I have an 06 dually quadcab 4x4 with 3k miles and get really bad mileage . 10 around town 13 highway. I know it will get better once it breaks in a bit as my wifes 04 gets 22 but I was wondering what modifications I could do to this truck to get a real increase in mileage?? anyone found anything that actually works?? chip? exhaust changes? anything?

 

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Dually, 3.73 gears, auto, 4x4, Quad Cab, 06= 16mpg will be the most that you will ever see running at 65-70 mph empty. Where you live is a big thing to. Hills upon hills dont help anything.

Your figures are right for now. It will come up with mileage!

Just to rub it in- - -my 06 gets 17.5 Hwy & 15 city!

Have fun with it, and go for the exhaust, intake, and a mild programmer. Gauges first tho!

 

My dually, 3:73 gears, auto, 4x4, 06 gets 18.4 mpg at 70 mph. Two 250 mile plus tanks. Only have 1900 miles on it so far. First test got 18.2 and 2nd one got 18.4 on same round trip interstate run. Used cruise for both runs. Being in CO there are a few hills (30 psi boost type) on that run.

And yes, it is hand calculated ... OH is off 1.7 mpg high.

 

dont know what a "signature" is . anyway Im installing a mitchell gear splitter overdrive in the truck soon with a 28.6 percent overdrive which should help matters considerably. I need to figure the weight difference between my 04 long bed 2wd swg automatic quadcab and my long bed dually 4x4 quadcab 6sp. cant be "THAT" much more and my 04 gets 22 all day long at 65. wouldnt think 1000 pounds or so would make that much difference

 

In the reading I've been doing over the past 3 months (1st 2 months waiting on the new truck) there appears to be two distinct groups of 06s. One group like you is getting around 13 mpg on the highway and the other group is getting 17-18 mpg. I'm getting over 18 at 70 mph and as I said in the earlier post I'm under 2000 miles.

Some of those reporting the 13 mpg have gone back to their dealer and complained of "hard starting" occasionally and they get TSB 18-003-06 flashed on their ECM. This supposedly has helped a number of them immediately increase their mpg by 3-4. Those doing it aren't actually having a starting problem, just telling dealer that so they can get the flash done. Do a search on the TSB number on this site and you will find a lot of information.

 

Dually, 3.73 gears, G56 6-Speed, 4x4, Quad Cab, 06 = 16.5 mpg mostly suburban type driving. On the highway, all I can get is 15 at 65-70mph. I had the reflash done and the mileage went up slightly, but came back down a little bit later. All the reflash really did was to make my overhead go out of whack. When I got the truck, it was dead on. After the reflash, it reads 1-2 mpg higher than I'm actually getting.

If you want numbers like your 04, remove the Cat converter, swithc to single wheel instead of Dually, and get rid of the dually fenders. With this configuration, you can get in the 20's.

Nav

 

If you want good fuel economy, buy a smaller truck. These trucks are meant for hauling...we are talking about 4 tons of trucks here. I will say it again and again and again, these trucks are meant for hauling, and to expect great fuel economy, you bought it for the wrong reason. You bought it for hauling, and any decent fuel economy you get, be thankful. Sure, if you want to get good MPG, drive it like an old lady, and it will get better. I bought mine to haul/work, and if I get good MPG, great. I get good MPG for a 8000 LB truck 15-18 depending on my driving habits unloaded, and @ 12 MPG with my 44 FT enclosed. I do not expect good MPG hauling loads in a big truck, and as I said before, if I did, I would buy a Corolla. I drive my truck as it is meant to be, TO WORK!!!!! Yeah, good MPG is an added bonus, and I like it, but not concerned. Diesel's ROCK!!!!! You want 20MPG+??????? Buy a smaller vehicle and don't haul with it.

 

^^^ Not real helpful, now is that?

I just returned to WY from Tampa FL and over 3 days and many miles, I got over 20 on all but the last tank. I have a 4x4 QC SB with 150hp injectors, too.

So is he wrong for expecting higher mileage when OTHERS with a similar truck as his (06 dually 4x4) are doing better? I know that I would expect to get at least what "the other guys" are getting. For a person to tell someone else he bought the wrong truck is not helpful or relevant.

The HPCR fuel system has been a double-edged sword. Good, in that it allows MUCH more control over the injection process and a lot more precision overall. Bad, though because it's not allowed to strut its stuff, so to speak, for MPG-- it's saddled with EPA considerations that run counter to good fuel efficiency (primarily NOx).

