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Comments
98% City / 2% Highway
5.7 HEMI
3.55 ratio
Time for 2nd Oil Change (6020 on Odo with change oil message). Been using 89 Octane as recommended in manual. Mostly "generic" gas. Towed 5 times but each time towing ~800-1200 lbs.
Use the HEMI power and the MPG drops a bunch. The cylinder deactivation does help, but a light throttle and probably at least 40MPH is required for it to work. If anyone knows for sure when these things go into 4 cylinder mode - please share. I do know that once into MDS, it will downshift under light loading rather than go back to 8 cylinders. Just my $.02...Richard
You can feel in going into MDS because between these speeds the engine lugs a bit and the RPM's drop. You have to push down on the gas peddle to pop it out of it. Most drivers probably wont even notice it but I can.
Dodge doesnt put out a lot about their MDS (not sure why) because a lot of people ask this same question. You'd think it would be all over the place, again, not sure why not since its a nice benefit for a large engine.
p.s. You get your best mileage between 40 mph & 60 mph anyway. Below 40 mph you are using gas to get up to speed and over 60 mph you are working against wind resistance.
I went from 17 to 15.5 mpg average. I calculate miles driven divided by gallons, NOT the mpg indicator on the dash, also called the LIE-O-METER. I was told when it breaks in it will improve but 36K later it has not. I am a heavy duty sales rep and drive ALOT. I call on many diesel engine builders and they saythat the tolerances are built into the engine. They are what they are, and from that point on it is wear. A break in period is no more than 5K miles to SEAT the moving parts together' IE: rings/cam etc. The main culprit of fuel economy is the Diesel Particulate Filter, or DPF. There is a sensor before and after it. When the DPF starts to get congested the sensors send a signal to the ECM and the injectors activate on the exhaust stroke sending raw fuel into the exhaust stream. This increases EGT's and cleans out the DPF. Unfortunatly it also contaminates your oil at the same time. I have watched this very carefully and paid close attention to the way it seems to operate. This is my experience.---You probably sometimes notice a HOT smell near the rear of the vehicle if you happen to stop while the RE-GEN is in progress. You also probably also notice the aforementioned LIE-O-METER make a drastic reduction in the instant MPG reading. This regeneration,as it is called, at least in my vehice lasts 15 minutes at speeds over 40 mph almost to the second and happens every 1.5 to 2.5 hours of operation depending on the topography of the area and driving conditions at the time. I happen to do my driving in western Washington state in the Puget Sound region. This one operation consumes ALOT of fuel! I have been told between 4 and 5 gallons per tank. Next time you fill up subtract that from gallons delivered into your tank and divide it into the mikes driven and that is what you could get. Another culprit is the EGR. It sends between 5 and 30% of exhaust,- HOT- gasses BACK into the air intake stream. That is SOOT! Raw carbon, one of the hardest substances known to man being sucked right into your engine. Take that cross-over tube that is in front of the engine off and have a good look! I have done oil analysis and found that the it shows signs of soot contamination at around 4500 miles. I change mine at 4000 because of that. Personally I use 76 GUARDOL and a BALDWIN BT7349 filter. This is also HOT air. We all know that more efficient combustion happens with cooler air. Thats why we buy cold air intake systems and have intercoolers! Dont believe the claims of these so-called tuners. They will give you more power at the cost of your injectors, and maybe a little better mpg. They trick the lie-o-meter to showing fantastic readings. I have also learned that all injectors are NOT all the same. They do not all have the exact same pattern or flow. I understand they can be blueprinted which is said to have favorable results. These are my findings. If I am wrong and you are a professional, by all means, let me know. I do like the rig and plan on having it for a long time and want to take the best care of it that I can. FRENCHY5
Oh by the way I am not towing.. Not too pleasing. my dealer says I am not to expect much because of the high alttudes in SLC, UT. I can't beleive that. I use 91 Octane to get these Fuel mileage. 85 Octane kills my power and I use more fuel driving. I don't have a heavy foot and I believe let the power and torque do the driving but I have to stay at 70 MPH to keep that power and momentum going when I hit an upgrade on the highway, in the city forgrt it no power and torque 2500 RPMs just to maintain.
I got rid of my Chevy 2500 Duramax because of fuel mileage (16.7 MPG) went gas and I see the only advantage was I save money on fuel costs. Maybe I should had bought the Cummins and dealt with the fuel prices.....
Is any one else experiencing this or am I expecting too much from Dodge...
95% Highway Driving. 15% City Driving
If you have the factory towing package, the rear gearing is probably geared for towing lessening your mpg. Might also be the same on the 4x4?
If your looking for real good mileage, dont look for it in a full sized truck, doesnt exist "yet". Even the midside trucks dont get much better, maybe 20 mpg overall if your lucky.
If you use your truck for commuting and other things where you really don't need a truck, get a cheap economy car for that stuff. Gas is headed to $4-5 a gallon and a couple $100+ fillups per week in our trucks won't be pretty.
