Ram’s chief vehicle synthesis manager walks through how Stellantis engineers the latest heavy-duty diesel trucks, starting with virtual testing and computational fluid dynamics (including water-forwarding airflow) before moving to massive component and full-vehicle rigs. They stress trucks in extreme heat/cold, altitude, snow ingestion, and “granny cycle” short-trip emissions testing. Key updates include a higher-output 6.7L Cummins paired with an 8-speed for smoother towing, faster glow-plug warmup, improved fuel-filter serviceability, and emissions gains via higher-pressure fuel and redesigned hardware. The discussion also covers customer feedback, integrated Power Wagon off-road tech, and why torque numbers matter less than real loaded drivability.
What testing does a Ram truck go through before it ever reaches a
dealership?
We’re joined by Doug Killian, Chief Vehicle Synthesis Manager at Ram,
the guy responsible for making sure every system on their trucks works
together and survives real-world use.
We talk about what goes into testing the new Ram diesel truck lineup,
from engine and transmission performance to towing, payload, off-road
durability, and emissions. Doug breaks down how these trucks are
validated for harsh environments and long-term reliability before they
ever reach customers.
We also asked Doug, if he were ordering a Ram truck today, what engine,
cab configuration, and trim level he would choose.
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"And one of them was to have Ram on the podcast because
[11.7s] they've been a Ram owner for most of my adult life."
Ram is a truck brand that makes pickups. They’re part of a bigger company called Stellantis, and this episode is about how Ram tests and improves their new diesel trucks.
Ram is a truck brand under Stellantis, best known for its heavy-duty and light-duty pickup lineup. In this episode, the host is setting up a discussion about Ram’s new diesel truck and how it’s being developed and tested.
"...getting down to the water flow through the grill, where the air intake is, and all of the diverting of the water and air to make sure we can hit that water forwarding event successfully"
The air intake is where the engine pulls in air. If water gets into that area during a fording test, it can cause major problems for the engine.
The air intake is the path that brings outside air into the engine (and often into the turbo/charge-air system). In water-fording testing, intake location and airflow management matter because water ingestion can cause severe engine damage.
"...simulate that bow wave. So that's maybe something not everyone knew, but we're definitely in that very highly technical space of computational fluid dynamics to predict what the truck's going to do."
A bow wave is the wave that builds up in front of the truck as it goes through water. That wave can affect whether water gets pushed toward the front intake area.
A bow wave is the wave that forms in front of a vehicle as it moves through water. Engineers care about bow-wave shape and height because it influences whether water climbs toward the grille and air intake during a fording event.
"...to Moab and particularly at Moab running hell's revenge and then hell's gate and tip over challenge."
Moab is a famous off-road region in Utah with tough trails. Truck makers use it to test how vehicles perform when traction is limited and the terrain is steep and rocky.
Moab, Utah is famous for extreme off-roading routes and rock-crawling trails. It’s a common proving ground for manufacturers because it combines steep grades, traction limits, and repeated high-load conditions.
"We do a lot of our testing with instrumentation on board. So we'll have strain gauges and measuring temperatures throughout the truck..."
They put sensors in the truck to record what’s happening while they drive it. That way they can see how hard the vehicle is working and how it responds under stress.
On-board instrumentation means the truck is equipped with sensors to capture data during testing. This allows engineers to correlate driver conditions and terrain with measurable stress, temperatures, and performance behavior.
"So we'll have strain gauges and measuring temperatures throughout the truck on both sides."
Strain gauges are sensors that measure how much a part flexes when it’s under load. They help engineers understand which parts are taking the most stress during tough driving.
Strain gauges measure deformation (strain) in components under load, such as suspension parts, frame areas, or other structural elements. In durability testing, they help engineers quantify how much stress the truck experiences on specific trails.
"So we'll have strain gauges and measuring temperatures throughout the truck on both sides."
They also measure temperatures to see if parts get too hot. That’s important because overheating can reduce performance and shorten component life.
Measuring temperatures during testing helps identify thermal stress in systems like the engine, transmission, cooling components, and drivetrain. Temperature data can reveal whether components are overheating under sustained climbs or repeated high-load conditions.
"even driving from extreme cold to extreme heat on a, you know, on a long haul and expecting the performance to be 100% the whole way."
They’re testing the truck in both very cold and very hot weather. That matters because engines and fluids behave differently with temperature, and you want it to work every day no matter what.
Testing across extreme cold and extreme heat validates that the diesel truck’s systems—fuel delivery, engine starting, cooling, and emissions controls—remain stable in both ends of the temperature spectrum. It also checks for durability issues caused by thermal cycling.
"if you live in Denver... you know, the altitude side of it, and you can probably imagine having a turbo is a must on a diesel out there."
A turbo is a device that forces more air into the engine. More air helps the engine make power and run properly, especially when the air is thinner at high altitude.
A turbocharger uses exhaust energy to compress intake air, helping a diesel maintain power when air density drops (like at altitude). In this context, Ram is saying turbocharging is key to making the truck robust to altitude changes.
"temperature. So it's a full environmental swing.
[597.9s] We're actually blowing snow in the front end as we're down below zero degrees"
A “full environmental swing” means they’re not just testing in one condition. They change the environment to match real extremes, like deep winter cold, while the truck is working.
A “full environmental swing” means the test environment is actively changed to mimic real-world extremes—like very cold temperatures plus driving load. This helps reveal issues that only show up when multiple harsh conditions occur together.
"[649.2s] So we try to compound as many of those aggravators at a time as we can.
"
They’re trying to test multiple bad conditions together, not one at a time. That helps them find problems that only happen when winter cold and heavy load (and slippery traction) all hit at once.
This describes “stacking” multiple stressors—like cold temperature, snow ingestion, traction events, and weight—during a single test cycle. Combining factors can better reproduce real-world failure modes than testing each factor separately.
"...materials, frankly, like the high strength steels we use in our frames and our, in our bodies..."
High strength steel is a tougher type of steel used to make parts last longer. Using it in the frame and body can help the truck handle heavy use.
High strength steels are steels engineered to provide more strength without needing as much material. In trucks, they’re often used in frames and body structures to improve durability and reduce weight.
"...to where we employ aluminum strategically to the materials..."
