What happens if you gain enough MPH that you need to shift....you will run out of RPM at some point and MUST shift...

 

HMM. On loose shale. I dont know. Id hit it in second and hope for the best.

Autos are better because manuals tend to bust loose and its harder to reacquire traction. Nothin beats a second gear start in an auto for traction control.

 

OK...yes on loose shale....the auto is wonderful and makes climbing safer
Every year they kill 4/8 folks in the San Juan’s four wheeling, sticks get folks killed...........granted it is a skill thing then...however with an auto none of the slipping the clutch to get the thing going when it would not pull in 2nd gear...it HAPPENS….

 

Heretic, I would own a 48RE, because it would out-pull and out-tow the Cummins with the manual. In fact, I think even it's OD gear is better, too, giving it more speed. Daimler sells the manual transmission to take advantage of the "nostalgia" of wanting to look & feel like a "big rig" ... pure cosmetics.

 

. Why is it only chrysler that takes advantage of wannabes? I say there is something else here. Maybe the ZF is not so good. Maybe the auto is better than the zf any day of the week. Maybe the 48re is not so good. Maybe the NV is better any day of the week. I couldnt tell you. I have no experience with either. Until I have towed with a 6 speed cummins, 6 speed PSD and a TS 6.0. Now. I have heard that the TS 6.0 is a good combo for all around towing. Same as Ive heard the NV cummins is a good combo for towing heavy.

Back to the faster is better. If identical hp. Faster means LESS. Always. No ifs ands or butts. Identical hp. Faster is less. Is less better? To you maybe. Not to me.

IMHO. Only a fool would think these baby diesels comparable to a heavy duty.

Now. Out tow is a matter of perspective. Faster is not always out tow to me. I have a manual and think highly of their reliability. You can go faster but I assure you. I will go farther on less pennies. It then depends on what you find important. If you trade every 50k then heck yeah. I drive em til their a classic.

I myself am not particularly nostalgic. I have a 94 manual and do not favor myself a truck driver.

Does ford and chevy not also sell 6 speed manuals? Regardless of what the consumers purchase 6 speeds and diesels make sense. But according to you. Dodge is the only one cashing in on the wannabe truck drivers. Could be true. Seeins how cummins are the only one available in heavy duty configurations. I dont know if youve owned a heavy duty cummins. I havent. I also havent heard good things about a great many of them.

Tim. Maybe 4 to 8 drivers shouldnt be out there. If you drive beyond your personal expertise and your vehicles capabilities. God be with you. Im not dead yet. But if I kill myself behind the wheel. Do not mourn for me. Im the one that made the choices and or mistakes. An auto or manual has its place. In this one instance you are correct. On the highway in the mountains. I will take a manual any day of the week. On loose shale in the mojave. Give me an auto. But ive never been to the mojave and dont plan on making a special trip.
I have shed more than one tear over fallen comrades. I wish only to be so lucky. To go doing something I love. Death is a consequence of life.

 

Lack of common sense/skill has taken its toll up there.......sadly!

 

[/QUOTE]When you need to tow a very heavy load, the automatic transmission is much better[QUOTE]

OK,
whoever thinks automatics are the best for towing is wrong, if the were then why would they put manauls in semi trucks that tow 80,000 lbs??????????????

I cant tell you how meny automatics I have seen blow out trying to tow a havy load.

Nathan

 

Very simple reason that semi's don't have automatics. Can you imagine the size of a 18speed auto. In most cases for light duty pickups auto are rated high in towing capacity than manuals. Because manuals are not blessed with torque multiplication you need a first gear that is unusable for anything but towing. An example of this is the D-max looses 1500 lbs when mated to a manual.

And this is just an opinion but I bet for every auto that has failed towing heavy loads you would see 10 burned up clutchs in a manual.

 

Please understand the Dodge was a 6 speed and 4X4, but the 2004 F250 was an automatic 4X2 and weighted about 700 lbs less.




(However- no matter what the confiquration, Dodge should get extra points becasue you can take the grill off the Dodge and cook on it at Fatburger!!!)

 

WOW, when you use font that size everyone will think you are yelling at them...I know you not..............though...

 

I used that font size as a test. It looks like LAS VEGAS!! I was really trying to downplay my snip at the bottom. I was not trying to flame, but have a little fun.....

 

I wonder why they matched up the Ford 4x2 auto against a Dodge 4x4 manual??? hmmm an interesting thought(magazine conspiracy *cough*). I guess they wanted to give the Ford an even bigger advantage, not that it needed it. It also puts the PSD in an even bigger limelight over the Cummins. Good job j_obeck... I like a guy that can look at these situations objectively. The newest SuperDuty grill looks all metallic though to... so I'd imagine you could cook on that as well.

Please note: any PSD fan would point this out to if they used a 4x4 manual PSD vs. 4x2 auto Cummins and declared Dodge Cummins the winner.

 

No conspiracy here, these are the trucks they where given. If you read the article though the Ford loaded was quicker than the Dodge empty. So much for that theroy, at that point the ford weighed 2000# more.

 

a manual is better for towing, with a good driver, but if your the kind that can't drive unless you just have to press on the gas and go. then a manual is not for you. so go ahead and get the auto trans on your new truck but don't come crying to me when you have to buy a new $2000+ trans for it.

 

I would never cry to you. You couldn't do anything about it anyway. But if I remember the number qouted on this board, 95% of all PSD are sold with auto's. I'm pretty sure that more than 5% tow with this truck.