Best regards,
Dusty
1. Never drive over 65MPH
2. Swap the 4.11 for a 3.55
3. When in the city or burbs, coast up to stop signs and red lights
4. If you have a remote starter, don't use it - while your truck is warming
up it's getting 0MPG
5. Forget about all the claims to improve mileage with air cleaners,
exhausts, etc., if any of these were any good, Dodge would have put
them on your truck to start with
These will improve your mileage, but are a real pain in the **s. For every 10K miles a year that you put on your truck, you're burning 800 gallons of gas. At $4/gal, that's $3200. If you do 1500 miles/mo, that's almost $500/mo. just for gas. $200/mo leases for economy cars are everywhere. Good luck....Richard
I'm excited to see any progress to actually make those trucks more efficient!
What do you think of the announced transmission, especially if used in the Dodge trucks?
Best regards from Germany!
Leo
One thing I have learned is that in order to keep the MDS engaged and to avoid downshifts on slight grades on these country roads, I will not use the cruise control. Instead, I allow the speed to drop slightly in order to keep MDS and 5th gear engaged. When in cruise, the truck will hold its speed by downshifting, and that hurts the MPG. Keep truckin'!
kcram - Pickups/Wagons Host
I Spoke with several Diesel owners of all makes at the pump, since my last post. The ones that own or owned deisels with the particulate filter in the exhaust system tells the same story, BAD fuel mileage.. Some claim that had clogging quite frequently. 3 owners I spoke with went to the other brands that has the DEF system and thier fuel mileage was much better around 16 MPG avg. The other owners that has the particulate filter disonnected thiers (I know it is illegal in most places) and they got MUCH better fuel mileage. One of the owners I spoke with claims they are getting nearly 18 MPG on the highway, The other one had chipped his diesel and did the breather and the exhaust with the monitor on the dash. He claims he is getting 19 MPG.. ???? not sure I can believe that, but that's what he had told me. Bottom line, my conclusion is the amount of additional fuel dollars that we use in our RAMS it is cheaper to have a vehicle that uses DEF fluid every 5K at approximately 30 dollars a fill up, to get better MPG.
I was also thinking and playing around with my start up idle when the vehicle has been siiting overnight. I am experimenting with letting the vehicle IDLE for 10 or minutes before going on the road. I used to let my truck idle for no mor than 5 minutes and that was just not working. However I noticed a slight decrease in fuel consumption when I drove for 10 or 15 minutes, stop for a breakfast sandwhich in the morning and then start up my truck again, my consumption on the digital reader was showing a much higher reading around 16-17 MPG reading oppose to 13-14 reading and the truck felt like it have more power as well. All of my roads here are hilly I live in N.Utah not much flat land around here. Maybe it is my imagination but it does feel different somehow, so that is why I am experimenting on the longer idle theory.
I wonder if hitting the "tow" button disables the MDS? Anyone know for sure?
My Ram does better in normal driving than the Tahoe did, and has much more power, so I'm really surprised at your towing mileage. I cruised at 65MPH, was your speed faster? Is it a travel trailer or a tall 5th wheel? Do you have the 3.92 gears?
Thx for the post and enjoy your trailer!
Just turned 30,000 miles yesterday and been in service since May 2nd, 2010.
To-Date total average is 17.31. Lowest ever recorded was 10.20 mpg towing a Ford tractor on a three axle trailer, total weight approx. 9100 lbs. Daily trip to work is 3.2 miles.
Highest recorded so far is 23.66 mpg on a trip through the hills of central New York State, all on state roads and posted speeds. Five trips to Gettysburg, PA (335 mile trip) yielded 19.71, 20.03, 20.19, 21.5, 14.96. Last trip I pulled a 12 foot Uhaul box trailer, that's why is significantly lower.
June 2011 average 18.21 mpg, May average 20.76, and April was 17.48. May had two road trips. All gas mileage reported is manually computed using distance travelled and actual gallons used. I have found the EVIC to indicate higher and lower gas mileage most of the time, on one occasion as much as 1.4 MPG different than actual. After 91 fill-ups the EVIC has reported lower average gas mileage 38 times, and agreed with the hand calculated figure only eleven times. I have had the odometer checked and it indicates 98.9 miles for 100 miles driven (although the speedometer matches the radar checks perfectly).
After talking to over a dozen Ram 1500 owners, it appears that a little more than half are realizing roughly the same results as mine, but I'm not sure if they monitor this as closely as I do. I've only talked to one other individual that hand calulates the gas mileage as a check of the EVIC.
Because I tow less than 1% of the time and 70-90 percent of my driving is suburban and cross town, the 3.92 axle ratio works very well for me (in 2010, LSD was only available in 3.92). I think those of you with the 3.55 ratio are under more of a penalty if you do a lot of stop-and-go driving. At a steady 55 MPH on flat level ground I can keep the the Hemi in ECO and the EVIC bar above the 22 MPG mark, probably because the slightly elevated RPM at that speed reduces the load factor on the engine. If you spend more time on the four lane and interstates the 3.55 or maybe the 3.23 is a better choice.
