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

Downsea · February 22, 2018

3 hours ago, GRN69CHV said:

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.

The same bags I put in after towing the boat a couple times! The bags worked great for loads, I let them down to a couple #s when not towing, for the great ride those little coils give. I see you're getting used to the knob shift too. I did the park thing several times, not looking I grabbed the volume knob on the radio a couple times too. That woke me up! Now I'm doing the opposite. I have to remember that I use the fob now and not just touch the door handle to get in. Also use the key and not push the button. It was a real nice truck, very comfortable for long rides. I sold mine for a good price and really wanted a Chevy again and I liked this 2015. I have a couple back surgeries coming up and wanted to save more cash as I don't know what's going to happen.

Chris

GRN69CHV · February 22, 2018

25 minutes ago, Downsea said:

The same bags I put in after towing the boat a couple times! The bags worked great for loads, I let them down to a couple #s when not towing, for the great ride those little coils give. I see you're getting used to the knob shift too. I did the park thing several times, not looking I grabbed the volume knob on the radio a couple times too. That woke me up! Now I'm doing the opposite. I have to remember that I use the fob now and not just touch the door handle to get in. Also use the key and not push the button. It was a real nice truck, very comfortable for long rides. I sold mine for a good price and really wanted a Chevy again and I liked this 2015. I have a couple back surgeries coming up and wanted to save more cash as I don't know what's going to happen.

Chris

Good luck on the back surgery. My father is dealing with that now, has for years, back pain is not pleasant.

Question, what does the LT2 add to the package. My '15 DC had buckets and a console which I really miss in the '13 2500HD (company provided, all expenses paid, so can't complain). As I looked around for crew cabs , I couldn't find any that had the console except for LTZ's, guess my LT was an anomaly.

spud68 · February 22, 2018

New to the site and Chevy's. This is the first Chevy truck I have Owned and my first post . I recently traded my 2014 Ram 1500 QC in for this new 2017 CC Silverado LT. and I must Agree with the OP. My ram felt like an overall better truck. My 5.3 with the 6 speed cant seem to learn how to shift? Honestly this is the worst shifting truck I have ever driven. twitchy and cluncky. I had hoped it would learn my driving style by 10K miles but no luck. I have an appointment to get it looked at but I'm not optimistic the dealer will even acknowledge anythings wrong.

Other than the crappy drive train I actually like the look of the truck but I feel the Ram just had a better overall package. a couple of pluses for the ram are a tighter turning radius. I never noticed this until I got this truck and try to back into parking spaces. and the U-connect is way better than the Chevy infotainment stuff it is intuitive and has quick response times. And, I actually liked the knob shifter on the dash.

I went with the Chevy this time because of the great deal I got and the Ram didn't have the towing capacity I needed. Hopefully the dealer can sort out the transmission shifting problem.

Ted

wforrest08 · February 22, 2018

10 minutes ago, spud68 said:

New to the site and Chevy's. This is the first Chevy truck I have Owned and my first post . I recently traded my 2014 Ram 1500 QC in for this new 2017 CC Silverado LT. and I must Agree with the OP. My ram felt like an overall better truck. My 5.3 with the 6 speed cant seem to learn how to shift? Honestly this is the worst shifting truck I have ever driven. twitchy and cluncky. I had hoped it would learn my driving style by 10K miles but no luck. I have an appointment to get it looked at but I'm not optimistic the dealer will even acknowledge anythings wrong.

Other than the crappy drive train I actually like the look of the truck but I feel the Ram just had a better overall package. a couple of pluses for the ram are a tighter turning radius. I never noticed this until I got this truck and try to back into parking spaces. and the U-connect is way better than the Chevy infotainment stuff it is intuitive and has quick response times. And, I actually liked the knob shifter on the dash.

I went with the Chevy this time because of the great deal I got and the Ram didn't have the towing capacity I needed. Hopefully the dealer can sort out the transmission shifting problem.

Ted

First welcome.

There’s tons of posts on here about drivability ie. transmission hunting and acceleration. I’ll let you read them and come up with your own conclusion. Mine was I needed a tune to “fix” my 6 speed and lack of low end power feeling. Mine was tuned at 3k that was 27k ago and I’ve never looked back.

How much are you hauling? I only ask cause one of the RAM 1/2 ton ads that keep popping up on this site says it pulls 10,xxx pounds which I thought seems like a lot for something with coils...

spud68 · February 22, 2018

10 minutes ago, wforrest08 said:

First welcome.

There’s tons of posts on here about drivability ie. transmission hunting and acceleration. I’ll let you read them and come up with your own conclusion. Mine was I needed a tune to “fix” my 6 speed and lack of low end power feeling. Mine was tuned at 3k that was 27k ago and I’ve never looked back.

