Ram’s Twin-Turbocharged Powerplants and Fuel Recommendations

With Ram getting ready to roll out its updated 2025 Ram 1500 (DT) pickups, 5thGenRams.com is learning even more details about the 2025 trucks and their new twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six engines, or as Ram is calling them, the Straight-Six Turbo (SST) engines.

The SST moniker also gets us thinking about the iconic 1997 to 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 SS/T, which then stood for Super Sport / Truck. But you gotta love the marketing team.

Anyway, we have been riddled with questions about the new engines in the past months. Considering its major change from the legendary 5.7-liter HEMI® V8s that have been powering the Ram 1500 for over the past 21 years. But one of the biggest questions we have gotten revolves around what kind of fuel type will these new engines need.

Other than saying that the new engines are more fuel-efficient and produce 15% fewer emissions, a lot hasn’t been said about how much more efficient the new SST engines will be. While Ram or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have yet to release the official miles per gallon (MPG) numbers on the new engines, we’ve seen around a 1 or 2 mpg difference in MPG on the Ram 1500’s close relative, the Jeep® Grand Wagoneer / Wagoneer (WS).

But what about what type of fuel to run in these new engines? And what is recommended? Well, thankfully, we got our hands on the new owner’s manual for the 2025 Ram 1500.

While last year’s 5.7-liter HEMI V8 could run on 87-octane fuel without issues, Ram did recommend a minimum of 89-octane to achieve the HEMI’s full 390 horsepower and 410 lb.-ft. of torque rating. And that doesn’t look to change for 2025 with the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Hurricane standard-output (S/O) engine. Ram states…

“Do not use E-85 flex fuel or ethanol blends greater than 15% in this engine. This engine is designed to meet all emissions requirements and provide satisfactory fuel economy and performance when using high-quality unleaded regular gasoline having an octane rating of 87, as specified by the (R+M)/2 method. The use of 91 or higher octane premium gasoline will allow these engines to operate at optimal performance. This increase in performance is most noticeable in hot weather or under heavy load conditions such as while towing.”

So if you want the S/O’s 420 horsepower and 469 lb.-ft. of torque, use 89-octane. This engine will be available on Tradesman and Big Horn (Lone Star) as a $2,695 option, while it will be standard on the Rebel and Laramie.

For the new SST high-output (H/O) engine, Ram is requiring the use of 91-octane fuel. The owner’s manual states…

“Do not use E-85 flex fuel or ethanol blends greater than 15% in this engine. This engine is designed to meet all emission regulations, provide optimal fuel economy, and performance when using high-quality unleaded premium gasoline having a posted octane number of 91 as specified by the (R+M)/2 method. The use of 91 or higher octane premium gasoline is required in this engine.”

With that required use of 91-octane, the H/O produces an amazing 540 horsepower and 521 lb.-ft. of torque. That engine will be standard on models like the Limited, Limited Longhorn, and Tungsten models and not available on the others.

Given the cost of gasoline right now, the S/O looks to be on par with the cost of the outgoing HEMI if you run lower octane fuel. However, if you want to get into a more luxurious Ram 1500 for 2025, expect to pay more next time you fuel up with the higher recommended octane rating.

Keep in mind, if you are looking at one of these new pickups that just because the H/O has more power it doesn’t have higher towing capability. The S/O model will set the bar for towing with a maximum towing capacity of 11,560 lbs on certain models, compared to the H/O’s maximum towing of 10,740 lbs.

With the S/O being available on Tradesman and Big Horn (Lone Star) models (the only models that continue to offer the smaller Quad Cab configuration), it also has a much higher maximum payload. The S/O can be equipped to have a maximum payload capacity of 1,910 lbs. compared to the H/O’s 1,370 lbs. For more capacity, the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 with eTorque mild-hybrid system on Tradesman and Big Horn (Lone Star) models has a maximum payload of 2,300 lbs.

We can’t wait to get to spend some time being behind the wheel of these new SST-equipped pickups. It will be interesting to see if the hype of these new turbocharged small displacement engines can help change our minds over the old saying “There’s no replacement for displacement.”