Ok, finally got to put some miles on it. Little info on what kind of driving. 72 miles of around town empty and lots of idle time, 30 miles of arounf town w/1600 lbs in bed a little more idle time, 169 miles of highway, cruise set at 72 w/ 1600 lbs in bed, then 146.5 of highway cruise at 70 empty. Miles on truck at fill up 7,552. Miles on tank of fuel 418.5, gallons to fill 29.238, and I mean fill, not go till it clicks then round to nearest $, how I always do it, = 14.31 mpg. Now, what the computer says, 13.9 mpg, 59 DTE, 418.5 trip, took 9 hours 39 minutes, should indicate how much idle time I really had since it lowers my avg. speed down to 43.36 mph. Anyway, filled up again drove home, computer says, 14.7, cruise at 70 mph for 170 miles stopping once letting it idle for roughly 5 min, but never shutting down. Overall it is a little better, about .5 mpg. I think the biggest benefit will be when I put a muffler or system on there. Was it still worth my time, yes. The little increase in throttle response and power, and little louder exhaust made me happy, as far as the mileage goes, since this I am rarely empty for more than a few miles around town. I will have to do a little more testing, I still say about a .5 mpg increase, maybe more. Need to hook the trailer up and drive 400 miles then see

 

Thanks. Thats the info I was looking for. For me it is not realy worth the hastle for only .5 mpg. I hope it comes up some with a few miles on the truck. I havent even filled it the second time yet. This weekend I am going on a short trip empty we will see if it comes up on the hiway.

 

ok, new update. Haven't refilled yet, but put another hundred miles on the truck today making the same drive I always do to the shop then to town and so forth. Anyway, the computer never goes over 14.1 usually stays in high 13's, before cat romoval. I parked the truck today with it reading 15.9 . 283 miles on the tank and still over half full, usually it is same distance, the needle, under half by now. Stop n go driving while in town then set cruise at 60, speed limit 55, while heading to shop and to town. Wish I could get it to stay this high at 70 mph. Oh yeah, I know a lot of people hate the computer, but until this last tank it was usually only off a tenth or two and it was always lower than hand calculated

 

Sounds like good news! Let us know what the hand calc comes to when you fillerup!

 

will do, but if it keeps it up hopefully it will be awhile

 

Thanks for the up date.

 

I have removed the cat and tried straight pipe, afe air filter, homemade torque tube, and currently have a flo pro twister muffler as the only thing inline. I have seen no measurable improvements in mileage....and I am very ticked about the mileage I am getting.... so I take it as easy as possible ( in other words it won't get any better mileage than it gets for me). I noticed a SOP difference in putting the flo pro twister on after driving for several days with straight pipe...it has a little more get up and go with the twister muffler.

The best increase in mileage I saw was running the air pressure at 75# instead of the 45# that it came with but I don't know If my tires are gonna wear faster.

 

I dont know dwhite. I remember seeing your post when you first got your truck and my milelage was not that bad. In fact the worst I have gotten is 12.2 towing 8K lbs. Maybe it's the 6 spd since we both have nearly identical trucks. your tires should be fine I ran mine ast 80 in the rear and 65 in the front on my 2002 Chevy, rotated evry 7500 miles and they wore just fine, got little over 50K and smoked them a few times, yes a Chevy does have enough power to smoke the tires. Right now I run 65 in the front and whatever factory set the rears at. I am rotating them today and I am going to set all 6 to 65. How many miles do you have now? I have a little over 7,800 now. I have driven the same route quite a few times, but the truth will be when i fill up. We'll see. I am definitely not trying to talk my truck up either as far as mileage goes, I am just as mad as everyone, but i really have seen a noticeable increase in Mileage. Hopefully yours incerases some. Oh yeah, what kind of mileage are you seeing.

 

Muddobber40, I have a little over 5000 miles and the best I have gotten is 14.7mpg on the Interstate for 400 miles round trip keeping it below 70mph...my average on my daily 75 mile round trip to work is about 13 to 13.7mpg...(hand calculated - full tank to the neck-driving very easily) My overhead always seems to be a little lower about .5mpg but on my best tank it was right on. If I drove normal (not like a granny) my mileage falls thru the floor...all the way down into the 11's...can't afford to do that too much....but I did not buy this truck to be passed by everybody on the road either. In another post I mentioned that a guy I know has a 555 in the same truck that we have (his is an auto) and he gets 17+.

 

Hmmmm..sounds a lot like my truck pre cat gutting except for the best of 14.7 My best was that 14.3, but it had a lot of idle time and all long highway trips I am usually loaded and with just the trailer behind it I get high 13's at 70mph. Mine drops considerably too at higher speeds. The reason I bought this is probably the same reason as you, friends with these similar style trucks, except 2003's, getting 17-19 empty and 15 loaded. I am going to update as much as possible on mileage, but as far as pullig anything it muight be awhile.

 

Awsome. I will definatly keep an eye on this thread. I drive 99.99% empty. The best I have seen hold for any time is 16. That was pushing the reset after roling at speed and no stops. It only held there for a few miles then droped to normal. I parked it tonight with 12.9 or something close to that showing .

 

dwhite and muddobber40 , I had the missing problem that was not corrected by the reflash. I actually lemoned the truck , but on their final (5th) attempt , a Chrysler tech. eng. ordered 6 new injectors. Before new injectors I was about the same mpg. as you . I reset comp. when I left service and mpg. has increased 3-3.5 mpg. . I am now getting 16.5 around town and 19.5 all interstate(70mph.) not towing. I have 2800 miles on the truck. I am not saying you have bad injectors , just my .02 worth.

 

Definitely something to look into. My truck has run perfect since I got it, but something needs to be done. what are the specs on your truck? 2wd, 4wd, LB, SB, DRW, SRW, 6 spd. Oh yeah, I emailed DC and this was their reply.

Dear Brian,

Thank you for your email to DaimlerChrysler regarding the fuel economy
concerns with your 2004 Dodge Ram.

Fuel usage estimates are obtained by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency during their emissions certification testing. Each vehicle is
tested by professional drivers under precisely controlled laboratory
conditions.

The mileage figures obtained by the Environmental Protection Agency
should be considered as estimates to be used only for comparison
purposes. The actual mileage you can expect depends on the individual
driving habits of the person using the vehicle, the conditions under
which it is driven, and the vehicle's mechanical condition.

If, after considering all of the factors involved, you still feel that
your vehicle is not operating to its full potential, we suggest you
arrange for your local authorized dealer to perform a detailed check of
your vehicle. They can also discuss any questions you have regarding
the
engine and it's towing capacity.

Thank you for writing.

 

Nice form letter its not worth talking to those people you have to get into the management structure of DC to get anything meaningfull thats what I did when they screwed up my order and delivery on my truck and things got done quite a bit faster.

 

Muddobber40 , I have 04.5 600 ,4wd. ,swb. , quad. ,6spd. , 373. I have not taken the time to figure out how to add info. to posts yet ( NEW BABY!!!!).