Courage
CarAudio.com Newbie
Hey guys, looking to tap into some of your personal experience with this.
I drive around 10k miles a year, about 8k of those miles are towing my 3½k lb landscape trailer. I have been using my 94 Ram 2500 5 speed manual 4x4 360 Magnum 4" lift 3.55 gears to tow it. One of my neighbors is an excellent mechanic and has offered to walk me through swapping a VE Cummins (out of a 1st gen) into it. He's done the same swap 2 or 3 times and said it's not that hard. I get about 10½ mpg towing my trailer with it, and about 15½ empty on the freeway doing 85+. Besides using it for work, I also like to explore old logging roads with it, and go on several long trips a year in it.
With my 360, if I'm in a hurry, or pulling out onto the hyway, I typically run it up to 3,500 rpms than shift. They drop down to about 2,000 in between shifts. I know with a 12 valve that you typically don't take them much past 2,400 rpms (with out a governor spring kit?).
I like the idea of getting better fue economy with a diesel. I have always wanted a Cummins too. I also would enjoy putting some bigger tires on it, but there's no way I'm doing that unless I do the swap so I'll have more power, as I have to downshift when towing to make it up even the smallest grade.
Here's my question guys, it sounds good in theory to me, but would my overall driving experience be worse with a diesel (I don't care about more vibrations, or it being louder)? I'm not into racing it or anything, but, empty, would a Cummins be faster stop light to stop light than my 360? Would I have to be shifting every few seconds because of less usable rpms? Guess I'm just curious which engine you guys think I'd have more fun with given my applications for the truck. I absolutely love the truck so I really don't want to make the swap and regret it, or not swap it if it has so much more potential for fun.
Hopefully some of you will have driven similar trucks and can share your experience with them, as I've never driven a diesel. I've driven lots of different gas trucks (ford 302, 351M, 351W, 4.2, 5.4, chevy 5.7's, and this 360. Just don't know what to do...
Thanks in advance!
Courage
I drive around 10k miles a year, about 8k of those miles are towing my 3½k lb landscape trailer. I have been using my 94 Ram 2500 5 speed manual 4x4 360 Magnum 4" lift 3.55 gears to tow it. One of my neighbors is an excellent mechanic and has offered to walk me through swapping a VE Cummins (out of a 1st gen) into it. He's done the same swap 2 or 3 times and said it's not that hard. I get about 10½ mpg towing my trailer with it, and about 15½ empty on the freeway doing 85+. Besides using it for work, I also like to explore old logging roads with it, and go on several long trips a year in it.
With my 360, if I'm in a hurry, or pulling out onto the hyway, I typically run it up to 3,500 rpms than shift. They drop down to about 2,000 in between shifts. I know with a 12 valve that you typically don't take them much past 2,400 rpms (with out a governor spring kit?).
I like the idea of getting better fue economy with a diesel. I have always wanted a Cummins too. I also would enjoy putting some bigger tires on it, but there's no way I'm doing that unless I do the swap so I'll have more power, as I have to downshift when towing to make it up even the smallest grade.
Here's my question guys, it sounds good in theory to me, but would my overall driving experience be worse with a diesel (I don't care about more vibrations, or it being louder)? I'm not into racing it or anything, but, empty, would a Cummins be faster stop light to stop light than my 360? Would I have to be shifting every few seconds because of less usable rpms? Guess I'm just curious which engine you guys think I'd have more fun with given my applications for the truck. I absolutely love the truck so I really don't want to make the swap and regret it, or not swap it if it has so much more potential for fun.
Hopefully some of you will have driven similar trucks and can share your experience with them, as I've never driven a diesel. I've driven lots of different gas trucks (ford 302, 351M, 351W, 4.2, 5.4, chevy 5.7's, and this 360. Just don't know what to do...
Thanks in advance!
Courage
