you're going to love either truck you choose, they are AWESOME! Having said that, do not get Etorque - it is a total waste of money and it will cost you in maintenance costs down the road. The battery alone is going to be expensive and if the electric motor goes out, wow. Anyway, this system does absolutely nothing for the truck. It's an expensive stop start system, instead of your starter making the engine start, it's the belt that does the work. And yes, there are some engineers that say it provides a boost to get going but that's so minimal it does not make a difference. Do not get ETorque no matter what truck you decide on. On the other hand, these sun roofs are amazing and fun as heck. I have one and I never used to use sun roofs before, even though I had them, but these are different in where almost the entire roof provides light, and it opens with a wind defuser. You want it shut and block the sun, no problem, simply hit the button to close the panel and it's like the sunroof was never there in the first place. The only issues with leakage were the early models where the drain tubes were not connected all the way from the factory and now there is an easy way to check for that and make sure they were connected properly. They don't leak any other way, it was just these tubes not getting pulled through. I'm an engineer and I look at everything to see where failure can/will occur. When I examined the sun roof for any other way to leak, there just isn't any. It's a very nice system and these roofs I found are used on Jeep Cherokees for years with no issues. Short answer, stay away from Etorque and go with sunroof no matter what you decide. Oh, and by the way, if you can get your hands on a 2019 Limited, there is no stop start button or stop start system at all. I believe all other models have the "A" button for start stop. I hate start stop crap it sucks.
 

maddog49

Active Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
142
Reaction score
81
Sunroof is great. We use ours all the time and even during the winter the extra light is nice. It's a luxury but the new one is very impressive.

As for etorque definitely not. No real gain in the real world and more things to go wrong. It's a epa cafe thing they are trying to go against. Not worth it with a 10 year payback and all the other issues it could have.
 

SpeedyV

Ram Connoisseur
Staff member
Site Supporter
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
5,102
Reaction score
4,773
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
First off, you're going to love either truck you choose, they are AWESOME! Having said that, do not get Etorque - it is a total waste of money and it will cost you in maintenance costs down the road. The battery alone is going to be expensive and if the electric motor goes out, wow. Anyway, this system does absolutely nothing for the truck. It's an expensive stop start system, instead of your starter making the engine start, it's the belt that does the work. And yes, there are some engineers that say it provides a boost to get going but that's so minimal it does not make a difference. Do not get ETorque no matter what truck you decide on. On the other hand, these sun roofs are amazing and fun as heck. I have one and I never used to use sun roofs before, even though I had them, but these are different in where almost the entire roof provides light, and it opens with a wind defuser. You want it shut and block the sun, no problem, simply hit the button to close the panel and it's like the sunroof was never there in the first place. The only issues with leakage were the early models where the drain tubes were not connected all the way from the factory and now there is an easy way to check for that and make sure they were connected properly. They don't leak any other way, it was just these tubes not getting pulled through. I'm an engineer and I look at everything to see where failure can/will occur. When I examined the sun roof for any other way to leak, there just isn't any. It's a very nice system and these roofs I found are used on Jeep Cherokees for years with no issues. Short answer, stay away from Etorque and go with sunroof no matter what you decide. Oh, and by the way, if you can get your hands on a 2019 Limited, there is no stop start button or stop start system at all. I believe all other models have the "A" button for start stop. I hate start stop crap it sucks.
Do you even have eTorque? Some of us have (and love) the system, and it’s covered by the 8/80 emissions warranty, too. And yes, all models equipped with eTorque (including 2029 Limiteds) have the ability to disable start/stop.
 

LeatherDog

Active Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
44
Reaction score
18
I have both in my Big Horn. I WOULD GET NEITHER. The E-Torque was a $2,645 option, and I will never, and I mean never see that savings in gas, and there's no telling how much replacement costs will be. The Sunroof is great, BUT, I never open it, NEVER. Yes, it lets in more light, but in Arizona, it can make your interior get really hot really quick when it's 105+ degrees. Also, if you have a Laramie or higher with leather, you will burn your behind off! I would say, save that money, and put it in options you will use, like the stereo, or larger gas tank, etc.

Stay away from E-Torque, and think long and hard on the sunroof.
 

Ellisstrong

Spends too much time on here
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
2,075
Reaction score
1,165
Location
Atlanta Ga area
I have both in my Big Horn. I WOULD GET NEITHER. The E-Torque was a $2,645 option, and I will never, and I mean never see that savings in gas, and there's no telling how much replacement costs will be. The Sunroof is great, BUT, I never open it, NEVER. Yes, it lets in more light, but in Arizona, it can make your interior get really hot really quick when it's 105+ degrees. Also, if you have a Laramie or higher with leather, you will burn your behind off! I would say, save that money, and put it in options you will use, like the stereo, or larger gas tank, etc.

Stay away from E-Torque, and think long and hard on the sunroof.
I thought the etorque was only like 700 dollars more than the hemi...
 

airgas1998

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Messages
266
Reaction score
124
Location
Iowa
First off, you're going to love either truck you choose, they are AWESOME! Having said that, do not get Etorque - it is a total waste of money and it will cost you in maintenance costs down the road. The battery alone is going to be expensive and if the electric motor goes out, wow. Anyway, this system does absolutely nothing for the truck. It's an expensive stop start system, instead of your starter making the engine start, it's the belt that does the work. And yes, there are some engineers that say it provides a boost to get going but that's so minimal it does not make a difference. Do not get ETorque no matter what truck you decide on. On the other hand, these sun roofs are amazing and fun as heck. I have one and I never used to use sun roofs before, even though I had them, but these are different in where almost the entire roof provides light, and it opens with a wind defuser. You want it shut and block the sun, no problem, simply hit the button to close the panel and it's like the sunroof was never there in the first place. The only issues with leakage were the early models where the drain tubes were not connected all the way from the factory and now there is an easy way to check for that and make sure they were connected properly. They don't leak any other way, it was just these tubes not getting pulled through. I'm an engineer and I look at everything to see where failure can/will occur. When I examined the sun roof for any other way to leak, there just isn't any. It's a very nice system and these roofs I found are used on Jeep Cherokees for years with no issues. Short answer, stay away from Etorque and go with sunroof no matter what you decide. Oh, and by the way, if you can get your hands on a 2019 Limited, there is no stop start button or stop start system at all. I believe all other models have the "A" button for start stop. I hate start stop crap it sucks.
and yet now with the 2020's if you get the limited you have no choice but to get the e-torque crap...you are sol...so glad I have my limited 19'
 

J-Cooz

Ram Guru
Joined
Jun 28, 2019
Messages
960
Reaction score
730
Fully loaded limited with etorque and moon roof. I love both. If I had to choose I'd take the roof over the etorque. The only problem I find with the sunroof in the ram is it's not tinted enough and gets warm. I'm going to get mine tinted to help with this. My Jeep SRT was much darker and I never noticed it.

The etorque I didn't originally want or care about but my truck came with it. I've had a few situations in city traffic with the windows down and sunroof open where I'll come to a stop and it stays off for 3-4 minutes. Its kind of cool and it's very seamless. My girlfriends Cherokee has stop start and it's annoying as hell. With the etorque passengers don't even notice. I had to tell my friend the truck was off and just started up again.
 

ramhead

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 2, 2019
Messages
315
Reaction score
256
Pano sunroof all the way. I don't believe in stop/go tech. Try turning a lightbulb on and off constantly for a while... it burns out much faster. What do you think happens to the starter and engine. The most wear you'll put on an engine is starting it.

Sunroof... more vitamin D from the sun please! Pano roof worth every penny.

And possible increased risk of skin cancer.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top