2025 RAM 2500 68RFE VS ZF Powerline MPG & 0-60 Test: The 68 Gets All The Hate Until Now!

What’S up guys, i have a 2025 Ram on my left and a 2024 on my right. This truck has a 68 RF. This one has the new ZF TorqueFlight aka Power Line, aka whatever you want to call it Now. Here’S! What I’ll tell you This video is going to be comical, because I can’t wait to read the comment section on this one, because what I’m about to say right now, you ready for this.

The 68 RF is not as bad as people say. It is I’m going to say it one more time, Even Josh. I have to get on him about it too. The 68 RF is not as bad as people say. It is You’re going to see that in this video.

The last thing I’ll say about this topic is: if you’re modifying your truck and you’re expecting your transmission to hold up, wasn’t built for that. So I borrowed these trucks from Larry, H, Miller, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Ram here in Sandy Utah. They are both available for sale. Let’S go ahead and drive this 2025 first, because there’s a few more of these here So yeah, I can’t wait. This is going to be fun.

I was really hoping these trucks would have got here about a month and a half ago, because I wanted to try out the glow plugs versus the grid heater. But I guess we have to wait till later this year when it gets cold again to do that, because the temperatures have been too warm Even 40. Both these trucks are going to start pretty much right up. But yes, this is the new Cumins. Nvh is even lower than that one, which is insane because that one is even lower from the 2018 and earlier pickups because they went away from the flat tap it.

So, yes, these trucks are so quiet. Oh, we got to go because yeah, I don’t have any gas Now. You do have electronical selector here and yeah. This should be fun. I’M super excited.

Now you probably could look around this interior. Look how dusty it is when these trucks are shipped to the dealership. They are put through the ringer because someone left the window down, So I always laugh when people complain about me driving these trucks, I’m, like I’m the least of your worries. I am the least of your worries, Trust me Now. What I really want to test out today is the ride, because I noticed that these 2025s are a little bit harsher compared to the 2024s And it could just be my head, but I drove a mega cab with air suspension.
It was a 3/4 ton. It felt stiffer – Or maybe I’ve just gotten so soft with my GMC truck – That’s probably what it is, But when you take off there is no delay. Yes, Yeah this power output. Remember this is a 3/4tonon truck. That’S what’s so insane about this test, But yeah.

This truck feels so much more smoother. You forget that it has a transmission, You might think it has a CVT. If I told someone that they had a CVT in this truck, they probably would believe me because the shifts are so smooth and they’re. So consistent too, Once you once you come off from a dig Now, if you’re rolling, it does have a little bit of delay Now I said this in the last video I did similar to this. I had two 3500s.

This truck does start in second gear, with the 8-speed The Eizen started in first gear, so I’ll have to test out that 68 RF to see if that one starts in first gear as well, But yeah when you need to go there, like, I said when you’re Rolling there’s a little bit of a delay. Let’S see – And that’s probably why, because we’re literally in fifth gear as we’re rolling right and that’s going to affect you know how quickly the transmission responds, because it has to go down to third gear. So there’s a little bit of a delay there, That’s it, But it’s not bad. Remember – and I have to remind myself of this too. This is not a sports car.

This is a heavy duty truck And this truck has a ton of power, a ton of it. So unless you want to destroy or implode your transmission, because you want the shifts to be quick – and you want that Cumins to put that power down, that Cumins will destroy this transmission if it didn’t have any type of torque management on it. For sure Now we’re inside the 2024, Let’s go and start it up! You can feel more vibrations from this one for sure Now it does have a mechanical shifter, And this is a small detail, but this has like a more matted finish versus a little glossier finish on the shifter. I like this, so much better.

I mean I don’t know why they even switched that That That’s silly If they they must have saved like eight pennies to do a different, shifter Anyways. Let’S go ahead and get comfortable Now initially, you won’t really notice much of a difference, but you can tell that this engine has a little bit more vibrations compared to the new one They’re, both cam and lifter, so they didn’t go back to flat tapping for this Year Now, let’s see, Is this going to feel a little harsher okay that felt about the same as the 2025 personally, But this won’t feel the same here Check this out. This one does feel a little bit more sluggish but remember you’re down on power which you’ll hear here in a second, But this transmission shifts very quickly very consistently. That’S why I say you can hate all you want on the 68 RV. The re name is what makes the 68 have a bad reputation.

It’S not the 68. I have friends. I’Ve met guys who did hot shot. I mean most guys do hot shot with this 3/4 ton truck, so they can stay at the 10,000lb GVWR. So, if they’re putting a 100,000 miles on it and they’re buying another truck in a few years, wouldn’t that tell you that these trucks are more reliable than they say they are.
I mean I don’t know I’m just saying, But yes, this is going to be interesting. I’M about to do the 0 to 60. I’Ve already did it for the other truck and you guys will see here later in the video. I already know what’s going to happen here So get ready. I just did the 0 to 60, which you guys will see later in the video, and I looked down.