To answer someones question, on mine selecting Tow/Haul Mode automatically drops the engine out of ECO.
Regards,
Dusty
Short trips are an MPG killer as is winter driving, but mix in some cruise time in 4 Cylinder mode and the truck does better than I had expected. Very pleased with the HEMI " economy ".
I travel with a fellow towing ATVs, and although he's convince his Silverado gets much better gas milage" than a Ram or F150, I've taken note on how many gallons his takes when we fill up. In each case he's taken more fuel.
Gearing can make a difference, and driving technique definitely plays a major role. You might also be surprised on how much your odometer is off, especially if you've installed new tires. Higher tire air pressures reduce rolling resistance, and increase tire diameter which affects the odometer reading.
Good luck with your new truck.
Best regards,
Dusty
It's also nearly impossible to get the tank " filled " exactly the same every time, so that could be cause for some of the inconsistency.
I have to admit that I have never checked my odometer, I will do that the next time I'm on the freeway, although my tires and wheels are stock.
Thanks for the informative post...Richard
Good point on the pump filling. I usually buy my gas at the same station and try to get the same pump and let the fill stop when the pump shuts off. This is the best way I know how to ensure some consistency. For practical reasons I can't always do that, of course.
I was just studying my spread sheet and I think I'm noting a trend. It appears that the computer is closest to a straight calculation when I'm at or near one-half a tank. (My Ram has the 26 gallon tank.)
I don't know about the average, but a lot of people I know take the computer as gospel. I haven't talked or met one person yet who's actually checked that hasn't found the computers to be less than accurate. According to a friend at work his Impala owners manual states a plus or minus of 15% accuracy.
Best regards,
Dusty
Driving the truck around town the computer is showing about 13.4 - 14.5 average mpg. This weekend I am planning to travel to Houston to see how it does on the open highway.
I am curious on what other folks have done to increase their avg mpg in similar sized trucks. I've heard stories of some guys getting 25 - 30+ mpg in similar year model trucks.
Thanks
IMO, if there is a consistent error, in a particular vehicle, in the positive direction, then the manufacturer has fudged some constant in the calculations to appear as if the vehicle is getting better economy than it really is. However, due to the accuracy of the sensing devices used for the calculation, it doesn't make much sense that there could be a large error in the plus and minus direction.
With a 2001 (EFI 24-valve HO, rated at 245/505), and if you have 3.54 axles, you can probably get an honest 22-24 mpg if you keep your right foot in check and keep the speed below 60 mph. A chip may get you a couple more if it's matched just right, and again, you keep the speed down (the Cummins diesel gets its best efficiency around 1600-1700 rpm).
My 2005 3500 with the common-rail fuel system and 2004 emissions settings will get 21 only if I'm really careful... the standard 3.73 axle is part of the problem there.
kcram - Pickups/Wagons/Vans+Minivans Host
Now that summer is here, I'm getting 16.5 to 17MPG in all around driving, and that's not BS. My driving is suburban/country and small town with very little city and very little freeway driving. I normally drive at the limit or 5 over and keep any freeway driving to less than 75MPH. I am very careful with the throttle, driving to maximize the " Fuel Saver " light staying lit, and coast up to stop signs and lights that are red. Coasting is a huge contributor to mileage - it helps recover the extra fuel used when accelerating. I also mix 87 and 93 octane gas to get 90 octane for the same price as 89. IMO, using the recommended 89+ octane will return a bit better mileage.
I also shut the engine off if waiting awhile at a takeout window, etc. - unless the air needs to be running, of course.
These things may require a change in driving habits and can be a pain in the rear at times, but are effective at saving money at the pump.
I love my Ram, and I know it will return decent mileage with a little effort.
Now, since we've established that a Smart just isn't a choice for some people, let's see why MPG in trucks matters- I'm looking for a truck and have the option of truck A that gets 13 MPG versus truck B that gets 17. The current price of diesel is $4/gal and I expect to drive 25k miles this year. Given this, truck A will cost me roughly $7,692 to operate for the year while truck B will cost $5,882. That's almost TWO GRAND saved in just one year because I didn't have the mindset of "pfft. It's a truck, mileage doesn't matter."
Drove 402 miles and put in 22.84 gallons of mid grade for an average of 17.6 MPG. Of those 402 miles, 160 were suburban driving and 242 was freeway (between 70 and 75 MPH, a few passes at 80 MPH).
The truck had only 32 miles on the odometer when I took delivery and that it was topped off (it took an additional 1.2 gallons before automatic shutoff of the pump) and then refilled at the end using the same pump, I believe it is a fairly accurate manual computation. The computer was very close at 17.7 MPG average.
For a brand-new truck with no break-in, I consider that exceptional fuel economy. With any luck, it will pick up an additional 2 or 3 MPG as it breaks in.