Aluminum is lighter than steel. Engineers use it in some parts to help the truck weigh less without losing too much strength.
Aluminum is a lighter metal used strategically to reduce vehicle weight while maintaining strength. Using aluminum in certain components can help offset the mass of diesel powertrains and improve efficiency.
"...continuing to advance our... getting more power into the truck while making the lighter and continuing to deal with... emissions regulations..."
Emissions regulations are laws that limit how much pollution a vehicle can produce. Engineers have to design the truck to comply, which can change how the engine is built and tuned.
Emissions regulations are government rules that limit pollutants from vehicles, especially from diesel engines. Meeting them can affect engine design, calibration, and sometimes hardware choices that influence durability.
"...we're really not talking about lags anymore, or, or lugging when you go from, say, third to fourth or fourth to fifth gear when you're really loaded down..."
Lugging is when the engine feels like it’s working too hard at low revs. They’re saying the truck now avoids that strained feeling when shifting under load.
Lugging is when an engine is forced to operate at too low an RPM under load, causing it to feel strained or unresponsive. The speaker implies the new engine/transmission behavior avoids lugging during gear changes when the truck is heavily loaded.
"we were talking about the glow plugs on
[927.9s] the new, the new truck and he was really curious, I'm not sure if you can answer this, but he was
[933.4s] really curious the reason for it and you mentioned before the time to be able to heat up the air."
Glow plugs are small heaters in a diesel engine. They warm things up so the engine starts more easily and runs better right after you start it, especially when it’s cold.
Glow plugs are electrical heaters used on diesel engines to warm the combustion chamber for easier starting and smoother early operation. They’re especially important in cold conditions, and they can also support emissions-related strategies by improving combustion quality during warm-up.
"But we also had a
[954.4s] very robust setup in terms of our block in our head and we actually made the valves bigger on
[961.1s] this latest iteration of the engine with Cummins."
Cummins is the company that makes the diesel engines used in many heavy-duty trucks. Here, they’re involved in the engine changes that also affect glow plugs and warm-up behavior.
Cummins is the diesel engine manufacturer referenced here as the partner behind the updated engine hardware. In this segment, Cummins is tied to changes in the engine’s head/valves that also drive the glow plug redesign.
"for all those components to be in a protected area, you can imagine fuel filters and water separator under the truck. It's more subjected to environmental, to road blast and slush gathering"
Robustness here means the parts can handle harsh road conditions. If a component is protected from road spray and slush, it tends to last longer and be less trouble.
Environmental robustness means the component can withstand real-world conditions like road spray, slush, and debris. The speaker contrasts under-truck mounting (more exposed) with under-hood mounting (more protected), claiming it improves durability.
"But then there's also that side where they just really like the truck. They love how it looks... but it's more shorter trips... I don't think most of us understand just how intense that testing is with the emissions components"
Short trips can be tough on a diesel’s emissions system because the exhaust parts may not get hot enough. If the truck doesn’t warm up fully, the pollution-control system may not work as efficiently. That’s why engineers test these situations before trucks are sold.
Short trips are a challenging use case for diesel emissions systems because aftertreatment components may not reach and maintain optimal operating temperatures. The segment explains that engineers test emissions hardware under varied real-world patterns, including city driving and desert/cold scenarios. This matters because incomplete warm-up can affect catalyst efficiency and dosing accuracy.
"but also just from the ride comfort. The handling is all really optimized"
Ride comfort is how pleasant the truck feels to drive—how it absorbs bumps and doesn’t feel harsh. Engineers tune this based on how people actually use the truck.
Ride comfort is how smooth and controlled the truck feels over bumps and varying road surfaces. The speaker notes that optimization isn’t only about the diesel powertrain—it also includes how the truck rides and handles under real customer loading.
"The handling is all really optimized around the point where there's a load in the truck on a heavy duty"
They tune the truck to feel best when it’s carrying cargo or towing—because that’s how most heavy-duty trucks are used. So the suspension and steering feel “right” under real load conditions.
This means the suspension and overall vehicle dynamics are tuned for when the truck is carrying weight, which is common for heavy-duty use. The speaker frames it as data-driven: engineers look at what customers do and tune the truck’s behavior accordingly.
"[1629.5s] don't have access to like to seasonally blended fuels. [1634.9s] So those are out there."
Seasonally blended diesel is made to work better in winter. If you can’t get that kind of fuel at the pump, you may need cold-weather additives.
Seasonally blended fuels are diesel formulations adjusted for time of year, especially to improve cold-weather performance. The speaker contrasts these with situations where drivers don’t have access to such blends, making anti-gelling treatments more important.
"[1682.9s] of what we're talking about it. As I've, I've had guests who are in that side of the industry talk [1688.4s] about the variance of diesel fuel all over the country and station to station."
The segment discusses how diesel fuel quality can vary widely by location and even between stations. That variability can affect key properties like lubricity and cetane, so the engine and fuel system must be calibrated to tolerate it.
"lights or even adding a winch. That's one thing we've been asked is, Hey, where's the winch? Well, [1903.7s] frankly, that doesn't need to be an engineered solution right away."
A winch is like a heavy-duty pull tool with a cable. It’s used to pull the truck out of mud or help recover it when you get stuck.
A winch is a motorized cable system used for pulling the vehicle or recovering it from obstacles. The segment discusses whether a winch needs to be engineered into the truck immediately versus added later.
"in my mind, heavy duty trucks, specifically diesel trucks, it's a highly, highly competitive [1961.4s] segment between the different brands. And it really, it's the torque and the power that seems to be trying to grab our attention... [2010.1s] Yeah, yeah, it's definitely a horsepower and torque war, so to speak."
Manufacturers compete by trying to make engines stronger on paper—more power and more twisting force. The question is whether pushing those numbers too far can hurt real-world reliability.
This describes the competitive push among manufacturers to advertise higher horsepower and torque figures. The speaker questions whether there’s a practical limit where the numbers stop translating into a daily-driven, reliable, warrantied truck.
"But to get more linearity to fill in that torque curve, there's going to be a right level of turbo sizing that"
The torque curve describes how torque changes across engine RPM. For towing, a flatter or more “linear” torque curve in the driver’s typical RPM range can feel stronger and easier to control than a setup that only peaks at one RPM.
