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Am i the only one with a pentastar v6???

89K views 268 replies 116 participants last post by  Bigman00214 
#1 ·
There has to be someone else out there who loves their v6. post some pics here and show some love!!!
 
#108 ·
My mpg gauge is always within 1 mpg when I reset at every fill up.. Hand calculated...and every fill up it says right around 23 mpg average. That's city and highway driving. Not like the hemi guys "I'll reset the mpg gauge on the highway." And then post my great average. I get one extra week out of a tank compared to my old 4.7. Glad I bought my pentastar!
 
#109 ·
I've owned both, a 2008 5.7 Hemi and now a 14 V6. As much as I love the Hemi, Im a bit older now and don't need to pound the gas as soon as I hit the highway. I don't tow at all either really, except maybe a fishing boat. Mostly lumber and materials hauling in the back. So I've found I still get the pep I need to pass someone on the highway, and the fuel savings are night and day from what I remember of my Hemi. I occasionally yearn for that Hemi growl but I'm happy with my decision.
 
#110 ·
Traded in my '08 QC 4x2 Hemi for a '14 QC 4x4 Pentastar in late October. Already have 6,3xx miles due to trips back and forth from AR to central/south TX(I put over 95k on my '08 from 2/12-10/14). So far I love my Pentastar. It's not a V8, but I've yet to feel like it's lacking in the power department. I average 21-23 mpg by hand, and my EVIC has never been more than 1.5 off. The biggest change I've noticed is the miles between fillups. I always top off when I hit 1/4 tank, and in my Hemi that was roughly 300 miles. Now with the 3.6 I ususally get around 425 miles. Sometimes I do miss those Flowmasters, but when I look at my bank account I get over it :smileup:
 
#112 ·
Hey guys,just a quick update on my 2013 Tradesman.
I will roll 30k miles going to work tomorrow,and zero problems so far.The 3.6/8sp.combo is still strong and smooth,and has done everything I have asked of it.
As real-world fuel economy has been of interest,here are my results(hand calculated)so far:
overall mpg through 29,975 miles=23.4mpg.My daily drive is 50 miles round trip,40 of which are rural highway.My typical highway mileage is 25-26,depending on conditions.My best mileage was 27.1(Exxon e0,cruise set at whatever the speed limit happened to be,a/c on),between Pine Bluff,AR and Pascagoula,MS.Worst highway mileage was 23.0,running 80-85mph,on I-10 in the Florida panhandle.
Performance is outstanding for a v-6 in a moderately heavy vehicle.On-ramps are no problem,and full-throttle acceleration is down-right entertaining.
I am completely satisfied with this truck.YMMV!!!
Clark
 
#117 ·
I've had my new 2014 1500 Big Horn regular cab with the 3.6L/8 speed for about 2 weeks now and I love it. I test drove both the V8 and the V6 and really liked the V6 better then the HEMI for daily driving. i'll tell you it sure takes some getting use to with the new dash mount rotary shifter.
 
#119 ·
I've had mine since 12/2014 :cool:

I basically came out of a '04 K-2500 with a 6.0 and a 4spd O/D
the 2014 K-1500 I won't count as I only put 300 miles on it
due to vibration issues. :doh:

My big towing days are done, so my intention was a 6cly with an Auto
and 4X4.

This Pentastar has 5 more HP then my K-2500 and right out of the
shoot I'm getting low 20's for mpg ! plenty of power just where I need
it and I'll admit I'm still learning how to apply the 8psd trans to my driving
style...But I'm getting closer :D
 
#123 ·
I respectfully disagree - I have a 2015 pentastar 1500 Laramie with 3.55 gears and all the options (Ramboxes, air suspension, etc.) and THE best aspect of my truck is the motor. I ordered this truck from the factory just to get this very configuration - primarily for the pentastar. Acceleration, towing (up to 7,000 lbs.), payload (higher rating than if I had the Hemi), maintenance (regular filters and 6 quarts of oil - as opposed to nearly 11 quarts and the special filters of the eco-diesel), great mileage (averaging 19-20 mixed driving with regular gas at the pump and no DEF fuel or more expensive per gallon diesel fuel), and no extra charge at purchase time ($4,500 cheaper than the eco-diesel and $1,100 cheaper than the Hemi). I admit in any one category (except for purchase cost) it may not be the leader but overall - all considerations - best motor on the truck market today!
 
#122 ·
Welcome to the forum cdoroftei :wave:

Care to expand on " It is OK, but no SUPER-OK "

I enjoy reading others perspectives ;)
 
#127 ·
I traded by 2007 Ram Hemi for this 2015 Pentastar. Maybe it's the transmission but I'm very impressed with the performance of this engine, even in the lower rpm range. It does lack a wee bit when nailing it at 70 mph or so, but the mpg more then makes up for that. Much better then the old small V8 from years gone by.
 
#133 ·
I was logged in and spent 30 minutes creating a long entertaining Pentastar saga, uploaded half dozen photos and when I clicked Post Quick reply, I got a meassage saying I needed to login AGAIN ! So I did and promptly got another message saying the because the original page was loaded before logging in, it cannot be reloaded so I lost all the work and effort I had put into this post. This is the second time this has happened so I guess I'll just move on and not put up with this kind of frustration any longer :)
 
#136 · (Edited)
We are now on our 5th Ram (plus 1 Dakota) in the last 20 years. Suffice it to say, I am quite familiar with the variety of configurations and engine packages by now. We have had a 5.3L V-8, a 4.7L V-8, a 3.6L V-6 and the 3.0L V-6 Ecodiesel. My favorite overall, taking my specific applications into mind, has been the 3.6L Pentastar.

