15-16 in town and 18 highway on a 5.9? I have to call BS. I'm sorry but I just can't believe it

 

I've had to agree.

Best mileage I've recorded is 16.5 on I75 and using StarTron. (same setup as you see in the sig pic)

There are a few in the 2nd Gen crowd that claim to get 20+mpg if they drive like grandpa.

 

It does sound like BS doesn't it? Its not though, about a year and a half ago my dad cleaned everything he could on it. It was getting the commonly mentioned 8-12mpg at its best since 2003. He flushed and cleaned everything out and now it runs better than it did factory. He was ticked after he did that because he wouldn't have bought his new truck if he'd known it would run that well. I did put on a flowmaster cat back and a new set of Goodyear SilentArmor Wranglers. The only other aftermarket part I have on it is the front suspension but thats a different story. Oh I also cleaned my air filter and use higher grade gas. Living in flat *** Iowa where there aren't many hills also probably helps.

 

And tows like a Duramax?? Haha, thats downright hilarious! Maybe if you're pulling a 10ft aluminum fishing boat it might (most likely not) get better mileage but the duramax is a beast especially with the Allison tranny. No gas truck can even come close to competing (talking towing) with a new(er) diesel. Funny post though.

 

I think you overestimate the capabilities of a Crapomax...

 

Ya I'm done with this forum. You guys all suck. All you do is call BS on stuff. We don't do serious heavy towing. The most we pull is an 8000lb camper. And yes I do get better mileage than his truck when doing so. Normal mileage for him his about 12mpg. Pulling he gets 6-8mpg. The Duramax may be a super beast especially with the Allison paired with it, but its a total fuel hog. Not to mention his ideal torque is reached at higher rpms than mine so its quite even with this camper. The only reason I said mine pulls better is because it gets better mileage doing so. I don't underestimate the duramax, you just underestimate gassers.

 

my diesel has more torque at idle than my gasser peaks, though my gasser has been built to attempt to do the same job the diesel was designed for.. my gasser has a torque curve that appears on a graph like an inverted V.. my diesel has a peak torque curve over a thousand RPMs wide.. my gasser, on a good day, may be capable of a 15 second 1/4 pass, my diesel can make a pass fractions over 13 seconds.. My gasser may average a confirmed 14MPGs over a long haul, unloaded, where my diesel can make the same haul and average 20MPGs confirmed..

My diesel costs a lot more initially, and a lot more over it's expected life to maintain.. my diesel is argumentative when it drinks lessor quality fuel, it requires filter changes every 5k miles, and oil quality and changes are critical, not just a wise decision, but absolutely critical.. where the gasser just keeps rolling.. (most the time)..

my gasser is easier and better to operate as a daily driver, but my diesel is right on it's heels in that regard.. towing or hauling, there is no contest- the diesel is superior in every manner.. a truck is a truck and should be used in that way, or a person is better off with a car that gets 30+MPG's on lessor quality fuel.. a truck running a gas engine is a compromise, plain and simple.. it isn't fair to compare a gasser truck to a diesel in any way..

20+MPGs out of a 360 is hogwash.. maybe during short durations under favorable circumstances, but not overall.. you intend for us to believe that, you're wasting your time.. most folks here are informed.. maybe you should choose a less informed forum to influence with such a lie.

 

I never claimed to get 20+MPGs. I don't even see that happening regularly with a brand new hemi. The best i've gotten is 18. But I live in WESTERN IOWA, on the border with Nebraska, where the most interesting thing to see is a cornfield. We have hills but they're East of us (Loess Hills). I don't do much in them other than hunt. We do go up to Fort Randall Damn for fishing and I pulled our boat the whole 170miles and only burned half my 28 gallon tank. There were hills but they were few. I completely agree with you when you say that diesels are a lot better in almost every way. My dad's truck is just really bad about its mileage lol. I'm not lying about anything, just giving my input about my situation. The way I see it, I'm lucky that it performs so well. That or I have some seriously faulty gauges. Maybe next time before you try to call me out on something you could ask why I said something. Maybe getting the whole story would be better than arguing.

 

eh, I don't mean to argue.. it's just- well.... >

i ran a 360 for a LOooooONG time.. I know them inside and out.. I don't claim to be an expert, but I can have detailed conversations with experts about that motor, and 'bout them being placed in these trucks..

I've done about everything to them than can be done.. with the exception of stroking one.. I HAVE heard, and from extremely credible source, that a 408 (360 w/4" stroke crank and .030 over) built for low to mid range held close to 20MPG's, and I believe him.. but even with that, there is a caveat..

I live on the coast, and encounter no hills.. I also live just slightly above sea level, which makes air denser and more potent for burn if volume=volume.. I've seen, on occasion, 17~18MPG's, but it is SOoooo fleeting, that is deserves no mention except in a conversation like this one.. it has to do with many factors, all of which I try to determine- temperature both ambient and operational, load as determined via vacuum gauge, transmission temperature, RPM's, air to fuel ratio, delta's of oil/coolant temperature, exhaust gas temperatures, overall gear ratio, resistance of wind, parasitic power losses, driving conditions, air pressure in tires and rolling resistance of tires... the list goes on and on..

I kept that particular truck and engine absolutely tuned, and that after I took what the factory provided as a 'getting me in the ball park of what I needed' and made it specifically what I needed, or got as close to what I needed as the engine/drivetrain would allow..

If anyone would be seeing the mileage in the high teens, it would have been me.. It simply didn't happen.. My rig was a lifted 4x4, and losing the lift, tires, and front axle would likely have pushed me upwards to 15~17MPG consistently, and maybe 20~22MPG on those fleeting runs where I achieved 17~18MPG before.. I dunno.. what I do know, is that truck was absolutely healthy in every sense, tuned sharply and pressing the envelope of spark ignition which caused me to run treated 93+ octane in every tank... I drove like a granny, much less a grandpa- I most often allowed conditions as evidenced on a vacuum gauge to determine my speed, not some silly sign.. I never could say that I averaged 15+MPG over a haul, except in those special circumstances that mother Mopar must use for EPA ratings on window stickers..

that is all..

 

Bought a 2000 Ram Laramie 5.9L, 108K, a few months ago and have been doing my own repairs and I'm still going over it when the muse hits. As far as gas mileage, it's no more than 15mpg on the road doing 70. I haven't done any tune up yet and I'm replacing the power steering high pressure hose at the moment. As for mechanical skills I'm as good as the YouTube video I'm watching.Most of the remarks I've read on this thread pretty much agree with my experience so far with the truck and its given me some direction. Love the truck but the previous owner's idea of scheduled maintenance was a wash n' wax and an oil change. Lotsa info here, glad I found this place.

I bought the truck to work it. Too bad. It doesn't have a scratch on it.