"And whether you know, 1,050, 1,075 over 1,100 foot-pounds, frankly, that's a number that's generated and it's meaningful, but it doesn't tell nearly the whole story."
Foot-pounds is a way to measure twisting force (torque). More torque usually helps a truck pull harder, but it doesn’t automatically mean the truck feels fast or safe in every situation.
Foot-pounds (ft-lb) is a unit of torque, not horsepower. In diesel truck testing, torque is often discussed because it strongly affects pulling ability under load, but it’s only one piece of the performance picture.
"...if you were going to buy a 2026 RAM, a 2500, 3500 yourself, what would you, what would you spec out?"
The Ram 2500 is a heavy-duty truck meant for towing and hauling. In 2026, you can choose different versions (like cab and trim) to match how you plan to use it.
The Ram 2500 is a heavy-duty pickup built for towing and payload work. In 2026, buyers typically choose between different cab styles and trim levels depending on how they’ll use the truck.
"...if you were going to buy a 2026 RAM, a 2500, 3500 yourself, what would you, what would you spec out?"
The Ram 3500 is a bigger heavy-duty truck than the 2500. People usually pick it when they expect to tow or haul more often or more heavily.
The Ram 3500 is the next step up from the 2500 in the heavy-duty lineup, commonly chosen for higher towing demands. The episode frames it as a buyer’s choice alongside the 2500 based on intended work and spec preferences.
"...like the tradesman with the rubber floor and so on..."
A rubber floor is tougher and easier to clean than carpet. It’s great if you’re hauling gear, getting the truck dirty, or using it like a work tool.
A rubber floor is a durable, easy-to-clean flooring setup often found on more work-oriented truck trims. It’s designed to handle mud, spills, and heavy use without worrying as much about carpet damage.
"...especially when you spec it out with like a body color grill... and in the night appearance package, which puts black wheels on it."
The night appearance package is a styling option that makes parts of the truck look darker. Here, it’s mentioned because it adds black wheels and a sportier look.
The night appearance package is an appearance option that typically darkens exterior elements for a more aggressive look. In this segment, it’s specifically tied to black wheels and the overall “sharp” styling the speaker wants.
"...the night appearance package, which puts black wheels on it."
Black wheels are wheels finished in a dark color. They’re mainly about looks, and the speaker thinks they make the truck stand out.
Black wheels are a common cosmetic upgrade that changes the truck’s visual contrast. The speaker links them directly to the night appearance package and says it’s part of what makes the truck look especially good.
"Certainly pay attention to some of the packages we're coming out with. We're looking at kind of those combinations."
A “package” is a pre-built bundle of options. Instead of choosing everything separately, you pick a package that already combines things like wheels/tires and other equipment.
The speaker is talking about “packages,” meaning bundled option groups (like wheels/tires plus drivetrain/powertrain choices) that simplify ordering. For buyers, packages can be a cost-effective way to get a desired look and capability without selecting every option individually.
Select text to request an explanation
Doug, welcome to the diesel podcast.
I'm excited to chat with you today.
This is the podcast started 10 years ago.
I had wrote down some notes, like goals that I have.
And one of them was to have Ram on the podcast because
they've been a Ram owner for most of my adult life.
And I just wanted to talk trucks.
So I'm excited to have you on today and welcome to the podcast.
Yeah.
Thanks, Patrick.
Happy to talk trucks.
I'm the same way.
Definitely, definitely a truck guy.
Love to talk trucks with other truck people.
It's it's so cool because most of us that are enthusiasts, we pay
attention a lot to what new models are coming out, what changes have happened.
A lot of them can even recite the year breaks of the changes
that have happened throughout the year.
So Ram made a huge splash with the new truck.
And I really want to get into details of it.
But to start, can you tell me a bit about yourself?
What you do at Ram?
What what's your expertise and focus is on?
Okay, so I'm responsible.
I'm the chief vehicle synthesis manager for our trucks at Stellantis.
So that's really anything with a frame under it.
But really, when you think about trucks at Stellantis, that's Ram.
And that's where a lot of my responsibility is, is taking all of these systems together.
And what synthesis really then means is pulling all the power train, the chassis,
the body and interior, making a Ram a Ram.
So it's really a it's an engineering job, but it's really effectively
to at the same time, representing the customer.
So we're wearing the customer's hat as we're doing our job
and really trying to set ourselves apart to make a Ram the best pickup that's out there.
I imagine that's combining all the different elements.
When I think of what goes into a truck, we got engine, transmission,
electrical systems, suspension, so many different components.
So you would be taking basically that pre-production model,
you know, that that truck and then testing it for its performance.
Different different things you guys are looking for.
Correct. Correct.
Think of like a head chef in a kitchen, you know, make the ingredients,
but they put it all together to, you know, to make the final package.
So that's that's what my role is here at Stellantis at Ram.
When I think of testing, like what goes into testing a truck?
Well, I'm sure you're going to I'll say a lot and I'll and I'll back that up with
when we talk about testing, we start very early up front,
even to where we're not testing at the beginning, a physical product.
We're in the computer space. We're in the virtual space.
So we're engineering the next generation of truck.
In fact, we're doing it now and we're continuing to evolve the current generation of truck.
So what that means when I say testing early on, things like going through a water
forwarding event, that's something we're ultimately going to test,
but we don't necessarily just want to do some guessing and then go run a truck
through a water trough at our proving grounds and have it in just water and,
you know, in hydrologue. So we're actually early on that testing means something
like getting down to the water flow through the grill, where the air intake is,
and all of the diverting of the water and air to make sure we can
hit that water forwarding event successfully, make it through, simulate that
bow wave. So that's maybe something not everyone knew,
but we're definitely in that very highly technical space of computational fluid
dynamics to predict what the truck's going to do.
So that's where it starts very, very early on in that molecular level
for things like water forwarding or the air intake charge through the intake.
As we then progress, we're getting from the virtual space into the physical space.
So we're testing our components here at our tech center.
In fact, just my background here, we're a gigantic complex.
This place is over, it's over five million square feet.
We have labs in here. We've got test benches.
We've got an entire road on the first floor here that,
that we do our truck development in.
So we move into that comp that essentially component and bench testing.
So we're testing frames, we're twisting frames.
We've got trucks on rigs that are testing those components,
even before we build them into a full on prototype.
