Another Flare-up in the Great Torque War: Ram 3500 Takes the Lead
By Steph Willems
It comes down to stump-pulling, gravel-hauling, trailer-towing twist. In 2015, the Ram 3500’s 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six turbodiesel topped the Ford F-350 SuperDuty’s 6.7-liter turbodiesel V8 by 5 lb-ft of torque — 865 to Ford’s 860. This clearly couldn’t stand, so for 2017 Ford upgraded the Power Stroke’s torque rating to 925 lb-ft, kiboshing Ram’s 2016 attempt to stay ahead with a 900 lb-ft rating.
With 2017 came further aggressions. This year saw GM pulling ahead to second place with its 6.6-liter Duramax V8, now upgraded to 910 lb-ft, knocking Ram down to third place.
Well, FCA’s having none of it. Just a day after Ford’s unveiling of a newly powerful second-generation 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 and 5.0-liter V8, Ram fires this salvo: a Cummins with more grunt than any other rival.
Announced this morning, the Cummins-equipped 2018 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty again tops Ford’s best effort by 5 lb-ft, now making 930 lb-ft. Horsepower remains unchanged at 385, less than Ford’s 440 and GM’s 445.
FCA claims the extra twist allows owners of the largest fifth-wheel trailers the option of avoiding Class 4 or 5 vehicles for tow duty. Using a new hitch design engineered by Ram, the automaker promises 30,000 pounds of fifth-wheel towing ability. In contrast, the Ford F-350’s fifth-wheel hitch can only handle a maximum of 27,500 pounds. A GMC Sierra 3500 HD tops out at 22,700 pounds.
Using a gooseneck or conventional hitch, the diesel HD Ram’s maximum trailer weight ratings stand at 31,210 pounds and 20,000 pounds, respectively. Sadly for FCA, Ford’s F-350 beats these numbers by a hair.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/08/another-flare-great-torque-war-ram-now-lead/#more-1584458930 lb-ft
