2014 Ram 2500 6.4L HEMI vs Ike Gauntlet: Run # 2 Raw & Unedited 

When will we get a new test with the 2019 6.4L 8-speed combo?

1 min 15 sec isn't going to make me pick one truck over the other. There are differences in the testing it isn't a true apples to apples. Chevy is a good truck and so is Dodge and so is Ford. They all 3 have been making trucks for a very long time. Is one better than the other in my opinion nope its all about preference. I personally own the 2014 Dodge 2500 6.4L and pull a 6000lb travel trailer and it pulls like it has nothing back there at all. Before i owned nothing but Fords and thought id never own a Dodge or anything else but so far im very pleased. I love this truck.

I like my mine. Tows my 10000 lb camp trailer no problem and I only have the 5.7 hemi. I think the trans is great. Pulls hills fine. I have no complaints. 4.10 rear 4x4 2500. 285 70 17r tires. I get about 7.6 to 8 mpg fully loaded with people and my travel trailer driving hwy 101 through Oregon. It's a 2012.

Im a GM truck guy but love to see trucks of any brand doing work. I really didnt expect the Chevy to do better than the dodge here because of the power difference. This just goes to show that trans tuning and engine tuning can make or break a truck in the real world. No matter the paper figures. I would have loved to see what the trans temps were more than the fuel economy. Doing a job of this manner I would be concerned about the vitals of the truck. I couldnt care less about fuel economy. I bet if the dodge would have had the 3.92 it would have done better. It would have caused the truck to kick down instead of sit at 30mph and 4k rpm.

After driving the Ram, I'm okay with it being slower than the others. THE RIDE IS AWESOME. If all you do is tow, tow, tow, then you will probably want a different truck. If you tow a few times a year, and most of the year you are running errands or driving to work, THE RIDE IS SO WORTH IT! I tow 7500 max, and my payload (hitch, family, bed goodies) is about 1500-1800 lb so this looks perfect for me. I HATED (can't emphasize enough) the F-250 test drive (disclosure, it was a diesel). It was a rough ride and I over-steered every single turn. The Ram 2500 was perfect.

After watching this and the other video I'm glad I bought my 2500 with the Cummins and not the 6.4 Hemi. They had a sale at the time where I didn't have to pay for the diesel option.

Love the Ike Gauntlet videos. You need to get the Ram EcoDiesel up there, as well as the refreshed 6.7 in the Super Duty.

Whole video= exhaust manifolds glowing red, transmission fluid boiling- great vid guys!!

"You cannot beat the mountain. The mountain speaks the truth." - Kent Sundling Wow, you guys should totally print that on t-shirts! I'd totally buy one!

They really need a truck transmission for this RAM, it does 70MPH in 2nd gear. Who designed the ratios.

You guys should do a Ike gauntlet challenge old school edition where you take some trucks from the 90's and see how they perform with their maximum load. it would be interesting to see how they perform and see if they even make it up the hill without overheating or blowing up.

I'll sacrifice 1 min up Ike for better fuel economy, lower price with more immensities, better looks, larger cab, and a truck that wont get stuck on a curb.

The transmission and engine combo in this truck doesn't seem like it works quite as well as it could. It seems to really have to bog down before the transmission downshifts. An 8 speed would probably help this truck a lot. ...or you could just get the diesel if you plan to drag 12,000 lbs across the Rockies.

Plz plz plz test the 2019 6.4 ram 8spd. Plzzzz. Also cheers to my fellow RuSsIaN 😎...

I will NEVER buy a RAM unless the dealers start offering a 10 year 250,000 mile power train warranty. You have to replace the transmission like you do your tires in those shitty trucks.

Not that it matters and I'm not under minding your knowledge of the truck but the 7" screen it is referring to I believe is the one on the dash between the gauges.

I would be more concerned with engine trans vitals lkke trans temp then economy going up this hill. You can easily flip through the screens and read us the info as you go. I would really like to see trans temps.

Honestly though a minute slower on this extreme stuff isn't that bad unless you do these climbs a bunch of times every week. Even if you do it twice daily, 7 days a week you're only adding 14 minutes of seat time compared to the Chevrolet.

you can order it with 410 gears. The power wagon comes standard with 410.

I think the fault could be in the manual selection of the gears and not just straight tow haul mode as most people tow

I wonder how a good power programmer would affect these trucks? Just download an Ike gauntlet tune and let her rip!

was there a lot of wind? Do you guys measure wind to account for excess drag? It should be something to consider

I didn't believe it made much of a difference until I saw it for myself. It seems the ram 6.4 has a very long break in period because of the shell platinum 0-40 synthetic oil. 13,000 miles is the magic number! Go back and get that same truck with mileage on it and you will see a BIG difference in power!!!

