Dodge EcoDiesel

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aguablanco

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Jul 20, 2015
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Mesa, AZ
I tow a 24', 6000# wet, trailer with a 2012 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3 engine. While it does OK, I am considering moving to a diesel, specifically the Dodge EcoDiesel. My concern is whether or not that is enough engine. I really like the specs on the Eco but I want to be sure I will get enough extra power by trading up. If anyone has some first, or second, hand info on this engine I would greatly appreciate you passing it on. Of course my second choices are Chevy or Dodge 3/4 ton diesels. I have no intention of buying a bigger trailer so that is not a future concern.  Thanks in advance.
RichH
 
Going down from 315 HP to 240 HP doesn't sound like a good idea if you care at all about performance.  These baby diesels are for fuel mileage, and they do great at that.
 
Agree with lynnmor.  Horsepower is horsepower and that is what does the work. Most diesel engines produce their horsepower at lower rpms and may feel more responsive from a standing start,  but rpms aside, 240 hp is a lot less than 315.  Diesels are also excellent at extracting power from a gallon of fuel, so the mpg is usually better as well (especially under heavy loads).
 
As a lifelong trucker, I never looked at horsepower ratings in power trains, but concentrated on torque.
The torque rating of 335 lbs/ft @ 4000 rpm on the OP?s current 5.3 vs. the torque rating of 420 lbs/ft @ 2000 rpm for the dodge eco diesel suggest that the Dodge will run off and hide from the Chevy and probably get 50% better fuel mileage doing it.
 
If he can forgo a diesel, the 5.7 hemi will do the job and get pretty good fuel economy too.
 
Very Interesting Thread!!

Would a dealer allow you to bring the TT to the dealership and "test tow" with the EcoDiesel?
 
grashley said:
Very Interesting Thread!!

Would a dealer allow you to bring the TT to the dealership and "test tow" with the EcoDiesel?

That's a great idea!
 
jubileee said:
As a lifelong trucker, I never looked at horsepower ratings in power trains, but concentrated on torque.
The torque rating of 335 lbs/ft @ 4000 rpm on the OP?s current 5.3 vs. the torque rating of 420 lbs/ft @ 2000 rpm for the dodge eco diesel suggest that the Dodge will run off and hide from the Chevy and probably get 50% better fuel mileage doing it.

I looked up the 1/4 mile times for both.
Ecodiesel = 16.7 @ 81.8 MPH
2012 5.3 = 14.5 @ 93.0 MPH

Yes, the Chevy ran off and hid from the wimp.  I fully expect to now hear about racing ain't the same as towing, but horsepower is horsepower whatever you are doing with it.
 
  Now put about 6000 pounds of trailer behind both, and run the 1/4 mile again....up a 7% grade. The results may be different.
 
Nope, no difference, horsepower is horsepower.  That is why I mentioned that I fully expect to hear the racing comments in a failed effort to head off that aspect.
 
Under those conditions the high revving high horsepower 5.3 will fall flat on it's face. That is fine for racing but we need TORQUE for towing, that is what gets the wheels turning.
 
Roy M said:
Under those conditions the high revving high horsepower 5.3 will fall flat on it's face. That is fine for racing but we need TORQUE for towing, that is what gets the wheels turning.

I agree that the tow vehicle with the higher torque would do better towing.  If you don't think so, hook up a high HP Mustang to a low HP farm tractor and see who moves who.
 
I don't want to get into a torque vs HP debate, but you can't have one without the other.  HP = Torque x rpm/5252, so more torque always yields more HP as well.

The difference between that tractor and the Mustang isn't torque vs HP - it is the RPMs required to reach max rated HP.  Not to mention the rear axle gearing, the tire contact patch, and the tire tread (traction vs highway).
 
The diesel was a bit slower, not a lot, and got 6.5 mpg compared to the other trucks 4 mpg climbing the grade.  If a minute of two makes that much difference to you on a long grade like that, I guess you buy the faster one.
 
The thing that makes a diesel feel like it has more power than a gas engine is the way the accelerator pedal is connected to the engine.

