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'15 Silverado DC to '16 Ram CC Real Life Comparison


GRN69CHV

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I've been a Chevy, Ford, Mopar guy my entire life (61 years of it to be precise), so fully understand the plus and minuses of each brand.   Wanted a crew cab, wanted something loaded, didn't want to spend over mid 30's.  Friday, traded my leased '15 Silverado DC LT with 59,800 miles for a '16 Ram CC Laramie with 9200 miles. Truck was a one owner, bought in Nov 2016 by an older guy that kept it in a garage and drove it casually for one year.  Had looked hard at a '16 Silverado High Country (5.3L) with 8,000 miles (wanted $40,000 for this) as well as several GMC SLT's ,Chevy LTZ's (5.3's or 6.2's) as well as a '15 Denali 6.2.  6.2's I looked at were higher mileage 15's.  Everything in the price point I wanted to stay at ( $35,000 ) had a lot more miles and the 5.3L.  ( and yes I looked into Laura GMC, still more money than I wanted to spend to get a fully loaded vehicle not to mention a 13 hour one way drive).   Not that the 5.3L is that bad, but if I was going through the cost and aggravation of changing vehicles, I wanted more power (this is just a weekend cruiser).

 

Overall impression after driving it for past 4 days and putting on about 300 miles in mixed driving.  The Dodge wins.  Interior space is just better.  Even the high country just looked Spartan.  Rear seat crew cab to crew cab, Dodge has more room.  Dodge had built in under seat storage, storage bins in the floor and fold flat floor, these are all wins.  This one came with the Alpine 10 speaker system (about 500 watt system) with sub, hands down one of the best sound systems I've ever heard in a vehicle.  Everything about the interior just is nicer. Uconnect was simple to connect to my IPhone and works seamless. Front seats in the Dodge have better bolstering.  I'm 6'2, 240# and very muscular,  bolstering may or may not be for everyone, I like it.  As for driving,  Ram feels better.  Ride is similar to the '05 Avalanche I had or a Suburban, attribute that to the rear coil springs instead of the rear leafs, also helps that the truck rolls on factory 33" tall tires (275/60-20).  Handling is nimble, steering feel in the Dodge is lighter, I'm on the fence with this, I like it, but kinda like the slightly stiffer GM steering input, going to take some getting used to.   Power/throttle response, no comparison.  This truck has the base 3.21 ratios so a good comparison vs the GM 6.2L  with the 3.23 (both trucks had 8 speed trans with similar ratios).  Both would spank the 5.3L, 6 speed, 3.08 combo that I had in the '15 LT.  I think Dodge has less torque management dialed in, throttle response is muscle car like.   I also like that the Dodge doesn't have excess rake built it.  Both trucks are quiet when sealed up, the Dodge has just enough V8 sound to know there's  400HP (395 actually) under the hood and you can hear it with the windows down.

 

What don't I like / going to have to get used to.  Already mentioned the lighter steering input.  Non-dampened tailgate, didn't haul much in the '15 Silverado but will miss that feature.  Doors feel lighter in the Dodge, could be the sheet metal is just a little lighter, Chevy did feel like the doors shut with a thud.  We'll see how it holds up.  

 

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I actually was going for a Dodge (I guess Ram these days) back in 2014 and I too thought it rode better and I liked how the power was delivered compared to the 5.3 silvy.  I am not biased towards any brand (even though my last 4 trucks have been GM) but at the end of the day I wanted the most truck for the least amount of money and in 2014 nobody could beat the price on a GM in my area.  I think these days you can't go wrong with any of the manufacturers out there, they all build them as cheap as possible and sell them for the most money possible.

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3 hours ago, GRN69CHV said:

Power/throttle response, no comparison.  This truck has the base 3.21 ratios so a good comparison vs the GM 6.2L  with the 3.23 (both trucks had 8 speed trans with similar ratios).  Both would spank the 5.3L, 6 speed, 3.08 combo that I had in the '15 LT.  I think Dodge has less torque management dialed in, throttle response is muscle car like.   I also like that the Dodge doesn't have excess rake built it.  Both trucks are quiet when sealed up, the Dodge has just enough V8 sound to know there's  400HP (395 actually) under the hood and you can hear it with the windows down.
 

 

Huh, test numbers say otherwise. The Hemi and 5.3 are about equal, the 5.3 even has the edge in most situations depending on gearing (below the hemi with 8spd and 3.92 is slower than the 5.3 with 3.73 by almost 3mph through the traps). With your 3.21 I bet you are slower than your old 5.3, not even close to a 6.2 (behind by a second with the 3.92's in the below test). Don't go by sound, the Hemi is a heavy truck and a 40 hp advantage doesn't make up for it...

 

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2016/01/texas-truck-showdown-2016-acceleration.html

 

Tyler

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I don't remember anyone coming on here talking about how they got rid of their silverado or Sierra and liked it better then a different brand they just bought. Just like people who go to ford and say how much better it was  then their GM. Of course if you are getting some else your going to say it's better. 

