Need More Fuel Milage Not More Power

[Grizzly]

Need More Milage Not More Power I bought a new 2006, 2500, Quad Cab, Long Bed In Dec 2005. Overall performance is satisfactory and fuel milage is 14-16 MPG Range. Considering Chips or Programers (But Don't Who Is Best For My Application), Air Filters and Intakes (Lottsa Hipe In The Magazines), Maybe Exhaust (Lottsa Hype And $ Here Too and Don't Want A Loud Truck). Don't want to spend Mega dollars. Must be totally reliable and reasonable modifications. What Do You Recommend??

The mileage you already getting is not bad for only having relatively few miles on the clock. It will get better as it breaks-in. Don't forget, you have a near 7K vehicle there. Drive slower and easier starts.

 

[FJfonda]

Need More Milage Not More Power I bought a new 2006, 2500, Quad Cab, Long Bed In Dec 2005. Overall performance is satisfactory and fuel milage is 14-16 MPG Range. Considering Chips or Programers (But Don't Who Is Best For My Application), Air Filters and Intakes (Lottsa Hipe In The Magazines), Maybe Exhaust (Lottsa Hype And $ Here Too and Don't Want A Loud Truck). Don't want to spend Mega dollars. Must be totally reliable and reasonable modifications. What Do You Recommend??

MAtkinson,

At 31,000 miles, a bunch of it with 12,000 lbs+ behind it and most of it bone stock..... here is my experience:

- "Unloaded" with a cab high cap and 800 lbs of stuff in the bed I get 14-16

MPG on my 30 mile commute... 5 stoplights/signs and 55-65 mph.

- Highway milage is about the same due to the increased speed. There

is a big difference 75-80 mph vs 65mph.

- The mpg change at 31,000 miles vs the 10,000 mile mark is minimal and

in the "noise" of my changing driving habits.

- Installing a Rokktek (sp?) sensor may have changed the MPG slightly but

I don't see a big difference.

From the latest TDR issue and my experience I have decided to do the following this summer:

Install a VA 3. 2, leave the Rokktek sensor installed, open up the airbox for more air, remove the air tube restrictions, and probably just as important, drive like I can afford diesel fuel or beer ... not both.

What do I expect to get? My goal is 16-18 mpg unloaded - and I would like to move my towing mpg's from 8 to 10.

 

[TowPro]

My milage SUCKS! Oh, I've also got 18K on the truck and I towed a 9,000 camper last summer. So, I'm thinking break in is over and this is as good as it gets.

With my 02 the mileage did not get "better" until around the 25K mark. Now out of those 25Kmiles I would say 10K miles was towing an 11K 5th wheel. It really does take some time for these things to loosen up.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Milage

I used my 2004. 5 with TST for almost 2 years and loved it. One thing is for sure, the TST is a fine package but expensive. I now have a 2006 3500 and plan to install a Quadzilla XZT. My experience is you add 50-60 horses to the CTD you get all the power you can use. Any more horses is wasted if you are looking for economy. It took 6k miles for my 2004. 5 to get the best milage.

 

[Diesel Power]

the best thing you can do instead of more power, is to start with the basics. use good quality synthetic oil, they have the lowest coefficient of friction avalible. which relates to less fuel needed to push your vehicle. your tires are another one, do you have an aggressive tread. ? if you do your losing fuel economy. make sure your running high air pressure equal on all tires. make sure all fluid levels are right!!! to much is just as bad as not enough. lift kits will decrease fuel economy, so will bigger tires, its harder for the engine to turn those wheels. use cruise controll---it works. my milage before this was 17mpg. after this and a few mods w/cruise at 60mph is now 23+ mpg depending on how the temps are and traffic. there are many more things i could tell you but i'd rather just keep it simple!!!!!! :-laf :-laf

good luck guys.

 

[Grieke]

Have you considered the Rokk Tech sensor? I have two and only need one. Do a search. There are lots of posts.

PM me if you are interested.

 

[Burner]

Don't feel too bad. I have an 06' 3500 CC 4X4 that get's a whopping 12. 5 MPG, and that's on the big top. When I'm tootling around town I'll get about 11. 5. I've pulled 18k for break-in and tried every other trick I know of to get better fuel mileage. Heck, I even took secondary roads for 200 miles @ 60 MPH and only managed 14. 4 MPG. I'd say It's probably your computer that's killing the fuel economy, as probably with mine.