So we're breaking parts well in advance of getting them on to a vehicle.
And frankly, that's just business.
We couldn't afford to be doing trial and error engineering.
By the time we even get to that component level testing,
we've got a very strong sense of what our loads are,
where the weak points might be and we're confirming our robustness.
I imagine that with the different ways people use your trucks,
factor into that as well, whether it's towing or it could be an emergency
use vehicle or, you know, all the different scenarios that you could probably
imagine if somebody uses a Ram 2500, 3500 or, you know,
cabin chassis model, it probably the possibilities are endless for testing
the different ways that could be used.
Oh, you're absolutely right. Yeah.
When you, when we think about, especially in that heavy duty space,
from a 2500 limited luxury pickup to a full on
5500 chassis cab, that's going to become a, you know,
a bucket truck or rollback wrecker.
That span of what these trucks have to do is, is wild.
And we'll even see guys who are towing their, you know, their toy hauler,
but the toy itself is the truck that's doing the towing.
So they'll unhook, you know, unhook a power wagon and then,
and then go do some off-roading and then hook back up and tow it back.
So yeah, the testing is a, it's a very wide range.
What would you say? There's probably a few,
but what would be a couple really hard tests for the newer model that
maybe somebody looking at buying one of these trucks or maybe somebody that
already has one just doesn't know what it was put through.
What would be a couple you'd say were really tough?
Hmm. I'd say actually a recent one for us is the power wagon diesel.
We took that truck out to Johnson Valley out west to Moab and
particularly at Moab running hell's revenge and then hell's gate and
tip over challenge. Those are areas that I think when I,
when I talk to people and tell them what we're doing, where we're testing,
and actually as we're testing out there with power wagon,
it was like we had to have that front stabilizer bar disconnected.
And it's a, it's a electronically disconnecting front stabilizer bar,
both lockers front and rear getting traction to, in some cases,
the one tire that can find it on hell's gate.
That's probably the most surprising one and the most difficult one for us to,
to take a big truck like that and make it up that, make it up that grade.
Well, I think of probably the stress that just lower speed,
the, the, the demands of the terrain, it probably puts a lot of,
or provides a lot of good data on the truck overall to be able to put it
through something like that and get good feedback from it.
Oh, exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
We do a lot of our testing with instrumentation on board.
So we'll have strain gauges and measuring temperatures throughout the truck
on both sides. In fact, when I say both sides,
I mean like the very hot environment. So we're down in the Southwest.
We're climbing up Davis dam grade,
the past to Eisenhower tunnel at full GCW in the summertime at naturally high
altitude and, and hot temperatures and the same with cold.
So we're out there in the cold weather.
We're going up into the Northern United States up in Canada and beyond
looking for those absolute extremes to, to make sure we're robust to it.
We realize somebody is going to be doing something with that truck,
even driving from extreme cold to extreme heat on a, you know,
on a long haul and expecting the performance to be 100% the whole way.
So that's really a main point for us is we really want to stress the truck
as hard as we can here.
I thought of a question to ask you in regards to that.
I live just outside of Denver. So I'm familiar with Eisenhower tunnel.
And I've had a diesel at this elevation also at sea level.
They do and can perform a little differently.
And I'm just curious in general with this new Ram, you know,
customer could live at 5,000, 10,000 feet. They could be at sea level.
There's so many different environmental factors that go into it.
How through what you do, do you
balance the, the performance, the reliability of the vehicle daily,
driving it with those different factors?
Yeah. Yeah. Thinking about those, like if you live in Denver,
you know, the altitude side of it, and you can probably imagine having a
turbo is a must on a diesel out there.
So that makes us really robust to, to altitude changes.
But at the same time, you know, we look at the stress that comes from the turbo,
the boost pressures that we're running, and that cycling of, of hot to cold and
high pressure to low pressure. That's really where most of the stress comes in.
So running, running hot and running kind of an extended hot cycle isn't
necessarily as bad as starting out really cold and then thermal shocking
the entire system to, to be very hot and then going back to cold again.
So that's where we can see we're really going to stress the truck the most by,
by doing those swings, if you will, of pressure and temperature.
And in fact, there's another thing we do here in our, in our labs,
is we've got a rolling chassis dyno that we can set down to like below zero
temperature. So it's a full environmental swing.
We're actually blowing snow in the front end as we're down below zero degrees
and climbing up a grade.
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Right, right here in our building, right in our lab.
So by the time we get out to where you are in the winter time, climbing up the
grade, we're then exercising traction control.
We're exercising the, you know, the snow ingestion side of it,
along with the cold and running a GCW.
So we try to compound as many of those aggravators at a time as we can.
Through that testing in, say, maybe you notice a failure
point or a weak point, or it's not necessarily performing to the level that
you might want. Is that where you're able to step in and change the metallurgy
of a component? Or if it's rubber or plastic, whatever component it might be,
you could step in right at that point and say, we need to change how we're
making this or, or, or specify it a little bit differently so that it does
perform in these, in a pre-production test the way you want.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. We have a lot of tools at our disposal from, from my
view, having kind of that holistic vehicle view. Sometimes we'll, you know,
we'll look at a, a series of changes that can come together, but yeah,
materials, frankly, like the high strength steels we use in our frames and our,
in our bodies, to where we employ aluminum strategically to the materials
that we're making, you know, that we're casting the engine block with.
It's all in play and it's all something between ourselves as the original,
as the OE, the manufacturer, and leverage our suppliers technologies as well.
If we find something that's more robust to temperature, more robust to loading,
we're, we're always out there looking for, you know, for the latest technologies
where they're available, and we're developing them right here in our trucks
and, and continuing to advance our, you know, how, getting more power into the
truck while making the lighter and continuing to deal with, you know,
the outside forces, like emissions regulations and those things that are,
are important to being responsible truck manufacturer.
What would you say the biggest changes with this new RAM that
somebody would notice day to day driving it would, and it could be a combination of
transmission engine suspension, but what, what should we really pay attention to for differences?
