V8 or V6

[Cannonball]

Since this thread has been bumped back up, has anyone received a V6 yet or been able to test drive one with the 3.55/3.92 gears? @habu987

 

[habu987]

Since this thread has been bumped back up, has anyone received a V6 yet or been able to test drive one with the 3.55/3.92 gears? @habu987

Picking mine up on Friday! I'll have a quick take posted this weekend.

 

[JXL118]

Definitely want to hear what you think of the V6.

Originally I wasn't even considering the V6 but the more I think about it the more more sense it's starting to make. My towing for the foreseeable future will consist of a pontoon boat and jet skis, neither of which should really cause even the V6 to break much of a sweat. Most of the time its just me, and maybe a couple passengers, my dogs, and a couple mountain bikes or skis and some gear in the bed.

My truck is my daily driver. If you think gas is the cheapest part of your vehicle you don't put many miles on your truck or you need to actually track your fuel costs for awhile. I've currently got a 2006 Nissan Titan with a 5.6L V8 (305hp and 379ft-lbs of torque) with a little over 245,000 miles on it. I average right around 15 mpg. I've more than doubled the initial cost of the truck with my fuel costs. I paid around $27,000 for the truck. I've spent $57,094 on fuel in the almost 13 years I've had it. If I can up the average to 22 mpg with a V6 I'd save $20,000 in fuel over the life of the truck if gas just stays at $3.50/gal though I'm assuming it'll climb so I'd save even more. I've definitely thought about getting a high-mpg beater to commute with but a lot of my miles are on the weekends going up to Tahoe when I'd need/want to have the truck and I simply like driving my truck otherwise I'd just buy a car in the first place. That savings is even better considering I'd still have the same horsepower with the V6 as I've got now (though quite a bit less torque). And by the time I'm done with it the resale difference between the 2 won't matter much at all.

Looking at performance numbers from my current truck (which I'm more than happy with) compared to a 4th gen Ram w/ the V6 the Ram is only a couple tenths slower though I'm a little concerned about Motor Trends numbers for their 2019 V6 test truck as they're quite a bit slower than the 4th gen numbers I've found which doesn't make much sense. I'd really like to test drive a V6 to see what passing performance is like as that's more important to me than 0-60 times.

Even more, I'm considering a Limited with RamBoxes and looking at the payload stickers people have been posting I don't even see how anyone with that truck can even utilize the higher tow rating of the Hemi unless they've got nothing in the truck but the driver and even then I'd probably need to go on a diet to not be overloaded and hit the GCWR. As it is me and 3 friends could come really close to overloading the payload with just a little extra gear in some of the trucks in the payload sticker thread. Eh, What can I say, I was an offensive lineman in college, I've got big friends. I do wonder why the GVWR of the V6 is lower than the V8 for the 4x4s, that extra 200 lbs of payload would've be nice.

Yes, I can afford it either way so I'm not going to be complaining otherwise I wouldn't be considering a truck and I know I'll probably miss the V8 sound and that I'd be giving up some performance (who doesn't like to open the throttle sometimes and hear that nice growl while launching down an on-ramp) but the more I think about it I'm just not sure the V8 is worth the extra cost if the V6 can most likely handle everything I need, gives decent performance, and saves me a significant chunk of change over the life of the truck especially considering fuel isn't ever going back down to $1/gal and will more likely be $5 or $6/gal by the time I replace my next truck.

 

[Phoon]

less than 300 ft lbs and more than 5000 lbs is just a recipe for a gutless truck, no matter how good the transmission is. It is just physics. Everyone is free to buy whatever motor or truck they want but it seems crazy to me ! They go ok at full throttle where they are in the powerband, what they cant do is cruse on the highway with a trailer in 8th gear without downshifting into the powerband for every hill or headwind. On top of this, i consider the pentastar to be a good car engine, it was not originally designed for truck use.

 

[Terviseks]

A little late to this thread, but was considering ordering a Limited with the 3.6 eTorque, as well. However, I think, but cannot confirm, that the 3.6 will not have the Active Noise Cancelling. I believe that it only comes with the Hemis, rather than is a feature of the higher-level (limited, Laramie Longhorn) builds.

Does anyone have a definitive answer to this question?

 

[Predfan]

So tfl did a comparison they didnt get into mpg. But there 0-60 times with 4 guys i think the v6 was 10.1 and the v8 was either 9.1 or 8.9. They were fairly impressed with the get up and go of the v6 with 4 guys in the truck.

