Which Diesel is Fastest: Silverado 1500 vs. Ram 1500
Pickup truck customers are usually most interested in things like towing capacity and fuel efficiency. Pickups with diesel engines are very good at both. But being able to get through traffic is important, too. You don’t need to be the fastest, just quicker than the other person. Which is why TFLTruck.com got a diesel-equipped Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500 to go head-to-head in a drag race.
The Specs
The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel’s engine is a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6, making 260 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. The Silverado 1500’s Duramax is also a six-cylinder 3.0-liter turbodiesel, but an inline-six rather than a V6. It puts out 277 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque.
The two trucks also differ in their transmissions. The Ram’s is an eight-speed, while the Chevy’s is a 10-speed.
However, in every other metric, the Ram and Silverado are fairly identical. TFLTruck.com weighed in the tested Ram 1500 Tradesman at 5200 lbs. The Silverado 1500 RST came in at 5100 lbs. The Ram has a rear axle ratio of 3.21, the Silverado’s is 3.23. Both of the trucks were also two-wheel drive and had four-door extended cabs.
Silverado 1500 Diesel vs. Ram 1500 Diesel Drag Race Setup
The drag race was held at TFLTruck.com’s test track, IMI Motorsports in Dacono, Colorado. It’s nearly a mile above sea level, but that hardly matters to a turbocharged engine.
For the sake of fairness, each host would drive each truck once. They’d race, swap pickups, and race again. The race distance was not stated.
Each truck’s 0-60 time was also measured.
Silverado 1500 Diesel vs. Ram 1500 Diesel Results and Impressions
You only have to look at the 0-60 times to know what was going to happen. TFLTruck.com got the Silverado 1500 2WD Duramax to 60 mph in 8.31 seconds. It took the Ram 1500 Tradesman 2WD EcoDiesel 8.81 seconds to hit 60.
In both races, the Silverado finished significantly ahead of the Ram. Time-wise, the Silverado crossed the line in 8.34 seconds, while the Ram needed 9.75 seconds.
It’s difficult to say what exactly about the Silverado’s differences helped it out the most. It’s only slightly more powerful and lighter than the Ram. The Silverado also has a slightly higher axle ratio, which does improve towing and power delivery. However, the hosts state the trucks’ axle ratios close enough to call them the same. They did note, however, that the Silverado’s turbo appeared to spool quicker than the Ram’s. That, coupled with the different transmission, may have been what let the Silverado win out.
