Hello, I am looking for a programmer to basicly get better gas mileage on my 09 5.7 ram. Do alot of short trips, to work and around town, only feed her 87 octane. Not entertaining the idea of smoking the tires from every light or stop sign.

 

Why did you buy it if you are worried about mileage you have to know and 8 cylinder is an 8 cylinder and it's a heavy truck and big tires to push around. From what I have read a programmer is not gonna do the job, maybe a real set of header, full dual exhaust, even though I don't agree with them a CAI so spend a grand and get 2 or 3 miles to he gallon then get a programmer so you have something to program. Still I don't think there are many things to go, but if you find something share it with all.

 

Better driving habits will improve mileage, more than anything else.

Look up "hyper miling" for ideas (even if some of them are wacky.)

 

It will take you A LONG TIME to recoup up front costs of a programmer in the little savings you will get. Do the math.

 

I have a CAI, exhaust, and predator tuner and still only have 1 MPG increase. The "gas mileage" boosting mods will never pay for themself. Its all about that right foot, and if you do a lot of city driving then good luck. Check out the Prius I hear they get pretty good gas mileage

 

LOL, exactly.

 

K&N filte,tonneau cover and inflate your tires to max psi. Ride will be a little harsh but will gain you some mpg. Avoid hard acceleration drive the speed limit or 5 mph under and buy a prius if all else fails. Seriously consider a beater car that gets 30mpg or better and only drive your truck when needed. What you will save in gas and wear on your nice truck will pay for the car.

 

Like someone mentioned above, driving habits/style will be your biggest factor in your mpg. Staying at the speed limit is a critical factor. Our trucks have a large front area, so your speed will make a significant overall difference. Read somewhere that a vehicle traveling at 20mph over the highway speed limit could result in almost 15 to 20% increased fuel consuption. Other factors such as accelerating modestly, anticipating lights will yeild a noticable mpg difference.

 

There's some truth to that. If you do travel quite a bit, a vehicle that is rated at 40 to 45mph will easily save you $2-300 dollars a month in gas. This could easily cover a lease payment on a fuel sipper. Conversly though, your then not saving any money anway, so why bother?
I personally refuse to drive a tin can, which is why I purchased a full sized pick-up in the first place. The extra $200 dollars a month in gas is the price you pay for admission.

And for those of you that find the current prices of gas troublesome, there's some speculation that prices in this range may be the new norm, if not get worse.
Particularly if there is economic and political uncertainty in oil bearing countries.