ok i have a 07 ram 3500 quad cab.. chassis flatbed with 5.7L hemi...with 30k mi on it and best around town i get is maybe 8mpg...stock tuned.. with dual exhaust ramair induction..in 08 i drove truck to KY from seattle, wa .. and best i got on freeway was 14 mpg.. and ideas to help with increasing fuel mileage?
granted... i know its a heavy hauler but have been reading posts people gettin 10-14 around town ..

oh yeah in addition i hate the MDS can a superchips 3815 tuner turn it off?

new here so thank you in advance for any replies

 

Welcome to DF! Glad you joined us! That's the molasses, now for the sulphur:

It doesn't have MDS... That is only on the 1500s. Let's see - you want the Hemi to haul a 7,000+ lb truck and get good mileage? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I suspect you didn't actually get the 14 mpg the computer showed. If someone with a 3500 and a Hemi says they're getting 14 in town, I have some ocean-front property in Wisconsin for you.

 

You don't have MDS, NO 2500/3500 series Ram has MDS.

And my BS indicator would flip on pretty quick if someone with a 3500 gasser (or even a 2500 for that matter) claimed much over 12 mpg around town with maybe 9-10 being more around the norm.

Most 1500 guys with a LOT lighter truck than yours don't see 14 around town! I get around 11-12 and my "town" is rural, very few lights.

Best advice, keep it tuned at or even earlier than recommended schedule, go to synthetics EVERYWHERE you can, monitor tire pressure and keep it around 80% of max cold PSI.

NO aftermarket mods are gonna pay for themselves in fuel savings without waiting 100k miles or more for it to equalize their cost. Only one with a real shot is probably an e-fan. MIGHT see 2 mpg around town with an efan, but it losses it's advantage over a clutch fan the higher the RPMs go, so on the highway it will be little to no benefit.

Only 2500/3500 trucks I see getting 14'ish around town don't have spark plugs...

 

OMG!! No plugs? Yowza!

 

yep, and with all the new emission crap on the 6.7 I don't even see them getting 14ish around town. Need a good, old 5.9 CTD...

 

hey thnx guys for the responses...so the lag and bogdown sound and the shifting in and out isnt mds? hmmm

so would there be any advantage to tuning it with a superchips programmer?

 

MDS is unnoticeable in a large majority of cases. It switches in 40 ms. Some say they can hear it with an after-market exhaust. Maybe so, maybe not.

With 30K on the clock, a new set of plugs may have a benefit. A throttle-body cleaning and a dose of Sea Foam can't hurt. What octane fuel are you using?

 

89 octane... did u say the 07 3500 has no mds? or did i misunderstand? truck came with single exhaust so first thing i did was have it made into dual exhaust.. wanted headers ect for increased power but had to be custm made nearly 4k .. juice wasnt worth the squeeze imo...so was thinking maybe a programmer would suit for situational use

 

Programmer would help some, probably the biggest felt gains would be re-gearing, especially if you have the stock 3.73 gears (which IMO shouldn't even be offered on the 2500/3500 gassers) and not the optional 4.10s. A step up to 4.56s would give a noticeable boost at low end RPMs and should even give you a nice little 2-3 MPG boost in town (although you may give it back at speeds over 70 mph).

No, no chance you have MDS unless somebody did some big time modifying.

I find that most of the time guys complain about a "lag" when hitting the gas peddle is because they don't clean the throttle body when they are supposed to. 15k intervals recommended, my guess is at 30k yours has never been done...

 

haha i'm such an idiot... found out the lag and constant shifting was the o/d...after owning the truck since new.... yesterday was first time i ever used that button to see what it did... hahah...and found the truck has 4:10 gears