That 6.4L HEMI On That 3/4 Ton Pickup Truck Had Some Sort Problems Going Up The Hill While Towing 10,000 LBS.

I have an 07 1500 4x4 3.92 gears 5.7 hemi 234000 miles, if I tow my 18ft low boy with my off-road jeep, about 7000lbs, in tow haul mode (4th gear) I get 9mpg, if I tow in 3rd gear I get 11mpg and it's a lot easier on the engine and transmission. You don't need 4.56 gears in your differential if you know how to shift your tranny, eight speeds, pick the right gear.

Hey TFL. Love these Ike gauntlet videos. Been subscribed for a while. Just a suggestion: It would be great if you guys could keep track of the transmission, oil, coolant, and diff temps (if they have them). I realize those gauges might not be standard to all three auto-makers for comparison but just for our own reference when we watch it would be nice to see that data. The temperature control systems for the fluids on these trucks have a lot to do with service life and the Ike gauntlet is a great way to test those parameters.

what is the trans final drive ratios on the 2 trucks, could be what made the difference. dodges 6 speed is not exactly new and set up more for diesel torque not gasser hp. unfortunately the 8 speed is not a trans for heavy loads. the half ton lost over 1000 lbs towing when they switched over.

why don't they put it in 4th gear I never run my trucks in over drive when in tow mode

I don't think I'd want to run a 70's or 80's era engine that hard

Curb weights should be looked at, also. I believe a revised trans is in the works for this engine, but we'll see. Something is odd about it, though, because according to two different websites the 2013 Power Wagon with the 5.7 Hemi is nearly a second faster in the 0-60 than the 2014 Power Wagon with the 6.4. The 2014 is a heavier vehicle, but it still seems off.

The Fast Lane Truck I've watched your "Ike Gauntlet" many of times and I still don't know which direction your climbing. Is it eastbound or westbound? You probably have said the direction mutiple times but I don't remember. I live in Pennsylvania and I have no clue. I'm trying to learn more about this area on I-70 to see how treacherous it is to engines. thanks

Great video, guys. Big fan of your channel. Keep it up. Very surprised, bummer performance both times. Thanks for posting.

It's the same footage as the first one

There is some torque management going on there. I'd love to see the data on what the actual throttle opening is at that long steep part where it just held that rpm. Early on it was out pulling the best diesel they have ever run, so I know it can fuel, that leaves the drive by wire throttle closing down for some reason. That's all in the reprogramming. I bet had they just stopped and re-started when they dropped under 30mph it would have reset whatever engine nanny was pulling the power. Obviously this thing needs an aftermarket tune bad.

After you hit the "end" why did it rev higher then finally shift? Does the grade level out? or did you put your foot down more?

Ecu tuning fault. Open that power band dodge. Fu..k mpg you won't buy a 6.4 L for good mpg

I am a huge Ram fan. And im not gonna make excuses for this truck. Honestly, the 6.4 is a disappointment to me, at least when it comes to towing. The only thing this truck has going for it is off road capabilities.

those headers must be glowing red!

I hate how they detune the 6.4 hemi in the truck ... The scat pack has The same 6.4 hemi and it puts out almost 500 hp

Chevrolet has been known to underestimate their power figures. I'd put these trucks on a dyno and see what the real rear horsepower is on these trucks as to the manufacturers numbers

Did this Ram have the active air dampering system? If so that could hinder its performance.

If you're going to be hauling big weight, diesel is definitely the way to go.

IDE like to see what a set of 4.56’s in the axles would do for this truck. It would really make the gearing in the trans work better! And then I would get a tuner to eliminate some of the torque management issues. It seems to me that even though the pedal was on the floor the throttle opening was 70% at best! I would love to know what the actual throttle opening was during that run?

Hey Roman! I have a request for the future TFL Truck tests. This would require more work and I know that you guys work hard day in and day out but I think having the engine temperature and other information after the test. It probably stays normal since it's a new truck but if it doesn't, maybe just a data display at the end of the video when you edit. Thanks for the videos!

I really enjoy these IKE gauntlet video's. Very informative. I wish though, that the would develop a simple standard for all 1/2, 3/4 and 1Tons, so its possible to have fair comparisons. For example. With this test, they did a the Chev and the Ram, but not the F250 6.2. Since they didn't to the test, yet they have a different test organized by Ford in WV , it leads me to believe what I've heard about the F250 6.2. That is that the engine is a dog and has no guts. The Ford specs reflect this, as their own web site says that the 6.2 HP is only about 325 for any vehicle with a GVWR over 10,000. That's not even close to the Ram or the Chev.

