Just got my Truck a little over a week ago and have just over 1k miles and have been getting 18.8 mpg on the computer. This is on the hwy going 70-80 mph. Gotta say though I really like this new DODGE

 

Ya I need to enter in a tractor pull or something to break this baby in seeing I have nothing to pull ;D OR I could hook up my dakota with the brakes locked up and drag it about my neighborhood that would sure draw the stares.
Can't wait for the better mileage I have been bragging about to my Duramax friends.

 

Babying a truck a lot will eventually give you worse mileage! You're not loading the engine enough to burn off impurities & deposits from the injector tips and combustion chamber.

I strongly recommend a good fuel additive to keep things clean as well. I saw posts on TDR about guys with poor mileage problems run some HD injector cleaner through and mileage increased considerably.

I always run mine aggressively in town and do jackrabbit starts frequenty and usually get 17-18 in town (I have a 4x2 shorbed 6-speed though). On the highway I run 75ish and usually see 21 +/- 0.5 MPG. At a steady 80 I'm right at 20mpg.

Guys also remember a lot of places are running winter fuel which has less thermal content = lower MPG.

Vaughn

 

geets the biggest difference in mpg is the 6spd vs the auto. Unquestionably the auto sucks a few mpg away by design. Next it seems the 4x4s consume a bit more than 4x2's...

 

Vaughn, What brand/type of fuel additive? I might want to try some of that. Thanks.

Randy.

 

[quote author=Lightman link=board=20;threadid=23053;start=30#msg216705 date=1070335387]
geets the biggest difference in mpg is the 6spd vs the auto. Unquestionably the auto sucks a few mpg away by design. Next it seems the 4x4s consume a bit more than 4x2's...
[/quote]

If you're on the highway with an auto in lockup, the overall gearing is taller (ie. lower RPM's) than the 6 speed. Long trips with the auto may actually give better mileage. The slow stuff around town is where the slop of the torque converter eats some of the power and robs the mileage as opposed to the 6 spd. This seems to be how my truck behaves anyway.

 

Hey Jack Thorpe, what is your milage on the 6 shooter, mine with the auto is only 15.5 to maybe 16 on long trips of 350 miles or more being empty driving at 70 mph. Mixed 50/50 city/hwy. I get about 14-15. Every once in awhile back in summer time I would get about 17mpg at 65 mph. Hard to drive 55 to 65 on hwy takes to dang long to get anywhere. Truck runs good though.

 

It amazes me how much everybodies mileage varies... I know the trucks are different, and everybody drives different. But still....

I have seen a worst of 15.9 mpg towing ~6500 lbs on the interstate at 70 with the AC blowing, and a best of 23.4 unloaded driving on 2 lane highways at 60 mph with maybe 1500 lbs of stuff in the bed. Saw 27.5 driving through New Mexico this summer. Big tailwind and dropping 2000' elevation certainly helped.

Usually gets 21 if I'm not towing. 2wd, 6 sp, short bed, and a cap probably helps.

Mike in Arkansas

 

I'm running about 17 or so all day long. I only have about 2000 on her so far. I don't drive very far for work and don't have access to a heavy trailer so it might take a while to "seat" the engine in properly.

 

Interesting to read how the milage varies. Hubby says he has been getting 19+ mpg lately--that's about 90% freeway at 65-68 mph. He drives about 65 miles each way to the family farm for duck hunting twice a week. Milage is calculated with each tank--not the computer. He weighed it this week: 8450# with him, the big lab, shotgun, 20 gal of diesel in cans, 500# of tools and crap in a heavy wood box, and the heavy Gem Top steel canopy. We were not happy campers when our first tow gave us 11 mpg for a flat, 75 miles trip. We got the same mpg on hunting trip on the flat section of freeway, but weighed GCWR 17,000#. Dealer re-flashed the computer and made some adjustments when we got home and the solo milage improved greatly. Won't know tow milage until next spring.

 

I read somewhere that the IAT sensor could result in lower milage. Because soot or something like that could build up on the end of the sensor. My question is where is this sensor located at on a 03 motor. Hey rvlady what did you tell the dealer do to flash computer and the adjustments? I would love to get 17 to 19 regular on a daily bases. Have about 21,000 miles on mine.

 

[quote author=Ram04 link=board=20;threadid=23053;start=30#msg216712 date=1070335965]
Vaughn, What brand/type of fuel additive? I might want to try some of that. Thanks.
[/quote]

Randy, I like Amalgamated www.amalgamatedinc.com
It's awesome stuff, definitely top-shelf, but a PITA to get (have to buy 5 gallons at a time!). You can also use Stanadyne or Howe's which you should be able to pick up at any decent truck shop. Also John Deere has a good additive. If you haven't used any before I'd put it in 2-3 times stronger the first time then use it on every tank afterwards.

I've seen a number of injector installs on regular 24-valve trucks and ones running additives generally have noticeably cleaner injectors. Mine were very clean on my 2001 HO after 50K miles and running 8-10 gallons of used engine oil through my tank and burning it.

Vaughn

 

Back to the MPG for a second...My rig started out at 15.8, then kept increasing to about 17.8 (mixed city/hiway). I've got 3K on the ticker now. Filled up last week and wham-o! 15.2 is it! Looks like we are running winterized fuel now... I hate this crap! It's 55* here today, sure glad I have winterized fuel in my tank ;D

 

Who knows. I got 15.8, 16.7, and then 15.2....all similar driving... I know we dont have winterized fuel. I'm gonna wait till 20k before I start complaining too loudly about mpg. I'm hoping it will go up after I tow something heavy the first time.