In a gas engine, the accelerator position directly determines the engine performance.  It regulates the amount of air admitted to the engine, the computer (or the carburetor in older engines) then admits the proper amount of fuel to keep the air to fuel ratio constant.

To get more power, you have to admit more air, i.e. press harder on the accelerator.  Less power means easing off on the gas pedal.

A diesel engine works differently.  Here the air intake remains wide open all the time, and a governor mechanism regulates how much fuel goes into the engine.  If the engine speed slows below the governor setting, it adds more fuel into the engine.  If the engine speed exceeds the setting, the governor reduces the fuel.

The accelerator in a diesel engine merely sets the RPM the engine will run at, while the governor controls the fuel flow.  This means, within limits, the actual engine output works independently of the accelerator position.  This gives the diesel it's reputation for pulling power, since you don't have to floor the accelerator to get more power out of a diesel engine or ease off on the throttle when there's less load.
 
I appreciate this debate, it is informative. Since I only two about 5-6 K per year the EcoDiesel may well work for me. I would certainly appreciate the fuel economy.
I was always under the impression that torque was more of a power factor than HP under a load so I am hoping that someone with this engine can provide real life data.
Richh
 
At low to mid RPMs, the 5.3 Hemi and the 3.0 EcoDiesel are pretty evenly matched. 

3.0 EcoDiesel Peak Horespower = 240 HP @ 3,600 RPM
5.7 Hemi Peak Horsepower      = 395 HP @ 5,600 RPM

3.0 EcoDiesel Peak Tporque = 420 lb/ft @ 2,000 RPM
5.7 Hemi Peak Torque        = 410 lb/ft @ 3,950 RPM

3.0 EcoDiesel Redline  = 4,800 RPM (upshift @ 4000 RPM Wide Open Throttle)
5.7 Hemi Redline        = 5,800 RPM

This isn't a low revving diesel like the ones you'll find in commercial trucks or in a diesel pusher.

Looking at the numbers, both engines have about equal torque, but the 5.7 Hemi has to turn twice as fast to achieve it.  Since Horsepower = Torque x RPM x 5252, the Hemi makes twice as much horsepower at it's torque peak as the EcoDiesel.

Looking at the torque vs. horsepower charts, the two engines have about the same amount of pulling power up to their midrange RPMs.  The 5.7 Hemi develops the same amount of pulling power at 2500 RPM (43% of it's 5,800 RPM redline) as the 3.0 EcoDiesel does at it's 2000 RPM torque peak (42% of it's 4800 RPM redline).  Above these speeds the 5.7 Hemi is the clear leader with it's torque continuing to increase up to 3,950 RPM while the EcoDiesel's torque falls off above 2,000 RPM.

In other words, below 2,000 RPM for the EcoDiesel or 2,500 RPM for the Hemi, the two engines will pull about the same.  Above that point the EcoDiesel's power will tend to level out while the Hemi continues increasing torque up to 3,950 RPM.

Since it takes more fuel to create more power, or less fuel to create less power, I suspect the Hemi will closely match the EcoDiesel's mileage unless you ask the Hemi for more power.  If you do, the Hemi's MPGs will go down accordingly.

Diesel fuel does have an inherent MPG advantage over gasoline due to it's greater BTU energy per gallon.  But diesel now costs more per gallon than unleaded gas, which may negate part of it's cost advantage.
 
  Everything I have seen on the baby diesels implies to me it is a way the truck manufacturers are complying with the EPA regulations and not so much consumer demand.  In the half ton space I'd stick with a gas burner for TCO vs performance reasons.

-Chak
 
Chakara said:
  Everything I have seen on the baby diesels implies to me it is a way the truck manufacturers are complying with the EPA regulations and not so much consumer demand.  In the half ton space I'd stick with a gas burner for TCO vs performance reasons.

-Chak

I would agree with you, unless this is a grocery getter then stick with gas for 1/2 ton.

when moving up to a big 6.7L diesel the difference between gas and diesel is staggering. having towed with a big diesel
I would not go back to a gasser..

 
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