2012 Dodge Hemi Engines....different oils....

[bigjohn]

Originally Posted By: BigJohn
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: BigJohn
An interesting twist to this story. In my owners manual (2012 Ram Hemi 2500), it states that I should follow the oil recommendation that is printed on the oil cap of the engine.

Printed on the cap is.... 5w20


But in the manual for the 2500 Hemi, it specs 5w30

.....?????

Today I poured out the Factory Fill (with 750 miles on the truck) and it was obviously a very thin, 20wt.

In its place, I poured in Pennzoil 5w30 conventional. I will run it for 3 months and about 4k miles and then I will permanently move to Pennzoil Platinum 5w30.


Haven't looked at the 2012 manual but it used to be under 14,000 GVWR used 5W20 and over 14,000 GVWR used 5W30 in the HD's with the HEMI( 2007 and on ).



Yeah, the Max Towing Rating for my truck is 10,550 lbs. If I had 4.10 gearing it would be 13,550 lbs.

The only way I can see to get over 14,000 lbs is to have a 4x2 truck and 4.10 gearing. So am I to assume that the only Hemi 2500 trucks that can use 5w30 are two-wheel drive with 4.10 gears.

Funny.......




.



Nope....I was mistaken....

The oil recommendation is based on the GCVW...and it is 17,000 for this truck.

 

[t05ks]

The towing weight of 14000 lbs is a 'combined' weight of vehicle AND trailer. Which makes me wonder why chrysler doesn't reccommend (other than the MDS in the 1500) when towing a trailer heavy enough with the 1500 to get the comined weight up to 14000 lbs to use 5w30? My 2500 is over 6k as it sits, when I hitch up the camper and gear I'm hitting the 14k mark. No MDS in the 2500 Hemi's only variable valve timing.

 

[JasonK94Z]

My new 2011 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman will turn 5,000 miles tomorrow. I have changed the oil 2 times so far with Pennzoil conventional.
Saturday, my truck will get Motorcraft Syn Blend 5w-20 and a Wix filter. I will go 5k intervals or every 6 months. I think this will be just perfect for the short trips I do too.

 

[rraiderr]

I have a 2010 Hemi with MDS and have ran a few oils. So far the Amsoil XL 20W with Wix filter has been outstanding.

The dealer did pull the are you running 20W oil when I had a warranty issue. They are adamant that 20W be used for the MDS.

My MDS seemed to get smoother when I went from Dino to Syn. It no longer has that on off engagement feeling.

 

[Jeff_in_VABch]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
as stated previously the warranty in the owners manual is the bible for ensuring you can get warranty coverage if needed.

But myself and many, many hundreds of new gen Hemi owners have been actively researching this since late 04 and it is a fact that the oils as spec'd mean little to the operation of MDS, cam phaser or any other system or component. New gen Hemis run well on almost ANY oil, and for a LONG time.

The 6.1 SRT's actually spec 15w-50 via a TSB! That's all the way from 20 to 50 weight in one engine family! That one tidbit really exposes what all the fuss is about.

Much ado about nuttin'.


100% agree

The more I work with the Hemi, the more I like it.

 

[Jeff_in_VABch]

Originally Posted By: t05ks
The towing weight of 14000 lbs is a 'combined' weight of vehicle AND trailer. Which makes me wonder why chrysler doesn't reccommend (other than the MDS in the 1500) when towing a trailer heavy enough with the 1500 to get the comined weight up to 14000 lbs to use 5w30? My 2500 is over 6k as it sits, when I hitch up the camper and gear I'm hitting the 14k mark. No MDS in the 2500 Hemi's only variable valve timing.


Is a 2500 really near 6,000 lbs empty?

A stock 2007-2008 quad cab 4X4 Hemi with no more than a 1/4 tank of fuel and close to stock size tires is 5,350 lbs & up.

A similar 2009-2010 with a Hemi is 5,300 lbs & up.

I guess that 700 pounds is the MDS deal breaker. Not that is really works on a 1500.

 

[t05ks]

The base weights for the 2011 2500 crew cabs w/hemi(4x4) run from ~6250 to 6450 lbs depending on model. From the chrysler tow rating page.