... the truck now has 10,500 miles on it.

. . tested twice on the Dyno @ 259 HP, 5 months apart.





When 6. 0 and 6. 6 V-8 Diesel Pick-ups are topping what the good O'le 5. 9 can do... ... something is WRONG, bad wrong.

 

[RMarkey]

Does anybody know if aluminum wheels are that much lighter thatn the steel/chrome clad. With my big tires I've been debating going with new alm wheels to see if I could drop a few pounds, make it a little easier to stop, (and increase my risk of getting my truck noticed/stolen. )

 

[JCBerry]

I installed the AFE cold air intake and torque tube and installed a muffler replacement pipe from Geno's. My truck @ 70 MPH gets 15 MPG with winter mix and a high cap if I drive at 60 it gets 16. 5 - 17 depending on outside temp. Last summer with the cap off and towing a 38' travel trailer 12000 lbs through the mountains of Maine it was getting 12 MPG and empty would get 18 - 19 MPG on the highway . My commute is 26 miles each way, all highway but the first highway has 8 lights and a rotary and usually alot of stop & go traffic.

I saw a 1- 1. 5 gain with the air filter and the lack of muffler helped the EGT's and seems to have helped the mileage too plus the truck sounds sweet with just a CAT in the system. Looking to install a quadzilla next. Good luck slower is better MPG's. By the way my Furd Excursion 7. 3 is only getting 9 MPG and the neighbors Duramax is at 11

 

[jandr]

It seems like people are unhappy with 16 mpg. I have a new '06 and have only run 1 1/2 tanks of fuel through it but with my first fill up (at 300 mi. - not empty and towing 2500lbs 200 mi. of that) I got between 15. 25 and 16. 25 mpg. I couldn't be accurate with that damn filler neck. Which is the only issue I have with the truck so far. With my '01 I can get the fuel right to the cap quickly. I have a friend that has an '03 and he says it can take an extra 15 minutes to "top it off". I believe it. Hence the estimate on where I filled it to when I first picked it up.

However this tank full is running up to 20% higher than the first tank based on tank gauge reading vs. mileage. I'm thinking around 17. 5 to 18 mpg. The overhead is reading 17. 9 (don't trust them though... . always hand calc) I'm happy with that. My '01 does 14 mpg on the low side and 21 mpg on the high. Thats with the stock mushy 47RE transmission. I'm hoping the DTT transmission I'm putting in will help that. This stick definitely does better around town than my auto.

I do drive with a pretty light foot and 5 mph DOES make a lot of difference.

 

[SMaxfield]

Fuel Milage

Every change made to the cummins motor since introduced in 1989 has been driven by meeting ever changing emission requirements. :-{} To meet emissions means a more complete burn of the fuel , not the most efficent. The best overall in MPG dodge in My opinin is My 93 CTD 2 wheel drive with the 5 speed and 3. 5 gears. empty @ 80 mph 20 mpg is not uncommon, pulling a 4 horse trailer @ 75 mph 17 MPG and 50 foot goosneck trailer @ 75mph 14. 5 mpg , My 98 Quad cab 12 valve 4x4 5 speed gets about 15% less fuel economy across the board. I debated along time as to the 03 and the 04. 5 and Bought an 04. 5 325/600 quad cab dually 4x4 NV 5600 6 speed. The fuel milalge has been a real dissapointment. I have seen under 8 mpg and to begin with never over 14mpg empty. I have done the Air intake the Exhaust . Aero Turbine , Rocktec , Edge with Attitude , Etc trying to improve fuel economy. The only substantial diffrence that I have found is speed. On a controlled test @ 65 Mph over 100 Miles @ 15,984 Gross with the 50 ft trailer empty I averaged 17 Mpg versus 18 Mpg with the 93 , However @ over 70 MPH the fuel econmy of the new trucks drop exponentially. I believe it has to do with the 3 fire events and to meet epa. I also have a Crew Cab Club cab Ford built on a dodge chassi that I have had all engine and transmission combos in, First generation 12 Vavle, Second Generation 12 Valve, Third generation HPCR, Auto , 5 speed , 6 speed, alternative fuels etc. I recently had a first generation 12 valve in it with propane , 5 speed with us dual range OD and 3. 5 gears... The truck is 9' Tall and 24 ' long and 8500lbs empty. With that set up the best empty was 20mpg with propane and 14 mpg with towing 50 ft trailer 29K Gross... ..... I just installed an 03 commonrail 305 motor and 6 speed NV 5600 tannsmission 315 tires and 3. 5 gears gives me 2050 Rpm @ 79 Mph... . I have made two 300 mile test runs ..... 1 rst towing 5 K Trailer @ 80 MPH 20 Mpg... ... . Second empty to SLC 207 miles 7. 2 Gallons Diesel "Winter blend" @ average 79. 5 MPH 28. 75 mpg :--) - Propane... . I run an 80 Gallon propane tank so It will be a while to see how much propane I burned. I have run 100K plus miles with propane with the 12 valves and unloaded was unable to burn no more than 10% loaded heavy no more than 30%... ... . So far I AM :-laf Very please with the results... . I believe the new trucks are two low geared and the prefire post fire events are taking their toll on fuel economy... . I also was nervous about running propane on the commmon rail due to the prefire event. But my initial impression is that it is more effiecent on the commonrail probably due to the injection pressures. To increase fuel economy on the 04. 5 and newer HPCR motors Drive slower or Change gear ratios , Increase timing ,stop the other injection events and add a catalyst. #ad
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[SMaxfield]

