Newbie with A Question?
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Newbie with A Question?
I have a 2003 ram 1500 with the Hemi. I have noticed that over the last few weeks I have begun to loose some mpg's. I had replaced plugs around the first of November and the mpg went up for a while, but now it is dropping again. Two months ago my gauge showed 331 miles to a full tank....I filled up yesterday and it only said 279.....Any ideas on what could be causing this?? I regularly changed oil, fliter, air filter, rotate tires and check tire pressure. I pulled a lowboy trailer at thanksgiving with two four wheelers and a polaris ranger and I saw where my mpg went down on the trip, but it doesn't seem to want to go back up now!!! Any ideas??
Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,489
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From: New Jersey
I drive 35 miles each day in stop and go traffic on I-80, that's why my MPG is so low....
On long trips I get 15-16 mpg, so I'm not having the same issue that you are experiencing.
If you read the owners manual it says 87 octane is acceptable but 89 is recommended.... now I don't know about you but I trust their recommendations first.
Regardless, I had to use 87 octane one day (after hurricane Sandy) and I got like 10.98 MPG and the truck ran like garbage, but that is just my personal experience.
If I was you, I'd pull each of the 16 plugs check the gaps and see if they are still correct, readjust and reinstall then try my luck. If that doesn't work then I'd give 89 octane a shot, but keep in mind that it will take the computer a full tank of gas to adjust your fuel and spark maps correctly for the change in fuel so you won't see a difference on the first tank.
Also consider that it is winter, and some states suffer at the mercy of the oil companies that they change their formulations to a "winter blend" which is a mythical believe some say but there have been some studies to back it up. Not sure about Texas though.
Also check the Ethanol content you are filling up with anything more than 10% ethanol is outside the design of our trucks in most states. I drove across country and some states had 15-20% ethanol and my old man's chevy ran funny, even more so with the 8000# trailer we were hauling and needed an injector service when we got to California.
Also people have very mixed feelings about oil/fuel additives, personally I don't trust them as they have been proven to cause issues with dislodging debris/buildup and then clogging an injector/oil jet/oil line. There are a few threads about additives on here as well as other forums with mixed results, so if it works for you keep it up.
That is just my .02 take it or leave it, your call there.
oh and just so you can see some averages:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/dodge/ram%201500/gas%20v8
Give that link a shot.
On long trips I get 15-16 mpg, so I'm not having the same issue that you are experiencing.
If you read the owners manual it says 87 octane is acceptable but 89 is recommended.... now I don't know about you but I trust their recommendations first.
Regardless, I had to use 87 octane one day (after hurricane Sandy) and I got like 10.98 MPG and the truck ran like garbage, but that is just my personal experience.
If I was you, I'd pull each of the 16 plugs check the gaps and see if they are still correct, readjust and reinstall then try my luck. If that doesn't work then I'd give 89 octane a shot, but keep in mind that it will take the computer a full tank of gas to adjust your fuel and spark maps correctly for the change in fuel so you won't see a difference on the first tank.
Also consider that it is winter, and some states suffer at the mercy of the oil companies that they change their formulations to a "winter blend" which is a mythical believe some say but there have been some studies to back it up. Not sure about Texas though.
Also check the Ethanol content you are filling up with anything more than 10% ethanol is outside the design of our trucks in most states. I drove across country and some states had 15-20% ethanol and my old man's chevy ran funny, even more so with the 8000# trailer we were hauling and needed an injector service when we got to California.
Also people have very mixed feelings about oil/fuel additives, personally I don't trust them as they have been proven to cause issues with dislodging debris/buildup and then clogging an injector/oil jet/oil line. There are a few threads about additives on here as well as other forums with mixed results, so if it works for you keep it up.
That is just my .02 take it or leave it, your call there.
oh and just so you can see some averages:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/dodge/ram%201500/gas%20v8
Give that link a shot.
