A 6.0 chevy or 5.7 Hemi Dodge?

Similarly equipped 3/4 ton trucks. MPG's do not matter, nor do diesel comments.

Thank you.

6.0 Chevy...













Actually, a 5.9 Cummins :flipoff2:

6.0 chevy

The chevy.

Chevy, no question.

Seems as though the 6.0 is more of a TQ motor where as the 5.7 is more of a HP motor. Oh and I vote 6.0 as I have one, love it.

Nother vote for the 6.0 cheby, that Allison tranny will make a difference.
















Actually make that to votes for the 5.9 CTD :flipoff2:

Nother vote for the 6.0 cheby, that Allison tranny will make a difference.

Doesn't the allison only come behind the dmax and older 8.1's? I thought the 6.0 was a 4l80e or 4l85e.

Chevy 6.0
That 5.7 is a dog and the tranny is geared terribly for mountain towing.
Also I put a lot of miles on two '04 2500 Hemi's and they can't hold a grade geared down. My lightweight Tundra does a better job in the mountains!

Doesn't the allison only come behind the dmax and older 8.1's? I thought the 6.0 was a 4l80e or 4l85e.

Looks like I misspoke a bit, It's still a six speed "heavy duty" but not the allison, I assumed the allsion was a standard option for all HD chevys. Now it looks like you can only get the 6.0 or the dmax, bye bye 8.1.

My preference would be:

1) 6.2 GM with 6 speed (not in the 3/4s yet, but soon....)
2) 380HP 5.7 hemi
3) 6.0 with 6 speed
4) 340hp 5.7 hemi

Never liked the 6.0 when it first came out, but they've come along a lot in the last few years. The 6.2s are nice, though.

Likewise, the 09 rams I've driven also are nice (have only driven the new hemi in the half tons, though...)

Go test drive a couple. Get manual trans trucks and see which one is stronger from idle to 3500 rpm. Doesn't matter how they run at 5500 rpm, you don't want to pull up that high unless you have too. The hemi my friend had was gutless below 4K rpm. It pulled hard at 4500 rpm, but sucked gas at 5-7 mpg pulling his 26' car trailer with all his stuff in it. On the flats it was fine, but hit a little hill and it kicked down and wanted to run 4500-5000 rpm all day. NOT FUN when you are trying to talk in the truck or hoping to make it to the next town to get gas. If you can't get manual trans trucks to test, then you will have to use your own judgement. Be warned though, just because a truck hauls when it's empty, doesn't mean it will get out of it's own way when it's full. Gears also matter. If you can get the hemi with 4.56's and you can only get the 6.0 with 3.73's then you have to decide how you want to use the truck and what you are willing to put up with. His truck had 3.55's and with 31" stock tires it would run 75 in 2nd gear (Auto), but that was at 5500 rpm. As soon as it shifted into 3rd, speed would fall to 55 and lugging until it kicked back into 2nd, then it was back to 5500 rpm then shift, over and over and over for 300 miles......

Now we both own diesels and we are content to get 8-10 mpg at 70 mph pulling in drive and listening to the turbo whine when you hit a hill instead of listening to a small block bounce off the rev limiter all day.

If I had to pick, I'd say Chevy with a manual trans and 4.11 or lower gears and you should be very happy in the hills and not lose too much MPG on the flats.

I tow with a rcsb 1500 5.7 4x4 with 4.56s/35s and I can hold 6,000lbs @ 70mph in 1:1 for as long as I need to. OD is easy on the flats. Mild grades kick out for a bit but nothing bad.

6.0 Chevy. A coworker had a 5.7 '03 2500 and it was gutless empty let alone loaded. Loud though. He traded on a Dmax

6.0's aren't fast but they will run. In HDs I beleive they only had 4.10s, which is a good choice. They will rev if needed but feel a lot tourquier then the hemi.


Oh and I vote 8.1 :D It will run up and down mtns all day long at 20k lb gross even with the 4spd auto.

6.0 Chevy.

I'm sitting behind the wheel of one with 235k on the clock. Its been unstoppable so far.

I have an '04 2500HD with the 6.0 and a 5 speed and LOVE it. My old neighbor had a 3/4 ton Ram with the Hemi to tow his classic Power Wagon in an enclosed box and it sucked! He had to keep his foot on the floor all the time - I gotta believe it is hard on the engine. He has an automatic, but still.

I vote Chevy - double vote if you can find a used one with the 5 speed. You can't buy a new one with a manual tranny.

Assuming both trucks came with the same gears and options.... price would have big part of my decision. That being said. I think the 5.7 is better suited for hot roding due to its rather spikey power curve and high end bias. The 6.0 is a better truck engine for the same reasons, nice fat power band in the lower RPM range, yet is not as good in the high RPM range.

