2001 Ram 1500 5.2L Magnum, O/D auto, 3:55 LSD, 2WD, 245/75X16 tires.
All stock except Flowmaster 40 muffler. I think I drive pretty easy and definitely over maintain everything I own!
I've had my truck for about 8 weeks now and I'm gettin about 15.5 mpg highway on a US gallon (18.75 mpg on a canadian gallon).
Does this sound alright? I was really hopin to break 20 mpg canadian, but it is runnin perfect and performs very well, so I think this is about as good as I'm gonna get, and I can live with it for sure! I only average about 7500 kms (4500 miles) a year anyway, so it's not like I'm goin broke puttin fuel in it! LOL
Just wonderin if there's any little things I can do to try and squeeze a bit more mpg's. What's the low down on a CAI system, are they worth it?
I do have an Arctic Cat Prowler and although I don't have a trailer for it yet, I will by spring and will be doing some short distance trailer haulin with it.
Any and all feedback is appreciated!

 

One thing that will help you out a lot is to do a search on the forum here for "plenum". The blown plenum gasket issue occurs on 99% of these trucks, and that lets oil into air-fuel mix. This decreases power and MPGs.

An exact explanation of the issue, and the fix for it, can be found by doing a search or browsing the 2nd Gen FAQ just off the main page. After that, if you have any questions, let us know.

Also, after thats fixed, finances permitting, you can purchase a tuner. This will also help slightly in the MPG department, and a whole lot in the power department. For other upgrades to help MPGs/power, you can also use the search function, as its been discussed many times before. However, your first priority, in my opinion, should be to fix that blown plenum gasket.

 

Is there an easy way to see if the gasket really is blown? I'm still under my warranty with the place I bought my truck and am gonna run it down this week to get an exhaust leak fixed, but if I can show that the plenum is blown I'm gonna get that fixed too...maybe help my 12mpg some and take care of that issue.

 

I thought one of the signs of the plenum gasket was oil consumption? This truck has used zero oil, changed it when I first got it and again after 5000 kms, the wife and I took it on holidays. I've put almost a years worth of mileage on this truck already! It's a beautiful truck to drive! LOL
Tail pipe is a mid to dark grey color which tells me there's no oil comin out the pipe, the sparkplugs are all clean too (no carbon or oil deposits).
The mpg's I've read on here seem to be in the 11-13 range for 4X4's, so I thought I should be gettin better than my 15.5 mpg, bein a 2WD.
This truck is runnin perfect! Instant start and shut-off, smooth and steady idle and very good power! If the plenum is leaking it should cause vacuum leak related problems.......no?

 

15.5 is excellent MPG for these trucks.

I have a 5.9 and average 12 mpg.

 

I thought it was pretty good, but I was wonderin if I was missin anything! LOL
I'm very pleased with the power/performance of this truck too......she'll dangle! LOL
It only has 82,000 miles on it and I bought it from the original owner. Just lookin at it, I could tell it had been well cared for, but drivin it was the icing on the cake! Truck is super clean and tight as a drum, not a shake or rattle anywhere! It was a great find!
I just have this "mental number" in my mind and would like to be able to hit 20 mpg Canadian with it, I'm at 18.75 mpg (Canadian) now, so I'm pretty close. Do you think a K&N in the stock air filter housing would help?
It's runnin so sweet I'm kinda scared to do anything major to it in case I screw somethin up! LOL

 

Having a 2001, you probably have the "Death Flash." From what everyone says, an SCT tuner will fix the death flash, make your engine better and get you better MPG's. I just got one and it should arrive in the mail tomorrow so I'll find out for myslef, but everyone else swears by them. If you are interested, send a PM to hemifever. He does custom tunes for Rams and at a great price too.

 

Good info there ! Thanks! Although my truck appears to be all stock, it does not "ping" (pre-ignition) or make any noises what-so-ever (ticks, clacks, knocks, etc).
Power? Got LOT'S of that!
Is there a way to know if this TSB has been done? If the TSB was done and I upgrade to a better coil, cap, rotor, wires and sparkplugs, will that mess anything up?
Man, I'm startin to think I should be happy with the mpg's and performance I have and just leave well enough alone! LOL

 

I have no doubt about the beautiful part. However, it will only consume oil if its a pretty bad leak. If its just a small (or several small) leak(s), than the amount of oil it loses might not be noticeable. However, you take a trace from this oil change, another from the previous, and the one before that, and so on... eventually enough "traces" add up to a bit.

Mine was leaking before 50,000 miles. It didn't see any oil consumption either, but when I had the intake manifold pulled for the gasket/plate replacement, she had at least half a quart of oil in her. I didn't see any pinging (before the tuner), had plenty of power, just low MPGs (9 to 10) in town and pinged after I bought a tuner.

Again, only a large leak would cause vacuum related problems. When mine was leaking, I had no vacuum problems at all.

I am not saying you need to go do it tomorrow. I am just saying that before you do any other upgrades, you should do this one, if nothing else as preventative maintenance. If it hasn't blown yet (very rare), it will eventually.

 

Good advise, thank you!