They also work for the altitude of 80% of the country.....but atmospheric pressure and normal aspiration are real
Ram 1500 3.6 lower tow capacity than mid size - what gives?
- Thread starter avacado11
- Start date
It’s likely to get you to buy the bigger engine. Which obviously works like a charm.
Back in the 4spd transmissions, final gearing played a much larger role when towing, but with 8 speeds available now, I would not sweat the final gearing for occasional towing. Just keep in in lower gears and you’ll be fine.
Back in the 4spd transmissions, final gearing played a much larger role when towing, but with 8 speeds available now, I would not sweat the final gearing for occasional towing. Just keep in in lower gears and you’ll be fine.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
There's a million pentastar under-hood configurations.
This process isn't needed on a Pentastar powered Ram 1500. You can literally stand in the space between the radiator and front of the engine in a classic 1500 / 3.6L. This doesn't necessarily make things easier though. You have to lay in the engine bay or use a top side / lay on creeper to pretty much do anything on them.
Jimmy Making It Work did a video recently doing the oil cooler on a 2017 Ram 1500 pentastar. He took the E-fan off the radiator and stood in the engine bay on a platform for access. This was after removing the front wheels to lower the front end as much as he could.
JTK, I appriciate your statement about removing the e fan and taking the wheels off. I have to complete an oil cooler replacement real soon!
Hemioiler is spot on with the J2807 certification. This is why I opted for the 18' F150 with the 3.3L V6 w/ 6R80 tranny, and the 3.73 axle ratio.
With both trucks to get the higher 7300lbs from the 4400lbs not only is the axle ratio going to change, but they will also transition you to an LT tire type, that quite frankly I hate the looks of, and the limited tread offerings that are available. ( I did forget the sizes)
When I did a direct towing comparison with the dodge and the ford, both did very well considering. The 8 spd mated to the pentastar is going to do a ton of shifting, whereas the 6 spd on the ford will just stay in and struggle more. I have a great memory of how bad it was towing with a TBI injected chevy 305 v8 or a dodge 318 v8 magnum. These little pentastars are superior.
The old engines got you from a dead stop just fine, and then had a terrible time getting from 40MPH up to 65MPH. This is where the extra gears really help now.
Hemioiler is spot on with the J2807 certification. This is why I opted for the 18' F150 with the 3.3L V6 w/ 6R80 tranny, and the 3.73 axle ratio.
With both trucks to get the higher 7300lbs from the 4400lbs not only is the axle ratio going to change, but they will also transition you to an LT tire type, that quite frankly I hate the looks of, and the limited tread offerings that are available. ( I did forget the sizes)
When I did a direct towing comparison with the dodge and the ford, both did very well considering. The 8 spd mated to the pentastar is going to do a ton of shifting, whereas the 6 spd on the ford will just stay in and struggle more. I have a great memory of how bad it was towing with a TBI injected chevy 305 v8 or a dodge 318 v8 magnum. These little pentastars are superior.
The old engines got you from a dead stop just fine, and then had a terrible time getting from 40MPH up to 65MPH. This is where the extra gears really help now.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
That 2018 F150 w/ the 3.3L and 6AT sounds like a solid choice!
If I remember right with my 2017 Ram 1500 QC 4x4 pentastar, 3.21 gears, with my driving, It would only go into 8th if I was dead steady at highway speeds. It would spend a long time in 7th and the only you'd know is if you were a car person, or really paying attention. My 2019 Ram 1500 CC, 4x4, hemi, 3.21, it's ZF8 was a bit busier, but still super nice. MDS is the most annoying thing with the hemi, but I'd keep that off by manually selecting 8th any time it annoyed me.
Regardless, the Stellantis version of the ZF8 coupled to the 3.6L and the "real" ZF8 in the hemi were definitely my all time favorite AT in anything I've owned.
+1
I'm annoyed by many modern ATs, but the ZF8 behind the hemi in my 2019 Grand Cherokee has been great. I keep the "eco off" button on all the time and it is even smoother. I'm surprised by how many modern vehicles I've driven where it seemed easy to "confuse" the transmission, especially in areas of hilly terrain or stop and go driving at different speeds.