Would not having the advance safety group stop you ordering?

[Eighty]

How can you tell when you’re dealing with an extroverted engineer?
Because when he’s talking to you, he looks at YOUR shoes!

I can tell that joke, I’m an engineer too. Strange how many engineers are on this forum.

 

[HandyCruiser]

Okay,

We all know there's a hierarchy based on what kind of engineer you are. So everyone needs to tell so we can decide whose on top!

 

[Eighty]

Okay,

We all know there's a hierarchy based on what kind of engineer you are. So everyone needs to tell so we can decide whose on top!

Structural engineer here

 

[FLiPMaRC]

 

[GKIII]

Okay,

We all know there's a hierarchy based on what kind of engineer you are. So everyone needs to tell so we can decide whose on top!

Degree: Mechanical Eng
Occupation: Aerospace Eng (specifically propulsion)

I did used to work on guidance and navigation, but decided I didn't care for it early in my career.

 

[Idahoktm]

Thanks for all the help guys, just some more on situation. The truck isn't for my work it will just be my daily driver although I get the train to work anyway. The main thing I would miss is the adaptive cruise and the reason being is over here we average speed cameras which measure your average speed between 2 points, so you can't simply just break before the camera. The adaptive cruise is good on these roads as you can just set and forget. none of the ASG features are must haves I guess, however for the money the pack costs you do get a lot of features for not a lot of money. Thanks to the guy the for the update on 2022s not having the ASG option either

You don't need adaptive cruise to help with the speed cameras. The standard cruise control will suffice. I use my cruise control a lot on highways and freeways to reduce the risk of accidentally speeding. I've never owned a vehicle with adaptive cruise, so I just hit cancel when I need to slow down and then hit resume when I'm able to go the speed limit again. I'm sure ACC is a nice feature, but I wouldn't cancel a new truck order over it...especially in this environment.

 

[HandyCruiser]

Degree: Mechanical Eng
Occupation: Aerospace Eng (specifically propulsion)

I did used to work on guidance and navigation, but decided I didn't care for it early in my career.

Very cool. I did some work on demil of rockets. We designed a system to drain them, cut them up and decontaminate the remaining parts. You smart guys put them together. Us dumb guys take them back apart.

 

[HandyCruiser]

Structural engineer here

I wish we had a full time structural engineer. I could tell you some funny stories about falling masonry blocks, but I better not online.

 

[HandyCruiser]

I know you posted this as a joke. But I've reviewed designs FAR WORSE than that.

 

[HandyCruiser]

Now that I've found where my people hang out online, let's get back on subject before the mods and the OP come after me!

Anybody else hate or love the Advanced Safety Group?

 

[stevestrike]

I would be the opposite and highly recommend the ACC I have on my 2021 Dodge Ram Limited. Maybe previous model year versions of ACC were not as refined but on the 2021 I have, it is heavenly.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE +1000 more LOVE'S the ACC. It performs flawlessly and makes driving in busy traffic so much less stressful. I experienced none of the issues you speak of and find it excellently engineered. Could it be improved? Heck yeah! Anything can and I am sure the engineers who designed it will keep making improvements in subsequent model years but as is on my truck it is damn nice. Many times in busy traffic I actually have to accelerate faster than the ACC by overriding it to make sure I am out of the way of traffic coming up behind me. Normally though I find the acceleration when getting back up to speed just the right blend.
So based on my experience with the ACC I see none of the behavior stated here and highly recommend it if you do a lot of highway driving.

I agree 100% with bucolic: I purposely looked into the Ram specifically for the ACC. I use mine all the time (almost daily), and it really helps take the stress out of commutes and even stop and go driving, albiet it can be a bit more jumpy in these conditions. While not perfect by any stretch, I think the safety group is something I would not pass up on a new truck. $.02

 

[Tnseltim]

I wouldn’t want another truck without the 360 camera, now that I have it. Same for adaptive cruise. Also the blind spot monitoring that adapts to the length of your trailer is awesome.