My wife and I started traveling extensively after retiring nearly 10 years ago, mostly to see the country and document our travels on our YouTube travel channel. In an effort to cut down on travel costs, we traded in the V-8 for the Pentastar in September of 2013. I found it quite remarkable .... much quieter cabin from the V-8, better than expected performance and startling fuel economy. Our first cross country trip covered 8,600 miles mostly traveling the smaller highways and 2 lane byways of this great land. Upon returning home, I ran all the numbers (hand calculated) to find that we had average 22.4 mpg for the entire trip.



We then started traveling with small travel trailers and the Pentastar was perfect for this application. Our second TT was a 3,500 lb rig that we pulled coast to coast in 2014. Covering 8,300 miles on that trip, the numbers worked out to an average of 14.3 mpg. I found this to be quite acceptable by anyone's towing standards.




We had so much fun that we decided to invest in a larger unit with a slide out, but weighing in at 6,000 lbs loaded. The Pentastar had no trouble pulling the new trailer home (although EVIC indicated only 12.8 mpg) and no trouble getting down our very long and steep driveway. Imagine our excitement as we prepared to leave on our first trip with the new TT up to Great Smokies National Park to see the fall colors. Now imagine our surprise when we found out that the 2WD with no "anti-spin" rear axle, wasn't able to pull the 6,000 trailer back up our steep 40 degree driveway. Just not enough traction with the one drive wheel. The "traction control" basically just kept switching drive from one wheel to the other. We tried everything but nothing worked. At this point I figured that we had just bought a new "room addition" to the house.
We decided that we'd have to trade in our beloved Pentastar for a 4x4 model and since I had been eyeing the new Ecodiesel since I first read about it years prior, we bought a 2015 Eco built Nov.5th in 2014. With 410 lbs ft of torque and 4x4 drive train with anti-spin axle, we now had no difficulty getting up our driveway. We towed the 6,000 lb TT with the Eco over 9,000 miles and averaged about 13.5 mpg with it.




We also discovered after owning 3 travel trailers in 2 years that the RV industry didn't deserve our business as all of them were poorly built with no pride in workmanship and prone to multiple failures causing nothing but frustration. We decided to abandon the RV lifestyle completely and go back to our camping roots. I also came to realize that I am not the typical "diesel folk". These guys are fanatical about their passion for their diesels and I simply wasn't at that level. I found the emissions systems very complicated (with questionable reliability) and the idiosyncrasies of ownership to be unnecessary. Since we didn't have the need to pull the heavy TT anymore, we spent a lot of time trying to find another Pentastar with the same relative trim level and thankfully found a 2016 at a dealership in a neighboring state. We are now back into our beloved Pentastar (and our first experience with the chocolate brown interior).




It's perfect for our new found traveling lifestyle as you can see in the attached link ......... (watch in 1080p)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxINLzuxJg0
 
#139 ·
We are now on our 5th Ram (plus 1 Dakota) in the last 20 years. Suffice it to say, I am quite familiar with the variety of configurations and engine packages by now. We have had a 5.3L V-8, a 4.7L V-8, a 3.6L V-6 and the 3.0L V-6 Ecodiesel. My favorite overall, taking my specific applications into mind, has been the 3.6L Pentastar.
I'm glad you decided to re-post. I'm jealous, your life is what I would have for myself after winning the lottery!

I wouldn't have pegged you and your wife as gamers though...
 
#140 · (Edited)
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Pickup truck


This is my first new Ram--I owned a 1987 Ram with the 318 V8 back in the early 90s. That was a nice truck, but I'd bought it used and it had 100,000+ miles on it when I got it. Fast forward to 2016. . . . I bought my new 2015 Ram QC Express 4WD on New Years Eve--I spec'd the 3.6L Pentastar because I'd read a lot about it and was impressed with the reviews. 305hp and good torque numbers in a small, fuel-efficient package!

I still have less than 1000 miles on it, but so far I'm very impressed with the Pentastar, and Ram quality overall. From stop / go traffic to highway cruising, I never feel that my Ram lacks power, although I don't haul anything with it. The 8-speed tranny is probably the smoothest truck transmission I've ever driven. I'm quickly becoming a Ram fan. . . .
 
#141 ·
Love it so far

I just recently purchased my Ram 1500 Tradesman 4x4 with the Pentastar v6 and have only put about 850 miles on it. I have yet to tow anything but plan to get a new camper this spring. My previous vehicle was a 2002 Jeep Liberty and after driving that for 14+ years, stepping into this new Ram was like stepping into another century. Test driving it I could tell that I was going to be leaving the dealership with this truck that day. In saying that I didn't want to jump on the motor too much because of the break in period so I just gave it a little on the highway and oh my was I impressed! :Wow1: It's amazing the power they are able to get out of the v6 motors these days, especially since the Pentastar is normally aspirated. After the break in period, I decided to give the engine a test and even though I didn't fully get down on the pedal that truck felt like a rocket taking off especially compared to what I was used to.:SHOCKED: With the driving around my suburban area that I live in, I am happy to be getting on the average of 18.6 mpg. Pretty impressive for a full size truck I'd say. I was barely squeezing 15mpg out of my old Liberty and when I towed a small cargo trailer with it, I barely got 11mpg. I look forward to seeing how this truck will do on a trip. So all in all I can say that I am one VERY happy Ram owner! Including a pic of the day I picked it up from the dealer, and since then I have installed a set of stainless nerf bars. :smileup:
 

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#142 ·
I picked up the Ram today.....it has Totally surpassed my expectations...on the highway, the cabin was extremely quite, the power or lack of it...was a non issue(we do have speed limits).It was a pleasure to drive...looking forward to taking it out to it's natural environment...The back roads of Northern Ontario await....
 
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