Traction control was on up until, like 60 m an hour And earlier in the week, I had to move one of these trucks over to the other lot And when I turned out – and I gave it a little bit of gas – the back end got loose. So this transmission is a little dangerous with all the power, especially probably with this shorter wheelbase with a crew cab. Standard bed is really really powerful with this high output And then having this 8-speed transmission, which puts that power down a lot better is pretty insane Now. Let’S go ahead and turn on the exhaust brake here I want to see where the the horsepower is with that So like. If I give a little bit of gas actually, let me slow down real quickly to about 60.

60. 65. 70. It’S quick Boost went up to about 22 PSI And when I get up here I’ll, let you guys know what the horsepower is for the exhaust brake Steering fill. That’S something I noticed too.

It feels lighter this year. It almost feels like electronic power steering And sadly no drive modes which it would have been nice if they did. I don’t know if they use electronic power steering, but if they did, it would have been nice to have drive modes to maybe tighten this up. A little bit because I like the steering wheel not to be like this, It’s And then there’s a little bit of sway from the tires. So here is the exhaust brake at 60 m an hour 67 horsepower and then it tapers back down.

I got it up to 100 when I manually shifted it just now too, So the exhaust brake and I’ll probably do a separate video on it too. If you guys want me to The exhaust brake, doesn’t seem like it’s much different, So that’s probably great news for most of you guys: Let’s go ahead and drive that 2024 We’re cruising on the highway back in the 2024. I reset the MPG, and this truck again It feels softer now that I’m back on the highway and I’m just cruising – I don’t know what it is. I don’t think that Ram changed anything on the suspension, but this truck just seems a little bit. It could be the tires because the tires are slightly.

You know what that’s probably what it is. I bet you they might have made those AT2s, maybe a little bit uh what you call it with a stiffer sidewall. Maybe Maybe that’s what it is, because that’s the only thing that really changed on these trucks, But you can clearly tell now I’m going to go ahead and turn on the exhaust brake. This has a 12-in display, So you have the hard buttons down here, which is actually kind of nice. So let’s go ahead and go to the horsepower, so we can see So I’ll get up to 60.
Let’S see Wow, it got up to 70 horsepower. That is really really good, And the exhaust brake is more consistent And that’s in part to the fact that the RPM is going to be slightly higher because of that 373. So it just comes on a little bit more So with the new transmission it. It is a little bit more delay, but it’s not bad. I honestly, it’s probably still better, It’s far better than GM’s for sure.

Oh Maybe I spoke too soon about the 68. Did you guys see that little drolt that just happened and I’ll have to check here in a second? If this does start in first or second gear, I’m sure it starts in probably? Actually I don’t know I’ll have to find out here in a second Here. Are the RPMs at about 65 miles an hour?

This is probably the biggest improvement that this truck saw simply because of that 342 rear. Now that we have pretty much higher gearing out back, This is what’s going to really help this truck get the best fuel economy. The other truck you’ll, see here in a second, has a 373, but if I get up to 70, I don’t think I’ll be able to, but I’ll try We’re still in eighth gear, I’m giving a little bit of gas. We’Re still hovering around that 1500 RPM mark there So yeah. This is a better platform compared to the previous model years Uh they had a 342 back in 2018 and earlier It was terrible, Absolutely terrible because of the transmission configurations.

You guys see those RPMs we’re a hair over 1500. Let’S go to the I like these better. I get to 65 Yeah we’re just we’re right at or just a little bit over 1500 RPMs And that’s because again, the 373. Now the gears aren’t as deep in the transmission with the 68. I couldn’t tell you what they are, but final drive is very similar across the board, with every truck in this segment And that’s about 63 64.

They all kind of end off about right. There Here are the numbers on the door for the 2025 GVWR is 190 lb higher And then here’s the payload. So you guys see here: 10,000lb GVWR. All in payload is 2,95 lb. We just got off on exit 3.

Now we’re just coasting down to zero And it looks like I might not Oh, never mind I caught this light with the 2025, But here is where we are for fuel economy, So 17.7 MPG, 5.2, mi driven so far. Let’S see what it is for the 2024 Midpoint for the 2024, I still have the exhaust brake on too. Actually it’s just slowing me down.
We are like neck and neck. This is going to be good And I didn’t catch this light either. So yeah I’m at 17.7 17. It’S literally identical.

It’S not! It didn’t go over 17.8, But yeah told you. I told you This transmission is lighter too, So this truck’s a little bit lighter right. So just keep that in mind.

Do you guys see that the transmission is at 149 Coolant’s at 192 And then there’s the oil temp? This engine does breathe better because of the new configuration with the block, larger intake and exhaust valves, and then the performance intake manifold, So definitely a better breathing engine, and that should help a lot. If you plan on towing heavy with this truck and often Now, maybe just maybe that ZF is going to kill the 68 RP when it comes down to the uh transmission temp right, oh wrong way. Yes, 154! Normally, this transmission runs around 160 167 max unloaded and it does about the same when you do have a trailer behind it too.

