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Thinking of buying a 21 3500. HO vs STD output and what about deleting?

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guesscrazy

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Going to order my forever truck. Dont want leather so its going to be a heavily optioned BIg Horn. Cant decide between a SO or HO. Probably delete at 100000 miles. and have the transmission built if I go 68rfe. I dont hot rod at all just daily drive and tow.
So do I get the SO and have Garmon build me a 68rfe and have it tuned or just buy the HO with the Aisian? So 3000 more for Ho and Asian or save the money and do a built truck? What do you think?
 
guesscrazy said:
Going to order my forever truck. Dont want leather so its going to be a heavily optioned BIg Horn. Cant decide between a SO or HO. Probably delete at 100000 miles. and have the transmission built if I go 68rfe. I dont hot rod at all just daily drive and tow.
So do I get the SO and have Garmon build me a 68rfe and have it tuned or just buy the HO with the Aisian? So 3000 more for Ho and Asian or save the money and do a built truck? What do you think?
Click to expand...

Can never have too much power, go HO, I drove one the other day and it shifted smooth.

Delete it once you hit 100k if you can find someone to inspect it.

Truck wars are pushing these rigs to the limit.

HO 420hp 1075tq is just silly


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I have a 19 s/o 3500 and honestly its silly how much power even this one makes.

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If you want an HO, then get the HO. I have an HO, and truthfully, if I could roll back the time, I would get the SO. Reason is tranny shifting, and worse fuel mileage. Plus, I currently tow 10K lbs, and only expect to tow around 15K lbs in the near future, and the SO will handle that just fine. If I was towing more than say, 17-18K lbs+, than yes.
 
Wileykid said:
If you want an HO, then get the HO. I have an HO, and truthfully, if I could roll back the time, I would get the SO. Reason is tranny shifting, and worse fuel mileage. Plus, I currently tow 10K lbs, and only expect to tow around 15K lbs in the near future, and the SO will handle that just fine. If I was towing more than say, 17-18K lbs+, than yes.
Click to expand...

So many talk about the shifting but when I test drove an HO I thought it was smooth and precise. Maybe because it was a later build, and they have the tuning refined.

Personal preference OP, test drive both and choose what YOU like!


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X2 the HO truck I drove prior to ordering mine was wonderful, I have an aisin transaxle in my VW and love it for a converter based auto, obviously apples and bananas but I still like both
 
BLuRRnAWAY said:
So many talk about the shifting but when I test drove an HO I thought it was smooth and precise. Maybe because it was a later build, and they have the tuning refined.

Personal preference OP, test drive both and choose what YOU like!


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I believe and I could be talking out my ass but the 2021 or new builds have a updated transmission for the 430/1075 I read it prior but ill find the discussion and repost in a edit.

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yycdiesel said:
I believe and I could be talking out my ass but the 2021 or new builds have a updated transmission for the 430/1075 I read it prior but ill find the discussion and repost in a edit.

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Click to expand...

Hmmm... I’m going off the wording dodge used for the 2021 on their website under “capability”.

“fully electronically controlled Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, which has been upgraded for enhanced durability, quieted noise, vibration and harshness and new software control for seamless shifting.”

The 2020 I drove I felt it was great, so I can only imagine how the 21s are.


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guesscrazy said:
Going to order my forever truck. Dont want leather so its going to be a heavily optioned BIg Horn. Cant decide between a SO or HO. Probably delete at 100000 miles. and have the transmission built if I go 68rfe. I dont hot rod at all just daily drive and tow.
So do I get the SO and have Garmon build me a 68rfe and have it tuned or just buy the HO with the Aisian? So 3000 more for Ho and Asian or save the money and do a built truck? What do you think?
Click to expand...
I went with Bighorn trimmed out nice. I also stuggled with HO vs SO I finally decided on HO because I really wanted a tough transmission. I have a Ram 2500 diesel now that I had to upgrade the transmission on not cheap. I live in a valley everywhere I go I am going over hills or mountains. Pulling a boat 3500 lb and TC 4000 lb is no problem on flat ground but up and down mountain passes I want all the power and transmission I can have. Go Big!!!!
 
I read the announcement about the 2021 HO upgrade to 1075ftlbs of torque, but I have not read anything about an increase in HP, or anything specific about an upgrade to the transmission.

Does anyone have a link for more info?
Thanks!

