04.5 M.p.g.

[OHale]

MVaden,



Thank you for the reply! Some other writers on another thread mentioned taking off their cat and putting an aftermarket muffler on the 600, so I was curious if that made any difference in their mileage. If it makes a big difference at least we know what is making the mileage difference. If it has no effect, that is good info too.



My '95 oddly came with a converter and when it clogged up at about 100k miles I took it of and it was like a new engine. I'm a law-abiding guy but I lost no sleep over that.



My shop manager here has an Edge on his diesel and his philosophy is that if your mod couldn't/didn't contribute to a mechanical problem they don't void the warranty. That having been said, I still wouldn't drop my cat until the engine was out of warranty, maybe not even then.



Take care

 

[MVaden]

Here is the contact info for you guys that are interested in contacting DC or Cummins.



http://cummins.com/na/pages/en/products/trucks/questions.cfm

or 1-800-343-7357 for Cummins cust. service.



http://www.dodge.com/wccsapp/univer...null&category=U

or 1-800-992-1997 for Dodge cust. service.

 

[wyosteve]

Fwiw, just hand calc. on my first 354 mi. and come up with 16. 47. I'm satisfied.

 

[MVaden]

wyosteve, thats great, you are one of the lucky 04. 5 owners.



Was that hwy miles, city miles or a combination?

 

[HOCummins04]

Originally posted by wyosteve

Fwiw, just hand calc. on my first 354 mi. and come up with 16. 47. I'm satisfied.

Noticed you have 315BFGs - if they would alter your speedo readings have you had it adjusted?



Also, have you been driving it like you stole it, just taking it easy, or going slow and easy the first few hundred miles?

 

[OHale]

wyosteve,



I would be happy with that too. I get 16 with my 95 12-valve in mixed driving with winter fuel and 140 less hp! Mileage seems to run from one extreme to the other on the 600. As with most things I suspect a lot of owners who are happy with the mileage aren't as motivated to post as those with a serious problem.



My truck is slated to be built in about two weeks (or so they say. ) I'll bet there is a correlation between build date and the worst mileage reports we are seeing.



Something I'll be doing is changing my fuel filter at about 3,000 miles. I noticed some posteres reporting a lot of gunk at their first filter change, presumably from junk in the tank.



BTW the Insight guy I spoke to last week said the 4500 is definitely going to be manufactured and he said there will be a 6. 0 liter Cummins in the future. Maybe he was just pulling my chain but that's what he said.

 

[wyosteve]

Yes, I did compensate for the 315's. They make about a 9% difference in speed and miles. So I added 9% miles before calculating. The driving was just my normal with a few kicks to see what the truck would do. 35% interstate 65-75, 35% 2 lane 45-65 and 30% town.

 

[HOCummins04]

First Fillup

302 miles, 19. 132 gallons, hand calculated at 15. 785 MPG. I filled it up and the fuel clicked off, and I did that two more times, just barely flowing fuel the last 2 times to minimize foaming.



Driving was half around town, half highway. Have been easy on go pedal, and never WOT. On highway, other than a couple times running at 70MPH (speed limit) for a couple seconds to just see what it sounded like, never ran over 1800 RPM. Don't know if winter or summer fuel - dealer filled up for me before I picked it up last Friday.



I don't know how this compares to my 01. I bought it used with 12,000 miles. So, I have never "awakened" a new Cummins before. So far, I have resisted the urge to see how much power it has - but it is getting harder



2004. 5 2500 600 6spd 4X4 Quad cab, long bed, 3. 73 rear end

 

[CAgnoli]

I just put a Tonneua cover on my truck one week ago, I got 17. 6mpg on the highway without the tonneua cover, and surpise, I got 17. 6mpg with the tonneau. I guess increased aerodynamics aren't the ticket for this torque monster.



Still, pretty happy though. Smoked a Ford Explorer full of kids last night from a stop light, even let off so they could catch up, then got back in it. FUN!!!

 

[majora]

Things are improving. Last tank was 18. 2 of mixed city, country. Each tank full has been showing an improvement. Next week will be the big test. Towing 10. 8K for a while. We will see what happens then. May have to watch EGTs in this truck as they run a little higher than the old one. Will check in with the results later.



Cheers

Gordon