Been up that pass a few times, definitely a punishing road.

My wife has this motor in her Jeep srt. Me, 6.7 Cummins. Diesel is the way to go if your on the fence over this gasser. Towing 12-14 mpg unloaded 16-19mpg long life and better resale. Not sure bout the truck but the wife’s 6.4 hemi requires 91 gas so it’s not really cheaper than diesel. Lose the leather seats and sunroof for the diesel $7k option. You won’t regret it.

Ffft, need trucks turbo-normalized at this altitude... 9k to 11k feet? Not saying it's a bad test, but I'd be interested to see how much better the NA trucks handle on this route if they were turbo-normalized for sea level power.

I'm a ford guy, but I see alot of chevy did this and chevy did that comments. Anyone who has ever towed a gooseneck or fifth wheel knows a truck pulls them a hell of alot different than conventional towing... just saying it's not truck vs truck no matter what way you look at it cause it's a night vs day scenario in setups

I've got a comparable 2016 6.4 Hemi but with 3.73 gearing. I wonder how it would change the results. In SC there isn't anywhere to test a truck like that.

When you should save a lot of fuel by slowing down at that mount?

Make a 2014 ram 1500 slt or sport 5,7 hemi review please

any videos of older trucks doing this test (90-2009)

If you're paying 50K for this truck you might as well just add a couple thousand and get the Cummins. HD trucks are made for constant towing and hauling . . . a gas engine really doesn't make sense. Furthermore a used 3/4 ton truck or higher with a gas engine is next to worthless because nobody wants them. With that said you guys did a great review. Lets face it, the Chevy did better because GM has more funding at its disposal for more / better engineers and r & d.

Dodge is trying to make the gas prices engine a viable option by tuning the transmission for greater fuel economy. The tow/haul mode should override that, but this doesn't appear to be the case.

I am a little bit surprised in the lack of performance on the Dodge with that big engine I think maybe they need to go back in to the motor and figure out some way to pull more power out of that baby. On the other hand I would like to see more stuff about the Diamond Jubilee Lincoln mark 5 I do like to see what's going on with the old Lincolns been awhile...

I just traded my 2016 chevy 2500hd 6.0 for a 2018 ram 3500 with 6.4. Thought it would pull my camper better I'm not sure now.

I think the manufacture's computer tuning is at fault. They're tuning their trucks for fuel economy and once towing heavy loads, the ECU limits the RPMs and there for getting from point A to B much slower than GM and Ford. What's the point of having a big powerful engine, if you can't even use it to its full potential? it's a waste of money of you ask me.

I don't get how this truck is so slow but the power wagon destroys the Gauntlet with little sweat? How much different are the two trucks set up?

Second run? Looks like the same footage from the other video.

E.G.R. system automatically kicks in to reduce combustion emissions and cools the combustion chamber.

The 6.4 hemi seems like a great motor; it seems like the transmission gearing and tuning ruins it. No reason I can think of that the other two gassers should put that much of a shame on it.

I have a special request for the TFLtruck team: Can you test Mr. Truck's 2013 6.2 Super Duty with the same load! The 2015 gas super duty is unchanged from the 2013 model year anyway.

Unedited ike great👍

Not fair! You should've gave Chevy another try too!

Wonder how hard it would be to fit this motor in a 1500?

As I've noted on several other occasions, the US motor industry seems to produce cars/trucks who's numbers, on paper, are wonderful. However, when you get them on the road, they don't seem to be able to live up to the hype. Just how realistic are the numbers provided by the US auto industry ?

can you guys do a review on the ram mega cab?

I really want the 3500 with ramboxes. Can I tow a fifth wheel with ramboxes? I've heard mixed reviews that it was possible.

First off I own a 14 2500 6.4 crew 2wd with a 8' bed 3:73 gears and just love it. It pulls just fine for me down here in Texas. But like some others on here I do not thing the test is really fair if you are testing motor to motor. Ram has the tallest tires of the big 3 and even with 4:10 gears this will make a diffrent in towing. I would like to see a re-run with TFLT using my trucks specs and see what would happen. I'll even bring in up there so they can us it. Thanks guys, love the vids!

Within a minute and without any measurement of wind speed etc., and many in this forum are acting like the Hemi is crap. SMH. Personally, I’m not paying $10,000 more for a Ford or a Chevy to save a minute.

