eTorque vs. Hemi

[theblet]

Test drove an etorque ram before I bought mine. It was the best start stop solution I’ve ever experienced. But when I looked up the replacement price for the etorque generator and the battery pack, decided against it.

 

[Ben1500GT]

I’ve been debating this more after I ordered mine but too late now as the truck just arrived at the dealer. (With etorque)

I kind of ordered blindly in regards to etorque. I saw it was a free option, better torque at the low end, and better gas mileage, so sure! I also saw it’s the only option on the G/T package so figured there had to be some thought into that, that maybe it “feels” a bit faster.

I’m not a fan of auto start stop, but ram does it best in class for sure. I’ll probably still turn mine off though.


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[Mad Cow]

I don’t want to come off as being rude, but I’ve never understood the “It’ll cost too much to fix if it breaks” argument. If that’s the metric in buying a truck, why not just get a stripped Tradesman? Those superchargers on the TRX are going to be a metric ton of cash to replace, as are all the 12” screens that many are selecting.

 

[theblet]

I don’t want to come off as being rude, but I’ve never understood the “It’ll cost too much to fix if it breaks” argument. If that’s the metric in buying a truck, why not just get a stripped Tradesman? Those superchargers on the TRX are going to be a metric ton of cash to replace, as are all the 12” screens that many are selecting.

Because I have all the comfort and tech features i wanted, minus etorque. Wouldn’t get that in a tradesman

 

[wallyuwl]

I couldn't find a truck without it at a price I wanted. It was about $1000 difference going with a different dealer to get the no eT. Looking back I should have gotten the other truck. While I have no problems with the eT, I don't like how it has an engine braking feel when slowing down. But I do actually like the implementation of start/stop and the smooth shifting is great (the non eT shifting is still very good). This is the best and most trouble free new vehicle I have owned, but might get a 2024 non eT in a few years.

 

[asgadf/lkjnadsfg]

I don’t want to come off as being rude, but I’ve never understood the “It’ll cost too much to fix if it breaks” argument. If that’s the metric in buying a truck, why not just get a stripped Tradesman?

The argument isn't "it'll cost too much to fix", it's "fixing it will cost more than any benefit I received from it." Those are very different statements.

It adds unnecessary complexity in an attempt to deliver what at best will be a very marginal benefit, and one which will likely be entirely reversed when a breakage occurs; leaving you worse off than if you never had it to begin with. That is my concern with the e-torque.

The main advertised function of the e-torque is to save gas money, and if the cost of repairing thing that does it costs more than the fuel saved then you are actually worse off for having it on your truck. That's the logical basis for the statement.

Your supercharger example isn't a valid analogy. A supercharger is a performance component that adds fun and power that you can literally feel and hear every time you touch the gas. It's the main reason you're buying the TRX...for the power. It's about fun, whereas the e-torque is about frugality. That is not an apples to apples comparison. You will never be worse off for having the supercharger on a TRX because it provides the massive performance increase that was the reason for purchasing the truck.

Furthermore, it's not as you mentioned "the metric for buying a truck", it is "one of the many metrics" a person would consider. More pointedly, it's a metric for deciding if you want to add a very specific component to your truck, and a component that comes with some fairly optimistic assumptions from the manufacturer, some of which I might disagree with.

 

[Nova90]

Didn't seem worth it to me for a 1-2 mpg increase. E-torque was also more expensive than the regular Hemi when I ordered mine. It was an easy decision.

 

[Lufty]

No E-torque here. MDS is bad enough but MDS plus auto stop/start would be even worse, especially for some with an aftermarket exhaust.

 

[Condor757]

Non e torque, just luck of the draw I guess… when I saw my truck pop up for sale in Oct 2019 it had exactly everything I wanted so I jumped on it. That being said, had I known about etorque I’m pretty sure I’d have been shopping for one without it… I just wanted a straight old school Hemi 5.7, that’s just me.

 

[mmcbeat]

I did not want ESS, just a traditional V8, or as close as I could get. I would prefer that my engine run on all 8 cylinders all the time. I would prefer not to have the ECO mode but it wasn’t an option.

 

[silver billet]

It cost money when I bought mine, my truck is already super smooth when shifting so don't know how it can get any smoother to be honest, and I don't want start stop.

