Dodge pulling power/gas mileage

[kevfish]

I have a 1998 dodge p-u with a 360 engine. When I pull something I have very little power and very poor gas mileage. 8 mpg. Has anyone had success making any modifications to their p-u to increase mileage and or power.

[spinach]

I am also interested in the replies to this topic. I have a 2000 dodge ram 1500 quad cab with a 318 and I only get 8 mpg pulling my ice house, 10 mpg pulling a boat and trailer. Without pulling anything I am getting 15 mpg on average. I have kept up on the maintenance, recent full tune up and new transmission and tranny cooler. I was going to replace the fuel filter but it was located in the tank. Any suggestions would be helpful......

[kevfish]

I only get 12 mph on highway pulling nothing. also had to replace tranny and cooler at 60,000 miles but that is another story. Anything I can do to improve gas mileage?

[Corey Bechtold]

This may sound strange but I have a 1994 Dodge Dakota E-cab 4x4 with a 318 in it. I have 230000 miles and I get 15 mpg usually and I pull a 16' boat a lot and get 14. Maybe it has something to do with the computers in them. I'd check with your local dealer because something isn't right there. One thing you may want to try is to disconnect the battery for about a half an hour, then reconnect it and have your boat ready to go, then pull it around a while. This may tell your computer how to distribute the gas properly. Sounds hokey but it might work. Good luck.

Corey Bechtold

[Benny]

There are a lot of variables that can cause bad gas mileage, have you done a tune up, replaced the plugs and air filter?
Tire presure can cause poor MPG as well, be sure they are up to the correct pressure.

As for resetting the computor, this too may help a little.But most of the OBC's have a set of perameters to function with in.If you want to change them you have to use a tuner or a chip.

My Ford got 16 MPG on it's first trip to Canada pulling a 16 foot lund explorer.The next year I had the chip and K&N filter charger in place and got 17 MPG at 70 miles an hour most of the way up.

I did notice a huge increase in seat of the pants power with the chip and filter as well.So my around town mileage droped and my smile grew.

Unfortunatly though I think your only going to get slightly better MPG with any thing you do to those older trucks.The Dodges were never known for good mileage as were the older Fords.The Chevy's have always been good mileage trucks,if they were 90's or newer.

Benny

[Dano2]

Dodge sucks the gas thats for sure.
I had a 2001.
Put the K&N in it, flowmaster exhaust,
and it really didn't do a whole lot.
From what I read, a chip is the way to go, but maybe with the help of a couple other mods like the ones I mentioned above.

I finally got rid of it( for numerous reasons,Except for the looks), and bought a 2002 ford super crew.
Funny, I had a 318 in the dodge, and have the 5.4 in my Ford and I get a couple mile per gallon better with the Ford, and allllll kinds of power.
Funny

[4FOR]

I have a 1998 ram quad 1500 with topper and have been getting between 12 to 14 mpg pulling a 17 ft boat but i never pull in overdrive

[Phred52]

Kevfish, Sounds like we've got the same truck. I have a '98 Club Cab, 5.9l,auto w/OD. I do the oil(10-30 Valvoline), oil filter, air filter EVERY 1500 miles, and spark plugs(every 3000) and the WORST I've averaged is 19 mpg. The best was today, coming home from Brainerd, 197 mi. on 12.3 gallons.I had a trailer with a mid sized tractor and a 300# box weight on it. JUST changed all of the above and I was impressed, to say the least. For a 4X4, full sized pickemup truck to get that mileage is impressive. Now, I hope I can retain it.

[kevfish]

What do they do to tune them up. I have been told that with the newer trucks there is not much they do other than air cleaner and plugs.

[This message has been edited by kevfish (edited 06-27-2004).]

[Benny]

Kevfish, a lot of the tuners just change the spark curve or timing a little to maxamize either preformance or pulling power.
It is true that most of the newer trucks are already tuned to perfection, but they still can go further.

I would have to say that the new Chevys are tuned to the max, they have the smallest displacment of the larger V8's yet they are rated 2nd to the Dodge in manufature stated horse power.

Now every manufacture wants to sell thier trucks so they all tend to inflate the actual horse power ratings.

Look at Dodge they have the highest displacement motor, claim 345 HP, but they still can't out pull the Ford's 5.4.
With no load and equal stock trucks the Dodge can just barley pull away from a Ford in a drag race, add a 3500 lbd load and none of them can out pull a Ford.

I am strictly talking 5 to 5.9 liter truck motors, not the deisals or the over 6 liter v8,v10 they all sell.

Phred52 , if your truley getting over 19 miles to the gallon with a 5.9 Dodge you better hang on to that one.
I have never heard any one say thier Dodge has done better than 17MPG with no load.

Benny

[upnorth]

Gearing while make a huge difference when towing. If you have highway gears ie. 3.23 or similar you will get better non towing but will be working the motor too hard to get any gas mileage when towing. Deeper gears such as 4.11 will tow better and get you better mileage while towing but you will lose when not towing.

It is really a trade off...you want good gas mileage and power while towing or better non towing mileage?

[Grabs]

One thing not mentioned yet is the speed you are driving and how hard you accelerate.

You'll need to operate at the peak RPMs in your torque curve for the best fuel economy.

If you drive 70+ MPH all the time you will have crappy MPG.

