# Improved Mileage on Hemi ?????



## GreatWhiteNorth (Oct 14, 2007)

Just wondering if anyone has first hand knowledge of what might improve fuel economy on a 2004 2500 hemi. Love the power but hate the mileage. Thanks.


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## bltp203 (Nov 5, 2006)

I gained 3 mpg with an cold air intake, exhaust, and programmer.


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## CarCrazed4Life (Dec 5, 2005)

If you had 265/70/17s or 275/70/17s, you can switch to 245/75/17 Load E tire. Less Rolling Resistance and more Load Capacity equals better mileage. If you have the 275/60/20s, sell the package for a swap with the 17s and you'll get some money in your pocket.

The Cold Air Intake, Air Intake Throttle Body Spacer, Exhaust, and Programmer work well. Bed Covers help too. The programmers now that allow Regular Gas instead of Mid-Grade won't save you much MPG, but will cost less to run the cheaper gas.

Lastly, take all the crap out of your truck you dont need. I had jumper cables, tow chains, 7 salt bags, tailgate salter with 5 more bags in it, shovels, etc. I don't need them whens theres snow out, yet they've been in the bed/truck for sometime. Clear it out, weight saves gas. Roughly every 11#s you save is 1 less HP you need. Save 200#s equated to 2.4MPG for me.


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

CarCrazed4Life;737801 said:


> If you had 265/70/17s or 275/70/17s, you can switch to 245/75/17 Load E tire. Less Rolling Resistance and more Load Capacity equals better mileage. If you have the 275/60/20s, sell the package for a swap with the 17s and you'll get some money in your pocket.
> 
> The Cold Air Intake, Air Intake Throttle Body Spacer, Exhaust, and Programmer work well. Bed Covers help too. The programmers now that allow Regular Gas instead of Mid-Grade won't save you much MPG, but will cost less to run the cheaper gas.
> 
> Lastly, take all the crap out of your truck you dont need. I had jumper cables, tow chains, 7 salt bags, tailgate salter with 5 more bags in it, shovels, etc. I don't need them whens theres snow out, yet they've been in the bed/truck for sometime. Clear it out, weight saves gas. Roughly every 11#s you save is 1 less HP you need. Save 200#s equated to 2.4MPG for me.


LOL 200# = 2.4 MPG ok.

And if you run tires that small your mpg will suffer at higher speeds.

Also, if you really wanna increase the mileage, swap in a Cummins. LOL jk don't get all bent out of shape.


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## CarCrazed4Life (Dec 5, 2005)

You laught, but when you have 200#s of stuff you dont need, your truck is working extra for no reason... Maybe my dakota is more affected by weight then your rams, but it is what I've seen.

And 245/75/17s are the same overall diamater as the 265/70/17s.... so how will your mpg suffer at higher speed? they aren't smaller but skinnier, which means you have less rolling resistance. Go For Load E Tires, and you've actually inreased Load Capabilities froma Tire's perspective. That coupled with the fact if you plow, you want skinnier tires anyways, and you'll see why many go from wider to skinnier while maintaining the same diameter.


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

The 245/75/17/ is slightly shorter than a 265/70/17 in most cases. And, that is such a small tire to be putting on a 2500 Ram. It will look dumb and the guy won't like it.


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## DocJohnson (Dec 17, 2008)

Just wondering what you are getting for mileage. I have been getting between 13-14 mpg around town with my '05.


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## stangman35 (Feb 9, 2007)

DocJohnson;738104 said:


> Just wondering what you are getting for mileage. I have been getting between 13-14 mpg around town with my '05.


Thats about the norm,Iv owned a couple hemi's 19mpg is as high as iv got on a long trip.12 to 14 is about as good as they get in town.


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## DocJohnson (Dec 17, 2008)

stangman35;738259 said:


> Thats about the norm,Iv owned a couple hemi's 19mpg is as high as iv got on a long trip.12 to 14 is about as good as they get in town.


Yup, I took mine to IL in the fall and got 17 mpg avg on the highway. Not bad for a big truck.


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## GreatWhiteNorth (Oct 14, 2007)

DocJohnson;738104 said:


> Just wondering what you are getting for mileage. I have been getting between 13-14 mpg around town with my '05.


14mpg is the average. I was very impressed with the cummins. As far as the big 3 go, I think the cummins is the nicest sounding diesel. Load restrictions around here would not alow the diesel though. Even my 7'6" boss straight blade would have put me over weight on the front axle if I had 2 shovelers in the cab. Gotta say though, the hemi has great power. The $10 000.00 I saved between diesel and gas will buy alot of fuel. At least that is what I try and convince myself of.


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## DocJohnson (Dec 17, 2008)

Yeah, the Hemi does have a ton of power and I am happy with the mileage i am getting. My last truck was a F150 with the 4.6 in it and I got worse mileage with that truck than this one. I just don't pull anything big enough or often enough to justify buying the diesel.


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## hotshotgoal30 (Dec 29, 2008)

hemi and good gas mileage dont go together. lol but i averaged 14 before i put 35's on it. now im around 12.5 give or take


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## Fife Lawn&Lane (Jan 20, 2009)

Make sure you keep the fluids changed regularly and use 5w20 oil that is recommended. I can tell by my fuel mileage that its time for an oil change. Cruise control use helps greatly as well.