Price would be the deciding factor for me.

6.0

Buddy has an 06 6 Speed 5.7 and it hauls ass around town, can pull the gates off of hell at over 4500 RPM but under that it's kinda a dog. My 6.0 will run 70-75 all day with a full load in the bed, 24' open trailer with a 4runner on 36's. Not a huge load but it will hold OD most of the time and the tranny is really easy to manipulate with the pedal. Tow/Haul is your friend. My only complaint on the trucks is that Chevy puts torque management in it's computer programs. Thats why these trucks won't spin the tires at will. Supposedly with a computer re-flash it frees up about 30 hp and gains a little mileage

I have the 04 5.7 2500 with 4.10 gears, My Brother has an 02 chevy 6.0 with 3.73s. we both have the same trailers and yes the 5.7 revs to like 4500 rpm's on steep hills. while the chevy stays around 3k. they will both do the same job. I get a solid 10 mpg pulling a 10k trailer with the jeep and quads, my bro gets 7-8 mpg. we dont go over 65 pulling the trailers to the trail. the dodge has a 34 gal tank vs 26 gal on the chevy. The chevy has a better ride because of the IFS when unloaded. I paid $30k for the dodge New and He paid like $37K. The price is what did it for me. My dodge can go longer without refilling on trips. I always thank him that way we have to stop and get gas and take a break. Also I recently put a 2.5 leveling kit and H2(315/70/17's) and looks way nicer than the Chevy with the 265s.

Been in both and I agree. The Dodge is a hot rod, the Chevy is more of a "truck" in the torque arena, even though I have many disparaging things to say about IFS and Chevrolet products in general. Mileage sucked in both, appeared to be around the 10-12 margin unloaded, but I was only a passenger.

All this coming from a Ford guy with a PSD.

I have the 04 5.7 2500 with 4.10 gears, My Brother has an 02 chevy 6.0 with 3.73s. we both have the same trailers and yes the 5.7 revs to like 4500 rpm's on steep hills. while the chevy stays around 3k. they will both do the same job. I get a solid 10 mpg pulling a 10k trailer with the jeep and quads, my bro gets 7-8 mpg. we dont go over 65 pulling the trailers to the trail. the dodge has a 34 gal tank vs 26 gal on the chevy. The chevy has a better ride because of the IFS when unloaded. I paid $30k for the dodge New and He paid like $37K. The price is what did it for me. My dodge can go longer without refilling on trips. I always thank him that way we have to stop and get gas and take a break. Also I recently put a 2.5 leveling kit and H2(315/70/17's) and looks way nicer than the Chevy with the 265s.


That was what I've seen, those first few years of 6.0s weren't that great. A buddy had a 2001 I believe, got poor mileage and wasn't really that strong.

But, take a new version of it its a very different motor.

Would a 2004 model w/ 6.0 be a decent motor?

I just bought an 05 2500hd with the 6.0 and love it. Tows great drives great. Only problem i have is the fuel tank is to small. The low fuel light comes on with 5 gallons still left to go in the tank. Im getting 13.5 mpg mixed driving. I got 11 pulling my buddys small camp trailer 4000lbs.

Would a 2004 model w/ 6.0 be a decent motor?Yes! The great thing about the 6.0L chevy is the tons of aftermarket support. Just basic mods really wake up the motor. Hell just a good custom tune and you will be amazed at how restricted the motor is in stock form.

Yes! The great thing about the 6.0L chevy is the tons of aftermarket support. Just basic mods really wake up the motor. Hell just a good custom tune and you will be amazed at how restricted the motor is in stock form.

that goes with the 8.1 as well...

for the longest time i wanted a 6.0 tow rig...tune it, toss in a cam and call it a day. I was SO impressed with my 5.3 in my blazer. On that note, i ended up with a 8.1/alli tow rig. Ill say that once you tune out the PE delay with the 8.1, its an entirely new beast. The 8.1 gets maybe 1 mpg less than the 6.0 towing, and from what ive heard, damn near the same, again, maybe 1 mpg less unloaded. It also has SO much more balls, and low end is amazing. After having my 8.1 for almost 4 months now, i can say i would have made the wrong decision had i gotten a 6.0. IMFO, shoot for a 8.1/allison if possible. The combo in stock form is amazing for a gas motor.