Really, who would do that on a steep incline like that? I know they had to keep all things as equal as they could for the test, but in the real world, are you going to let the truck slow down to 30mph? No! you are going to manually downshift and let the truck rev! The Chevy was certainly at 5k for long periods of time, and that is most likely why it got to the top faster. A more accurate test would have been to set point along the route where you designate down shifts for both trucks and see how they fair. the fact that the Ram held second for far too long doesn't bother me because I would never have let that happen in the real world. IMO the only thing you could knock the Ram for is failure to downshift on an tough grade. BIG DEAL! and no I'm not a RAM lover, I'm a Tundra guy looking at all the options for my next truck and I really think all of the big 3 are so close you just have to pick the one that appeals to you or fits your needs the most and you can't go wrong.

It's the transmission gearing that kills these trucks. It's sad to say but a hemi half ton with the 8 speed would probably pull this hill quicker. They need the 8 speed in the heavy duty trucks, when that happens I'm going truck shopping!

I also understand that no two vehicles will be exactly the same. Maybe that particular ram was a dud and Chevrolet sent you guys a ringer like the manufacturers use to do back in the musclecars era?

You guys should load the heavy duty trucks with 10,000 pounds like the half tons so we have a apples to apples comparison. I bet most of the half tons would have faster times.

If yy ride on high altitude every day, i think it wil be a more senseble choise to take a turbo diesel truck, v6 or v8. You will ceep your power longer. But OK did not expecting this from a RAM...

Da.Tem.per.a.tures. MPG's will mean nothing when the truck is puking or sharting its internals.

Might be because it sits up higher than the rest???

Why the retest in the Ram?

damn the old ass 6.0 in the chevy beat the 6.4 hemis ass haha. even though the 6.0 has less power and torque and is a whole lot older.

when are yall going to test the Ford 6.2?

AXLE RATIOS OF ALL THREE?

I think this is the 1st run video cos its the same dialogue

This was kind of disappointing as far as the trucks performance. I honestly thought it would tie or slightly outperform the chevy. The sad thing is the new f150 with max tow package is rated at like 12,000 lbs so it would even do better up the mountain with the same weight seeing as its forced induction. Would also be interesting to see how the chevy 1500 would do with its max tow package and 6.2 engine since its rated at 12,500.

Just goes to show disappointing the "HEMI" really is, but yet many people buy into the hype of "its got a HEMI!"

The fast lane truck need to come to Canada go from Kamloops to Vancouver and see the grade it 18% That is nothing compared to the US

Need to see the EcoDiesel to see how that does vis a vis the ecoboost.

this is why I like a manual for heavy towing. Lower gears and I can hold a gear however long I want.

Mr.Truck wears a nice shirt.

I wander why a a company who has been making trucks for so many years STILL don't know how to build a proper transmission for a heavy duty truck? Who is in charge of the gearing inside of these things? They need a new job, Prob moping floors.

I love mr truck , Roman bugs the chit out of me.

I think ch3vys the b3st truck do use for a everyday work truck

and the 6.0l they tested isnt even Direct injection yet haha should be awsome. In Mr trucks F250 with a 6.2 took 8k up the hill in this video /watch?v=upXsZIoR2VU this was done by them not long ago! it did it in 8.28 so add 3-4k more and it would be dam close to the Gm!!! and i know that it was 3.73 rear end in the ford not 4.10

I had a 2014 Longhorn 6.4 and the transmission ratios are horrible. This set up would be better with the Aisin or better yet adapt the 8-speed for HD use. The 6-speed attached to it has weird spacing. First gear is too high and the shift to second has a ridiculous RPM drop off. The truck really struggles against these two things. The far less powerful GM 6.0 with a nicely spaced gearing performs better because of the 6.4's poor gearing plain and simple. The 6.4 is a great pulling motor, has a very fat torque band and is very good at holding speed on the go. The ingredients are in place for Dodge to run away with this segment but they're sandbagging it with a transmission designed for a Cummins powerband. If they decide to adapt the 8-speed I'll be the first in line to order one. Until then, it's just a dog for the most part.

Hahaha the 6.0 gmc beat the 6.4 ram, that surprised me .

Just shows more power and torque numbers don't tell the whole story.

ram has a weird transmission. I notice it when I pull my camper in tow/haul. no weight truck goes like a raped ape. add weight it seems hindered.

remember that this is the cheapest quarter ton

Huge difference. The Ram is an HD truck capable of serious off road work. The Chevy is not.

3.73's?