ok today on Xtreme 4x4 the whole episode was a 96 Ram 1500 getting 8 mpgs.

they put an electrical fan in, and got 1.5 mpg's

took out all acess weight and got .5 mpg

Swapped out for D60 axles with 4.10 gears and got 5 mpg's

Put manual locking hubs on because the fron diff parts are always turning with auto hubs. by putting on manual hubs it takes all the stress out of front diff, and it doesnt turn all the parts.


overall by doing those, they got the truck up to 16.5 miles per gallon. and they had 35's on it.


thought many would think this is interesting...

 

Thanks I was about to make a thread about it because I only caught the end of the show....I thought with 35's you should go with 4.56 though ?

 

they had 4.10's and still got those numbers......and they went wheeling and it did great even with the bad u-joint he said he had lol

 

I also watched that

 

Did they ever say if it had the 5.2 or 5.9 ? I have a 5.2 and so now I'm wondering if I should still go with 4.56 lol

 

I have a 1995 with a 5.2. I have 4.10s with 265/75/16. I have a heavy duty front bumper and get 15-16.5 mpg without all that other stuff they put on there truck.

 

yeah but they had bigger tires and I'm about to go with 35's

 

Gotta look at cost/benefit ratio as well though. How much did they spend to convert the front end to manual locking hubs? Most kits I have seen are close to a thousand bucks for that kind of behavior...... and for the minimal amount of money saved on gas, I don't really see that one as worth while. Now, granted, it will also be cheaper on maintenance.... but, for the money spent on the conversion, you can replace your hub/bearing units several times...... (depending on pricing. based on 'average' costs.)

 

they said thats where it can hurt the wallet....they got the D60's for around $1000, and they never mentioned a price for the hubs.....bu it does soun like a good direction to head for a project



and i ge 13-14 city as it is with mine....im just thinking of how much better it can be if i do the upgrades........think if you did it to yours, you could possibly end with 20 mpg's

 

My ram fuel saver = 500 cash on a 85 2dr hatch subaru