4 things I can do to improve mpg on 600

[Huntercrg]

I would like some feed back ideas on 4 changes or improvements I can make on my new 600 to improve mpg. Everyone is saying give it 5000 or 10000 miles and it will improve. I`m getting 11 to 14mpg now and would like to get close to 18 to 22, is that going to happen after 10000? I don`t think so. With the prices of fuel going up I would like to see some improvement asap. All and any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks alot in advance Hunter

 

[GregTaylor]

i changed my oil @ 4k to synthetic maybe that was a bit early for the engine to break in but you will get slightly better D milage. also if you stop driving like you have a new camaro you would be amazed at the milage possible. try to stay in overdrive and keep the rpm below 2000. infact i can get 24 mpg on the onboard cpu driving from thousand oaks to santamonica and back. thats including at least one 1,500 foot pass. not to mention traffic albeit light traffic. i did notice a 3 to 4 mpg change from new to 20k... don't forget you can burn b-20 thats a biodiesel it is 20% soybean oil. this maylower you mpg slightly but it can be less volitile in price. when desel is at the 3 dollar a gal it make sencs to burn 100% biodiesel. just need to change out your fuel filter on your first run. the fuel seems to clean out the fuel system... oh DC probably wont honor your waranty if you use 100% biodiesel. but then do they rreally have to know... .

 

[RobbieH]

Put miles on it, on regular dead dinos.



I've found the best way to get great mileage on mine is to leave it parked and drive the Honda Civic Hybrid we also own when I don't need a truck.

 

[ceaman]

I have 15,000 miles on my 600 and no increase in mileage yet... getting ready to go to synthetic... ... If i havent gotten the truck bought back by then. im having a ton of problems out of mine... .

besides being ****** that the 03 truck got 22mpg and my best from this 04 truck is 12mpg.

 

[RobbieH]

About the best I do on my truck is 20. 2, which is what I'm averaging right now. That's combined city/highway. HO 6 speed '03 quad cab longbed. I guess if I drove 60 mph highway only I could get 22.



I still think 20 mpg in something that BIG and HEAVY is remarkable.

 

[klenger]

1) Make sure the TSB reflash is done. It might not help the milage, but it won't hurt.



2) Pull some serious weight and drive it like a rental to break it in.



3) Drive it like a retiree from AZ when empty to check the milage.



4) Synthetic oil, but not till it's broke in better. You'll know when that is.



5) Get one of those chrome exhaust pipe tips. I've heard there good for 5%. Some of those fancy spark plug wires from JC Whitney should help too.



Expecting 18 MPG with a 4X4 is reasonable, 22 is not. Don't expect your average to be as good as everyone else's best readings.

 

[thames1948]

I too get lousy milage. Going to try and drop it off at dealer friday for reflash. 11. 1 to 13. 1 empty with about 2000 miles on it. I can only imagine how the mpg's would be if I towed something. I don't understand how DC can go backwards with mpg's with fuel prices the way they are.

 

[rashwor]

You have the EPA

to thank for the decrease in mileage. All emissions related. Might want to gut the cat and get rid of the stopped up muffler for free flowing or no muffler. These won't hurt mileage and may help.

 

[Crunch]

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Back it up a sec...

Originally posted by ceaman

I have 15,000 miles on my 600 and no increase in mileage yet... getting ready to go to synthetic... ... If i havent gotten the truck bought back by then. im having a ton of problems out of mine... .

besides being ****** that the 03 truck got 22mpg and my best from this 04 truck is 12mpg.

Sorry man, but you can't just drop a "gotten the truck bought back" and "ton of problems out of mine" and expect that to slide without comment. You've got an `04 and you're already working on a buy-back--for a ton of problems??? Dude, you're gonna have to spend some time in the chair under the bright light while we interrogate you. What kind of problems are you having with your `04 that would cause you to move to the buy-back option so soon? Are they all truck related? Engine related? Dealer related? Cat related? We gots to know...