Okay. Yeah, really day to day, the, the changes that we've made to the 6.7 diesel,
the increase in power, I've gone up to 430 horsepower, a coupling that with the,
with the 8 speed transmission is really where that amount of power and smoothness,
the, the silkiness of the shifting, frankly, has just gone next level,
that you get out of the, the, the former truck into the newer truck with the,
the changes we've made to the engine and transmission is, is right away as soon as
that's, that's right away one thing. Next thing in cold weather. So coming off that,
you know, off the winter months, bringing glow plugs in for that, for the diesel engine,
going from the grid heater to glow plugs, right away, it's a, it's a quicker, you know,
get up and go a couple seconds verse for the glow plugs versus a longer period,
for sure that we had with the grid heater. So that's noticeable right away.
Then maybe finally, we've made some changes with the latest truck to, to have the adaptive driving
or active driving assist type of features, even standard. So we look at adaptive cruise control
is standard even on a base tradesman truck, where previously that was a higher level option
package you'd need on probably a Laramie, I think is where we would start to bring in those
type of technologies. So yeah, every day you set cruise control, you already, you have adaptive
cruise control right there. This is going to be an everyday noticeable thing.
How excited have you found people are to that eight speed transmission because from like doing a
podcast and talking with aftermarket companies and enthusiasts, they were really, really excited
about that eight speed and the, I think the way that it behaves and then the potential of it,
you know, long term people are really excited about security from, from your perspective,
what it was like. Yeah, I would say that there's certain, certain terms from our vocabulary that
we've even just dropped in engineering here, like when we were having with the six speed, some,
some shift point lags, you know, we're really not talking about lags anymore, or, or lugging when
you go from, say, third to fourth or fourth to fifth gear when you're really loaded down close
to GCW. So those are things that the eight speed has really brought the blend of like
upshifting and downshifting have become so much smoother that it, it just makes for a more relaxing,
frankly, trailering experience, driving experience, the refinement level has just,
has really stepped up with that, with that change you made to the transmission.
I had a shop owner I was chatting with the other day and we were talking about the glow plugs on
the new, the new truck and he was really curious, I'm not sure if you can answer this, but he was
really curious the reason for it and you mentioned before the time to be able to heat up the air.
Was it just that or was it also an emissions component that might have factored into it,
but he was really curious the reason for the change? Well, the main reason, well, one thing is
there's definitely a customer benefit when you can get the faster warm up times. But we also had a
very robust setup in terms of our block in our head and we actually made the valves bigger on
this latest iteration of the engine with Cummins. So the valve spacing and the injector location
then says, hey, if we're making a significant change to the head, let's get the glow,
let's get glow plugs in there. Frankly, you know, they've been common on diesel for a long time,
but we had a level of stability with our, with our previous head and design that
we waited until we were doing something that affected all those other components to,
to make that glow plug change. What would you say is one weak link from previous generations of
truck that you guys were able to address in this new model? Like it could be one, it could be a
couple, but just some things that we should pay attention to. If, you know, I'm thinking of
somebody who, maybe they've got a 2014 Ram or 2020 and they see the new model and they're like,
well, what's, what's really changed on it? What, what have they, you know, what was something maybe
that they didn't like on the previous one that is now different on this model truck?
Sure. Yeah, fair question. Good question. I'd say the serviceability, especially on the diesel,
if we look at where the fuel filter is and the water separator really meant you had to bring
the truck up on a hoist to access any of those components to do a fuel filter change, to drain
water. It was like, do we really need to be putting a truck on a hoist? And a lot of these trucks
are running a lot of miles very quickly when they're in a commercial service. And to a, you know,
to a person who's got that in a fleet, that's going to make a difference. It's going to be uptime.
And just cost of ownership really, thinking about the labor that's spent, that wasn't really
necessary. So we moved the entire fuel filter system up under hood, where also the fuel heater
exists as well. So getting that all up under hood, very accessible location,
serviceability is a next, you know, it's really a next step up in terms of where we had been on
that previous, previous iteration. That is an excellent point that I didn't think to ask you
on the podcast, but a lot of times we'll see videos on social media of other brands, other
things, and it'll be a mechanic with a camber underneath the vehicle. And they'll show how
they take a bolt out and how they have to use an extension or the oils, you know, hitting something.
And so a lot of people service their trucks once they're out of warranty or, you know,
they haven't for a while. And I think that ability to efficiently service it,
he is such a huge selling point and such a huge benefit to an owner of a vehicle.
Yeah, it really, you know, we really thought that was meaningful to people who own and operate
these trucks to make them easily serviceable. And for all those components to be in a protected
area, you can imagine fuel filters and water separator under the truck. It's more subjected to
environmental, to road blast and slush gathering and, you know, those sort of things that we actually
had to engineer the robustness into it so that it is good. But moving it up, making more serviceable
actually helped its robustness as well, such that when you do start to loosen bolts or you're
removing the, you know, the canister for a filter, it's much more likely to be an easier job,
not a knuckle buster. I know enthusiast truck owners and diesel shops out there definitely
going to appreciate the thought and the engineering that went into making that easier for people.
Something you mentioned earlier I wanted to spend a little bit of time on. You had mentioned
emissions and I was really curious on the testing side and what you do. How do you balance emissions
compliance with what your customers are asking for with like reliability, longevity, it could be
power, it could be torque, towing. People are really curious how that factors into engineering
and producing a newer vehicle. Yeah, it's a, you know, it's really the challenge in, I'll say,
in automotive engineering in general is how do we make the vehicle or the power plant more
emissions friendly, if you will, drop down those levels of CO2, Edmog and NOx type gases
while getting more power. Because there's really not an option for us to say that we're going to
reduce power and reduce the customer experience and reliability because of meeting emissions. That's
the challenge to an engineer. So for us, that's, it doesn't, it's not an every year thing. It's
really major, you know, major evolutions we're making. And I'll speak to this latest version of
the heavy duty is that we've reduced those levels of all of the emissions levels in terms of those
noxious gases. And at the same time, we've increased power. And we've done that through
really that molecular type design where I was mentioning earlier that we're really following
that, you know, that oxygen molecule in and giving the engine a better chance to breathe and be more
efficient. At the same time, we've got a higher pressure fuel system. So we totally redid the fuel
pump on this latest version of the engine. So it's running up close to 40,000 psi. What that does
with the new injectors is it gets a better atomization of the fuel. So that's all something
that technology and our ability to engineer at that molecular level says we're able to
make the engine cleaner. And at the same time, extract more power out of it. So it's, it's a
really an efficiency play there that comes along with our really advancement of technology in all
of those types of sub components, and us really leveraging them at the right time. So that we can
come out with more power and better emissions at the same time and test it, like I was mentioning
earlier, in all of these environmental extremes. That's the area that it's up to us to, to make
sure that we stress it as hard as we can, and make sure it's going to deliver to the customer.
