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What do you think.....

sstoner911 said:
That's how the free market works...that's called "social listening" in the marketing world.


What issues? Yor statement makes no sense...if they don't fix anything they wont sell anything.



Fix what ...provide an example.
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Yeah... Still wondering how a V8 making over 400 in both HP and TQ is "outdated." I suppose the 6.4's output a little lower than both the Chevrolet and Ford gas units but those also boast larger displacement.

The 6.4 paired with the ZF 8-speed has been a stellar combination.
 
Brutal_HO said:
The HO actually has a lower tow rating.
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That makes a lot of sense; if you hooked up a heavy trailer to a 3.0 turbo-charged engine that was spitting out 500+ HP and 500+ lb-ft of torque, it wouldn't last till the end of the month - no matter what day you started on ;)

Its too bad the SO version doesn't have forged internals as well. If it did, and if they tuned it down in terms of power output, it might find a home doing truck stuff. I think it would be an okay fit in a 1500, if the owner of the 1500 did a high percent of driving under light load, and only a small percent of driving either hauling heavy or towing heavy.
 
Inline 6-cylinder engines are better balanced than V-configurations, and generally have fewer moving parts. I would guess that if you assembled a list of the "20 Best Engines of All Time" a pretty high percent would be I6 - whether naturally aspirated or forced induction. Both my 1975 Landcruiser and my 1978 CJ-7 had naturally aspirated 4.2 liter I6 engines. Not rocket-ships, but great engines.

Obviously - Cummins has been making large-displacement turbo-charged I6 diesels for quite a while. The 5.9 first came out in 1989.

Why don't we see any big turbo-charged I6 gas engines? I don't mean as big as 6.7 liters, but somewhere between 4.2 and 4.8 liters. If tuned for heavy work - as opposed to max power - it could reliably make 400 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. The torque could be tuned to come in at much lower rpms than in a naturally aspirated gas V8. Also, it would hardly lose any power at high altitude (which means a lot to this guy, who lives at 8,500 feet). Is the only downside high fuel consumption when under load, or are there other concerns?
 
The 6.4 is a great engine, but from a technology standpoint it’s starting to feel outdated compared to the rest of the industry. The cam-in-block (OHV) design is old-school, and while it works well, modern engines with overhead cams allow for independent control of intake and exhaust timing. That flexibility lets them better balance low-end torque and high-end horsepower. A HEMI with dual overhead cams and independent VVT on each cam would be a major step forward and could dominate as the next evolution for Ram/Dodge.
 
The BN58 in the Grenadier was a smart move, we enjoy it. My concern is for towing and longevity bigger, traditional engines seem to fair better. Being someone who has dragged 15K over 13,000' passes, I would welcome turbos and torque, but only if it could hold up long-term under the demands of towing. A power wagon best suits my needs, and the Diesel is too expensive to maintain these days, not worth the cost and not great off road. What would be the bomb is the Cummins Octane if they can manage the weight.
 
Ritchie_Rich said:
When someone says that a diesel is too expensive to maintain, I figure they’ve never owned one.
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I say the same thing about owning a plane. The reality is, I can’t afford the purchase or the maintenance and that has nothing to do with whether it’s objectively expensive. Expense is relative to your budget. So when people say something is “too expensive,” what they usually mean is they can’t afford it. Just call it what it is.
 
Maybe less about expensive, and more tolerance for all the maintenance of a Diesel. With out the emissions I might be tempted. The added weight is a killer up steep grades, and they tend to get stuck more in mud. However, another big issue of typical Diesel heavy duties is the longer wheel base. I have observed that to be quite troublesome. Also not sure I want to skip out on the off road suspension, and then still have to install a winch and get off road rims and tires installed on a brand new truck. 20 inch wont cut it. Admittedly, Pritchett is not a trail I have tried in a Power Wagon. Probably stick with my crawler for that one. Maybe in a few years the Grenadier. Momma has to get over me smashing the front bumper corner on Metal Masher first :eek:
 
SolidAxleorBust said:
Maybe less about expensive, and more tolerance for all the maintenance of a Diesel. With out the emissions I might be tempted. The added weight is a killer up steep grades, and they tend to get stuck more in mud. However, another big issue of typical Diesel heavy duties is the longer wheel base. I have observed that to be quite troublesome. Also not sure I want to skip out on the off road suspension, and then still have to install a winch and get off road rims and tires installed on a brand new truck. 20 inch wont cut it. Admittedly, Pritchett is not a trail I have tried in a Power Wagon. Probably stick with my crawler for that one. Maybe in a few years the Grenadier. Momma has to get over me smashing the front bumper corner on Metal Masher first :eek:
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Well, a diesel truck is made for hauling heavy loads, not off roading. Also, wheel base is the same for both gas and diesel, SB or LB. As for “weight being a killer” going uphill, hook 15k to a gasser and 15k to a diesel and see who gets to the top of a 7% grade 10,000ft mountain pass first. Then see which one has smoking brakes going back down. Each has their own use. Just sayin’.
 
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The Diesel wont make it up the hill. I am talking about off road. On road, a Diesel DESTROYS a gasser, believe me, I am well aware of that. I am talking off road where the issues are. I know, strange, but I do off grid subdivisions. Some are quite steep.
 
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