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## dirt digger (Feb 27, 2005)

if it makes you feel better i am getting 13mpg in my 2006 Cummins...and paying $1 more per gallon


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## GreatWhiteNorth (Oct 14, 2007)

dirt digger;741011 said:


> if it makes you feel better i am getting 13mpg in my 2006 Cummins...and paying $1 more per gallon


I thought the diesels were supposed to get better mileage. Is that normal for the diesel?


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## stangman35 (Feb 9, 2007)

I got 21mpg on the 06 cummins I had.


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## BigDave12768 (Nov 17, 2006)

dirt digger;741011 said:


> if it makes you feel better i am getting 13mpg in my 2006 Cummins...and paying $1 more per gallon


Clean your MAP/IAT it should bring you mileage back up. Also keep in mind that Winter Diesel you lose 1-2mpg but you should still be at 16 on Average. Link below explains cleaning and replacements

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/sensors/IAT/clean.htm


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## dirt digger (Feb 27, 2005)

its only got 16,000 miles on it...nothing should need cleaned yet

theres an air intake, and air intake manifold, and superchip flashpaq tuner in the near future for this truck..that should boost it a good bit


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## augerandblade (Jan 17, 2009)

Anyone consider the cost of the after market products .Are you money ahead when you take a stock truck and "improve"it


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

Don't get a throttle body spacer, its a paper weight in these engines. My friend put the Hypertech Econ programmer on his truck along with a CAI and Cat back exhaust and he has picked up 2-3mpg on average and he has a heavy foot. The Hypertech ECON programmer helped a bunch as it locks up the converter much sooner and changes the shift points.


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## BigDave12768 (Nov 17, 2006)

dirt digger;742682 said:


> its only got 16,000 miles on it...nothing should need cleaned yet
> 
> theres an air intake, and air intake manifold, and superchip flashpaq tuner in the near future for this truck..that should boost it a good bit


Your right it shouldnt. But if you read the link I posted the one they show only has 20k on it. And if you read the diesel boards its a bit of a common issue. looks like 5 mins worth of work for possibly better fuel mileage, Not sure what Hp boost you are looking for. I have runn some of the big players in the game, Edge, Triple Dog, Quadzilla. I started out with the Quadzilla and after running the others I found myself back to it. One of the main reason is fuel mileage, They all claim MPG gains but Quadzilla was the only one I really saw it on. I got the 65hp box. I can also adjust via the internet to be the MAX mileage or Smoke setting. So if you not looking for crazy and dont wantt to throw 2 grand into your tranny(TC upgrade and VB) to hold up to 500hp. I recomend the Quadzilla. Plus some of the programmers are detectable. The Quad can be pulled off so fast. JMO. I am sure JDiesprta will have other thoughts on HP boosts. But these are my personal findings and all trucks are different when it comes to mods. Some do better in MPG than others


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## BigDave12768 (Nov 17, 2006)

augerandblade;742710 said:


> Anyone consider the cost of the after market products .Are you money ahead when you take a stock truck and "improve"it


No not on a hemi really



plowguy43;742819 said:


> Don't get a throttle body spacer, its a paper weight in these engines. My friend put the Hypertech Econ programmer on his truck along with a CAI and Cat back exhaust and he has picked up 2-3mpg on average and he has a heavy foot. The Hypertech ECON programmer helped a bunch as it locks up the converter much sooner and changes the shift points.


You know the one thing you have to consider is driving habits. My truck which does consitant 16.5mpg becuase of my driving habits and lack of highway driving. But I tested it one day. And it was torture to do. I drove to the Casino 180 miles round trip. I set the Cruise control on 63mph and got 19.8 mpg. Now I have driven to the casino numerous times at 75-80mph and still got 16.5. So if you can keep your foot out of it. Most trucks can get better fuel mileage. but when you get into performance mods. 99% of the time it means you dont like to drive slow


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## augerandblade (Jan 17, 2009)

tymusicI have a 2008 Dodge 2500 HD with a 5.7hemi. I haul trailer with it at times into Northern oNTARIO. I also use a 2000Chev 3500 with a 6.5 Diesel. Both trucks are manual Dodge is 6 speed and Chev is a 5 speed. Differential ratios Dodge 4.10 C hev 4.62 . My dodge and chev get the same fuel mileage ,sorry for the metric but it works out to 3.83 Kilometres to 1 Litre of fuel. Try as I might I cant get better fuel mileage than that. Its like trucking through the hills of Pennsylvania. When your working up the hills, the fuel mileage just go down.


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## dirt digger (Feb 27, 2005)

no im not looking for anything huge...the economy/towing mode is what it will be set at..my warranty runs out in 3 months so i am not going to do any of these upgrades until then...i will try the sensor cleaning next time i get home from school and am at the shop where i have all my tools


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## jomofo (Apr 26, 2008)

Nothing helps my milage like driving downhill - would recommend it to anyone!


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## Fife Lawn&Lane (Jan 20, 2009)

for around town driving I get a bit better mileage using the tow haul mode.


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