one more thing, allison vs 80e. i have the 5.3/80e in my blazer, its a great combo, but as we all know, 2.48:1 first gear and .75 OD. Allison is 3.10:1 first and something like .71 OD with the 5 speed. Essentially, the gearing the allison has is what the 700r4/60e SHOULD have had with the deep first and fairly high OD. I have put about 6-700 miles on the truck towing my blazer and a couple other trucks. My trailer is 2K lbs, blazer is in the neighborhood of 6K, other trucks were 3500-4500. It barely knows theres a load back there and the transmission computer flat out works as it is. Shift points are great, it downshifts when it needs to, holds gears out well, etc etc. 80e is fine for towing and is a great transmission, but the allison is just out of this world. I was amazed witht he difference of the 80e after having a 700r4 in my blazer, and i just THAT much more amazed at the allison over the 80e.

that goes with the 8.1 as well...

for the longest time i wanted a 6.0 tow rig...tune it, toss in a cam and call it a day. I was SO impressed with my 5.3 in my blazer. On that note, i ended up with a 8.1/alli tow rig. Ill say that once you tune out the PE delay with the 8.1, its an entirely new beast. The 8.1 gets maybe 1 mpg less than the 6.0 towing, and from what ive heard, damn near the same, again, maybe 1 mpg less unloaded. It also has SO much more balls, and low end is amazing. After having my 8.1 for almost 4 months now, i can say i would have made the wrong decision had i gotten a 6.0. IMFO, shoot for a 8.1/allison if possible. The combo in stock form is amazing for a gas motor.



The 8.1L would be my choices as well but he was asking about the 6.0L which is far more common. The 8.1L's harder to find and are pretty rare round here at least. I can't believe with the price of Diesel that GM hasn't made the 8.1L an option again in the new HD's

You need to buy a wipple for yours! Lol it changes everything

that goes with the 8.1 as well...

for the longest time i wanted a 6.0 tow rig...tune it, toss in a cam and call it a day. I was SO impressed with my 5.3 in my blazer. On that note, i ended up with a 8.1/alli tow rig. Ill say that once you tune out the PE delay with the 8.1, its an entirely new beast. The 8.1 gets maybe 1 mpg less than the 6.0 towing, and from what ive heard, damn near the same, again, maybe 1 mpg less unloaded. It also has SO much more balls, and low end is amazing. After having my 8.1 for almost 4 months now, i can say i would have made the wrong decision had i gotten a 6.0. IMFO, shoot for a 8.1/allison if possible. The combo in stock form is amazing for a gas motor.

one more thing, allison vs 80e. i have the 5.3/80e in my blazer, its a great combo, but as we all know, 2.48:1 first gear and .75 OD. Allison is 3.10:1 first and something like .71 OD with the 5 speed. Essentially, the gearing the allison has is what the 700r4/60e SHOULD have had with the deep first and fairly high OD. I have put about 6-700 miles on the truck towing my blazer and a couple other trucks. My trailer is 2K lbs, blazer is in the neighborhood of 6K, other trucks were 3500-4500. It barely knows theres a load back there and the transmission computer flat out works as it is. Shift points are great, it downshifts when it needs to, holds gears out well, etc etc. 80e is fine for towing and is a great transmission, but the allison is just out of this world. I was amazed witht he difference of the 80e after having a 700r4 in my blazer, and i just THAT much more amazed at the allison over the 80e.


what is the PE delay you are talking about in the 8.1 ? torque managment?

what is the PE delay you are talking about in the 8.1 ? torque managment?
No its not TQ mant.


At WOT your computer will use the richer of the two values between the Open Loop F/A table and the PE table. It basically delays going into PE tables on some truck PCMs. Removing it gives at least 20+ HP. The cars PCM had it set to 0 already in stock form.

I know most of you are against the Hemi, but I bought one anyways.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p315/PhotosDeSample/S4020550.jpg



Now I just need to sell my baja bug so I can buy a trailer to tow the CJ to the trails on.

I know most of you are against the Hemi, but I bought one anyways.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p315/PhotosDeSample/S4020550.jpg



Now I just need to sell my baja bug so I can buy a trailer to tow the CJ to the trails on.

that is a nice looking truck. i have thought about buying a new dodge with a Hemi, partly due to the forever warrenty. but being a ford guy, i don't know that i can do that.

I tow my Cherokee on a 16' trailer with an '06' Ram 1500 HEMI Quadcab. It has the tow package with the 3:92 gears.

I also have a Superchips Flashpaq tuner.

The last time I towed my Cherokee to Moab, I had the computer tuned to Superchip's 'performance' tune and got 12.5-13.5 mpg.

Last November I towed to JV with Superchips 'towing' tune and averaged 11-12 mpg.

I'm doing the Rubicon next month, and I again am going to put the 'performance' tune into the computer and I'll see how that goes.

With your truck, you won't be winning any races with it, but it'll get you there just fine.

The price difference between the gas vs. diesel will buy you a lot of gas.

My 0.02

Good luck!!!