It's not going to save gas when you're driving it, just when you're sitting still; being mostly rural I'd see literally 0 benefit and only potential problems.

I would not turn down a truck if it came with it and everything else was perfect, but I had the opportunity to factory order my truck so I left it out, with 0 regrets.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Another one of THESE threads I see

I like it. People saying it's yet another potential costly fix down the road are also getting 12 inch screens and 360 surround view cameras and such. I don't think that's a good argument. There's a hundred different complicated technology-based components on the truck, what's one more? I'm betting this system will have less problems than the engine itself.

That being said, I certainly would not have paid the ~$1500 they were asking for it when it first came out, but for free, I didn't see a good reason not to take it (for me).

 

[AngelPhoenix]

I did not want ESS, just a traditional V8, or as close as I could get. I would prefer that my engine run on all 8 cylinders all the time. I would prefer not to have the ECO mode but it wasn’t an option.

Tow/Haul mode turns off MDS. My truck never goes into ECO when that's on.

 

[silver billet]

I like it. People saying it's yet another potential costly fix down the road are also getting 12 inch screens and 360 surround view cameras and such.

Not me. Level 2 bighorn. Well equipped, but no real wizz bang stuff. You get standard cruise, 8 inch screen, heated seats/wheels, but no fancy cruise/screens/lane keep assist/turning headlights/rain sensing wipers etc.

Also keep in mind you can live without your headlights swiveling, or if your 12 inch screen goes down. But if your etorque goes down in the middle of the mountains pulling an rv, well it can ruin your day pretty fast.

But I do think the etorque is pretty stable at this point, no real issues with it.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Not me. Level 2 bighorn. Well equipped, but no real wizz bang stuff. You get standard cruise, 8 inch screen, heated seats/wheels, but no fancy cruise/screens/lane keep assist/turning headlights/rain sensing wipers etc.

Also keep in mind you can live without your headlights swiveling, or if your 12 inch screen goes down. But if your etorque goes down in the middle of the mountains pulling an rv, well it can ruin your day pretty fast.

But I do think the etorque is pretty stable at this point, no real issues with it.

Good points. Though I'm pretty sure there's ways the eTorque can fail that don't like disable your ability to drive the truck, and those are more likely than, idk, the belt snapping, which could happen to any system. Definitely one of those things that, even if it was free when it first came out I probably would have skipped it, just cause the whole early adopter/human beta tester thing lol.

 

[Mad Cow]

Doesn't the eTorque system replace the starter, alternator and traditional 12 volt battery? Three components that traditionally have a fairly high failure rate. What issues has the system had since it came out? Is it buggy or has it had issues in the three years since it's been out?

 

[NorthStar]

I disagree with this statement

SpeedyV is correct.

There are far more issues with leaking rear windows and leaking CHMSL than eTorque.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Doesn't the eTorque system replace the starter, alternator and traditional 12 volt battery? Three things that traditionally have a fairly high failure rate. What issues has the system had since it came out? Is it buggy or has it had issues in the three years since it's been out?

Off the top of my head, it definitely replaces the alternator, but I do not believe it replaces the starter (it takes over for it most times, but it's still there). It definitely doesn't replace the standard 12v batt, it actually helps charge it as part of it's normal operation.

As with anything made by us goofy humans, it's had some issues but is actually really solid overall. Usually the 3-4 year mark is where most issues have come up and in turn been dealt with, which is where we're at with eTorque.

 

[mikeru82]

I have it but didn't want it. Like others, I just couldn't find a truck that otherwise had everything I wanted that didn't also have etorque. So I just added the autostop eliminator and pretty much forget about etorque being there.

 

[Ros]

The truck I wanted was a Bighorn Level 2 which to me had the right balance of convenience tech vs. stuff I really didn't want or need that would have added even more complexity/potential costly repairs down the line. I've been driving almost 40 years without lane assist, blind spot monitoring, huge screens, LED lights, hybrid stuff, etc. Also, while I know the e-torque start/stop is almost unnoticeable, I had the Jeep version on my last ride (Cherokee) and I absolutely hated it.

I probably would have still bought my truck if it came with it, but I'm glad it didn't.