Ram Truck is boasting they continue their reign as “King of the Hill” in the heavy-duty truck bull pen with 2016 Ram 3500 Cummins.
For 2016 Ram and Cummins developed a new, hard-hitting fuel delivery and turbo boost calibration for their 6.7-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine that now produces an additional 35 pound-feet of torque.
This improvement raises the bar from Ram’s current title at 865 to now 900 pound-feet of torque, horsepower rises to 385. This brings the 2016 Ram 3500 a new tow rating of 31,210 pounds, now top of class in the spec sheet wars at least by 10 pounds.
To handle the increased towing capacity, Ram engineers beefed up the rear axle ring gear hardware from 12 to 16 bolts on all trucks equipped with the 11.8-inch axle. Additional hardened bolts and stronger materials are used in the differential case to assure long-term durability.
In the Ram, 3500 the new calibration of the 6.7 liter Cummins at 900 pound-feet of torque is however only available with the top option Aisin six-speed automatic transmission. Two other power levels of the Cummins engine are available.
Those are 350 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque with the manual transmission and 370 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque with the base automatic. The manual I mentioned is the only one available in any heavy-duty pickup. Period.
The 2016 Ram heavy duty pickups are headed to dealers later this year and we’ll be getting behind the wheel for a drive review pretty soon.