I tow my Cherokee on a 16' trailer with an '06' Ram 1500 HEMI Quadcab. It has the tow package with the 3:92 gears.

I also have a Superchips Flashpaq tuner.

The last time I towed my Cherokee to Moab, I had the computer tuned to Superchip's 'performance' tune and got 12.5-13.5 mpg.

Last November I towed to JV with Superchips 'towing' tune and averaged 11-12 mpg.

I'm doing the Rubicon next month, and I again am going to put the 'performance' tune into the computer and I'll see how that goes.

With your truck, you won't be winning any races with it, but it'll get you there just fine.

The price difference between the gas vs. diesel will buy you a lot of gas.

My 0.02

Good luck!!!

So you like the Superchips flashpaq then?

hemi is a turd my old 97 5.7 vortec with 113000 miles would leave my buddys hemi with a load bad in the mountains. i mean bad the hemi is way over rated. i think the 5.7 is a way better truck motor than the 5.3 and i now have a 5.3 in my wifes suv. the 5.7 has a ton of bottom and mid with bolt on mods. my opinion!

hemi is a turd my old 97 5.7 vortec with 113000 miles would leave my buddys hemi with a load bad in the mountains. i mean bad the hemi is way over rated. i think the 5.7 is a way better truck motor than the 5.3 and i now have a 5.3 in my wifes suv. the 5.7 has a ton of bottom and mid with bolt on mods. my opinion!

Thanks for the input, but I am not into racing, nor was I asking about a 5.7 chevy engine.

The Hemi is a turd. I had an 03 2500 with a Hemi, dumbest move I ever made was not spec'ing out that truck with a Cummins. I ended up trading it on an 02 5.9 a couple years ago. Like the other guy I just listen to the turbo whine on the hills instead of the Hemi bouncing off the rev limiter. I wish I could go back in time and order the 03 with a Cummins. I'd still have it and would have saved myself a ton of money.

Good looking dodge! Congrats on the purchase!

The Hemi is a turd. I had an 03 2500 with a Hemi, dumbest move I ever made was not spec'ing out that truck with a Cummins. I ended up trading it on an 02 5.9 a couple years ago. Like the other guy I just listen to the turbo whine on the hills instead of the Hemi bouncing off the rev limiter. I wish I could go back in time and order the 03 with a Cummins. I'd still have it and would have saved myself a ton of money.


Odd, I had a 2002 Cummins and thought it was a real dog compared to my 1995 powerstroke. The Hemi feels more than adaquete.

I have a 05 Hemi. I flat tow a Jeep XJ with a pop up camper in the bed. I am also carrying 2 adults and 3 kids. The engine has been great. I don't haul ass up the hills but I do get 9mpg. From San Jose to Slick Rock I average 13 mpg.

The big problem is the tranny. On long steep pulls the temp gets to 235. I have a temp gauge on it, larger cooler and a fan for the cooler.

I plan on getting a bigger and finned trans pan.

Throwing money at it has not been bad since I paid $26,000 out the door for a 4x4 Quad Cab with the 5.7. New. 7 year 70,000 warrenty.

I wound up with a 4.7 mini v8 in mine. I pull a 26' camper at least once a month. I can't get anywhere quickly, but I get there. On flat ground I can get around 10-11 keeping it at 60. Pulling out of Devils Den or Byrd's campground I get 8-9. Little engine spins at 4-5000 rpms all day long. Neighbor down the street has a small 5th wheel camper he pulls with his truck. Same as mine but has the hemi. We get about the same mileage, he goes faster though.

I had an excursion v10 before, same mileage but much faster. It handled like shit though. Before the excursion I had an 01 cummins, great mileage but I burned up two vp44's and three lift pumps as well as one clutch. Before that was an 04 titan. Titan kicked serious ass as a light duty tow rig. Best gas engine trans combo I have owned.... zero payload capacity though. Even though the dodge's tranny's are not as good, the suspension and brakes are much better.

I think the mega cab will serve you well, plus with the size of the cab you don't need to bring a tent. Just flip the seats down and roll out the sleeping bags!

So you like the Superchips flashpaq then?I have a love/hate relationship with it.

It works great as it's supposed to, but you always have to run premium gas in it. With the cost of today's gas, I presently don't have it tuned so I can gas up with just regular.

I'll tune it before I tow with it again.

my bro gets 7-8 mpg. we dont go over 65 pulling the trailers to the trail.

Are you at altitude? That sounds like pretty awful mileage for a 6.0. My BIL gets 8 towing an 8,000lb RV trailer at 70+ & I get right at 10 towing my V8 Toy at the same speed, and over 11 if I baby it & try to hold OD on the hills. But, we're at sea level, so I'm sure that makes a difference.