According to this article I just read there will be a diesel offered in the 1500 for 2014. This is great news for all that have waited and wanted a diesel in a 1/2ton all these years.

http://t.autos.msn.com/news/dodge-pr...am-hemi-pickup

 

Yep, seems like it's coming, but too late for me now. Diesel fuel prices, all that new fangled EPA mess they had to put on diesels has just turned me away. I've owned diesels over 25 years in Japan and know and love them, but America has just ruined it for me.

 

A good article. Thanks for posting.

 

I will move this to the appropriate section. For future reference, nothing goes in the Dodge Ram general section other than threads posted by administrators or other staff.

For future reference:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-r...ead-first.html

 

I keep hearing that the HD diesel guys are modding their trucks to pull, or at least kill, the added EPA crap. Hopefully that'll be the same case with the 1500's diesel.

 

That thing gotta HEMI...???... NOPE
A $3000 dollar upcharge over the HEMI, not to mention the maint costs for this new diesel, A lot higher fuel costs over gasoline, NOPE, no thanks. And if you look at the ftlbs of torque numbers for this little diesel, its not that far off from the hemi. (420ftlbs trq) So for the additional costs, once again, oh hell no. Its a guaranteed flop in my opinion... i dont see it lasting long an then they`ll discontinue it. A few guys will buy it just because its something different and new, i`ll bet they`ll dump them almost as quick as they bought them. Lets not forget, the good ole EPA ended the tuner`s for diesels too.

 

A $3000 upcharge for the diesel does not seem uncommon or even unreasonable when compared to what Dodge, Ford and Chevy charge for their HD diesels. Also, there have been model years were the cummins had similar torque numbers to the gas engines. The V10 comes to mind. (Yes, it was a long time ago). The difference is where the torque is at, its in a much more usable rpm range, especially the cummins. I understand this new motor is not a cummins, and will have to prove itself in these areas. Also, gas motors mpg went from bad to worse while towing. The diesel went from good to still better than a gasser. Again, we dont know how this new diesel will perform, but if it can push the lighter half ton around at 25+ mpg it would offset the slightly higher fuel prices. I dont know what the hemi gets for mileage, but I would guess it is rare for one to average 20+. Only time will tell how it performs, but I would really like to see it succeed.

 

I average 23+ (highway) with my 2010 4x4 qc hemi... but i dont burn E10 gas in it either. I`m sure that new V6 diesel will do a little better than a hemi on highway mpg`s, but surely not enough to offset what it will cost you in the long run to own one compared to the hemi gas engine. So i still stand with a big no go for me.

 

23 seems pretty good. Is that common? My mom has a 2012 hemi (I know right?) and I doubt she gets much better mpg than my 5.2L durango, but she does drive like a maniac. I wish we could find gas around here without ethanol.

 

I don't know about you guys, but most of the time I pay less for diesel then I do for gas. 5 cents as a matter of fact, and at least here I don't have to worry about price jumps. IF they do happen its only by a cent at most. When a long weekend comes up, gas prices jump by 15 cents a liter. (sorry for those who have to convert) Diesel will hardly move, the only time we see a hit seems to be in the spring. I think that is mainly to do with farmers switching out their winter/summer blends.

I also believe it was already mentioned, but your right on saying the torque is not too far off. Where the big gain is in RPMs, to give you a comparison if you don't already know. I drove a hemi for a few years, it had power but no low end grunt. When it came to a hill, or when accelerating, the motor was screaming! 4500RPM. Well my cummins, (yes i know its not the 3L) redlines at 3000 and cruises at around 1600 at 120km/h, I think my guage only goes to 5000. When I am pulling a 12k lb load, unless I am on a 7% grade my truck hardly goes up to 2200rpm and rarely has to shift. I know the 3L won't be quite that good, but I would expect it to have low end grunt. For those that tow, it could mean the world.

Yes you are going to have emissions to deal with, but you have to remember this is not a HD motor. Import cars have been running with diesels for years, and there have not been any real issues. Granted this motor will have DEF, which I am not even sure if the cars have it. But you have to also remember that the motor was designed with DEF in mind. Its not like the choker, cummins, or dmax, where they had to incorporate DEF into an already sustained motor. I also don't think that the motors emissions systems will be that extensive as a HD. I am not 100% positive, but I don't think they have to run at the same emission standards as a HD. Just in the same way that a 3500 will run on a different emission standard vs a chassis cab. The 3L is half the motor of a cummins, could run off a lower emissions standards. HOWEVER, because more people might drive it, it might turn directly opposite. Only time will tell there....

3000bucks is not much for some people either. Put it into perspective of having to upgrade to a HD truck in order to even think about getting into a diesel, and that now becomes quite profitable. You can't go from a 1500 to a BASE 2500 for less then 10 grand. (at least here...so I imagine the price of that motor will change for us here in Canada) So for those who want a diesel but don't have the money for a HD, could be very good for them. Give them the extra little bit of low end motor, and a little bit extra mileage when not pulling. I don't think the upkeep will be TOO TOO high either. Yes maintenance costs are higher, but you don't do it as often. To put it into perspective again...I change my oil when my truck tells me to. Well last time I did it it cost me 283 bucks (I don't have time to do it myself so I had it done) Well I have only done it once and I have pretty near 30k kms on my truck. (Now that I talk about it 100bucks says my light will come on tomorrow!) Yes its big time cost, but I do it a 3rd of the time. Where it could get expensive is in repairs, but if they back this motor up with a longer warranty you won't have to worry. Unless you keep it till the end...

Also on a side note, tuners have not been discontinued. They are just being changed to disallow users to perform deletes. If you buy a present tuner you have to unlock it before you can delete. Which only is possible if your using your truck for sport. They still will allow you to run anywhere up to 120HP more, which is not all that bad. But its your limit, however still much better then chipping a gas. It will also be possible for the guys that already own old tuners. IF tuning companies release a tune, it will most likely be accessible to old tuner owners.

Having been driving a diesel for just about a year now, if I didn't have to pull big loads, I think I would consider this motor...I just hope that it pays off for Ram to develop this motor.
Ram seems to be putting out lots of new tech into their trucks. GM Ford, even the imports are not really putting out too much new stuff. If anything they seem to be copying what Ram is doing. Coils, air-suspension, now a 1/2 ton diesel. Lets hope Ram got it all right!