Diesel Power Magazine Shootout

[polarbull]

On the cover they had "Tug of War Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge" So I just had to buy it. As with any magazine article I took it all with a grain of salt. Interesting article though. They were all duelies the Dodge was a Mega cab 2wd. The Ford & Chevy were 4wd crew cabs. The tug of war was pulling a trailer with a Bobcat that weighed 9380 lbs. They did 0-60 & quarter mile times with & without trailer. braking 60-0 with & without trailer. Dyno testing & other comparisons. Too much info to post here. The avg mpg figures caught my eye as i have been very disappointed in my 06 mileage. The 2wd Dodge came in last in mpg... :{

 

[MHorne]

i read that article aswell and i thought that was kind of disapponiting that the dodge virtually came in last place in every one of them. I think they did something wrong cause that 4wd unit weighs a lot and since the dodge didn't have it on there it should of had better numbers. I think they tested wrong. Just my opinion.

 

[oneshotkyle]

i have run with many of my friends and my brother who have powerchokes and duramaxis and none of them can get the mileage i do with my cummins. some of them claimed big numbers(18-20mpg) but none of them have come close as of yet.

 

[Big_Horn]

I read the article as well and have come to the conclusion that the editor is a Ferd guy. A co-worker who is a subscriber said that the mag in its 9th issue and has already seen 2 editors.

I like the information and am thinking of getting a subscription but I see that there is a bias towards the V-8's. Proof being that they used the 2 wheel drive model vs the 4 wheel drives, and that they used the mega cab dually which I believe has a lesser payload that the quad cab version. they also dogged the bed length and that fact that the trailer pushed the truck. I really don't think a 500lb heavier Ferd makes a difference IMO. My $0. 02 BH

 

[SVSeggern]

We have to use what the OE's supply. They don't have every iteration of truck in their so cal press fleet. We're a diesel enthusiast magazine, not a brand-specific magazine.

 

[Diesel Power]

We have to use what the OE's supply. They don't have every iteration of truck in their so cal press fleet. We're a diesel enthusiast magazine, not a brand-specific magazine.

Oo. if thats the case, you should put my truck in your mag--it has enough credentials :-laf or at least the trucks i build

 

[smd]

Say What....

We have to use what the OE's supply. They don't have every iteration of truck in their so cal press fleet. We're a diesel enthusiast magazine, not a brand-specific magazine.

Once your mag rec`d the all of the trucks, the second thing you should have done - find a driver that knows how to drive each make!!! ie they all have different sweet spots in there power bands. The CTD will produce power/torque at a lower RPM where as the two other V-8s are higher revving.



My personal experience with towing a 11,000/12,000LBS 5th wheel over Donnar Summit, I pass Fords more often than not!

My 05 3500 w/auto is STOCK. With the kids and my wife I drive at a safe pace, still with that in mind I pass your 1st and 2nd place winners . Hummm, why is that?

 

[Cowpunk]

Don't be sad. even though we were last in the diesel power test (and every other test this year ) Last months truck trend named us the best power puller! We shouldn't care that we don't win truck of the year. They rank that for the general public. The same people that complain about a 3500's ride quality, engine vibration, and black smoke! :--)

 

[Matt400]

I kinda like thumbing through that mag and looked forward to the air filter shootout till I found out all 5 of what they could drum up were oiled filters

 

[DavidBurt]

Don't you just love it when a magazine takes points away from a 3500 dually for "poor ride quality"... Duuuuh!! Put a load/five'er on and wow! what a difference.

Dave

 

[fox]

We still have the best truck.

I don't hook a trailer and drag race it. I drive it to my destination.

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

One of the possible reasons the dodge didn't do as well in the excellerating tests is because of the 4 speed trans. seems to me it did put 289hp to the ground, which was a lot more than the ferd or maybe chevy too, I can't remember, If you think the mag is a joke look to see they rated the top 10 diesels of all time, the 7. 3 PSD and the 6. 6 duracrap, where rated higher than the b-series, what a joke, Our motors have stayed pretty much the same since '83. while those motors are good, the 12valve cummins is the best motor ever put in a pickup and few would argue with that

 

[EWhite]

We still have the best truck.

I don't hook a trailer and drag race it. I drive it to my destination.

I agree i buy the best truck out of the three every time, and it always seems to be a cummins powered ram every time. Theres something about having a 6 clyinder under the hood, and still pass v8's that really gets your blood flowing.

 

[EWhite]

One of the possible reasons the dodge didn't do as well in the excellerating tests is because of the 4 speed trans. seems to me it did put 289hp to the ground, which was a lot more than the ferd or maybe chevy too, I can't remember, If you think the mag is a joke look to see they rated the top 10 diesels of all time, the 7. 3 PSD and the 6. 6 duracrap, where rated higher than the b-series, what a joke, Our motors have stayed pretty much the same since '83. while those motors are good, the 12valve cummins is the best motor ever put in a pickup and few would argue with that

I wouldn't put up protest to the old 12er.