[Gissert]

Grabs makes an excellent point. I have learned to drive this way since driving a diesel truck.

I run by RPM more often than speed. At interstate speeds, I try and keep it at 1900 rpm, which works out to about 69mph with a 3.55 rear end. with normal winds, this usually nets me about 19.5 mpg. If I let the revs go up to 2000, it drops down to 18 in a hurry.

If I am on a two lane road, I run about 1600-1700rpm, which will get me about 21mpg.

[Kingfisher]

Phred52, We had a pretty good north wind here yesterday. If I'm pulling with the wind the gas mileage will go up at least 2-3 mpg. I have a 2001 Ford 5.4 supercrew, and my gas mileage is in the same range as the lower ones mentioned, I usually travel from 63-70 mph.

[spinach]

This is great info guys. This week My dodge is getting 12.7 mpg in both city and highway trips. I originally thought I was getting 15 mpg. Phred32, I checked your mileage from the stats you provided (197 miles on 12.3 gallons of gas) And the figures came out to 16.016 mpg. I am just making you aware of this because I am very interested in finding out more about this topic.

[Phred52]

Hey guys, Just got back from another trip North on Sunday eve. Here it is, right from my notebook. The trip up, 211 mi,12.6 gal. Carrying a garden tractor w/mower deck, 1/2 a load of firepit firewood crammed into about every available spot, a 115# canopy tent, and a 65# toolbox. For the trip home, 247 mi,14.1 gals.I got distracted in Brainerd and St.Cloud (dang-it) Only thing in the box was the toolbox. I don't leave home without it! All my travels are within 7 mph of the posted speed limit and I get passed ALOT! Insurance is too expensive the way it is. Hey, Maybe I did get Lucky, could be my maintainence schedule maybe it's my driving habits. Who knows? I'm satisfied with it! Benny, Sorry, "WORST" was a mis-statement, That was a one time thing,the truck was empty. As per my notes, it was a trip to So Dakota (NOT for anything light weight like fireworks)and back home. Notes don't state if there was any significant wind. Seems to me,it was a REALLY nice day to travel though.

[kevfish]

Would you guys recommend that I bring it in to a dealer. The best I have ever got while pulling nothing is 12 mpg. The best ever pulling a boat has bean 10 mph. I average less. I have tried different speeds and it does not seam to make a difference.. I am talking highway miles here. It would seem to me that I should get at least 15mpg when pulling nothing

[wyldewal]

Hi guys. I have a new 2004 dodge 1500 quad cab. It has the full 8 foot box, and the smaller 4.7 magnum v-8, (not the hemi.)
The gas Milage is about 11.5-12.5 city, and 15-17 hyway. It dosn't seem to matter if I'm towing or not. The boat I usually tow is a 17 foot smokercraft. It's moderatly heavy, at least enough to know its there. But I've never had any problem with power, maybe because it's new, I'll have to wait and see. I know dodge has never been top of the list for gas milage but I'm happy with what it gets.

great fising all
Wally

[Big G]

The best way to improve your Dodge gas consumption is do all a favor and scrap it!!! buy a heavy chevy!!!

[Phred52]

Kevfish, It couldn't hurt. Maybe have them put it on the computer and check the systems over. Possibly would find something at fault. Not saying it would be cheap, but with gas prices as high as they are, You'll be saving in the future. Good Luck, Phred

[kevfish]

WOW !!!!!!

Thank you phred52. After reading through all the replies, I looked at what I can do to improve the gas mileage. I realized that I still had the original spark plugs still in the vehicle. 62000 miles on the plugs! I seen in phreds post that he changes them often. I changed the plugs in the truck yesturday. Today I filled the truck up with gas. I drove 100 miles, mostley highway miles with only one stop. (should not have stopped at the casino) I then filled the truck up again. I got a whopping 17.14 miles to the gallon!!!! WOW. I never got that even when the truck was new. I kept it at about 60 mph (1800 RPMs) I owe you one phred52. If we ever meet I will buy you a beer. I would recommend to anyone that you change your plugs- It made a huge difference

[This message has been edited by kevfish (edited 06-29-2004).]

[Phred52]

Gosh, that was FUN !!!!

[This message has been edited by Phred52 (edited 06-29-2004).]

[Phred52]

Kevfish, Michelob's the brand and you've got a deal! I spent 17 years in the auto salvage business and seen ALOT of things. Oil so thick it was more like a dough. Engines with plugs rusted in so tight there was no way they had been changed, probably since the engine was new. The ones you could remove the gaps were .080" or greater! And it is such a cheap fix. Glad to hear it helped, stay with it. Now with fresh plugs, it would be a good time to take 'er in and have 'er checked on the computer. Specifically the timing. 61K is a long way to go without a checkup. Phred52 Big G, A Dodge will be the truck that pulls the SINKING Chevy OUT

[Fishing Junky]

Hey Kev. What kind of plugs did you instll in your 5.9 liter? I have a 97 Ram 4x4 with 41000 miles on it and still have the original plugs. Thanks for any info. Junky....

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A fishing guide is just a fishing junky who takes others with him to support his habit.

[Grabs]

Get rid of those spark plugs and you wouldn't have that problem.

[kevfish]

Just your basic champion spark plug bought at the parts store.