Believe it or not!!!!!!

[Lifted Mega]

Well ive posted on different occasions regarding my awful mileage. As you can see in my sig i have a lifted truck w/ 35" tires and everything else is stock. I've broken this in as to the manual and only pulled light car trailer and alum horse trailers unloaded. At this time i have 6600 miles on the truck. A week after getting the truck i went on a trip to Oregon (660 miles oneway)running empty and my mileage was 10-11. 5 mpg. I attributed that to being a new truck (90 miles) and it would get better after a month or so. We'll now im at 6600 miles and the truck still gets 10-11. 4 empty. Everything is hand calculated, the overhead reads 1. 5 mpg more than hand calc. Today i pulled my 38ft toybox (9000lbs) through central calif (flat)and up to the foothills and back home. I refilled when i got back and i got a whole 6. 47 mpg#@$%!

This is no lie. I dont know if i should re-flash or ?? I have no check engine or any other issues other than the awful mileage. I know running bigger tires will have an effect but not enough to cause me to get 10-11mpg empty or 6. 47 loaded I going to take it to a dealer local to central calif. but as of now they don't seem real knowlegable on diesel when speaking with them. Anybody have an idea what may be going on with my truck or can recommend a dealer in central calif that is knowledable to fix this? Thanks guys

 

[Mikie12]

Mega; It's going to take some more miles before you start "breaking-in" to see improvement in milage. Mine had about 5k before I started to see improvement. But, that was after pulling a 9k 5er about 750 miles total towing miles over an 18 month period.

I gota say, I gave her the boot during the towing events, and didn't baby her. Blow-by is all but gone, and milage is now in the high teens. And yes it could be better but it's like my Dad says, I got a lead foot.

But you never know, it would not hurt to have the dealer check it out.

Kepp us posted...

 

[Lifted Mega]

What kinda mileage did you get pulling your trailer at 5000 miles? I wonder if everyone has seen there mileage towing like mine?

 

[Mikie12]

She has 8500 now, and the last time I towed I got 11. 76 (if I remember correctly-lots of beer since then) over 260 mile tow, running hard on the grades, 55 to 60 on the flats...

 

[Spooled-up]

That seems pretty low to me. I've got the stock tires on now and I'm getting 18 on the highway unloaded. I've got just over 5000 miles on mine and I'm going to put my 33" tires on as soon as I get some flares. I got about a 1. 5 - 2 mpg decrease with these tires on my '03 and when I had 35's on my '03 I got the same decrease in mileage. 11 mpg makes me think that something's wrong.



Any pics of your truck?

 

[JDrew]

I had problems like that when i first got mine! i took mine in and they flashed it and it fixed it. there is a few flashes for 2006 cummins. one that just came out im pretty sure.



my advice take it in and tell dodge to fix it!!!! they can dont take any bull **** from them!



i get between 18 - 22 mpg on the highway with no load even when my bully dog is unloaded

 

[Lifted Mega]

Thanks guys. I plan on going to a local dealer vs the dealer where i bought it being as i said i think the local guy seems to be much more knowledgable. I don't have any pics yet, hopefully soon. As far as flashing the ECM i heard conflicting results but i guess my mpg couldn't ge any worse or could it? And one other note my truck does not smoke at all it runs smooth and great ,just no mpg.

 

[betterthanstock]

Have you corrected odometer for larger tires? You are actually traveling about 10-11% more, and faster, than your speedo/odo shows.



So if you think you are doing 70, and getting 11. 5 mpg, you are really going 78, and getting 12. 7. Make sense?

 

[Lifted Mega]

Your right I already compensated for that. The mileage figures loaded were running 63mph.

 

[Giachino]

One of the latest 06 flashes adds a considerable amount of timming to improve engine operation as well as mileage... . get the latest flashes and i'll bet you see a good improvement.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Does anybody know the TSB# for this latest flash? I have a freind with an 06 and crap mileage.

Heck, I get the same mileage pulling my 7000+ Lb TT as he gets empty!

 

[gregdoerfler]

I would like to know the tsb also my dad only gets 12 to 13 empty. is there any down side of getting the flash? On both of the trucks i had got the same mpg from new till now.

 

[Giachino]

Just take it to a dealer and complain about mileage and have them check if it has the latest software on it... .

 

[Lifted Mega]

i plan on doing the flash later this week. But first i'm thinking of taking it to the dyno shop to get a base line reading before it goes to the dealer.

 

[Giachino]

i plan on doing the flash later this week. But first i'm thinking of taking it to the dyno shop to get a base line reading before it goes to the dealer.

With the incremental timming, i would hope you'd see a slight improvement, but you never know.

 

[Lifted Mega]

I can understand a slight improvement with the timing but 4-6 mpg increaseThats what i would need just to keep up to other guys figures. I guess i'll just wait and see. I go to the dyno Wed. and the dealer hopefully thursday. I will keep you guys updated. If anyone has any other ideas before i go to the dealer let me know.

 

[Lifted Mega]

take to top

 

[DBusch]

i have an 06 mega SRW 6 speed and get lousy mileage too. seems to me everything after 2004 went to crap. thanx EPA.



i read about the dealer re-flash, but i already have a Smarty on 60hp with added timing, so i cant see more timing from the dealer flash would help.





i get 11. 5 towing at 18500 gross, while my pops 2004 truck gets about 14 towing 26000 gross. my old 2004 got similar mileage to his 2004 as well.



i wish i had the 2004 engine, the G56 transmission, and the mega cab all in one!!!



i wonder if Marco has any plans for SW that removes the 3rd event. I also heard the cam in the later trucks is junk, causing a lot of the mileage problems. Finally, i wonder if the extra 200 rpm at 70 mph from the G56 has anything to do with it???

 

[CBrahs]

my 07 with 37 in tires and 3. 73 gears with the 48re transmission, now have 7800 miles on it and on the freeway get 17. 9-18. 2 and in town get around 13. 5. It was terrible when I first got it but it is getting better the more I drive it. Have not pulled the trailer with it yet but don't see a big problem.

 

[SNoyes]

I have a 2006 Mega cab, G-56, 4. 5 inch lift, 35 inch Toyo M/Ts (just passed 2700 miles). This last summer, running nothing but highway and never going faster than 61 MPH I saw 18 MPG (prior to lift and tires in the summertime). Now I am getting 12 MPG. I have a buddy with a 2004 with a 7 inch lift swinging 37"s, and he is getting 14 MPG. Both are recalculated, and in Alaska we are running Number 1 diesel which is killing us. That being said I have a 2002 powerstroke turned up about 100 HP and it's getting 16 MPG this winter... Seems the new ones are just pigs (oh ya, and those Toyos are 81 pounds a tires, probably adding to my woes. . ) I went for the reflash, they said, ya, ya we'll do it, and they reflashed but no love (or relief) on this thing sucking down the diesel... :{



Shane