Hey guys, I apploigize ahead of time for the lack of searching. I looked up "losing MPG" and I feel like I have read some similar articles but I am not finding much and have had super limited access to internet time, But hear is my deal...

I am getting about 200 miles to my 26 Gallon tank the last month. Could this be contributed to the cold temperatures with the combination of my 180* t-stat? The truck runs like a top. It starts up right away when it's -0, smooth idle, I let it warm up when cold about 5-15 minutes before driving, it has new 02's, no codes, no smell of gas......

The most recent work that was done on it was a new gov. pressure sensor and solenoid. It improved my shifts but this was also the same week that it became very cold and has been since.

 

Do you also run the thing five to fifteen minutes before driving when it's warm out? Probably not, I'm guessing.

The more my wife drives my truck in the winter, the lousier the gas mileage. She runs the thing for about ten minutes before driving, despite the fact that it's garaged so isn't seeing the frigid temperatures that might make a long warm-up sensible. Add that to the fact that most of our winter driving is in town where fuel economy becomes a joke, and I expect lousy mileage. A snack for thought, perhaps?

 

I think the 180 t-stat mod is best suited for warm weather/climates , even then , I personally don't see the need . I'd say it's running too cool and causing the PCM to run it rich .

That and too much idle time . I'm at 440 miles(mostly hwy) on this tank with over 1/4 left but in a heated shop .

 

You do mean losing 100 miles per tank, not 100 MPG.....

 

I have the same issue with mileage, I idle my truck every morning for 10 mins ( always outside ) and about 3-5 after work, outside again. The idling and poor gas quality in the winter really decreases mileage. I got about 175 miles from a half tank of gas out of my last tank. It's just something to be put up with.

 

I average 9-10 mpg now in winter, mostly city miles with a lot of idling. Summer is usually 10-12 mpg. Your under 8 mpg, could be better. Could always try changing the thermostat to a 195 and see if it helps.

 

What brand O2 sensors?

 

I'm curious too. I've got a 96 Ram 1500 4x4 lifted 2", 33" tires, 4.10 gears, and I'm averaging 10-11 mpg. I don't expect great mpg, but anything that'll help I'm game. Seems when new I was getting in the upper-mid teens. I've heard others talk about a temperature sending sensor that sends a signal to the PCM that determines how rich the fuel ratio should be (someone smart help me out here). Are any specific brand of O2 sensors better than another brand?

 

Hard for me to conceive 10mpgs . Yeah , this is a new to me truck but not my first 2nd gen Ram and the magnum engine I own several . There's nothing really special to my madness .

Brass Cap and rotor
-cheap 7mm wires
-NGK FR5 spark plugs gapped .035 no bigger
-OEM cat and Magnaflow muffler
-Just installed 7 new u-joints and new frt/rr wheel bearings/hubs
-All diff oil changed to synthetic (75w-140rear{LSD} , 75-90 frt)
-t-case oil change using ATF+4
-engine oil switched from 10w-30 Valvoline to German Castrol 0W-30 and it stopped my start up tick
-Running 275-60-20's also now vs 245 75 16's it came with
-Run only 91 octane as it's just as cheap as regular when bought at Costco . Truck run much better too .

I topped up last night , calculated my mileage and came up with 19.58mpg . That's not accounting for the larger tires and no speedo gear change

With my 95 Grand Cherokee lifted 8" on 35's , I get 10-12 but expect it with 4:56
gears

With my wife's 5.9 Grand Cherokee , not so great , it's about 15-16 winter when she drives , 18-19 when I drive . It's tuned , headers , 52 mm TB, free flow exhaust , MSD wires , coil and 6a-2 box running same 0w oil , and does 0-60 in 6.5 secs .

I'm 30 miles outta the city so mostly hwy driving for us .

 

I get about 14 once I correct the odometer for the larger tires. At least gas is going down