I think when I take a step back and I look at, I think I really got into diesel trucks 15 years
ago, or give or take a little bit. And I think back to the new trucks on the market then and what
they had for power and torque versus now, it's such a huge difference. And they're doing it under the
system of the emissions components that are there. And it's been really interesting to watch the
power and the torque increases through the years while still having these systems
on the truck. And it's, it's really exciting. And it's that engineering side really interests me.
You know, even if I think back to the nineties or early 2000s and what a ram truck would come
with for power and torque then versus now, they're totally different. Oh yeah. Yeah. And, and
they're cleaner. They're just so much cleaner as well. And yes, there are new systems, the, the
death system. That's fairly new. And we think back to the original, you know, the original
diesel we had in these trucks. But we're continuing to, to evolve them. We think about like the,
the death in the cold and having a heater, once that heater going to run, how's it going to anticipate
the, the duty cycle and be able to deliver a fresh, you know, fresh injection of death.
And, and keep the catalyst working efficiently. That's something that, of course, it's gotten
better over time. And we continue to look for ways to make that essentially seamless to a customer.
And I think we're, we're, we're advancing at a quick rate.
With these emission systems and the testing that we talked about. Yeah, sometimes, well, I think
most diesel truck owners, they work their truck hard. They're towing, they're, they're hauling.
But then there's also that side where they just really like the truck. They love how it looks.
They love everything about it, but it's more shorter trips. It's more maybe stop and go traffic
in a bigger city. And I think people would be really curious, as far as testing the emission
systems in those varied ways, like you talked about being in the desert with the power wagon and,
and the cold and some of that stuff. I don't think most of us understand just
how intense that testing is with the emissions components that are on the truck before we
ever see them on the lot or ever buy one. Yep. Yep. Yeah, you're right. The, the most aggravating
way to, to, to test a system or the biggest aggravators are on those short trips. We even
have some like a, we'll call a granny cycle, which is start the vehicle and the truck. It's,
it's start the truck, go drive to the store and then drive home. And that's it. And that's all
it does every day in the cold weather. So that's a, we affectionately called the granny cycle.
And then we're looking for, are we accumulating soot? Are we, you know, what are we seeing in
terms of our performance of the emission system? In terms of lags and, and drivability,
is any of that changing if we run that kind of that harsh granny cycle, which seems very easy.
It's, it's, it's almost like the, the granny and wolf's clothing is like,
you're, it doesn't seem like you're, you're really working the truck that hard. But in fact,
that's the, the way to really, you know, put the, put those systems to the test is to run them on
short cold trips. It leads into another question I had, which is what do we misunderstand or not know
about how these trucks are designed to operate that, that would be helpful for, for people to
know. Is it those short trips? Is it, you know, what, what are we doing or are thinking about
incorrectly with the way these trucks are designed to operate? Yeah. Yeah. So I guess maybe just kind
of leveraging off that last point that, that shorter, colder trip, you know, shorter trips
are not necessarily better. Getting the truck warm is a, is a good thing. Of course, we're putting
a lot of engineering into making sure it's robust on the, on the short trips. So that's maybe one,
one misunderstanding. It's okay to run a truck hot. That's, you know, it's actually, it's in its
optimal, optimal point. Also speaking of optimal points, it's, it's really running at its most
efficient level with some weight in the truck. And, and I'll say that more, not from the powertrain
side, I've been talking obviously a lot about the diesel powertrain, but also just from the ride
comfort. The handling is all really optimized around the point where there's a load in the
truck on a heavy duty, because we look at what customers are doing with them. We hear from
customers and we're doing our own, our own level of surveying and seeing what are just everyday
people who don't, you know, we're not necessarily asking people what they do. We're seeing what
they're doing and then designing the truck around that. So we're designing it to that point where
it's, it's going to be used. And it's very rare to see a heavy duty truck that's just sitting
out in a parking lot empty, that people use them for work. And, and so that's really maybe the other
point that I want to make is that it's good to understand that it's okay to run the truck loaded.
We actually designed it to run at an optimal point when it's loaded. Maybe another one is that
putting in aftermarket fluids into the oil, into the diesel fuel, not necessarily a good thing.
There are certain points naturally anti-gelling into the diesel fuel. That needs to be done if you
don't have access to like to seasonally blended fuels. So those are out there. We sell them through
Mopar. We test those. We run the trucks on those very specific additives. But in general, I think
there's, there's plenty of opportunities to buy all types of additives. I would just caution a lot
of diesel drivers to make sure that they're using something that is, is backed by, by Ram and Mopar
because we've engineered it as part of the system. And particularly again, those are going to be in
the, in the cold months only for the fuel in an uncommon condition where seasonal blends aren't
at that, aren't at a pump. I'll say we're, we're engineering to, you know, to the fluids and to
the fuels that are out there as really being the optimum point to maintain the cleanliness
and longevity of the power drink. It's a really interesting point. And I wanted to ask you
of what we're talking about it. As I've, I've had guests who are in that side of the industry talk
about the variance of diesel fuel all over the country and station to station. So through the
testing that you guys do, imagine you're pulling it from different places and seeing what the
lubricity is and the C-tane levels and all that kind of stuff. And then engineering the system
to be able to handle those variances that somebody might have in some of the bile diesel blends
in California versus what somebody gets in Texas or North Dakota, wherever it might be.
That's right. That's absolutely right. And it's something that we, we put a lot of energy into
making sure that we're robust to those different types of fuels that, that the driver has confidence
there. And with a high pressure fuel system, as we've increased the pressure, that's something
we've really gone to extreme levels with this latest, latest iteration of the engine to make
sure we're robust. It's very cool to understand that. That was something that I think people are
in general, in general curious about is all the real world conditions that a truck goes through.
Because we, you know, a lot of us, we spend a lot of time looking at the build and price and we,
you know, specify the model that we want and the color and all the, all the different things.
And there's an emotional attachment that can happen with people with an automobile or a truck.
