Greetings all. Its been a while since I've been on the forum, life has been really busy. I used to be very active over in the 2nd Gen Ram section when I had a 2001 Ram, and then the Dakota section until a few months ago.

I am looking at 2013-2014 Ram 1500s. All other things being equal (Hemi, 8 speed trans, etc.), which would you choose?

2013 Ram 1500 4x4
3.55 Gears

2014 Ram 1500 4x4
3.21 Gears

The 3.92 gears are impossible to find without a 4+ hour trip, and I'm not sure I want to go that direction anyway. No towing really, just a small single axle six by ten flatbed trailer loaded down with at most 500 lbs of stuff, or pulling the occasional person out of the ditch on a snowy day.

Is it a wash, or are there other benefits to a 2014 over a 2013 that I am missing? I think I did a thorough search before asking this question, but I am not perfect. Any insight into this is appreciated.

 

No major revisions between '13 & '14 save the introduction of the Ecodiesel. It was the 13 got major revisions on the 1500s, 2500s received major changes from '13 to '14.

It'd be nice to buy a model year newer but I couldn't live with 3.21s myself.

Seems this time of year you with all the discounts and rebates you could get a leftover, new 2015 for not much more than a '13 or '14 truck. I know last August when I bought my '14 2500 CTD CCSB Big Horn it stickered for $56k and they came down to $45k...

 

Thanks for the comment Ed. Did you get my PM?

I ended up getting the 2013 tonight. Main reason was its a Longhorn with a ton of options, vs the 2014 "regular" Laramies. I didn't want that to taint the question above, hence why I didn't mention the trim levels. I was just making sure the 3.55s were worth it.

 

Congrats... Just checked, got no PM from you.

Longhorn interior is SWEET! Now I know why you weren't looking at new. When I bought last year I could have bought a Longhorn 2013 with 23,000 miles on it for not much more than the new 2014 Big Horn 2500 I got. Problem was it was a Dually and since I was selling truck and trading car, I didn't want my daily driver to be a dually. New 2500 or 3500 SRW Longhorn CTDs are well over $70,000. Not in my budget...

 

with the 8 speed, the axle ratio is not as important. The spacing between the gears is key here. I like the 3.55 ratio myself but I was curious about the 3.21 vs the 3.92 and was surprised to see that in reality, they both have similar performance except for first gear. How is that you say? Here is how.

8 speed ratios are from first to 8th gear

4.71, 3.14, 2.10, 1.67, 1.29, 1.0, 0.84 and 0.67

multiply them by the axle ration and you get the effective ratio

3.21 x 4.71 = 15.92
3.21 x 3.14 = 10.08
3.21 x 2.10 = 6.74
3.21 x 1.67 = 5.36
3.21 x 1.29 = 4.14
3.21 x 1.0 = 3.21
3.21 x 0.84 = 2.69
3.21 x 0.67 = 2.15

now for the 3.92

3.92 x 4.71 = 18.46
3.92 x 3.14 = 12.31
3.92 x 2.10 = 8.23
3.92 x 1.67 = 6.55
3.92 x 1.29 = 5.06
3.92 x 1.0 = 3.92
3.92 x 0.84 = 3.29
3.92 x 0.67 = 2.63

So compare the effective ratios between the two and you see that the 3.92 ratio for 8th gear is 2.63 and the 3.21 ratio for 7th gear is 2.69, really close.

3.92 ratio for 7th is 3.29 and for the 3.21 6th gear ratio is 3.21, again close

3.92 ratio for 6th is 3.92 and for the 3.21 5th gear ratio is 4.14, very close

if you go down the line the pattern continues, so once you get rolling, there is not much difference between the two, except the final overdrive on the 3.21.

hope it makes sense.

 

Thank you for that Pedro, that makes a lot of sense.

 

I've been eyeing a new ram myself and also wondered about the axle ratio. Interestingly enough, the only way you can get a 3.55 and the hemi on a new ram is with the 6 speed RFE transmission. The options for the 8 speed are either 3.21 or 3.92 (again with the hemi)

The ecodiesel on the other hand comes standard with the 3.55

I think you got yourself a unique truck with the 3.55 and the 8 speed.

The 8 speed made such a big difference, that an earlier 6 speed with a 3.92 axle has an effective first gear ratio of 11.76 (3.0 x 3.92) and the same truck with the 8 speed and a 3.21 axle has a ratio of 15.92. Heck, second gear with the 3.21 and 8 speed is 10.08.

So an 8 speed with a 3.21 kicks a$$ on a 6 speed with the 3.92

 

I personally saw five ecodiesel before I finally pulled the trigger on my '14 CTD. Two were 4x2 and both had 3.92 gears. All three 4x4s had 3.55s. Just an observation...

I almost bought a Laramie Longhorn 4x4 Eco but the dealer treated it like gold. Wouldn't budge off just the $3500 in rebates. I ended up getting a different dealer to take over $11,000 off the 2500 Cummins.

 

You did well, you got yourself a proven engine and a real truck. I've been lurking on an ecodiesel forum and there are many problems with the engine. Just been reading about carbon buildup on the valves that require new designed heads (seems that the direct injection combined with the head design cause the buildup). More than their fair share of blown motors and a few other issues.

 

I thinksome has to do with the fact most people get on a forum when they have a problem. I've seen the numbers and percentage wise there are fewer engine warranty repairs than Ford has with the Eco boost gas engine. From what I'm seeing (real world not forum) are more electrical issues and ZF transmission problems. I've got a friend has had his Eco in for transmission update flashes four times. I'm not saying there haven't been VM 3.0 engine issues, I just don't think they are as common as forums would lead one to believe.

The carbon build up is real, but can be avoided with some good highway driving and especially limiting idle times. But it does require VM Motori and FCA to come up with a solution.

That said, I've always said FCA completely f*cked up by not using the Cummins V8 (designed for Chrysler prior to Fiat purchase) and going with the marine diesel engine they mostly owned. Yeah, the 29 mpg is better than the 25 projected for the 5.0 but a "heavy half" ton truck with 550 torque would have had HUGE demand in a US truck. As it is, I think Nissan is gonna put a good dent in the truck market using it.