So you know these temperatures are better than Fords. Although Ford transmissions just run hot regardless, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’S just how they’re designed to do About 190 to 200, So yeah And as far as the you saw coolants 192 Hold on here. Wasn’T the oil chump like 190, something or 203? I can’t remember You guys just saw the footage but yeah we’re only at 169, with this truck Wow, that’s pretty dang.

Good Oil pressure is about 50 PSI. You see those RPMs at 70. Let’S go and get up to 80 Great power. No downshifts at these higher speeds, Although that’s pretty obvious, because we’re pretty much at max Even at 85, mph we’re still not even at 2,000, So at 80 about 1,800 RPMs, Absolutely amazing. The engine is so much more quieter.

You’Re going to see a difference between the two – If I remember to do this, sometimes I forget to do this and I apologize, but it’s not a fair comparison from what I’ve noticed with my noise device because of cars around me, So uh 64 to 65 is What it was at See those RPMs we’re right at 17,800: Let’s go to 80, We’re still in sixth gear too, as we accelerate Right at 85, we’re at 2,000 RPMs And tapering back down to 80 we’re 1900. So, yes, RPMs are about 100 or so higher. The engine is a little louder, There’s a truck coming up here, So I I’ll have my noise device come on after we pass this because, like I said it will pick up on that thing for sure It’s about 65 66. So it’s not too bad And that’s both at 79 mph. You guys see.
I didn’t tell you the temperature earlier in the video, but it’s almost 80. I think it was like 79 when I started this test, So it’s going down a little bit. So here is the new Cumins: It’s going to have 430 horsepower 175 lbft of torque. All that power goes to a new 8-speed transmission 342 rear. Let’S see how it accelerates.

Here we go 30 60. Here is the tried andrude standard output Cumins. You can only get this engine with a 3/4tonon truck 370 horsepower 850 pound- feet of torque. All that power goes to a six-speed transmission 373 rear end. Here we go 30 60 We’re pulling back in We’re going to pull up.

Next to these Jeeps, 19
1 12.3 mi, driven in under 15 minutes. That was pretty quick, actually Just pulled back in 18 MPG 12.4 miles driven There. It is Based off of those numbers you’re telling me that with 60 more horsepower, 060 was very, very, very similar.

The temperatures on the transmission. I would say were within range of each other. 169 is the highest I saw on here About 157 on this truck. I don’t know what else to say. I mean the 68 RV is a really good transmission.

The reason why Ram offers that one is because, most guys who do buy 3/4 tons, they don’t really plan on towing. You normally see these trucks lifted on 35s, 3 or 4 in lift And the 60 RP is just fine for a truck like that. If they may tow, maybe 500 miles a year right, but the truth to the matter is the transmission. That’S in the new Ram trucks for the 3/4 ton is a medium duty transmission. I think a lot of times.

I even forget that, and I have to mention and remind people that, because that’s why the 68 is so close, even with so much less horsepower and torque Now MPG was a big jump because of the fact that it has a 342. Now this truck is heavier. So keep that in mind It’s why the payload is so much you know lower even with the higher GWR And that’s because again, the cast iron block and the heavier medium duty transmission. But I hope this was helpful. I really think that, if you’re in the market for a 68 RV, if you don’t plan on deleting and adding 200 more horsepower to the truck, this transmission will run a long time.

My friend, you know you guys know him as supporters of Sanity. He has this truck in a 2018 2017. I believe, And he is weight loss programmed. He has over 100,000 miles This truck’s tuned, obviously no problems. If you go back to my earlier videos, I met a guy who does hot shot had a 68 RP.

He was running 35s lifted. You know deleted big horsepower coming out of that engine and he’s had no issues. The only issue he had with the truck was the rear end had to be replaced. That was it And he had 400,000 mi on that 68 RP. So, yes, you do get some bad ones, but these trucks are meant to do heavy lifting And they they do get put through the ringer.

So sometimes they will go down. Even the Isizen. Being a Toyota made Japanese-made transmission, they will go down, sometimes Fords GMs. Gm is the worst right now They will go down, But I will say the 68 RV has more online hate than actual reality hate because most guys out here doing hot shot, they’re doing it with the 3/4 ton. So they get that 10,000lb GVWR and therefore they’re able to stay.

You know with below that 26,000lb GCWR And if those guys are still buying these trucks for that purpose, why would they keep buying them if they’re so unreliable? I’M just being honest here, But I am happy about the new ZF transmission. I think that is going to be a step in the right direction. Now, with the 3/4 ton trucks, you get all the horsepower all the torque. It’S just great news all the way around.

Yes, RIP to the Eizen AS69 RC in this Chrysler built 68 RP. Hope you guys, like the video, Be sure to subscribe to channel, Make sure you notification on Peace.