 

[Philipjames6]

I absolutely love the ACC now but have had to find out the almost very hard way when I should and should not use it. I have had my fair share of issues with the "smarts".

On the highway I am chugging along at 80 using the acc. Cars suddenly stop dead in front of me, crash and road works. Truck carries on at 80 with no attempt to slow down. I had to slam on brakes and dissappear onto the shoulder.

Another scenario I was following a car with acc set to 55. We were coming up to a red traffic light and had slowed down to 20 when they decided they were in the wrong lane and suddenly cut across a couple lanes. Truck slams on the gas I briskly accelerate. There was a car in front of them that if I was not paying attention, and panicked slamming on the brakes, I would have hit hard as no attempt was being made by the truck to stop accelerating.

The auto breaking option I have set to early and I have had it flash "brake" at me a couple of times when people have made a sudden right turn but in my opinion I have been quite some distance from hitting them. In other situations I have had people slam on their brakes in front of me and I have had to stand on the brake peddle to not hit them with the truck happy that there is no need to warn or assist. I have never had any assistance forward braking. Reversing out if my driveway, if I go a little too fast when I drop the curb onto the road the truck slams the brakes on hard with the most horrible grinding noise the assisted braking makes.

I feel this could be easily improved with a software update to change the throttle response PID on the ACC, and the auto braking needs some serious work, but I doubt they will do anything about it.

 

[c3k]

LOL... Lots of replies and opinions. I'll share mine.

I ordered WITHOUT ASG. The only thing that was of interest to me was the ACC. The cost/benefit of the ASG made it not worthwhile to me.

Lane keeping? Seriously, if I can't stay in my lane, I shouldn't be driving (or doing whatever ELSE I'm doing instead of driving.)

ACC is nice. I've had a few cars with it, more without.

My truck does not have Blind Spot Monitoring. I do wish it did. But, I'm old-school: I =always= turn my head to check my blindspots before changing lanes. Another layer of safety would be nice, but is not necessary. (Correctly adjusted side mirrors is part of that. The extra convex mirror segment Ram puts in the side mirrors really helps.) So, I look four ways before every lane change: rearview (for SA), side big, side convex, turn head, change lane. It takes less than a second in toto.

Long rant about BSM.

ASG: it's your decision. Everyone has different habits, expectations, and wants. Adding layers of safety should help...unless you rely on that safety net and forget the fundamentals. Then, you're only exchanging self-reliance for tech to get the same level of safety.

 

[JoeCo]

LOL... Lots of replies and opinions. I'll share mine.

I ordered WITHOUT ASG. The only thing that was of interest to me was the ACC. The cost/benefit of the ASG made it not worthwhile to me.

Lane keeping? Seriously, if I can't stay in my lane, I shouldn't be driving (or doing whatever ELSE I'm doing instead of driving.)

ACC is nice. I've had a few cars with it, more without.

My truck does not have Blind Spot Monitoring. I do wish it did. But, I'm old-school: I =always= turn my head to check my blindspots before changing lanes. Another layer of safety would be nice, but is not necessary. (Correctly adjusted side mirrors is part of that. The extra convex mirror segment Ram puts in the side mirrors really helps.) So, I look four ways before every lane change: rearview (for SA), side big, side convex, turn head, change lane. It takes less than a second in toto.

Long rant about BSM.

ASG: it's your decision. Everyone has different habits, expectations, and wants. Adding layers of safety should help...unless you rely on that safety net and forget the fundamentals. Then, you're only exchanging self-reliance for tech to get the same level of safety.

Likewise, I have all of the stuff but don't rely on any of it, I also prefer to stay in good habits and check everything myself. Sometimes I use the acc but only on highways that are open enough for it not to bug me (and have normal cruise be less of a nuisance), which isn't very often around my part of the country. Otherwise I don't like the distance it keeps even at the shortest distance, if I'm in the passing lane trying to pass I don't want to be part of the problem because my acc slows me down to keep me however many car lengths back from the person in front of me. I think this adds to people camping even worse in the passing lane than before, anyone else have any thoughts on that?