B
 
I got my forever truck last year. 3500 HO. It is so quiet and smooth, I can't wait to jump in and go somewhere. I also wanted the cloth seats and went with the premium cloth on a Bighorn and loaded it up. They are super comfortable, firm and supportive, and I couldn't be happier. I decided to go all in and got the air suspension and I'd say if rides as good, if not better than my old 04 2500 and has the advantages of the leaf springs. I debated the Aisen and HO long and hard, and with diesel going for $2.00ish/a gallon, I'm OK with giving up a mile or two MPG. I do about 17-19 on the road. Couple less around town. I think it shifts pretty doggone good. Coming off a bullet-proof NV5600 for nearly a half million miles, I'm happy not to be rowing the boat anymore. Yeah, it doesn't shift like my wife's Acura RDX 10 speed, but it ain't bad. Changing the oil in the tranny is easy as it has a drain plug. It may tend to lug slightly on a downshift, but with 1000 lbs of torque, who cares. The truck gets up and goes. My 7500 lb travel trailer is a toy that it plays with like a dog with a squeak toy. Adaptive cruise is awesome and the safety group with the blind-spot watch has kept me out of trouble several times. The 360 camera is terrific for docking this thing at the Home Depot between the parking lot lines. I didn't get the 12" radio and I'm completely happy with the smaller head unit. I did get the AUX switches and haven't found anything to hook up to them yet. I ordered the truck thru Dennis Dillon and got everything I wanted, and would do the same thing again.
 
kobra said:
I read the announcement about the 2021 HO upgrade to 1075ftlbs of torque, but I have not read anything about an increase in HP, or anything specific about an upgrade to the transmission.

Does anyone have a link for more info?
Thanks!

B
Click to expand...
It has 20hp more than previous, information can be found here: https://www.ramtrucks.com/2021/ram-3500/capability.html
RTillery said:
I got my forever truck last year. 3500 HO. It is so quiet and smooth, I can't wait to jump in and go somewhere. I also wanted the cloth seats and went with the premium cloth on a Bighorn and loaded it up. They are super comfortable, firm and supportive, and I couldn't be happier. I decided to go all in and got the air suspension and I'd say if rides as good, if not better than my old 04 2500 and has the advantages of the leaf springs. I debated the Aisen and HO long and hard, and with diesel going for $2.00ish/a gallon, I'm OK with giving up a mile or two MPG. I do about 17-19 on the road. Couple less around town. I think it shifts pretty doggone good. Coming off a bullet-proof NV5600 for nearly a half million miles, I'm happy not to be rowing the boat anymore. Yeah, it doesn't shift like my wife's Acura RDX 10 speed, but it ain't bad. Changing the oil in the tranny is easy as it has a drain plug. It may tend to lug slightly on a downshift, but with 1000 lbs of torque, who cares. The truck gets up and goes. My 7500 lb travel trailer is a toy that it plays with like a dog with a squeak toy. Adaptive cruise is awesome and the safety group with the blind-spot watch has kept me out of trouble several times. The 360 camera is terrific for docking this thing at the Home Depot between the parking lot lines. I didn't get the 12" radio and I'm completely happy with the smaller head unit. I did get the AUX switches and haven't found anything to hook up to them yet. I ordered the truck thru Dennis Dillon and got everything I wanted, and would do the same thing again.
Click to expand...
Glad you're happy with the HO, the whole package is very stout and should last many may years!
 
If that's your plan, I'd probably buy the delete kit as soon as possible to keep on a shelf.
 
I am concerned about deleting a truck going forward. The NY Times published an article about a long term EPA study that found that deleted and tuned diesel pickups cause many times more pollution than factory compliant. They report that the EPA may already be more strongly enforcing existing laws and inspections. Also hinted at is new laws including those that may mean dealers will not be able to resell a deleted truck and would have to restore back to emissions compliance.

I have not deleted a truck for years; ever since they started using DEF the fuel economy has improved a lot, and almost every year the power ratings go up. IOW, there is less of a gain now than a decade or more ago. And, it's always been a bit of a slippery slope; it's easy to break stuff if you get too aggressive with a tune. Or your tune works great until that one time when you are towing heavy in more extreme conditions than normal... ask me how I know ;)

Given the EPA study, I am even less inclined than ever to delete a truck; it could end up being a very expensive proposition including fines and having to restore a truck back to a factory compliant state.

Of course, YMMV

B
 
I dunno maybe the sci-entifical people are right. What I do know is millions of gallons of fuel is dumped down the pipe (regen) every year with no gain in making anything move. Then there is the magic pig piss that gives us mountains of plastic jugs and guess what it takes energy to produce which also causes pollution. But hey if people don’t see anything coming out of the tail pipes then there must be no pollution ...:rolleyes:.
 
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