hey there again guys,

i love my ram 1500, but the v8 is just so hard on gas these days. now there has to be some parts and random things i can buy to give me a little bit better fuel Efficency. i've already got cat back exhaust and a CAI. so any other ideas. what about TB spacers, do those work? thanks guys

 

Yes, I have an idea. Stop depending on a large, heavy truck powered by a V8 as a daily driver. Get yourself a smaller car with a 4-banger under the hood. Search this forum for feedback/truth about TB spacers.

 

Keep your foot off the skinny pedal, or lose weight. That's about it.

What mileage are you currently getting? I get close about 13 around town and about 15 on the highway, so if that's what you're seeing that's about as good as it gets(if you have a 2 wheel drive add 1-2mpg onto those figures). If it's lower you might have a few issue to adress.

As far as losing weight, you could probably gain 1-2 mpg by losing your spare tire, and taking out The air conditioning system. Lose the tailgate. Don't fill your tank up the whole way.

Or you could go buy a beater honda civic for a few hundred bucks that gets 30+ mpg and only drive the ram when you're going to see people you know. But that's not my cup of tea.

 

Oh yeah, as far as the throttle body spacer... Our trucks are port injection not throttle body injection so the spacer won't do anything except take up space.

 

You could rip out the v8, put in a 4 cylinder and a couple of electric motors to make up the loss and get plenty of mpg's. Of course, that would probably cost more than just driving your truck for a couple of years or buying a beater.

 

The CAI and throttle body spacer will not improve MPG.

If the Cat back exhaust is lower backpressure there will be a slight improvement.

Driver behavior can have the fastest effect on MPG,
then easier rolling tires,
then letting the truck slip through the wind easier with aerodynamics.

The quickest way to make the engine more efficient
surprises most people...install an electric block heater
to get rid of most of the warm-up period.

Much more info in this LONG read:

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

sample quote:


In the Cummins White Paper they cite a study where there was a 30% variation
in MPG between professional drivers in the exact same truck over the same
route.

This is similar to GM research, such as this from from page A3 of The
Wall St Journal on 11-21-2005:
"Roger Clark, GM's senior manager of energy and drive quality in North
America, said the current test does a good job measuring average mileage but
the problem is the variation in how people drive. He cited a GM Study of 209
people driving the same midsize SUV. The fuel economy varied from about 13
miles per gallon to 23 miles per gallon, depending on the driver."

Ford did a test of different drivers in the same vehicles and found an even
greater MPG difference of 38% between the best and worst driver habits and
conditions like low pressure tires, max AC, cargo on roof racks, etc:

Oak Ridge National Laboratory found similar results:
"The problem is that mileage varies so much from one driver to another and one
place to another that the government ratings are a poor predictor of what any
individual driver is likely to get with his or her vehicle," said Bo
Saulsbury, a researcher at Oak Ridge. "If the EPA rates a car at 20 m.p.g.,
the real-world data show that you might do as well as 30 m.p.g. or as poorly
as 10 m.p.g."

There are 'experts' at driving to get the best MPG. You can read about
John and Helen Taylor, a husband & wife couple who are sponsored by
Shell and have won many contests at this link:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0601/S00020.htm

Note the list of good driving techniques for better MPG near the end of the
article about the Taylors.

At the 'extreme' end of driver behavior are the 'Hypermilers'
such as Wayne Gerdes:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feat...permilers.html

In April of 2007 UPS announced that they had programmed their computers
to map out delivery van travel to use as many right turns as possible.
This simple switch in the routes driven reportedly saved UPS
about 5% of the fuel they previously consumed before the switch.

 

Maybe my handle shouldn't be short for my waterfowl forum handle... 2 marks and a blind... a type of retrieve for a gun dog... perhaps it should be along the lines of VWandDodgeor in my case, AveoandRAM. OnceI finally paided off the new Ram, I bough an Aveo as a 40MPG communter car. My work buddies call it the clown car or the roller skate. The Ram is now a dedicated hunting and fishing vehicle used for towing. I stretch her legs once every other week or when we have bad weather. Consider VW' advice... buy a 4-banger and channel the gas savings above the second insurance bill into performance modifications.

 

While I have written thousands of words
about fuel economy
and enjoy studying the subject
and think it is important for the security of the USA
I would always advocate applying
'overall wisdom'
to what kind of vehicle
you spend your money
to buy and drive.

Everyone ought to think about and decide:

"What kind of vehicle do I want to be in if
I am involved in an accident?"

"What can I NOT afford to lose permanently"

(Money...your health...the lives of your passengers)

"How well will my body heal if it is injured"

In an accident...is there a fate worse than Death?

 

My Daily was totaled a month ago (2002 Chevy Cavalier) and right now I am driving the Dodge. It needs a transmission rebuild, one lifter, and is misfiring on #3. It is sucking gas like no tomorrow; however, I have a lead on a 1971 VW Suepr Beetle for $200. I can get that car driving for under $1,000 and it will get around 27mpg daily driving.

 

the question was how can i get better milage on my truck, no please give me a smartass comment on going to buy a ****ty 4 banger. i'm quite aware that a small car gets good gas milage. i would appreciate positive comments instead of unintelligent ones.
thanks