New Member-New 4500

[dquaney]

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I ordered my 4500 in late July. I took delivery in early November. It currently has 6000 miles on it. Overall I am generally pleased with the pickup. My first issue was when I took delivery of a Dodge's newest pickup with every option available it was sitting on painted steel wheels. My Ford buddies at the rodeos asked me what happened to the Alcoa Aluminums that their Fords had.



My main issue is the 4. 44 rear axle. When driving empty at 70 mph the engine is turning 2100 rpms which is acceptable. When pulling in tow haul mode the Aisin Transmission doesn't shift to 6th gear thus running the rpms up to 2600. I am used to pulling with 6 speed manuals that run 2100 rpms in 6th gear at 70 mph. The 4500 does not have enough power to pull in 6th gear in the Aisin. Some quick calculation tells me that is an extra 500 revolutions every minute. That is an extra 30,000 revolutions every hour. If I pull 10 hours to San Angelo that is an extra 300,000 revolutions that aren't needed. Over 200,000 miles that's a lot of extra revolutions. So much for our longevity and fuel mileage. This pickup is currently getting 14 mpg empty and 8 mpg pulling this horse trailer. I am in search of mods that will not effect my warrenty but give me the power to pull in 6th gear.

 

[KBalzuweit]

You should have more than enough power to pull in 6th. My dmax had 3. 73's and I could turn about 1650 @ 65 or so. On flat ground I was able to pull a 2 car enclosed loaded (20k or so) no problem. My new mega will also pull the load in 6th, but I have a manual and turn about the same rpm's as you due to the crappy ratio of 6th in the g56.

 

[CUMMINZ]

KB,



With your Megacab dually & full load of fuel and loaded 5th. wheel how much do you gross on just your truck?



DQ,



I am really suprised that with your 4. 44s the 6. 7L does not have the power for top gear. How much is your GCVW?



I can cruise at 70 with my 4. 10s. I do have to downshift at bottom of hills to 5th. I think that is to be expected.



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[dquaney]

This pickup and trailer loaded with 3 horses on the scale weighs 27100 lbs. Pulling that load on the flat with a 20 mph side wind the transmission shifts in and out of 5th and 6th gear every half mile. Granted I am using the cruise which senses any loss in speed places the throttle all the way open. I would not mind a 5 mph drop before it thinks it needs to shift in a pull but thats not the way they have it programmed so I have to run in tow haul and high RPMs. I use the cruise because I did not pay $50000 to run the throttle on a 10 hour trip. I do not claim to be an engineer but I will go out on a limb here and say that Dodges engineers do not own one of these pickups or use it as an essential tool as I do. I think they could have went with the 4. 10 gears and had a better set up. That combination would have ran around 1900 RPMs at 70 in 6th gear which would be plenty of power empty and 2300 to 2400 RPMs in tow haul.

 

[CUMMINZ]

With 4. 10s you would have less power in 6th. gear. My 68rfe will shift into all gears with tow/haul activated. I gross about 25,500#s.

 

[KBalzuweit]

KB,



With your Megacab dually & full load of fuel and loaded 5th. wheel how much do you gross on just your truck?

With the car hauler it weighs in around 27k. With a toyhauler loaded about 24k. My commercial loads are lighter by a bunch, I would say I avg about 14-16k actual weight. (all weights are truck and trailer).



Maybe his 4500 needs a reflash or something. It just does not seem right. It should easily hold 6th on flat roads.

 

[dquaney]

My point was with 4. 10s I could run in tow haul and only be running 2300 to 2400. Alittle more acceptable than 2600.

 

[KBalzuweit]

My point was with 4. 10s I could run in tow haul and only be running 2300 to 2400. Alittle more acceptable than 2600.

I get that point, but it should hold 6th. I would not feel comfortable spinning it @ 2600. Thats got to be rough on the engine in the long run. Heck I won't even run mine empty at that. I keep it under 2300 or so. Thats why I want to swap to 3. 42's so I can run 75 at a comfortable rpm.

