03 Ram 6-Sp vs. 03 Chevy 6-Sp vs. 03 Ford 6-Sp

[Pit Bull]

flame red,02,4x4,3500,6spd,garmin gps4" exhaust, banks bra



Kevin

Nice truck and I love your color selection Think they can see us better on the road?

 

[hammersley]

Nobody can write a "fair Article"

Let's be honest - nobody - can write what we think would be fair and after all these writers are Car Guys! They only give lip service to the diesel trucks. When do you ever see them mention the inherent advantage of low long stroke 6 cylinder motors? Have they ever compared the V design to what is actually used in the HD market? Do they ever look under the hood and see how much easier it is to do maintenance on a straight 6? Sometimes "inconvenient facts" really get in the way of trying to make your point! These guys talk torque BUT ONLY believe Horsepower! These guys only have a job by being in the pockets of the manufactures who keep them employed by advertising..... And the real world - hey that's only a Latte away for these folks! They'd rather be writing about sport's cars!!!!

 

[jimnance]

I suppose I have to give credit to the Ford and GM engineers. They have done a fine job of pumping up the horsepower and making their trucks perform.



Everyone likes to be the fastest up the hill, but if that is all that is important to you throw some aftermarket injectors, a fueling box, etc. , and you will whip 99. 9% of the trucks on the road with your CTD.



Reliability, fuel economy, longetivity are more important to me. I hate to beat the issue up, but the Ford has an unproven engine, GMC's Isuzu engine hasn't been put to the long term test quite yet, and neither get quite the fuel economy that the CTD does.



Ask yourself. You are halfway up the ALCAN highway with a 13,000 lb fiver in tow. Which truck would YOU rather be driving.

Like the old Timex commecial - "It takes a lick'in and keeps on tickin". That is how I feel about my CTD.

 

[Badunit]

Man, that is one steep hill.



I am totally surprised and a little confused by the results. All I can guess is the higher redline of the Ford let them wind it up a little more so they could spend more time in gear and less time shifting. Still surprises me.

 

[dmurdock]

You have to admit though, all 3 are really nice, capable trucks. The choice between them basically boils down to personal preference.

 

[D808]

I remember my 1966 GTO 389 4-speed would always beat the Chevelle 396 4 speeds, simply because the 389 reved higher. The guys in the Chevelles would be grabbing for second gear while I was still accelerating in first! They were easy pickins when racing from traffic light to traffic light in Huntington, West Virginia. Ya gotta keep in mind too that our Dodges are considerably heavier than the competition! Knowing that I got so much more steel for my dollars, and a heck of a lot tougher and more refined machine, I just don't give a cat's meow that Dodges are a tad slower. Fact of the matter is, simple intake and exhaust flow enhancements might just put us at the front of the pack.



Federal Man

 

[cwcox]

Looks like there's already plenty of response to this one- but to add my 2 cents...

Ford is having slight problems with the new 6. 0- just some new design teething pains. BUT, keep in mind the inside story I have from someone at the engine plant is that the baby 6. 0 (V6) for the light duty Fords was really cancelled due to serious durability issues. Ford wanted the jump on having light duty diesels out there but after the Focus fiasco (recalls,recalls,recalls) and other issues, they simply could not afford a big flop on their hands. Look for the V6 in two years or less. IH is hard at a redesign of components affected.

GM/Duramax- well, it seems like a good design, but nothing ever came from GM in a "finished" form. Everything they put out gets tested on the consumer. The Duramax will be a decent proposal in a couple years, maybe.

And so the other guys finally caught up to Dodge and our Cummins, just makes for a better market out there! Besides, now the posers can ride in a General or a Blue Oval and stay out of the real trucks!

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

I am truly shocked. I am finding it difficult to believe that it would wipe it so bad where it should,as we all know, truly shine. Any over the road hauler will tell you you want an I6 in the hills. When you run out of hp its the torque that keeps the load rolling.

 

[Badunit]

The test only showed how fast these trucks could accelerate. What we don't know is how many rpms they need to turn to maintain a given speed on a given grade with a load. That's where the torque comes in. The Ford and Chevy may have to race their engines more than the Dodge to pull the same load over the same grade. If they do it's bad for durability and bad for fuel mileage. But I'm still surprised the Dodge didn't fare better in the 15% grade test.

 

[kevincook]

Ok from the lastest TRUCK TREND:



TT article: GCWR ford is 20,000 and Dodge 23000 both horse power and Torque number come in at lower RPMs.



In a long ford add here are some quotes:



"Conventional wisdom has it that when it comes to truck engines, there is no replacement for displacement" Why did they make there engine smaller?



Second "Engine components are designed to achieve 250,000 mile regular service"



Third GCW rating of 30,000 but max towing 13,900 pounds.



Last but not least Fords new F-650 and F-750 are avalible with Cummins ISB with 260 HP and 660 lb-ft.



KC

 

[rbattelle]

I like to think of it this way:



Cummins makes engines. That's all they make, and that's all they've ever made. They don't make trucks, or transmissions, or axles... just engines. If they make a crumby engine, people stop trusting them and go elsewhere and they go out of business. IH and Isuzu, on the other hand, make lots more than just engines. If they make a crumby engine they have lots of other things to "fall back" on.



Now who do you suppose has a greater interest in putting out a really durable engine?



Just my $0. 02.

 

[Pit Bull]

Cummins



Am I right? I need positive reinforcement

 

[WOT]

And just why do diesels last longer?

Ok... Sure, all three make a decent truck. They will all tow a camper fast enough to get a ticket. But it all makes me think back a ways to a question I had - Why do diesels last longer?



Larger components (rods, etc) - Cummins wins

bigger main bearings - Cummins wins

RPM is directly related to wear - who gets the power at low RPM? - Cummins wins

Larger cylinder doesn't seem to become eccentric as fast as a smaller cylinder - Cummins wins.



These are strictly my opinions... .

 

[diesel DOG]

If I want to run the 1/4 I'll get my 450 RWHP Corvette out. I do love my Dodge and Cummins. 20,000 miles and no problems not even the littlest one. Never had a vehicle like that.



Why is the Ford a single rear wheel? Not fair. Dodge pulls good