In a sense you are the victim of NOx emissions, specifically, because the EXACT conditions that produce best fuel economy (quick, complete burn at high pressure via advanced timing) result in high NOx emissions. So the only way to reduce the NOx emissions is to sacrifice fuel economy, which the OEMS GLADLY DO. After all, EPA doesn't care about MPG, just NOx and other emissions.

As for optimizing fuel economy, here are my suggestions:

1) Tow something HEAVY as hard as you can-- WOT accelerations, again and again.
2) Use a good dino oil like Delo400 until it's good and broken in
3) The stock air intake and exhaust on your truck are more than adequate for stock HP levels, so don't waste your money on them.
4) Convert all your driveline to synthetic as soon as you feel it's broken in. Do the Trans, Diffs, and T-case with a good syn like Redline or Royal Purple (Amsoil, I suppose, too but don't get me started) after you've accumulated 5K miles or so.
5) Hwy speed makes a big difference. If I run 72mph, I get 20+ almost every time. Speeding up to 78mph out West drops me to 17.5mpg. So just 5-6mph more drops me 2.5mpg! With your dually, the best speed probably is down around 65-68mph.
6) Keep the tires aired up to where they should be.
7) Try a cetane-boosting fuel additive. As fuel gets more expensive, the economics of additives are more favorable. I prefer a product called 85 Plus from Redline Oil, but have had good results with Stanadyne as well. Powerservice is popular, but it's mostly diesel and I don't care for that..

PM me if you want more specifics...

Justin

 

I got it figured out. talked with a dodge master tech for 2 hours today while he worked on my truck. tsb numbers mean nothing and are not required by the dealer . all that matters is that they update your computer to the latest program available. basicly my program needed 3 updates to be the newest thing out and my update addressed all 3 of the tsb's that people on this site are claiming help mileage . 18-003-06, 18-005-06 and one other which I forget which had to do with white smoke and poor acceleration. they plugged my computer into the dodge computer which went on line and found the newest program available which had three upgrades over my exesting program. my program was then removed and the new upgraded program was downloaded into it. I got 12.1 on overhead on the way to the dealer and 14.6 on the way home (with a 2500 pound cab over camper installed and it was cross town stop and go traffic. I also went on the freeway briefly from one off ramp to the next and it went as high as 17.1 when it had never gone over 14.5 before even without the camper! will be going on a several hundred mile drive this weekend and am going to fill my tank till it runs out on the ground and set the trip and then refill at the same station when I get home and see if it made mileage difference. also I did what I believe to be the tone ring mod today and hope I did it right. enlaged the locator dowel hole so that the tone ring has more rotatation room available befor it hits the bolts . then looking at the front of the motor I turned the tone ring clockwise all the way till it was touching the bolts and locked it down there. that should advance it. also, I have a friend who works for CAT and he has a fuel addative which is called cat diesel fuel conditioner number 256-4968. it says it cleans injectors, reduces water accumulation, boosts cetane by 3, adds lubricant which protects the entire injection system from wear. he runs it in several of his own trucks and has noticed a 1 to 2 mpg increase possibly from cleaner injectors or increased lubrication . I guess its supposed to replace some of the lubrication that was lost when the sulfur was all but removed from diesel. anyway ,anything helps right? I have said it before and I'll say it again, if my 04 long bed high output automatic quadcab is getting 22 , than the 06 should do better than it is. there isnt that much more weight! I can load 3000lbs in the back of my 04 (and do every month)and run 75 and still get 19+. just wait till my overdrive gets here! SS minow, we will see who bought the wrong truck. I obviously dont give up as easily as you do.

 

I wonder to why half the people here claim great 16 to 20 mpg and the rest of us have to suffer with 10 to 13 with the same truck and yes I have the right truck so please dont tell me to buy a honda. I am only hoping to get where every one else claims and no more. My dealer is useless, went for first oil change today and they still swear to wait till about 10 to 15000 and my truck will jump to 18 to 20mpg. BULL CRAP.also claim no TSB for me since my build date is 3/06. But they did warranty a failed power mirror .Also my overhead avg 5to 7mpg higher than hand caculated. Thanks to all the valued info and supporters of this gas problem and also thanks to the couple that preach to buy a smaller car or work as hard as they do.

 

Wait I think I got this figured out. I am not sure that I believe all of these mpg figures. I just checked mine today after 465 miles combined highway 75%, city 25%. I got 16mpg never driving more than 70. The only thing that I have diff. is the tires. They are 285 18's, witch are taller than the stock tires. I am sure that my odometer is not showing enough miles with the added size. Maybe someone that knows how to figure out how many more miles I should add, could chime in. Needless to say, My mpg will go "up" after I get the odometer thing figured out. And yes these are HAND calc. figures. Am I happy? Not to shabby with only 3000 miles and never towed.