I just purchased a 1998 dodge ram ext cab 2wd with a 5.9 I know that I
would not get great gas milage, but it seems to me I should be getting better then 5 kilometer per 1 ltr, I have changed the plugs,wires and distributor cap and that did not seem to help, my wife drives the truck so she is not heavy on the pedal. Any one out there have any ideas on how I can improve this, I've been reading that this vehicle should be getting a lot better mile's per gallon or in my case km per litre.

 

Well from what I looked up that's just shy of 12mpg. I would be ecstatic if my truck got that I'm around 10 right now.

 

Hypertech your vehicle for 87 octane. Myself and others experienced 2-3MPG increases... you'll pay for the device within an oil change or two.

 

Another is to make sure your cat is not starting to plug and O2 sensors are not going bad....my avg city driving with A/C is 14mpg ..seen as high as 16mpg....

 

Hello Salmonman1. Well if my math is right and your a Canadian guy, there is 4.54 litres in a Canadian (Imperial) gallon.

5 kilometers X 4.54 = 22.7 miles per gallon
I would think this is highway mileage?
I get almost that as well, back and forth from home to work, which is rural roads and city and get 15-16 miles to the Imperial gallon.

For you US folks it would look like this.
5 kms. = 3.125 miles X 3.87 litres (US gallon) = 12.09 miles per gallon.

Cheers Kayakman
Nova Scotia, Canada
1998 Ram Quad Cab 360 V8
3:55 axle

 

Here's a couple posts that let you know how you stand
compared to professional tests similar to your truck.

12-13 MPG in mixed driving is very close to average.

To really know if your truck is 'sick'
you need to do highway only MPG test on an interstate
at a true steady 60 mph from one gas station to another
over a distance of at least 100 miles.

Tested this way your truck should get
18 MPG to 22 MPG
depending on hard your tires are to roll and the winds that day.
{I know that it hard to believe for someone who hasn't already done it}

 

In their 2nd report of their long term test of the
5.7MDS 545RFE in a 2006 Ram TRX4
Fourwheeler magazine says mostly good things
about the Ram's reliability and road manners:

http://www.fourwheeler.com/roadtests...ram_1500_trx4/

sample quotes:

1st report

Long-Term Numbers
Miles to date: 4,796
Miles since last report: First report
Average mpg (this report): 13.28
Test Best tank (mpg): 14.8
Test Worst tank (mpg): 12.13

2nd report

Long-Term Numbers
Miles to date: 14,010
Miles since last report: 9,214
Average mpg (this report): 14.0
Test best tank (mpg): 16.6
Test worst tank (mpg): 9.0

In the most recent issue of the magazine
(April 2007) on the newstands
they give the 3rd report at 25,000 miles
and the fuel economy is only a few tenths better at
14.4 MPG

So the 'break-in' improvement to be expected
is about 1 MPG
over the mileage from 4,700 to 25,000 miles.

Another way of lookin at it is that the improvement is about
1 divided by 14.4
or about 7%

The 'worst tank' (9/14.4) is about 38% down (towing?)
and the best tank (16.6) is about 15% up

Another long term test of a 3rd Gen 2002 Ram
this one with a 5.9V8 engine and 46RE auto
by Car and Driver magazine over 40,000 miles

http://www.caranddriver.com/longroad...ort-page3.html

Although the C&D 2002 Ram
might have towed a bit more of its miles than the Fourwheeler Ram
this earlier model showed an overall MPG of 12
so perhaps the 5.7 with MDS is about
16% more efficient.

The Car and Driver article does not show 'break-in' for fuel economy
but it does show 'break-in' for acceleration performance
which is also in the 7-14% range.

Originally Chrysler said the 5.7 without MDS was 8-12% more fuel efficient
than the older 5.9V8, and with MDS on the latest models of the 5.7 this may
have gone up a bit more, but not all the credit should go to MDS. Other press
releases have bragged about the 'Tailgate Thingie' improving aero slightly,
and 'lower rolling resistance' tires were standard some time in early 2005.
The revised headlights of the 2006 Ram may have slightly improved aero too.

For a review of a 3rd Gen Ram with 4.7V8 check this link:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/...0-ram.htm#more

where no break-in low mileage model year 2002 4.7V8 Ram
in 2wd showed 13.1 MPG
and 4x4 version showed 11.8 MPG

For a heavier weight 2500 Ram check this weblink:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...fications.html

where the long term average MPG declines to 13 MPG.

to compare to other pickups:

Silverardo Hybrid (15 MPG)
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...verado_hybrid/

GMC 6.0L V8 Denali 2500 4 wheel steer (11.8 MPG)
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._sierra_denali

Nissan Titan 5.6 (14 MPG)
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....;page_number=3

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._se/index.html

Multi pickup comparisons:

year 2007
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=119281

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...ta-tundra.html

year 2006
http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/...son/index.html

year 2002
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...ron-page5.html

 

A long read about many ways to get 'real'
and 'no bull' improvements in MPG
on Ram pickups:

https://dodgeforum.com/m_447500/tm.htm

In a nutshell:
try electric block heaters for short trips,
easier to roll tires
cheap aerodynamic ways to make the truck slip through the wind
or ways to lighten weight....
then tackle the tough job of making the engine more efficient
which even the professionals at Dodge/Mercedes/Honda/BMW
are challenged to improve more than 1% per year.

 

im only getting about 8mpg but after doing some research there are easy thing i can do to improve that..

-less drag tires
-lowering suspension(doubt that)
-taking off camper top(worst things for mpg)
-installing a tonneau bed cover
-inflating tires
-less weight
-synthetic oil

besides the basic tuneup of filters, o2sensor, and cat. converter.

 

What type of camper top?
Would a cab high fiberglass shell be worse than a tonneau cover aerodynamically?