Just bought an 06 Mega Cab with a Hemiand I had no idea how bad the fuel economy was on it. Lookin to modify it to squeeze a few more mpg. So far I think Ill go with the Magnaflow catback, superchip flashpack, bosch platinum premium 4 plugs, and last but not least a cai. Any advice out there regarding the Vararam ram air system? Should I go with it or the K&N cai? And after all that how many more mpg will I get? I only get 11mpg right now. I dont always haul *** or pussyfoot it around and I use 87 Octane. Should I just take it as a loss and buy a diesel and if I did, after similar mods what would the diesel mpg be in comparison? Man I hope I didnt just blow a few grand by having to sell. RUT

 

With the size and weight of that rig, you actually expected decent fuel economy? The Diesel would do better on mpg's, but not enough to outweigh the loss you'd take or the cost difference. Even though a CTD would just be awsome to have, if your not a heavy tower or put a lot of miles on it, it's hard to justify the extra cost.
First of all, you probably should start with a full tune up and use full synthetic fluids. Even though you're Mega heavy, you are getting a bit worse mpg's than the average Mega owner. I'm assuming it's a 4x4, and should be up in the 13 mpg range with combination driving. If it's a 4x2 and you are getting 11, then something is bad wrong.
After your tune up, then it's cat back exhaust, Cold Air Intake (one name brand doesn't give any real measurable gains over another, just stay with a name brand), and a Superchips tuner, in that order. Other fairly simple bolt-on mods that will help your fuel economy would be replacing your stock fan with an electric cooling fan such as a Flex-A-Lite 180 extreme like I have. Headers would also complete the whole intake/exhaust picture. I don't know if there are long tubes out yet for the mega cab, but for best HP and MPG gains, you'd want to go with the longest tubes possible.
Finally, review YOUR driving habits, I'm sure there are at least a couple of things you could amend to squeeze some better mileage out of your truck. I know I'm heavy footed and could get better economy myself if I kept off it a little. I have done ALL the mods I've suggested to you and my truck (even though it's just a QC and not a Mega) is a lot heavier than yours. I have a heavy suspension lift, big 35" tires, a winch, etc. that weighs me in at close to 7000 lbs. Even with my relatively poor driving habits, I am getting very close to the 14 mpg city, 17 mpg highway that my truck is rated for stock!!! Last I checked it, I was 13.8 around town and on a trip to Ga. this past spring I got about 16.4 on mainly interstate driving.

Oh yea, and stay the hell away from the Bosch Platinums, I used them in all my Jeeps, the 4.0 I6 really loves them, BUT THE HEMI HATES THEM!!!

 

Tahnks for the prompt reply HammerZ71. From what your saying it sounds like I should be able to get some numbers close to yours with all things considered. I ran those plugs on my old jeep too. I think it was on dodgetalk forum that I read of someone using them and experiencing greater performance. Ill have to backtrack. Ill stay away from them for now. Have you heard anything about how the Vararam ram air performs in comparison to the K&N? Ill do whatever it takes to boost fuel economy capability-Hell it gives me a valid reason to soop up Megasaurus. Thanx again-RUT

 

If you look on some other forums, there's basically a few camps for which CAI to choose. Right now it seems that the vararam, airram, ramhammer, and custom made "homebrew" intakes are the preferred choices. Keep in mind with the vararam that you may need to remove your front tow hooks (if you have them) to get the ducts to fit right. I'm planning on getting a ramhammer in the next month, I'll be sure to let you guys know how that one works for me. Gains between all name brand CAI's are negligeable (maybe 3-4 hp spread), so you most likely wouldn't see a difference between a relatively inexpensive K&N versus the 450 dollar vararam. [/align]

 

Thanks-Ill hold off on the intake and grab the rest of the mods in the mean time!

 

i didnt know there was long headers for the quad cabs yet is there ive seen shortys plannned on getting a pair