And we want to be able to take care of it the, the best that we can. So it was really helpful,
you know, to be able to hear that something I wanted to ask you, and stepping back from the
engineering side is on the truck side and the diesel side. So you guys get feedback or, or
how do you know what your, what your customers are looking for? Like, do they want more torque?
Did they, did they want, you know, a transmission that had more, more speeds than six? Like,
is it, how do you guys know what your customers are looking for or want?
Well, I will say one thing is that most of the people that work on a RAM are truck people. So
we're naturally listening to people that we like engaging with you now. We're listening to other
truck people. And I'll even say at, at Stellantis here with all of our brands, but especially within
RAM, we have a social listening team. So we're out there actively, not just seeing what pops,
but we actually have people who are, are going into the socials and seeing what people are saying
to one another, not necessarily even saying directly to us, but we're, we're joining in the
conversation, if you will, to find out what people want from their truck, what they're doing to their
truck. And we want to offer a solution right from the factory to, you know, we can understand people
want to personalize their truck. We want to make them upgradable. So whether it's a suspension lift
or wheels and tires, or, you know, there's, there's plenty of truck accessories and people
personalize them, but we want to make sure the fundamentals are being met. And I'll, I'll actually
point to one diesel power wagon. We're coming out with that now. And frankly, people have been asking
for that for years. And people can build up a diesel truck, but that truly integrated part,
like disconnecting the front stabilizer bar, that's not an off the shelf type of component.
It really, to really make it integrated and, and, and make it refined where there's just a, you
know, there's just a button right on the dash, you press to just to disconnect that stabilizer bar,
or to lock the front axles, front and rear lockers. Those are things that we're hearing and have
heard customers for years that we want to come out with that solution integrated into the truck
itself. And then people can build up from there, you know, whether it's building up, you know,
lights or even adding a winch. That's one thing we've been asked is, Hey, where's the winch? Well,
frankly, that doesn't need to be an engineered solution right away. And when we do such a thing,
we, we as a manufacturer need to be paying attention to things like safety standards.
So we want to make sure we got a diesel power wagon with lockers front and rear,
with stabilizer bar disconnect, all of that, all the goods underneath to make it do what a
a power, what anything has a power wagon name on it should do it, but then leave it
upgradable on the outside. So that's just some examples of the listening we've done and put it
into product. That's going to be huge. I remember when the power wagon first came out and people
would say, I wish it came with a diesel option. I wish it had a diesel option. So it's great to see
that that's that's a reality now. Yeah, sure. With this was kind of a fun question I thought to ask
you is, in my mind, heavy duty trucks, specifically diesel trucks, it's a highly, highly competitive
segment between the different brands. And it really, it's the torque and the power that seems to be,
it seems to be trying to grab our attention, you know, through literature, videos, you know,
things that we see is, do you think, do you think there's a limit to what that power in
that torque can be for a daily driven, reliable engineered, warrantied sort of product can be
because like I mentioned earlier, I think, you know, in the 90s, it was 245 horsepower engine,
500 foot pounds of torque, the common rail is like 305 and 555. It just seems to be getting
higher and higher and higher. But I was curious if what your opinion is on that sort of horsepower
torque war and where it could end up, it doesn't become too much at a certain point.
Yeah, yeah, it's definitely a horsepower and torque war, so to speak. And I mean, whether it's in
sports cars or it's in trucks, one thing that really I can, I've seen the progression of this
over the decades and what it's allowed us to do is to raise the GVWs, raise the trailer weights and
getting that gross combined weight higher and higher and higher and do it in a way that it's like
we can, you know, we can be towing close to 40,000 pounds and we're doing it without crawling in the
right lane up a grade. I mean, you've probably seen them on heading up to Eisenhower Tunnel,
you see these vehicles that are just smoking and huffing going up the hill,
but we're towing that at just running speeds and not doing it being any danger or any sort
of obstacle to anybody around. We're doing it like in a refined way, in a smooth way,
and given the driver really the ability to do their drive without stressing out about the
truck that's underneath them. And that really has to do in those situations with the horsepower
number and the torque number when they're loaded. Now frankly, if we look at the torque number,
when you're unloaded and you're putting it down either through rear wheel drive or an
in-four wheel drive, there's a limit to just how much traction you can put to the ground
and we can only spin that tire so hard. Again, it gets back to those numbers really need to be
meaningful when you're, if they're accompanied by increasing levels of trailer weight and payload.
I imagine that when that power hits, different RPMs under what conditions is probably more
applicable to somebody buying one of these trucks than necessarily that highest number.
And I'm sure you know from testing and the people you talk with or how you see them use
their trucks, it's not wide open throttle driving that they're towing that trailer,
it's at a given RPM range. So being able to deliver that performance at where people are
spending their time is probably more important. You're absolutely right. Sometimes it's, if it's
just doing something on paper, well then the higher number is better. But that doesn't always
translate into a better driving experience, better performance on the road. You can think of things
like turbo lag and sometimes a bigger turbo. Yeah, it'll deliver a bigger number. It'll jam
more air in there at a higher RPM where a driver never really finds themselves. But to get more
linearity to fill in that torque curve, there's going to be a right level of turbo sizing that
we're going to use along with our just our displacement and intake and exhaust that
it's the right number in the end, but you don't see it on paper. So I'd caution most people,
drive the truck, drive the truck loaded, and then make the decision. And whether you know,
1,050, 1,075 over 1,100 foot-pounds, frankly, that's a number that's generated and it's meaningful,
but it doesn't tell nearly the whole story. That's an excellent point. Something I thought of,
I need to take my hot rod hat or the torque hat off for a second. You had talked about safely
operating the vehicle and I completely overlooked that part in what you're doing with testing these
vehicles. But I think of the power of the torque, the weight, the payload, and the safety features
that are built into it, whether it's with the braking system, whether it's how the transmission
operates other onboard systems on that truck. Can you talk a little bit about that side of it?