 

[thames1948]

I don't think that I should have to gut the cat to find the 5mpg that is missing somewhere. There is plenty of smog motors doing ok on mpg's. I believe that if they knew and I believe they did, they should have informed us so we could make a decision before buying. I also believe that most of us that bought a 600 looked at the mpg's of the earlier motors and NEVER would have thought DC would go backwards on mpg's in the times that we live in with fuel prices going up and won't be comming down anytime soon. That being said, other then that this truck rocks.

 

[Moterhead]

When I picked up my new truck on 12/11, I was kinda bummed out that I had to settle for the lowly HO 555 motor. After reading all the complaining posts about lousy fuel economy, I'm GLAD!!! My 555 gets in the low 20s consistently running 70 -75 empty. Haven't towed with it yet.

 

[R.M.THOMPSON]

Don't do anything rash yet ... ... . If this and I mean IF THIS is a common problem , the tuners at the "box" labs can most surely and probally already have a fix for this... ... . TST on timing only ???,

with some exhaust and intake mods. Look at the take aways,375 hp & 800 ft lbs (in reallity). I definately do not want to strike a cord on the fact that you just purchased a truck for xxxxx dollars and it is giving you substandard performance,BUT , if you were thinking of any performance mods at all ,the end result is closer than us 555 men are and at a more economic start. JMHO



Mark T.

 

[HOCummins04]

Originally posted by RobbieH

Put miles on it, on regular dead dinos.



I've found the best way to get great mileage on mine is to leave it parked and drive the Honda Civic Hybrid we also own when I don't need a truck.

I am sure this is probably a stupid question to some, but I assume by "dead dinos" you mean oil. I have seen dino many times referenced on this site always in the context of oil, but don't know what it means. Someone enlighten me?

 

[RobbieH]

Regular oil. As in dead dinosaurs.

 

[Huntercrg]

Thanks for most of the feed back. I have a 600 not 555 so mileages on 555 don`t mean much to me. I like the idea of no cat and flow through exhaust and other than stock intake. Makes good sense. I like the chrome tip idea and maybe one of those fake hood scoops. How about the tag, have made one fit the 600 yet?Even the dealer wants to know what kind of mileage I`m getting, I think lots of potential buyers are having second thoughts. Thanks again Hunter

 

[djbobo]

I dunno how much is just the '600' issue . Some of the 1st HPCR sucked for MPG.

My 03' started out at 12. 3 - 12. 9 mpg & was getting 16. 3 mpg when I traded it in with 10 k miles. So to here about getting 12-13 mpg when new was normal for me.

That said my 04' with 4k on it is now getting 15. 2 mpg.

I agree with the waiting for a timing only box to come out which should improve most of the mpg lost in the emission tuning. I know it improved my 12 valves fuel economy that were also set for best emissions not economy. I never have figured out how tuning for better mpg is worse on emissions? More fuel burned per mile yet yeilds better emissions---go figure



dj

 

[MVaden]

I called a # listed on another thread about milage problems(1-800-343-7357) and talked to a customer service rep. at Cummins and he told me that Cummins engineers had predicted the drop in fuel milage due to the new emissions setup for the 04. 5. He said that Dodge was informed of this from the start. He also informed me that the Cummins engineers are looking into it to see if there is any way to improve the milage issues.

 

[TFerring]

My '04 just turned 1,000... ... I drive in town alot. I took a drive the other day and was seeing about 15. 5 at 70-75. I noticed if I slowed down the mileage dropped. So I kept the speed up. In town I get around 10-11 mpg. Although I not 100% impressed it's still alot better than my '02 5. 9L... ... and the fact that diesel in St. Louis is about 13 cents cheaper... . I guess I am happy!!

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

All and any ideas would be appreciated.

Trade it in on a 555 :-laf

 

[dseabaugh]

Best thing you can do to get more milage is lighten the load. Take off the bumpers, fenders, bed, spare tire, carpet, passenger seat , overloads, shocks, muffler, visors, radio, jack, trailer hitch. aught to be good for another 3-4 mpg. Oo.