Are there any recommended bands for the cap/rotor/wires? I typically would just buy whatever AutoZone had, but now that I am looking for higher quality parts. I am currently seeing Taylor Cables, MSD, and Accel (I read something about Accel being garbage after being bought out by another compnay, not sure if that is true or not) as some viable options. Also, I was looking at just buying the Echlin branded stuff from NAPA, would that be a good option? And would upgrading the wires to 8mm or 8.5mm and the ignition coil also be a good investment for the mileage?

 

Copper core plugs, copper contacts on the dist cap.

 

I just read through this whole thread as I have the exact same problem, really poor MPG, except mine is a 2001 v6 ram 3.9 ...I only get about 130 miles till half tank so that would make about 260 per tank. Fixed a wheel bearing plus had transmission serviced and it didn't help MPG at all, figured the friction/drag from the loud wheel bearing would kill MPG but it didn't.

I guess a tuneup is in order for me too, although I'm skeptical if it's really needed since my truck has no misfire at all, and the only check engine light is for an emissions code due to fuel vapor not being recycled, I guess a hose has a small crack in it, many others online had the same problem from reading and they never had it fixed with no ill effects.

I guess I should just save my money then and not buy the spectre air filter, I was thinking of doing the same thing, but you did several things and got a .4mpg improvement, that could be margin of error too honestly. The spectre does seem very nice though, apparently after a 2011 lawsuit, K&N now even owns spectre, and in a youtube comment somebody actually posted both company's contact info and it's the same number and address in riverside california if I remember correctly.

are all the ignition components paramount to MPG? For example, could I skip out on having to buy the ignition coil if I just do cap,rotor,wires, and new spark plugs? And which spark plugs work best? Others have said certain brands are finicky and actually give the truck less mpg.....I was thinking of some denso wires and plugs with the iridium twin tip, in their info video they said it provides much better combustion and gives better mpg. Not sure if I'm allowed to post links but if so I can post the rock auto link to the parts I was thinking of getting.

But if the truck isn't misfiring, the plugs,wires,dist.cap,dist.rotor, and ignition coil should be good I'd imagine and shouldn't suck that much mpg.

my tires could be aired up a bit, 17inch bridgestones, they're all at 31psi...but I've read reports before that just following the old logic of filling them up to the sidewall max pressure honestly didn't improve mileage much at all, only a fraction, and made the ride MUCH less enjoyable since the tires would be so stiff.

 

I actually just ordered all the parts to do this tune up, I do not thing the ignition coil was necessary, I just had a bit of a "why not" attitude. I plan to install all the parts this weekend and I will sure to post back here with the results. I am a bit curious about the Spectre filter too, I had a Fram filter in their and it was pretty dirty, so only getting that small of an improvement seems bad (however, this latest tank I dropped my cruising speed on the highway down to 65 and got 13.4mpg, so there may have been a small issue with my driving style and the first tank after getting the filter), it leads me to believe that there is something else inhibiting it more.

Anyways, I do not think that I have a misfire either, and I should have results from this tuneup in a little over a week, so we should know if this was the problem or perhaps something else. I'm almost positive that this will help considering it has been a little bit since I last did this much of a tuneup.