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Just telling you my driving impression.  Ram 1500 feels more responsive.  And for the record, I am a Chevy performance enthusiast at heart.  Read my ID GRN69CHV.  I've built and ran big block chevy's well into the 700+HP range (NA) for street use.  Done LS swaps.  Built and ran 7500+ rpm small blocks.  Been there, done that.  The Ram feels more responsive, if it didn't I'd be the first one to say so.  Maybe it's the way the power curve hits, the Ram's tip-in and mid-throttle is much better than the 5.3/6 speed/3.08 from the '15 LT DC.   Overall, the truck feels more nimble just driving around.  I read the link you posted, talk about newer vs older architecture, what could be older design than a solid rear axle bolted to leaf springs.  For my intended use, it's a better package.  Haven't seen GM's '19 platform up close and personal, don't know what new innovations it will bring to the table, but do know I'm not interested in dropping $50K on a new truck to find out.

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3 minutes ago, 15 Z71 said:

I don't remember anyone coming on here talking about how they got rid of their silverado or Sierra and liked it better then a different brand they just bought. Just like people who go to ford and say how much better it was  then their GM. Of course if you are getting some else your going to say it's better. 

Notice, there's things I clearly said, I don't like about the Ram.  

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It’s funny, I’ve been on different sites for different brands. They all say their the best. I’ve owned more GMs. Truthfully it’s been based more on price. In my area I’ve usually been able to get GMs cheaper. In my working years ( over 40) I’d usually trade every 2 years 100-150K Miles. The Fords, GMs, Toyota, Rams I’ve owned non gave me any better service than the others. They were usually loaded down and spent lots of time beating down utility ROWs as well as HWY driving.


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My company gets me a new truck every 4 years or so and I have had them all and as the above poster said they all have gotten the job done for me.  The ram with the hemi maybe heavier and slower but I do like how the transmission delivers the power better than the 6speed in my 14, much more responsive and didn't seem to hang in the higher gears.

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You won't like the payload.  I just sold my 2015 Limited and I had put air bags in.  Even when I hooked up my boat, 17ft walleye boat, it looked like I was coon hunting at night. 

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Single biggest annoyance I've got with the dodge is the shift knob. Nice truck overall, interior on the dodge is just as nice if not nicer than GM in my opinion. New dodge wins over GM for interior hands down. Front end looks weird to me as well on most of the dodge trucks, although they look great with aftermarket bumpers. Think it's because that hood and bumper are almost even sticking out.

 

Good luck with the dodge man. No lie I'd go dodge before I went ford thats for sure. Fords look great but I fear the aluminum and they just feel cheap compared to gm/dodge. Lot's of tech though.

 

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13 hours ago, Downsea said:

You won't like the payload.  I just sold my 2015 Limited and I had put air bags in.  Even when I hooked up my boat, 17ft walleye boat, it looked like I was coon hunting at night. 

I've got a '13 Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab LT here for a daily driver( yes, that's not a misprint) ready and waiting for any serious hauling/towing duties.  Regarding the air bags,  not sure why they didn't level out rear when loaded, I've been running AirLift 1000 (red bags) in every coil spring car and truck I've ever owned since the 70's.  Probably will install a set in the Ram also.  

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23 minutes ago, Penguin VII said:

Single biggest annoyance I've got with the dodge is the shift knob. Nice truck overall, interior on the dodge is just as nice if not nicer than GM in my opinion. New dodge wins over GM for interior hands down. Front end looks weird to me as well on most of the dodge trucks, although they look great with aftermarket bumpers. Think it's because that hood and bumper are almost even sticking out.

 

Good luck with the dodge man. No lie I'd go dodge before I went ford thats for sure. Fords look great but I fear the aluminum and they just feel cheap compared to gm/dodge. Lot's of tech though.

 

Won't lie, the shift knob takes some getting used to, the turn to drive is ok, that's kinda natural, put your foot on the brake quick flick to the right, done.  Drive to reverse simple as it should be takes concentration, throw back to reverse is short, I've already hit park several times doing 3 point turns. But we are creatures of habit.  Took me a while to get used to the 1-4 skip shift pattern in TransAm we had, my Chevelle had a reverse pattern manual shift valve body for the T400 (if you don't know what that is, instead of D-R-N-3-2-1, shift pattern changes to D-R-N- 1-2-3).  Can't tell you how many times I'd just plain forget and start it out in 3rd gear.  Will take some getting used to.

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2 hours ago, GRN69CHV said:

Won't lie, the shift knob takes some getting used to, the turn to drive is ok, that's kinda natural, put your foot on the brake quick flick to the right, done.  Drive to reverse simple as it should be takes concentration, throw back to reverse is short, I've already hit park several times doing 3 point turns. But we are creatures of habit.  Took me a while to get used to the 1-4 skip shift pattern in TransAm we had, my Chevelle had a reverse pattern manual shift valve body for the T400 (if you don't know what that is, instead of D-R-N-3-2-1, shift pattern changes to D-R-N- 1-2-3).  Can't tell you how many times I'd just plain forget and start it out in 3rd gear.  Will take some getting used to.

Fair enough. I just think there is something classic about the shifter being on the tree. Not something I want to change honestly.

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