Yeah, those systems, the let's call it the active chassis controls and in advanced driving assist
systems are all integrated. We put a lot of energy into that as a manufacturer to make sure that the
intuitive driver response is captured. And that's even a point of where we have a steering torque
overlay. So it's making those lane adjustments as the truck wants to tend to drift or there's wind gusts
or so on. That's something we talk about the integration of those systems together, not just
to say that we have a system, but that that system is fully integrated to the chassis
and to the propulsion system. Even tuning our traction control, thinking of a dually versus
a single rear wheel, loaded versus unloaded, that spectrum of usage is something we really need to
be in every corner of a use case to make sure that when the driver steps on it and they're doing
their job, they want the truck there as their tool, we need to be thinking about how do we make
them do that most effectively. And having a smooth traction control that then integrates to a
stability control system that allows the driver to respond in a natural way to do their job,
it really needs to be intuitive and integrated. And we put a lot of effort into it and we take
a lot of pride in the products we're putting out there in terms of integrating that holistic
experience. It's a really, really important part that I think a lot of people focus on is just the
safety and driving experience with the weights that these trucks are towing and how they're using
them. And I think an intuitive system like that is really helpful. Something fun that I thought
to ask you as we're kind of wrapping up here was if you were going to buy a 2026 RAM, a 2500,
3500 yourself, what would you, what would you spec out? How would you build it?
Okay, that's a good question because I do drive a RAM. If it's heavy duty, to me, like the sweet
spot of it is, well, certainly the 6.7 diesel in terms of like just its power and frankly,
the sound, I mean, there's something about a Cummins diesel that has the right level of like
growl to go with the performance. It's not a loud diesel, but it's not a quiet diesel either.
It's, it's something we put energy into. So to me, my heavy duty would have the 6.7
liter Cummins for sure. It would be 2500, just the nature of the work that I, or the, you know,
I am an engineer, but I also haul toys, haul trailers, load up the truck. I mean, I do weekend
warrior kind of stuff. It's going to be a 2500 single rear wheel. And in terms of the,
like the trim package, sweet spot there is Laramie for me, like the tradesman with the
rubber floor and so on, like I see, I see a need for those for certain places, but
do a guy like me, I'm going to go to a Laramie. Limited starts to get, not necessarily the
luxury feel isn't necessarily where I'd be landing, but Laramie seems to capture kind of that, like,
I don't know, it's more robust materials. It's got the two glove boxes on the passenger side for
just for more storage. It's, and it looks sharp, especially when you spec it out with like a body
color grill, body color bumper, and in the night appearance package, which puts black wheels on it.
Like to me, that's a sick looking truck. That's my, that's my heavy duty.
I don't even know how many times I've spent on the building price, but
I like the night package. I love the wheels of the black badges. And then I usually get stuck
between two things, which color, and then do I want the crew cab or the mega cab? And it's
can, depending on the day, it can flip between the two, but those are the ones I kind of, I kind
of fall into. But I love how so much is standard or so many of the things, like I don't have to,
it has what I want in it. And I'm really just picking the color and the kind of interior
that I want. And it's so refreshing versus potentially getting lost in all these options.
It's just the way I want it right from the start. Yeah, I hear you. It sounds like we've got similar
taste in how we expect these things out, like Laramie, Laramie diesel, single rear wheel.
It's a pretty awesome truck. I know there's a lot you probably can't talk about, but I know
someone listing is like, well, ask them what they're excited about in the future. Is there
anything like you'd mentioned the power wagon with the diesel option? Yep. That was something
you were excited about. Is there anything else we should pay attention to in 2026 with Ram and
anything that you can talk about, or we should just be on alert for?
Certainly pay attention to some of the packages we're coming out with. We're looking at kind of
those combinations. We just talked about Laramie. But you know, we're able to combine wheels and
tires with a powertrain and kind of get the rights back. Like even between a Laramie or
a Limited or a big horn and a Laramie, but I just want those wheels or those tires. We're
listening. So keep an eye out for some of those packages that are coming out. In terms of what's
going on in the further future. Like I said, I can't talk about some of that stuff, but I
just want to rest. I want everyone to be rest assured that we are listening to customers,
especially I mentioned the social listening side of it before. We want to have the best truck out
there. We want to take our competitors. We want to take sales from those guys and we know we can
do it with product. And so we like to get people in them, even if it's for a test drive, extended
test drive. Don't necessarily follow the marketing, but go drive one. Drive a Ram. And I think
that it would be pretty convincing when you get behind the wheel that it's a, it really offers a
lot compared to its competition. So we watch our competition closely as well. We know the numbers.
We drive our competitors' trucks and frankly, we're out there to beat them. So we're looking
forward to not only continuing to evolve what we have in the road, but we're working on some pretty
cool stuff for the future as well. I was going to ask you that. If you ever jump in another,
you know, competitor's truck and drive it and then come back and say, oh no, we can beat it in
this spot. We can give it a little bit more here. And somebody that's test driving or daily driving
it or towing with one, they're going to notice, you know, this difference. So I was curious how
much of that, you know, takes place. Yeah, we do plenty of benchmarking. We drive our competitors'
trucks. We know our competitors' trucks quite well. So we realize this is, there's options out
there. And frankly, we would be, we don't put our heads in sand and just focus on our own truck.
We want to make sure that we're competing at this game and that we're going to win.
Like I said in the beginning, this was 10 years ago, something I put on a wish list one day
to do a broadcast with Ram trucks. I appreciate your time today chatting with me, sharing these
details that I know people are curious about. And as a truck enthusiast, I really appreciate what
Ram has brought to the market. I appreciate this new model. There's so many different components
of it that is a longtime enthusiast and owner of these trucks. I thought, oh, they hit it out of
the park with this one. So I love seeing what's out there. And hopefully, you know, maybe one day,
I can sit down chat with you again when there's maybe something new that comes out or some big
changes. But it was fantastic to chat with you today, Doug. And I appreciate your time.
Yeah, likewise, Patrick, I appreciate the opportunity, especially in this chair to represent
the entire Ram engineering team, love opportunities like this. And just personally talking to another
truck guy, great makes for a great day. Don't forget diesel fans, make sure and head on over
to kershaw.kaiusa.com, use code 20, TD8FR26 to get 20% off your order. Kershaw has got a whole
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Patreon supporters, Robert, John, TSW, Diesel, all of our other Patreon supporters, all of you who
follow us on social media. We appreciate all your support here in your 10th of the diesel podcast
and look forward to bringing you more of the content that you want to hear in 2026.
Until next time, keep the shiny side up.
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