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2013 Ram 1500 vs. Ford F-150 V6 Pickup Truck Test


mettech

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I found this interesting and it confirmed what I have thought for years.

 

 

. Then the 2013 Ram 1500 V6 Quad Cab 4x2 came out with a 6,100-pound maximum tow rating and 11,200-pound GCWR.

After that, something odd happened. Ford reexamined its internal test results and decided the 3.7-liter V6 SuperCab 4x2 could tow up to 6,400 pounds at a GCWR of 11,700 pounds: a 600-pound increase despite zero physical changes. According to a source, the introduction of the 2013 Ram V6 had nothing to do with this.

 

Previously, the F150 was rated to tow 5800 lbs. And then this comment.

 

 

And then we made a second run with 300 extra pounds to account for its claimed towing advantage over the Ram, landing just 85 pounds shy of its revised GCWR. This time the transmission temperature gauge nudged toward the yellow mark. At mile 9 an over-temp warning dominated the driver information screen, accompanied by an automatic power cut. The F-150 slowed itself to 55 mph in 2nd gear for the remainder of the pull.

 

Ford once again pencil whipped the tow ratings. The 3.7 is a good engine but a little soft when pushed to the limit in a truck. Dodge proved to me at least more gears do make a difference in performance and fuel economy. Where are those 9 speeds at?

 

I still think Gm has the best idea here with the new 4.3 and will eat the Ford and Dodge alive.

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If you are going to be towing anything heavier than a motorcycle I wouldn't advise getting a 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings.

Take the tow rating and multiply by 70 percent and you have about what you can safely tow regardless of manufacturer. Published tow ratings have been ridiculous for years with Ford leading the way with pencil whipping.

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It p!sses me off that there is no way for a driver to "hold" a gear on these transmissions !

 

Ummm, I'm pretty sure you can in the F150. You can lock out certain higher gears, and I think you could lock out 3-6 if you wanted to stay in 2nd. Not the same as a manual or the old style auto to where it will HOLD 2nd, but it will keep it from shifting further than 2nd.

 

On second thought, isn't there a completely "manual shift" option on the F150 tranny? I thought there was?

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Of course but he was referring to the NA 6 cylinder, not the Ecoboost.

That's not what he said.

 

He said:

"I wouldn't advise getting a 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings."

 

Not:

 

"I wouldn't advise getting the base 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings."

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That's not what he said.

 

He said:

"I wouldn't advise getting a 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings."

 

Not:

 

"I wouldn't advise getting the base 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings."

 

So a 6 cylinder Cummins would be bad for towing, too, then, I guess, huh?

 

Sometimes, you have to have just a shred of common sense and think a bit. Everyone with a clue knew exactly what he meant.

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It p!sses me off that there is no way for a driver to "hold" a gear on these transmissions !

Yep, it should be standard. Instead, the low end trucks hold you hostage by controlling the transmission instead of you controlling it.

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That's not what he said.

 

He said:

"I wouldn't advise getting a 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings."

 

Not:

 

"I wouldn't advise getting the base 6 cylinder at all, regardless of the usually meaningless tow ratings."

What I meant should have been easy to infer. Obviously not.

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