 

[Kamikaze6780]

For light towing the V6 should be fine with 3.21s. I had the 4.7 with 3.21 in my Gen IV and it towed the bass boat, hauled ATVs, a 5000# tractor on a tandem trailer and a utility trailer loaded with hardwood just fine. The HP and torque of the V6 is about the same as the old 4.7.

You should be able to tow boats and campers with 3.21 perfectly fine. The difference will be when towing those much heavier campers, not so much boats, but heavier campers and farm trailers, but at that point I guess you may as well get a bigger truck.

 

[Dontfront82]

How much are you saving by buying the v6 vs. v8??

 

[habu987]

Almost 2 months in with my V6 and coming off a ~1000 mile road trip to see the parentals and in-laws... I'd go with the V8 eTorque if I were to do it over again.

Performance meets my needs, but there are plenty of accounts of the V8 in heavy trims getting just as good, if not better, mpg as mine gets, and I drive with a light foot.

I'll be on the market again in 2021, so I'll probably be looking at the ecoDiesel or any other potential updated engines then.

 

[Different Drummer]

I'll take a risk and put my neck on the chopping block. I am sure I am the odd man out on this.
No-one can really make the decision for you. They are not you and don't share your exact driving needs or habits.
Sooooo, I will simply give my honest experience.
I drive a stock 2017 Laramie crew cab with V-6 and 3.21 gears. Only extra's I ordered are the extra capacity fuel tank and the LSD.
I rarely tow and if I do it is well within the towing range of the truck. I purchased the truck to be used as a touring vehicle for myself and the little lady.
The truck is NOT a dog. Has plenty of power and acceleration. Same as a Hemi? Of course not. I routinely get between 22.5 and 26 MPG calculated. Twice I exceeded 700 miles on a tank of fuel while traveling across country and keeping the speed at 70 or below.
For what I do it is a perfect truck. Just wish I had added the Rambox.
I joined up here because the Rambox is hopefully in the future on a Gen. 5 Ram.
If my present truck had a Rambox I would not be considering a new purchase.
Good luck in making your decision.

 

[jabara572]

I'll take a risk and put my neck on the chopping block. I am sure I am the odd man out on this.
No-one can really make the decision for you. They are not you and don't share your exact driving needs or habits.
Sooooo, I will simply give my honest experience.
I drive a stock 2017 Laramie crew cab with V-6 and 3.21 gears. Only extra's I ordered are the extra capacity fuel tank and the LSD.
I rarely tow and if I do it is well within the towing range of the truck. I purchased the truck to be used as a touring vehicle for myself and the little lady.
The truck is NOT a dog. Has plenty of power and acceleration. Same as a Hemi? Of course not. I routinely get between 22.5 and 26 MPG calculated. Twice I exceeded 700 miles on a tank of fuel while traveling across country and keeping the speed at 70 or below.
For what I do it is a perfect truck. Just wish I had added the Rambox.
I joined up here because the Rambox is hopefully in the future on a Gen. 5 Ram.
If my present truck had a Rambox I would not be considering a new purchase.
Good luck in making your decision.

Thats because you have a 4th gen and its 2wd. A 5th gen 4x4 does much worse with the V6.

 

[Different Drummer]

I understand completely. No argument on your point. However, I would expect the exact same truck in a Gen. 5 to do as well in MPG. Better even with the e-torque which is claimed to improve fuel mileage.
Is there something with the 5th Gen. I am not aware of? ( Honest question, not being sarcastic ).
Maybe I need to just drive the Gen, 4 and do without the Rainbox.

 

[jabara572]

I understand completely. No argument on your point. However, I would expect the exact same truck in a Gen. 5 to do as well in MPG. Better even with the e-torque which is claimed to improve fuel mileage.
Is there something with the 5th Gen. I am not aware of? ( Honest question, not being sarcastic ).
Maybe I need to just drive the Gen, 4 and do without the Rainbow.

For some reason both the ram and silverado (especially) are not doing as well as their last design models in MPG. Chevy took a big 1-2mpg hit even on their EPA numbers.

They may have reduced the drag coefficient but these are also physically larger trucks.

 

[Different Drummer]

For some reason both the ram and silverado (especially) are not doing as well as their last design models in MPG. Chevy took a big 1-2mpg hit even on their EPA numbers.

They may have reduced the drag coefficient but these are also physically larger trucks.

Understand. I was thinking this morning as I was driving just how much I like my Ram. You are supporting thoughts of keeping it.