I'm wanting to do some upgrades to hopefully increase my fuel mileage.

Not willing to go all out and break the bank, I'm wanting some suggestions on what the best and best best priced products are. I've seen cold air kits on ebay for as low as $40.00. I figure they're probably crap but wanting more info. I also don't know much about programmers or what is out there for my truck. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

I will move this to the 3rd gen section for you (2002-2008 Dodge Rams), get you some help.

Keep in mind... you bought a heavy truck. Gas mileage will never be great.

 

You missed your mark, Jason and hit 4th Gen. I'm moving it to 3rd Gen, LOL...

 

Dang moving targets. OP - there are very few places you can spend money to save it. Mods take a fair amount of time to just break even. Money spent on maintenance (plugs, filters, proper tire pressure ...) is your best bet.

 

Yep, you won't see any gain in mpg from a CAI unless your current filter is really dirty.

 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, a CAI won't do much unless paired with other mods that will allow for greater airflow thru the entire system. There are also mods that benefit from the greater airflow. By itself, a CAI doesn't do much and if the air is taken from a spot where it's significantly cooler, you could even lose gas mileage due to the fact that the cooler the air, the more dense, the more dense, the more fuel is mixed with it.

Proper tune-up, high quality filters, synthetic fluids and proper tire pressure are the best things you can do for fuel economy.
The only mod with a shot of paying for itself in gas savings without having to wait a decade for it to even out would be an e-fan...

 

I still use the stock air intake on my Mustang and it breathes tons more air than when it was stock. Heads, cam intake, headers, exhaust, TB, big maf etc. It's had the same K&N drop-n filter since 88 when it had 9K miles on it. I tried open airbox, no airbox, etc, no gains at the track.

They look nice and make a lot of noise, but when K&N says 8hp for $300+, no thanks. I do run a K&N drop-in filter in the stock box and have switched back and forth between a Airaid MIT pipe (got it cheap) and the stock resonator(Hemi Hat) no difference in mpg or power (butt dyno) Evidently Dodge did a pretty good job with the air intake design.

most of the Mustang CAI kits and most of the cheap kits for the Ram's are metal pipe and usually chrome. These are bad because they hold and transfer a lot of heat into the incoming air which is bad for power.

The biggest gain in mileage and power that I got was from my Diablosport Predator. I get the best mileage running the 93 octane tune with 93 octane fuel. I have done the math several times and have found that even though 93 is usually $0.20 more per gallon, I save $1.26 per tank full on gas. It's not a huge savings, but to get 25+ rwhp, better shifts and save on gas, it's a win win situation for me.
Just some food for though.

 

You know, after reading this time after time, I decided to check this out for myself. I have the K&N 77, which uses the chrome pipe. I built a CAI for a 4.7 for someone and before putting it on his truck, I did a little test.

There was a 2* difference in the test at the air sensor in the throttle body, cooler with the PVC, but that just could be that my PVC one was a little straighter pass than the store bought K&N. Had I seen any type of significant difference, I would have re-built my own out of PVC, since I end up getting asked to make one of these about 3-4 times a year.

The "chrome" tube is really just cheesy plasticized chrome, so this may be a factor in it not being significantly hotter than just a plastic one.

It'll be moot for me soon anyway. My CAI is being re-routed to just under my hood scoop (using PVC) soon, to not only make my scoop fully functional, but for the purpose of freeing up the passenger side for a 2nd battery tray...

 

lxman1 what kinda mpg gains are you seeing with the diablo on the 93 tune?

 

You can run a search and you will find TONS of material on this subject. Unfortunately it's constantly discussed but I think the overall opinion is that a tuned up engine gets the best possibly mileage for the money spent AND leaving it parked helps mileage the most!