Last edited by Izero; Jan 14, 2013 at 02:21 PM.
Thread Starter
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Registered User
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
I drive 35 miles each day in stop and go traffic on I-80, that's why my MPG is so low....
On long trips I get 15-16 mpg, so I'm not having the same issue that you are experiencing.
If you read the owners manual it says 87 octane is acceptable but 89 is recommended.... now I don't know about you but I trust their recommendations first.
Regardless, I had to use 87 octane one day (after hurricane Sandy) and I got like 10.98 MPG and the truck ran like garbage, but that is just my personal experience.
If I was you, I'd pull each of the 16 plugs check the gaps and see if they are still correct, readjust and reinstall then try my luck. If that doesn't work then I'd give 89 octane a shot, but keep in mind that it will take the computer a full tank of gas to adjust your fuel and spark maps correctly for the change in fuel so you won't see a difference on the first tank.
Also consider that it is winter, and some states suffer at the mercy of the oil companies that they change their formulations to a "winter blend" which is a mythical believe some say but there have been some studies to back it up. Not sure about Texas though.
Also check the Ethanol content you are filling up with anything more than 10% ethanol is outside the design of our trucks in most states. I drove across country and some states had 15-20% ethanol and my old man's chevy ran funny, even more so with the 8000# trailer we were hauling and needed an injector service when we got to California.
Also people have very mixed feelings about oil/fuel additives, personally I don't trust them as they have been proven to cause issues with dislodging debris/buildup and then clogging an injector/oil jet/oil line. There are a few threads about additives on here as well as other forums with mixed results, so if it works for you keep it up.
That is just my .02 take it or leave it, your call there.
On long trips I get 15-16 mpg, so I'm not having the same issue that you are experiencing.
If you read the owners manual it says 87 octane is acceptable but 89 is recommended.... now I don't know about you but I trust their recommendations first.
Regardless, I had to use 87 octane one day (after hurricane Sandy) and I got like 10.98 MPG and the truck ran like garbage, but that is just my personal experience.
If I was you, I'd pull each of the 16 plugs check the gaps and see if they are still correct, readjust and reinstall then try my luck. If that doesn't work then I'd give 89 octane a shot, but keep in mind that it will take the computer a full tank of gas to adjust your fuel and spark maps correctly for the change in fuel so you won't see a difference on the first tank.
Also consider that it is winter, and some states suffer at the mercy of the oil companies that they change their formulations to a "winter blend" which is a mythical believe some say but there have been some studies to back it up. Not sure about Texas though.
Also check the Ethanol content you are filling up with anything more than 10% ethanol is outside the design of our trucks in most states. I drove across country and some states had 15-20% ethanol and my old man's chevy ran funny, even more so with the 8000# trailer we were hauling and needed an injector service when we got to California.
Also people have very mixed feelings about oil/fuel additives, personally I don't trust them as they have been proven to cause issues with dislodging debris/buildup and then clogging an injector/oil jet/oil line. There are a few threads about additives on here as well as other forums with mixed results, so if it works for you keep it up.
That is just my .02 take it or leave it, your call there.
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Captain
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey
Mine used to say 331 when I took it over as well and now it sits about the same around 279/tank. That computer isn't really reliable, but do you reset it with every fill up? Over time if you haven't been resetting it it will mess the overall tank expectancy up.
Champion
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,702
Likes: 2
From: N. Florida
Using the wrong fuel will certainly affect mileage. The computer pulls the timing back, causing a higher pedal percentage. The book on my 2003 says 87 only if necessary. 91 is preferred, 89 is acceptable and 93 is not recommended (would be a waste).
I don't see a mention of plug wires or a throttle-body cleaning. You're past due for plug wires. The "... gauge said 331 miles ..."? How are you checking your mileage?
I don't see a mention of plug wires or a throttle-body cleaning. You're past due for plug wires. The "... gauge said 331 miles ..."? How are you checking your mileage?