2020 Limited...first ram truck two I hope simple questions

[supercanadian]

Hello my potential new group of online resources! I currently have a 2018 f150 and have been looking at at 2019 f150 limited. anyway through discussion with a co-worker I went and looked at a 2020 Ram Limited black edition. Have to admit that the Ram crushes the ford for interior looks so I am a coin flip away from choosing my new truck.

My two questions are I hope simple.
1. as an audio guy I aways like to add aftermarket amplifiers for more bass with subboxes under the rear seats. can I add a bass amp to a 5.7 hemi with etorque? I don't need the instructions but is it something that is possible with the etorque system? I read somewhere no alternator so was curious if an amp might drain or causes issues on the system.

2. So i took the ram for a test drive and it felt pretty sluggish compared to my current ecoboost. I am not a big mechanical type person so a few people on the ford forum which i post on often said I should try a different gear ratio. I test drove a 3.21, would a 3.92 be noticeably faster in town, start stop at lights? I do not own a trailer and have never towed so towing is not a concern. and to be honest neither is fuel economy. I don't do any engine tune stuff and never would but a different gear ratio help with the off the line type acceleration? I am not a lead foot but I do like to give it some juice at times to get ahead of traffic.


If your curious on why i am upgrading my 2018, its for a higher end trim level. the 2018 xlt i bought was just to see if I liked having a truck from my past use of suv's.

 

[Edwards]

Hello my potential new group of online resources! I currently have a 2018 f150 and have been looking at at 2019 f150 limited. anyway through discussion with a co-worker I went and looked at a 2020 Ram Limited black edition. Have to admit that the Ram crushes the ford for interior looks so I am a coin flip away from choosing my new truck.

My two questions are I hope simple.
1. as an audio guy I aways like to add aftermarket amplifiers for more bass with subboxes under the rear seats. can I add a bass amp to a 5.7 hemi with etorque? I don't need the instructions but is it something that is possible with the etorque system? I read somewhere no alternator so was curious if an amp might drain or causes issues on the system.

2. So i took the ram for a test drive and it felt pretty sluggish compared to my current ecoboost. I am not a big mechanical type person so a few people on the ford forum which i post on often said I should try a different gear ratio. I test drove a 3.21, would a 3.92 be noticeably faster in town, start stop at lights? I do not own a trailer and have never towed so towing is not a concern. and to be honest neither is fuel economy. I don't do any engine tune stuff and never would but a different gear ratio help with the off the line type acceleration? I am not a lead foot but I do like to give it some juice at times to get ahead of traffic.


If your curious on why i am upgrading my 2018, its for a higher end trim level. the 2018 xlt i bought was just to see if I liked having a truck from my past use of suv's.

1. ETorque doesn't have an alternator but instead has a motor/generator. Does exactly what an alternator does but can also be used as a motor. That's what restarts your engine and is used for regenerative braking. You have no audio upgrade concerns with it. There are several threads here with extensive upgrades detailed so lots of info.
2. Yes, the 3.92 will be noticeably snappier and you can also get a Pedal Commander or similar to eliminate the throttle lag and increase throttle input. Not too expensive but make another noticeable difference. Many with it and the 3.92 have to be gentle to not regularly spin the tires.

 

[PorBoy]

Yes you’ll be just fine audio wise, you won’t be fine mod wise as we easily convince you to spend some major coin lol.

 

[KcRay]

Hello my potential new group of online resources! I currently have a 2018 f150 and have been looking at at 2019 f150 limited. anyway through discussion with a co-worker I went and looked at a 2020 Ram Limited black edition. Have to admit that the Ram crushes the ford for interior looks so I am a coin flip away from choosing my new truck.

My two questions are I hope simple.
1. as an audio guy I aways like to add aftermarket amplifiers for more bass with subboxes under the rear seats. can I add a bass amp to a 5.7 hemi with etorque? I don't need the instructions but is it something that is possible with the etorque system? I read somewhere no alternator so was curious if an amp might drain or causes issues on the system.

2. So i took the ram for a test drive and it felt pretty sluggish compared to my current ecoboost. I am not a big mechanical type person so a few people on the ford forum which i post on often said I should try a different gear ratio. I test drove a 3.21, would a 3.92 be noticeably faster in town, start stop at lights? I do not own a trailer and have never towed so towing is not a concern. and to be honest neither is fuel economy. I don't do any engine tune stuff and never would but a different gear ratio help with the off the line type acceleration? I am not a lead foot but I do like to give it some juice at times to get ahead of traffic.


If your curious on why i am upgrading my 2018, its for a higher end trim level. the 2018 xlt i bought was just to see if I liked having a truck from my past use of suv's.

Look at the "Pedal Commander" for getting off the line better. This thing opened up the power that is already in these trucks, and made it feel so much better. Very happy with this upgrade!

 

[supercanadian]

Thank you everyone for the responses. another odd question. I have a foxbox (Fox Accoustic ) subwoofer box in my f150. he has a box for a 5th generation ram on this site. Is the floor layout the same for an etorque vs non etorque truck? curious if the sub box will fit.

I am going to test drive a truck with 3.92 this week to compare.

 

[StuartV]

2. So i took the ram for a test drive and it felt pretty sluggish compared to my current ecoboost. I am not a big mechanical type person so a few people on the ford forum which i post on often said I should try a different gear ratio. I test drove a 3.21, would a 3.92 be noticeably faster in town, start stop at lights? I do not own a trailer and have never towed so towing is not a concern. and to be honest neither is fuel economy. I don't do any engine tune stuff and never would but a different gear ratio help with the off the line type acceleration? I am not a lead foot but I do like to give it some juice at times to get ahead of traffic.

No. If you're not towing, takeoff is going to feel the same between a 3.21 and a 3.92.

Even with the 3.21, it has more than enough torque to spin the tires. So, your takeoff is limited by tire traction, not torque or gearing.

If you're towing, the weight on the back of the truck will give you more traction and then you'll potentially be able to tell a difference.

Bottom line: Ford has RAM beat when it comes to the motor. RAM wins in pretty much everything else. I'm saying this having just spent 3 weeks driving an F150 XLT rental, with a 5.0 V8. Even that drove a bit nicer than my Hemi (w/eTorque) and I also got 2 - 3 MPG better fuel economy than I am getting with my Hemi. I would LOVE it if I could have bought my RAM with the Ford Raptor motor in it. It may not sound like a V8, but I'll take actual performance over sound any day of the week.

 

[supercanadian]

Thanks again everyone! i see quite a few opinons on whether 3.21 or 3.92 gears are quicker off the line. i think the pedal commander tool looks cool! pretty cheap as well. anyone install one on a 2020 yet? anyone know if pedal defender voids a warranty?

 

[d19r93]

I have the 3.92 and I really didn't notice much between the 3.21 that I had as a rental and mine. I will say that it tows A LOT better. Less downshifts, and more torque speeding up on the highway.

 

[StuartV]

I have the 3.92 and I really didn't notice much between the 3.21 that I had as a rental and mine. I will say that it tows A LOT better. Less downshifts, and more torque speeding up on the highway.

Exactly. That is the tradeoff with the 3.92. It is better for towing. At elevated highway speeds (like 70+), it really needs another gear (or two) to upshift to for normal driving. But, it doesn't have them, so it's already turning 2000+ RPMs at those speeds. Which works well for towing, as it saves downshifting when you want to speed up or go up a hill. And it gives better takeoff power from a stop (when towing). It just sucks for fuel economy when you are NOT towing.