How Does Ram Protect The Supercharged HEMI In The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX?

As we continue to breakdown the new 2021 Ram TRX, we thought we would take a look under the hood. While the TRX was designed for uncompromising performance in the harshest environments, Ram engineers designed a new, innovative dual-path air induction system that ensures the 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V-8 engine receives a steady supply of clean, cool air regardless of inbound dirt and debris.

The Ram TRX uses two paths to draw in outside air and routes it to a large, 29-liter airbox that filters out dirt, sand, debris, and water before getting anywhere near the engine. The innovative dual-path system pulls in outside air from a functional scoop in the hood and the upper edge of the grille. Air entering the grille flows to the bottom front of the air box, guided by tailored panels.

The hood scoop ducts air to the bottom rear of the airbox via ports that seal to the hood when it is closed. An airbox support bar is precision-mounted in the engine compartment during vehicle assembly to ensure the hood intake seals to the airbox ducts to prevent engine-heated air from entering the system.

Directing incoming air to the bottom of the airbox helps dirt and water settle out before the air reaches the filter elements, ensuring that the Ram TRX continues to perform in the most grueling environments. A one-way drain in the bottom of the air box evacuates water even when the vehicle is moving. Intake air is drawn upward from the box through twin, heavy-duty air filters that provide 198.4 square inches of filter surface area, four times the dust trapping capacity when compared to the closest competitor, to remove any residual dust or sand before the air is ducted. Unfolded, the filter surface medium covers 13.3 square feet.
 
The entire Ram TRX intake system is engineered to minimize power-robbing air restrictions while ensuring only clean, cool air reaches the engine. Industry-standard testing shows that the Ram TRX far exceeds any competitor in the amount of time it can ingest dirty air and debris before performance is diminished. The Ram TRX’s airbox is mounted at the top of the engine, making it easy to access should the owner choose to field-clean the high-performance filter elements.

From modern muscle cars to high-performance SUVs, the 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V-8 has earned a reputation as a potent, reliable power source that delivers head-turning power when ordered by the driver’s right foot and is also a smooth, efficient power plant at cruising speeds.
 
To best match gear selection and shift points to the driver’s demands, the robust TorqueFlite 8HP95 8-speed automatic transmission monitors inputs, such as engine torque gradients, throttle kick-down, longitudinal and lateral acceleration, detection of friction, downshifts and road grade. This versatile, well-developed, high-torque-capacity, eight-speed transmission delivers quick acceleration and precise, crisp, quick gear changes, enhancing ride quality to luxury car levels with consistent performance and drivability.

Launch Control is standard with the 2021 Ram TRX and manages tire slip while launching the vehicle to give the driver consistent straight-line acceleration. Wheel speed sensors watch for driveline-damaging wheel hop at launch and, in milliseconds, provide inputs to the powertrain control module to modify the engine torque to regain full grip.
 
The Ram TRX is also equipped with Jump Detection, which uses wheel-speed and ride-height sensors and accelerometers at each corner to identify when the vehicle is airborne and acts to prevent driveline-damaging power spikes. Acting in milliseconds, Jump Detection modifies engine speed and torque, gear selection, transfer case torque split, damping rates, and other powertrain and suspension components through the landing to deliver optimum performance.

We will be discussing the suspension setup on the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX later this evening. The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX is ready to tackle any terrain, so you won’t want to miss the changes for the TRX.