How much are you hauling? I only ask cause one of the RAM 1/2 ton ads that keep popping up on this site says it pulls 10,xxx pounds which I thought seems like a lot for something with coils...

thanks for the info. I have thought about a tune to fix this but I don't want to mess with the warranty?

I tow an equipment trailer occasionally with right at 10K lbs. I towed it with the Ram but realistically it was only rated at 8K lbs or so. I believe that to get the higher tow ratings its a special edition truck or something? the ram towed the trailer OK I just wanted the most I could get to be on the safe side.

GRN69CHV · February 23, 2018

1 hour ago, spud68 said:

thanks for the info. I have thought about a tune to fix this but I don't want to mess with the warranty?

I tow an equipment trailer occasionally with right at 10K lbs. I towed it with the Ram but realistically it was only rated at 8K lbs or so. I believe that to get the higher tow ratings its a special edition truck or something? the ram towed the trailer OK I just wanted the most I could get to be on the safe side.

spud68 (hell of a handle by the way), a lot of the driveability with the Chevy has to do with three things : dialed in torque management from the factory, gear ratios (I'm hoping your's came with the 3.42's?) and the change from AFM to V8. First mod I did to mine was tune out the AFM. Between the torque management , trans hunting and CPM validating the load to get the motor back into V8 mode, it often seemed like an eternity, in reality it may have been a second or two, but was definitely noticeable transitioning just as you described. I do think that can be tuned out. The '13 2500HD I drive has the 6.0 and 6L90 trans (same ratios as the 6L80) with 3.73 gears out back, that combo is great.

bgbdwlf2500 · February 23, 2018

On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 10:39 AM, GRN69CHV said:

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.

The 3.08 just all around sucks. I know it was a shot at fuel mileage but it just doesn't work. A 315 hp, 5500 lb truck just doesn't work with the 3.08. ive had trucks pretty much my whole life and then I bought an old camry trying to save money so when I bought my 2010 there was way more power so I didn't notice the fact that the truck could possibly have a ratio like that. At some point I'm going to change the ratio, more than likely to the 4.10 to make the truck more responsive and make it feel like a truck. I would assume as you have said that the Ram has less aggressive torque management which is what makes them feel stronger. I watched my timing the other day and itll get up to 40 degrees until the 1-2 shift and it drops to about 12. climbs back up and then drops big again until its up in 4th then the timing doesn't drop near as much

KARNUT · February 23, 2018

I have an old truck that’s heavy modified and know what it feels like with no nannies. Iv modified new gas and diesels to over 500 HP. I understand why the use TQ management and traction control on trucks and cars. It should be obvious. Most people would be in a ditch and the transmission and rear ends wouldn’t last 100K miles. The best way to work it out would be select switches like on high end performance vehicles with the idea you play you could lower the life of your drive line. The computer could track it and warranty would be adjusted accordingly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WC_LTZ · March 5, 2018

See I did the reverse of this thread: a 2016 Ram crew cab lease to a CPO 2015 Silverado double cab. Reasoning? I wanted a long term truck to own that was more of a quality build.

The Ram was nice. Drove nicer than my Chevy. Transmission was significantly better (shifting, never hunting, never bogging with the ‘torque management’). Mainly just comes down to the transmission.

That being said: the cruise control stopped working (unless you smacked the shit out of the steering wheel), uconnect was very buggy, electronics liked to act up, there was a valvetrain rattle on cold starts at 5,000 miles +, and the dents. My god, the dents. I park away from everyone in lots. Far spot. End spot. The Ram’s sheet metal was so thin it would dent if a moth flew into it. Oh, and the interior leather was nicer/softer on my Ram (it was dealer installed Katzkin Mopar leather).

Despite the transmission shortcomings, I am happier right now with the Chevy. Time will tell how it holds up but I was not about to own a Ram long term with that many issues so early on.

No truck is perfect. Each has pros and cons. Weigh your own needs/wants and go from there.

Congrats on your purchase, I hope it gives you many years of enjoyment.

L86 All Terrain · March 5, 2018

Dodge honestly rides the best out of all of them TBH. Largely thanks to the coil suspension in rear. This is also a huge problem for people looking for maximum capability. As far as steering, no one comes close to the input characteristics of GM electric system. Dodge has had better throttle/transmission response since the LS trucks come on the scene in 2000. GM has yet to nail engine/trans tuning since the birth of the Gen III, but at least you could tune the old ones to work properly. It's a toss up, overall the K2 leaves a lot to be desired yet Dodge has never done enough to persuade me there way, and our local dealer isn't great. This 2014 I have, I would be willing to try a Honda Ridgeline at this point..

scott.moody.9401 · March 5, 2018

Coming from an 09 Ram to my current 16 Sierra, I came to the same conclusions. I prefer the lighter steering feel and softer car like ride of the Ram. It's also very obvious the 5.7 w/3.90 and 6 speed would smoke my 5.3 w/3.42 and 8 speed. I had the both trucks for 4 to 5 months before I sold the Ram so would drive both back to back on some days.

Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk

amxguy1970 · March 6, 2018

2 hours ago, scott.moody.9401 said:

Coming from an 09 Ram to my current 16 Sierra, I came to the same conclusions. I prefer the lighter steering feel and softer car like ride of the Ram. It's also very obvious the 5.7 w/3.90 and 6 speed would smoke my 5.3 w/3.42 and 8 speed. I had the both trucks for 4 to 5 months before I sold the Ram so would drive both back to back on some days.

Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk

Huh, numbers say otherwise... Must be all the noise and feel, those trucks are heavy but it doesn't translate in to actual performance numbers. Below it got beat by the 5.3 Chevy.

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

Tyler

amxguy1970 · March 6, 2018

On 2/23/2018 at 6:55 AM, bgbdwlf2500 said:

The 3.08 just all around sucks. I know it was a shot at fuel mileage but it just doesn't work. A 315 hp, 5500 lb truck just doesn't work with the 3.08. ive had trucks pretty much my whole life and then I bought an old camry trying to save money so when I bought my 2010 there was way more power so I didn't notice the fact that the truck could possibly have a ratio like that. At some point I'm going to change the ratio, more than likely to the 4.10 to make the truck more responsive and make it feel like a truck. I would assume as you have said that the Ram has less aggressive torque management which is what makes them feel stronger. I watched my timing the other day and itll get up to 40 degrees until the 1-2 shift and it drops to about 12. climbs back up and then drops big again until its up in 4th then the timing doesn't drop near as much

I have had multiple rentals with the 3.08, can't tell much of a difference. It is only a couple tenths in acceleration, nothing anyone would notice if they weren't told what was out back.

Tyler

GRN69CHV · March 6, 2018

Had the Ram couple weeks now, put just shy of 600 miles on it so far. I've always been a GM guy first, Dodge and Ford tied for 2nd or 3rd. The Ram just drives a lot nicer. Ride, trans, power delivery, handling is just better. Don't know about the testing, personally don't care about 0-60 differentials of a couple 10ths. Ride and handling has a lot to do with the 5 link rear suspension, coil springs and factory anti-roll bar. Trans is smooth, shifts are quick without being harsh. Considering the 8HP Trans was developed by a German company it's no surprise it shifts like what you would expect in a German performance sedan.

A feature I like is how the gear selector is setup. On the GM you can override the AFM by moving the shift lever to manual and then move the gear selector to either 5th gear or 7th gear respectively to keep the motor out of going into AFM but you are limited to either 5th or 7th gear, once you allow the trans to shift into either 6th or 8th AFM is switched back on. Dodge has gear selection set up so that you leave it in drive and just adjust the gear selector to whatever top gear you want to get to (including 8th gear) and the cylinder deactivate is turned off, click the gear selector once more and it goes back into AFM/MDS.

FWIW, I test drove a new F150 with the 2.7L turbo V6 with the 10 speed, it was surprisingly responsive and smooth. Maybe it was the lighter weight in the rear due to the aluminum body, but there was a noticeable bouncy ride typical of a leaf spring suspension and exasperated by reduced weight on the rear end.

bgbdwlf2500 · March 6, 2018

12 hours ago, amxguy1970 said:

I have had multiple rentals with the 3.08, can't tell much of a difference. It is only a couple tenths in acceleration, nothing anyone would notice if they weren't told what was out back.

Tyler

Agree that theyre not too bad off the line but the constant downshift to maintain even 45mph if someone slows down in front of you is extremely annoying. I don't drive my truck aggressively, it rarely sees over 2500rpm which is when it downshifts into 3 or 4 from 6th because the OD is too high running 3.08. Its the same on the highway, get a nice cruise at 75, some idiot dives over in your lane forcing you to slow down then accelerates quickly you wont catch up to them until you force the multiple downshifts it takes to get the truck back in the power band. I get the best mpg at 65 mph on totally flat ground. Any roads that go up and down at any speed just kills it because it cant maintain the top gear. If gm wanted to use the extra gears in these new transmission correctly they would install an axle ratio like a 4.88 or 5.13 and add all the gears to the top end so when its in OD at a .65 or .55 or wherever they wanted it to be the truck would be able to hold top gear. I would have loved to have had a 3.08 in my 02 Duramax that was putting out 500 and 1000 at the wheels and had 3.73. That truck with cruise on never had to downshift no matter where I took it and got 22 mpg. Would have to expect with 3.08 would have been close to 30mpg.