First off I love this car and did not buy it for the gas mileage!

I have 2 questions:

First off I bought a 2005 Magnum RT AWD about 2 months with 36,000 miles. I came out of a 2006 Dakota that got around 16mpg I was hoping that the Magnum would get a little better around town. Maybe 18mpg. I have kept my foot out of it and baby it a little until I get comfortable with it. I filled it up toady and drove about 75 miles on the interstate at 75mph and only got about 16mpg.(according to the on board computer) The RPMs ran at about 2500 at 75mph. Does that sound right? just asking.

Here is what all I have done to it:

Changed spark plugs
Changed air filter
Had the fuel injectors cleaned (probably a waste of money from the dealer but did it anyway)
New tires and brakes

Is there anything else I can do to improve the mpg just a bit better then 15mpg around town? If not I will live with it because I love this car! I was wondering if the cold air intake would help?

Second question My Dakota have the radio with the MP3 player Aux plug. The Magnum has the same radio without the plug but has a Boston sound system. Is the Boston system a stand alone or does the radio make a difference. I want to change out the radio but I do not want to lose sound quality!

Thanks for your help!

Kjacks

 

Hey KJacks, welcome to the forum.
I've got an 05 AWD RT magnum also with 50K miles - and I've been getting about 18-20 in town and 20 - 24 on the highway. Havn't taken it out on a long trip yet so won't know the top highway mileage. Try resetting your evic mpg.
I've also replaced my plugs and air filter - Try inflating your tire psi by 1 or 3 extra psi and you should see some improvement. Overall I feather foot sometimes and i get real good mpg on the highway and even in town. So far impressed by the performance on demand when i need it and mpg on a hemi.
About the stereo question - im sure someone will put their 2 cents, im not really that sure since I have the navigation/6 disc mp3 player.

oh and abt the rpm - mine is about the same - 75 mph is around 2200 - 2400 rpm

 

Make sure you use your trip to gauge mpg, not the computer. I haven't fully researched it, but understand the computer to be a bit less accurate than the old fashioned trip/division method when you fill up. I have a RWD 2005 and get about 17/22 without driving like a grandma or a teen ager.

 

I've also got a 2005 AWD R/T. I get a pretty consistent 18-20 mpg driving local (which includes a lot of highway), and on my first long trip I got a consistent 25 mpg, cruising no faster than 70 mph.

=M=

 

Looks like you've got the bases covered on the MPG stuff. So I'll throw in my cents worth on the AUX question. Quickly I'd say the unit can make the difference with the sound system, but probably unlikely. I would suggest looking into AUX input adapters. These are fairly reasonably priced and an excellent alternative. Good luck...

 

Geesh, you think that is bad... My SRT gets around 14 in town. Haven't had it on a trip yet!