Otherwise, we have 5-10 trips or so a year to Rochester NY and I can take highways out there that I almost never have to turn cruise or acc off, so I enjoy it then! Blind spot is just an added layer to me so I have no problem with that, lane keep is always off for a couple of reasons (one of which being that I'm very vigilant while driving so I don't have any issues staying where I am supposed to be). Same with the auto braking, won't ever have that turned on for the front or rear. Do they surround view cameras also come in that package? I liked having those for the novelty of it and the few times it may come in handy, but I've been driving trucks for a long time and thus far haven't really used that feature either. I can see the front cam coming in the most handy for certain situations.

 

[stevestrike]

One thing that I don't see discussed here is the rear cross path detection feature. I've found it to be very effective and accurate, and the notification that someone is coming up behind you is a nice way to add to your own awareness in a busy parking lot.

 

[JoeCo]

One thing that I don't see discussed here is the rear cross path detection feature. I've found it to be very effective and accurate, and the notification that someone is coming up behind you is a nice way to add to your own awareness in a busy parking lot.

I forgot about that one. I back in to spaces/driveways etc about 95% of the time so I haven't benefited from this yet, I guess I should make sure it's turned on. I do like this for the rare occasion I may be backing out of a situation like this without good visibility (one of the reasons I like backing into spots in the first place, way easier to leave), I've experienced it in my gf's car once or twice and it was nice to have.

 

[Neurobit]

This is one of those posts where you're gonna get the following range of answers:
1. ASG stupid and unnecessary anyway...take the truck
2. ASG is meh, I could live with/without it...or parts of it are ok.
3. ASG is the best thing ever...cancel the truck.

I'm in category #3. I actually held off purchasing a RAM until they came out with the 5th gen which had all the safety (and convenience) features.
That's just my opinion of course, but it used it extensively while I had the truck, and now my new SUV has it as also (which I greatly enjoy as well).

I agree with you on adding those features after the fact. It's going to be massively expensive, if you can realistically add later at all.
Tons of folks on this forum that didn't get one feature or another when purchasing and then cost them thousands to add later.

OP should keep in mind that it should be easier to sell a higher optioned truck when the time comes.

Cheers,

 

[stevestrike]

One thing that I don't see discussed here is the rear cross path detection feature.

Correction to my previous post, it looks like the Cross-Path detection came as part of the Level 2 Equipment Group, and not the ASG?

These features (among others) are listed on my window sticker under "Level 2 Equipment Group"
Automatic High Beam Headlamp Control
Blind–Spot with Cross–Path Detection
ParkSense Front and Rear Park–Assist with Stop

This is what is listed for "Advanced Safety Group"
Adaptive Cruise Control w/Stop & Go
Advanced Brake Assist
Full–Speed Forward Collision Warning Plus Lane Keep Assist
Parallel & Perpendicular Park–Assist w/Stop
Surround–View Camera (N/A w/Trailer–Tow Mirrors)

 

[Liquid Li0n]

Correction to my previous post, it looks like the Cross-Path detection came as part of the Level 2 Equipment Group, and not the ASG?

These features (among others) are listed on my window sticker under "Level 2 Equipment Group"
Automatic High Beam Headlamp Control
Blind–Spot with Cross–Path Detection
ParkSense Front and Rear Park–Assist with Stop

This is what is listed for "Advanced Safety Group"
Adaptive Cruise Control w/Stop & Go
Advanced Brake Assist
Full–Speed Forward Collision Warning Plus Lane Keep Assist
Parallel & Perpendicular Park–Assist w/Stop
Surround–View Camera (N/A w/Trailer–Tow Mirrors)

but that is the thing of this topic. On the 2022 model of the Laramie the Level 2 eq group would not be available because of the chip shortage...or is it only the Advanced Safety Group?