so when i drive and truck shifts into its gear around 50mph, if i go to pass or accelerate it seems like it wont even get out of its own way, unless i mash on the gas , i can feel myself pushing the gas more and more until she finally wakes up and finally gets it, by then im gas on and wondering why the heck she wont move ? seems like trying to pass someone is going to take forever , i have a 5.7 and thought passing someone or just accelerate
wouldnt take so much effort

 

Might just be a good old throttle body cleaning is what it takes to "wake it up"... Especially if it's been over 30k miles since it was cleaned. Also, a dirty and sticking EGR valve will cause the same result, even though it may not be "shot" enough to throw a code...

 

its at about 60k and not sure if it has been done ever??? just bought it about 2 months ago , what is the best way to do a throttle body clean ? and i will replace the egr valve also .

i can do all that today , i have to go out anyway so if i know what to get i will pick it all up . thanks hammer, if you could get back to me on that throttle body cleaning then i will know how and what to do !!

 

I'm heading out the door, but a search will yield a plethora of threads on this. I'm sure there is probably even a DIY in the FAQ sections.

If you have trouble finding it, post back up, lots of guys are skilled with the "search" feature and will undoubtedly give you a link...

 

Is it just not kicking down to second gear until you really mash the gas pedal? Mine seems to like to hold the higher gear until I get on it also. In contrast to my Ford Escape which is prone to downshift if you look at it crosseyed, my Dodge Hemi is more apt to hold its present gear longer as you sink your foot into the gas.

I think that's by design. Dodge, it seems, is thinking that in normal driving, you'll rely on the decent torque of the engine to ease you up to speed and to climb modest hills without having to drop down 2 or 3 gears. That probably helps with the fuel economy on the sanctioned EPA mileage test, though maybe it doesn't help drivability.

I also find it a little annoying (though I am not yet used to it) in very hilly country. On one mountain road, I was climbing uphill, and was coming out of one of the tight 180 degree switchback turns. I kept getting into the throttle and it wasn't really accelerating so I kept pushing harder. It finally downshifted to first, and went into a wheel-hop jihad as the inner rear tire bounced up and down on the bumpy pavement. It was a situation where I was giving it too much throttle, but I needed to give it that much throttle to get it to downshift to a useful gear.

I think that after I do the tires and axle gears, I may look into a superchips tuner so that I can change those downshift points a bit. I don't want it to be as "shift-happy" as my Escape is, but I do want it to downshift before I put the pedal that far down.

 

yeah just not kicking down... just like you said there PhotogTom all the same things im going threw ? i guess i will try and clean up tb and check egr like hammer said . if nothing else i will have to get used to it just like you . nice feedback very helpful thanks !!! how about those superchips tunners ?? will that take care of it ? i dont know much about thwm and changing shift points .

 

Yeah, you definately want to take care of those things as Hammer suggested. Things are worse if it isn't running quite up to snuff.

I'm curious - what size tires you have and which axle ratio you have. The axle ratio should be on a sticker on the glove compartment door, or on a tag hanging on the axle itself.

I'm plagued with the 3.55 gears and 265/70R17 tires, which are basically 32 inch diameter tires. That's a mighty tall gear for those tires, and I think that is bogging me down a little in the higher gears also.

The Hemi's got plenty of power, but you have to get it to the ground!

 

i've got am 05 5.7 with 3.92 gears with the 275/60/20 and it does it to me sometimes, all i do is stab the gas and it kicks down, or you can push the tow/haul button and it will shift in to 3rd
after having the truck for 5 months it seems to not do it as much, i think its due to me learning how the truck drives and when i will get my power

 

Yeah, that's the thing. Sometimes, stabbing the gas gets you too much power. I'll have to experiment with the tow/haul button a bit. Haven't had the truck that long so I don't know all its quirks yet.

BTW, the calculator I used shows your 275/60-20 tires as being about 33 inch, so the 3.92 gears are a better match. Mine calculate out at 31.6, a bit more than an inch smaller diameter than yours.

 

yeah i have the 20 inch rims also with a 275/60 and i also know that it only does a 1 wheel burn out becasue i was disapointed with that ! lol but im not sure what gears i have