I've got a 96 4x4 with the 318 5.2L motor. On average, I'm getting around 8-9 mpg. When driving only on the highway, I am getting 13 mpg if I stay out of the throttle. It's more like 12. My truck has 33" Baja Claw radials and 4.56 gears in the differentials. I do have the engine light on. It's the EVAP system code. I forget the numbers. But before this came on, I was getting the same mileage. Just looking for comparisons...

 

Have you checked the plenum gasket?

Here is what we all need, found it on eBay tonight...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/REAL-...spagenameZWDVW

 

02 5.9,360 4x4 quadcab stock 20's 3.92's,55k miles, 10 to 12 city and 12 to 14 highway.

 

98 5.9, 4x4, QC, 285/75/16, 3.55, 111K, 13-14 city and I have no idea what my highway is. I will next week.

 

I have to make a guess that
the Baja Claw tires roll about 50% harder than the lowest available Crr tires,
and guess that they are not at low psi,
and guess that the larger tires lift the truck
and cause the aerodynamic Cd to go up from factory 0.47 to 0.50,
and guess that the truck weighs about 5700 lbs

With those estimates
and the 5.2 V8 specs with 46RE trans
the Fuel Economy Calculator program from PerformanceTrends.com predicts

14.1 MPG at 75 mph on wind less level blacktop highway
13.3 MPG at 75 mph with 7 mph side wind (this is most common situation)

17.3 MPG at 60 mph on wind less level highway
16.6 MPG at 60 mph with 7 mph side wind

19.4 MPG at 50 mph on wind less level highway
18.7 MPG at 50 mph with 7 mph side wind

If you have any friends with near stock tires on their Rams
you might consider asking to borrow their wheels for a week
or borrow the spare tires from 4 Rams for a test drive

A tire choice like a 215-85-R16 load range C or D
would have lower rolling resistance and run at higher air pressure
... note this is the tire Dodge choose for the Ram 2500 back in 1996

The EVAP system 'check engine' light may be due to a simple loose gas cap
or vacuum line leaks back to the charcoal canister
or the evap vacuum solenoid mounted on the engine can get clogged with particles of charcoal that break loose from an old canister.

TSB and Recalls for known problems on 1996 Rams
http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1996-index.htm

good luck

 

So many different factors to look into.Driving habits,tune up,cat clogged or clogging up,evap problem,etc.I would first start to look into these one by one and see how many,if any of these things you have wrong.

How is your foot?Is it lead?LOL.So many times just simply adjusting the way you drive makes a HUGE difference in mpg.

I ride with 35 Baja Claws and im averaging about 14-16mpg and thats city driving.Now mind you,i've only had the truck for a few months now and have only checked this twice,but so far so good.

Good luck man.

 

I have a '97 1500 that gets 9 mpg. Everything on my truck is in working order, I think its just my old longblock. I do have 275/60/15's and i believe I'm losing 1 or 2 mpg there.

 

I have a 2001 dodge ram 4 wheel drive and I got like 10 in the city and 12 on highway until i got headers, flowmasters, cold air intake, electric fan, intake manifold, throttle body spacer. Now im getting bout 16 in the city and bout 18 on highway

 

That sounds a little low but honestly not a ton. I seem to get 10-12 mpg city and 11.5-13 sometimes to 14 mixed driving. I do have a 360 though with 33"s and 4.10 gears.

 

If you are running 33's and stock is about 30ish is your speedo correct? i mean did you adjust your speedo with the new size tires?