 

[blacksheep4x4]

One of the possible reasons the dodge didn't do as well in the excellerating tests is because of the 4 speed trans. seems to me it did put 289hp to the ground, which was a lot more than the ferd or maybe chevy too, I can't remember, If you think the mag is a joke look to see they rated the top 10 diesels of all time, the 7. 3 PSD and the 6. 6 duracrap, where rated higher than the b-series, what a joke, Our motors have stayed pretty much the same since '83. while those motors are good, the 12valve cummins is the best motor ever put in a pickup and few would argue with that

I think they mostly rated those engines by technology rather than durability, and reliability. I also believe them to be a little ford biased on most subjects.

 

[Bertram65]

The big test on www.edmunds.com also placed the Dodge last, seems every comparision I have ever seen on the big three puts the Dodge last, they can't all be wrong.

The Dodge is a great truck but in what appear to be fair comparisons cannot outperform the Ford or the GM.

 

[MWilcox]

You need to spec out similar trucks. You can't compare towing with a 4. 30 gear to a 3. 73. Ford offers the 3. 73, why wasn't it tested? I too think there was some bias there, but you'll have that. I would like to see some tests on longevity. Most 6. 0 Fords haven't made it out of 3/36 with out engine issues. Just a thought.

 

[SKing]

I have had first hand experience and hands on with all three motors and I have to say ford and chevy are way behind in the in durability and power. I have witnessed the chevy and ford motors blow up during testing (every time). We have a company called South West Research Institute in San Antonio Texas that performs durability testing on these motors and more for the manufacture. First I will say the dodge was pushed to 1100 HP then it lost the oil pump and the motor locked up. The ford was pushed to 725 HP then it lost # 2 and 6 cylinders. The chevy went to 560 and lost #2 3 6 7 and 8 cylinders. These test include load and empty runs an a dyno. Put this in your Mag. Why dont you tell people about chevys problem with massive blow by problems and how chevy blames Molly there ring manufacture and Molly blames chevys block. Fords new twin turbo is running less on the horsepower side 625 HP and then it pops. Ford is going to put this in there new trucks the way it is. HA HA what a joke. The new Cummins was on the dyno and was tweaked out to 985 HP then the intake cracked. The newer chevy has come a long way To reach 850 HP before blowing. Thus I will say after working around these engines you should be able to see why I drive a dodge. If they were to put the same Cummins in a ford I would drive that. The original founder of diesel power was a ford man as he stated in his first issue. Now that it has been bought out the magizine has gone to crap. Full of junk adds and misinformation. Also to let everyone know Toyota diesel is a bad little motor. It produced 940 Hp before it blew but it ran the longest in durability test then dodge then ford then chevy. Real info for real people is what I would like to see in diesel power. Thats my . 25 cents worth.

 

[Bertram65]

I have had first hand experience and hands on with all three motors and I have to say ford and chevy are way behind in the in durability and power. I have witnessed the chevy and ford motors blow up during testing (every time). We have a company called South West Research Institute in San Antonio Texas that performs durability testing on these motors and more for the manufacture. First I will say the dodge was pushed to 1100 HP then it lost the oil pump and the motor locked up. The ford was pushed to 725 HP then it lost # 2 and 6 cylinders. The chevy went to 560 and lost #2 3 6 7 and 8 cylinders. These test include load and empty runs an a dyno. Put this in your Mag. Why dont you tell people about chevys problem with massive blow by problems and how chevy blames Molly there ring manufacture and Molly blames chevys block. Fords new twin turbo is running less on the horsepower side 625 HP and then it pops. Ford is going to put this in there new trucks the way it is. HA HA what a joke. The new Cummins was on the dyno and was tweaked out to 985 HP then the intake cracked. The newer chevy has come a long way To reach 850 HP before blowing. Thus I will say after working around these engines you should be able to see why I drive a dodge. If they were to put the same Cummins in a ford I would drive that. The original founder of diesel power was a ford man as he stated in his first issue. Now that it has been bought out the magizine has gone to crap. Full of junk adds and misinformation. Also to let everyone know Toyota diesel is a bad little motor. It produced 940 Hp before it blew but it ran the longest in durability test then dodge then ford then chevy. Real info for real people is what I would like to see in diesel power. Thats my . 25 cents worth.

Can you back any of this up with links off SWRI's website? They claim to be a non profit, they also list they have Ford Tier 1 status for providing engineering services.

Another thing is, it is only a tiny percentage of diesel truck owners who modify thier trucks so the way the truck came from the factory is what really matters to the vast majority of buyers not what it could do with modifications or at what HP rating beyond stock it blew up at.

How did they compare stock?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Funny, everyone seems to test these trucks pretty much the same and none of them make much sense to me. I just don't care if brand X gets to the top of a hill five seconds faster or accelerates a couple of seconds quicker. I don't even care who gets 1 mpg better. Those things matter little in real life driving. What counts to me is a fat torque curve and great longevity, even with mods. The cummins doesn't have to keep shifting to keep it in the power band and that makes towing a nicer experience.



Scotty