Okay, I've been pondering upgrading my 2006 Dodge 2500 CTD for a while now. 2 things have stopped me.....voiding the warranty and waiting for the "break in" period as many have suggested. Well, I have over 26,000 miles on her and still getting 12/12.5 mpg. This sickens me when I know others with the same truck are getting way more. I really don't care about the warranty since I'm 10K away..will take the risk, and if she aint broke in yet, then maybe I'm just impatient? Anyway, please tell me what I need to add to get my MPG up to a respectable level. It will be 3 years this Nov that I've been driving this truck...the 12 MPG is getting quite old and irritating now to say the least. Ready to add some mods...just need to know which ones will get me the best bang for the buck...all my bucks have been going to the fuel farm thus far. Thanks for any advice. CW

 

CW, fill out your sig so that we will know what kind of truck you have. 5.9 or 6.7.

 

26K in 3 years? That'll be the last truck you ever need!

It ain't even broke in yet...

You should be able to get closer to 20mpg.

 

His '06 has a 5.9L

 

With a 5.9 and 3.73 gears in stock condition he should be getting 20 mpg already. That is 20 at about 60 mph on level roads. CW, are you hand calculating or using the overhead?

 

Sorry, sig is now filled out..I think I got everything.

I hand calculated about a year ago with the same results- filled the tank up, set the trip meter to zero, let it go down to P for Push, and divided number of miles by tank size.

When I tow my boat, around 3500 lbs., she gets a whopping 8 mpg.

I've asked the dealer repeatedly on how to get better gas mileage. Asked them to check the computer, the chip?, the setup?, whatever to see if something is wrong. I always get "it's fine just needs to break in", "if you add anything you will void your warranty" and "if something would really help, Dodge would have done it already". I'm getting real frustrated because I know there is something I can do or something wrong with my stock setup. The dealer just does the scheduled maintenance and sends me on my way with a thanks and big smile.

Hate to say it, but I'm about ready to let her go and get something that will get me in the 20s. There has to be something I can do. Thanks! CW

 

Oh, and don't know if it matters, but 80% of those miles are city (45 miles per hour or less) as far as the break-in is concerned. I live about 7 miles from work and with 12 mpg, you can understand why she doesn't see the Interstate much. People have said the more you tow the better...I tow the boat around 2 or 3 times a month. Could there be something wrong with the stock computer? How do I get the dealer to put in a new one?

 

You are running larger that stock wheels. If you haven't changed the computer settings then you are traveling farther than your odometer is showing. What gears are you running in your truck?

 

FYI, when you run larger tires, your in-town mileage suffers due to less torque at takeoff. Stop and go driving always reduces fuel mileage.

 

You need to hook it to a real load for a few hundred miles to get it broken in. Your boat, 3500 lbs, is nothing for your truck, it does not even know it is back there. I recomend trying to find a heavy load, 10k or more and haul it around for a while in city and highway. I know that when I hook to a trailer for a few miles my mileage always gets better after giving her a good workout.

 

Jason,

Can you go to chat?

 

I've never gone to chat. Do you just click on DTR Chat at the top?

 

yes and register with a username name and password. Alot quicker..

 

06 Diesel,
Thanks I'll try that. The boat is the only thing she has towed.

 

If memory serves me correctly, I was getting 14 with the stock tires....but that was with very low mileage on her. I knew the bigger tires would bring it down some, but with not reaching the break-in period yet, I thought it would only improve over time.