My 14 has 3.92 gears and sees 20 and over on a regular basis on the highway. In town between 15-17 average. I drove one with 3.55 gears before I bought mine and hated it. So much more hesitation than the 3.92's. I also have the 20 inch wheels, and the 3.92's don't seem to hurt mileage a bit. Mine is also a two wheel drive. It also tows better with the lower gearing

 

I wonder, did they have the 3.21 gearset in '09? I know of one Ram with that ratio and the around town gas mileage is not good.

Regards,
Dusty

 

Well you like yours, i like mine and thats good. Seems the mileage is similar. Which tranny do you have, the 8 speed? Mines the 6, they say the 8 is better, i don't know. The 8 will keep the rpm's lower, maybe why your mileage is similar around town to mine. I guarantee the 3.55 will get better mileage highway with samy tranny, only makes sence. You talk about hesitation, i guarantee there's NO hesitation with mine.

 

Before I bought my 2010, I estimated how much actual highway versus in-town or city driving I did. If I remember, I came up with about 10% expressway and about 50% rural roads. So I rationalized that the 3.92 gears might help me. And they did. In the summertime I typically see 18-19, sometimes 20 mpg on open roads. Around town, short trips, etc., 15-17 like Old Man Hemi says. On Interstates if I keep it at 65 mph or below I can crack 21 mpg. When my daughter was attending college, I had several trips from Rochester to Gettysburg, PA that I hit 23. Mileage is always better with the wind at your back.

By the way, with 20 inch wheels (31.5 inch diameter tires), the effective gear ratio is about 3.70.

Best regards,
Dusty
2010 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 545RFE, 3.92 LSD, factory dual exhaust, 20” wheels. Now at: 101,000 miles.

 

[QUOTE=Tunaman;3159175]Well you like yours, i like mine and thats good. Seems the mileage is similar. Which tranny do you have, the 8 speed? Mines the 6, they say the 8 is better, i don't know. The 8 will keep the rpm's lower, maybe why your mileage is similar around town to mine. I guarantee the 3.55 will get better mileage highway with samy tranny, only makes sence. You talk about hesitation, i guarantee there's NO hesitation with mine.[/QUOTE



I have the six speed also. The 3.55's might get better highway mileage but not by much and I'll guarantee the 3.92's will get better city mileage. As far as hesitation, line yours up with a truck exactly like yours only with 3.92's and you will see what I mean. As much as you'd like to believe yours is as responsive as one with 3.92's...it isn't. Getting good mileage out of the Hemis doesn't just rely on lower RPM, but keeping the RPM in the sweet spot of the power band, which seems to be somewhere around 1800-2000 RPM. Mine gets it's best mileage at around 65 mph, where yours probably gets its best a little faster. 3.55's have their place but that's not with me. I'll take the slightly less highway mileage in order to have a more responsive, and better towing truck all day long. It's all good though, we both drive Dodges

 

I have the 3.55 axle ratio as well according to my window sticker. I too have the 20" wheels. The only difference is i have a 4x4.

 

[QUOTE=Old Man with a hemi;3159546]ok, as I said, I didn't ask for the 3.55"s. Dodge has this wonderful way of not showing the gears on the window sticker unless they're special order. Otherwise they are 3.55'S. I did not know this neither did the salesman. Whereas Ford sticker tells you the ratio regardless, which very well may be the only advantage ford has!! LOL I was worried about towing my 21 ft boat as the 5.4 fords I owned had a hard time with it. My Ram tows it great, I simply lock it in 5th. (6 speed tranny) Turns about 2500 at 70 MPH, as you say "the sweet spot". In the summer (It seems to make a differance even if FL) If I keep my foot out of it I get 16-17 in town. By in town I'm not talking 20 miles at 50 mph to next town etc as some do. I'm talking basically half miles runs to the next house as we do termite and pest control. This also ins constantly hauling 700 - 1200 lbs. I have to believe youd be hard pressed to get much better mileage.
Highway I don't ***** foot around 60-65 mph like a lot of people, I run 75-85 all the time. I can count on 18.5+ having got as high as 20, at these speeds. If I ***** foot 60-65 highway I will consistantly get 21-22 mpg.
As far as "lining it up" thats not really an extremely thing to me, if it was I'd have something other than a Dodge Ram, Ford F-150, or Chevy Silverado!! But if I were to line it up beside you I guarantee if you beat me it wouldn't be by more than a truck length in 1/8 mile. Somehow I find myself able to live with that. In 3 yrs time I guarantee I'll save hundreds of dollars in gas and tow the boat as well as any other gas powered truck.
Oh, I don't recall saying anything about hesitation with mine, there is none!

 

[QUOTE=Tunaman;3160010]I'm glad you like yours as I do mine

 

Just got back from a 900 mile trip to WVa. I had one 700 pound atv on a utility trailer and a 600 pound atv in the bed. For the interstate portion of the trip I averaged 18.81 MPG and for the overall trip I averaged 17.2MPG, both averages hand calculated. I thought those figures were extremely good considering the weight and mountainous terrain we pulled through. Truck just turned 2000 miles on the way to WVa. Truck has 5.7 with LSD with 3.92 gears and 6 speed trans. Speed varied from 50 to 75 MPH. Best mileage achieved between 60 to 70 MPH

 

I think you'll find the advantage to those 3.92 gears when towing. Your example about mirrors mine almost exactly. I'm not sure where your point A to point B was, but in similar terrain and conditions I've done about the same. From Rochester, New York to central Pennsylvania pulling two ATVs along Route 17 and northern PA, which is just about all hills, my total trip average was 17.4. I've traveled with several others on that trip many times. A Silverado with a 5.3 motor and 3.43 gears never does better than 15.5.

Best regards,
Dusty
2010 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 545RFE, 3.92 LSD, factory dual exhaust, 20” wheels. Now at: 102,000 miles.