 

[dquaney]

I am posting this on this site FYI. I was reading all the speculation about the 4500 on these threads so thought I would answer some questions. Questions I had before ordering mine but could not get answers.

 

[CUMMINZ]

DQ, I am glad you posted. We have not heard much on the new trucks and their new gears.



KB, What does just your truck weigh with loads connected?

 

[kblranch]

You might look at the Smarty Jr. when it comes out for the 6. 7. Leaves no footprint and is easy to use. It is specifically programmed for towing. That is a nice looking trailer. We are looking to upgrade to a larger trailer in the next year or so.

 

[dquaney]

I've only heard about Smarty on this site. I'm not sure but assuming it is a programmer. I only have experience with modules not programmers. I've always been told to stay out of the computer for warranty. My module for my '03 used the old style mechanical boost fooler on the waste gate. Now since everything is electronic how do they increase boost or do they increase?

 

[kblranch]

There is info on the Smarty web site under FAQ Mads Electronics - Smarty - CaTCHER - Dodge Tuning - Home. As long as you put the ECM back to stock before you go to the dealer it is not possible for them to know that it had a program installed. What kind of horseback riding do you do?

 

[Bob Wagner]

Marco is asking me for a 2008 wish list Oo. I need help :-laf





Thoughts are a big help.



Thanks

 

[SNiebaum]

Marco is asking me for a 2008 wish list Oo. I need help :-laf





Thoughts are a big help.



Thanks

4000+ Fueled RPM for the VP-44 trucks. :-laf

 

[JasonCzerak]

I thought these motors were designed to run at full load @ 3200rpm 100% of the time with out issue?

 

[KWAYNE]

I have a 3500 with the aisen and 410s and can pull hills 70-75 mph without downshifting in 6th gear. I gross about 38500 as my truck empty weighs 9,000 and my trailer empty also weighs 9,000. I bought the mp8 because it doesnt leave traces on the computer and is adjustable. I run with it about half to 3/4 and it doesnt effect the regen either.

 

[16919]

Marco is asking me for a 2008 wish list Oo. I need help :-laf





Thoughts are a big help.



Thanks

Yeah... no kidding... . tell Marco to give us all the updates we were TOLD WE WERE GOING TO GET A YEAR AGO!!!!!!! Its not your fault Bob as your not the guy behind it..... but Marco's after the sale support with programs is a joke.



As far as being able to pull that load in 6th... you should have no problem... I know of guys with 3/4 tons grossing more than that with the 2nd gen 24v's.

 

[dquaney]

There is info on the Smarty web site under FAQ Mads Electronics - Smarty - CaTCHER - Dodge Tuning - Home. As long as you put the ECM back to stock before you go to the dealer it is not possible for them to know that it had a program installed. What kind of horseback riding do you do?

Thank you for link. It appears there is nothing available for the 6. 7 at this time. My two boys rope calves and I team rope.

 

[HBarlow]

dquaney:



Welcome to the TDR and thanks for posting your comments and photos. I've been thinking pretty seriously about a new 3500 or 4500 cab and chassis myself and have lots of questions. So far it has been very difficult to get much info. EB on this forum has already put over 100k miles on a 3500 c&c and his comments have been very helpful but you are the first to report on using a 4500.



My guess is your only option is to slow down to around 60 mph when towing heavy and running in the tow/haul mode and fifth gear. That should provide plenty of power for pulling the hills loaded and will keep your engine rpms down to a reasonable range and fuel economy up.



Please comment on the ride. I have test driven two different 4500s. The first one, with no bed or equipment installed, rode pretty stiff. The second one had a 1000 # flat bed installed and rode quite a bit better.



I'd love to have a 4500. I think it would be great for pulling my fiver but I don't know if I could get used to and get comfortable with the rough ride around town when used as a daily driver.



Please continue sharing your experiences with your 4500. Anything you can share with the rest of us will be new information and very helpful to anyone sitting on the sidelines waiting to make a decision as I am.



Harvey