Pic of Frodge

#ad




Here is a picture of the Beast



Steve :--)

 

[Grizzly]

Need More Milage Not More Power I bought a new 2006, 2500, Quad Cab, Long Bed In Dec 2005. Overall performance is satisfactory and fuel milage is 14-16 MPG Range. Considering Chips or Programers (But Don't Who Is Best For My Application), Air Filters and Intakes (Lottsa Hipe In The Magazines), Maybe Exhaust (Lottsa Hype And $ Here Too and Don't Want A Loud Truck). Don't want to spend Mega dollars. Must be totally reliable and reasonable modifications. What Do You Recommend??

Best way to increase your fuel mileage is lie about it. That's what ford owners do.

 

[Burner]

I don't care who ya are... . that's funny right there. :-laf

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

One surefire way to get poor mileage is to drive like a grandma all the time. The Cummins needs run hard regularly, by taking an extended highway drive at 70-75, up a long grade, towing, etc. at least 1 trip out of 5-10 (a quick hard burst of acceleration once in awhile doesn't cut it). Otherwise the "crud" & soot builds up and efficiency drops because you're using an engine for light commuting that's designed to work.



Vaughn

 

[ttreibel]

One surefire way to get poor mileage is to drive like a grandma all the time. The Cummins needs run hard regularly, by taking an extended highway drive at 70-75, up a long grade, towing, etc. at least 1 trip out of 5-10 (a quick hard burst of acceleration once in awhile doesn't cut it). Otherwise the "crud" & soot builds up and efficiency drops because you're using an engine for light commuting that's designed to work.



Vaughn

Vaughn may be on to something there. I seem to only use the truck for hauling and towing most of the time and get between 13-17 mpg. When I run it empty I seem to get 20-21MPG. However I do have an Edge EZ installed running level 3 (2 years now) and found that really helped the mileage and power curve. I think my drilling out the stock airbox gave me about 1 MPG empty, however I did several mods close together and it is always tuff to tell which one did what.

 

[DPKetchum]

Well my AFE STAGE 1 did nothing for mileage. The exhaust change did a instant 1 mpg easily. The Rokktech did a instant 1 + or - easily. Did each one at differant times,maybe differant years,lol.

 

[RIDGERACING]

1st tank 14. 1,last three were spot on at 16-16. 1

I have a cat. delete pipe awaiting install and then after a few tanks I want to try the ton ring mod. I will keep it posted

 

[steved]

04. 5... 20-21mpg on the highway... see sig.



The FASS and Rocktech sensor were the best mods for the $$$... between the two, winterized fuel no longer affects my mileage. Winterized fuel caused about a 3mpg drop, not any more. You will most likely see better mpg in the summer.



I am also running with no cat and a straight through exhaust. I have an Amsoil oiled-foam filter and swisscheesed airbox in the front.



Depending on how cold it is where you are, cold temps (below freezing) also affect my mileage... a set of winter fronts cured that.



The rocktech sensor advances timing slightly (like the performance boxes do) to get mpg... mine netted a good solid 1 mpg, but some people see nothing. You can also modify the timing tone ring under the harmonic damper and get the same results... cheaper.



Driving under 2k RPMs really helps.



And 15k for break in??? Try closer to 50k... mine is finally really breaking in at around 70k... I can see the trend in my fuel mileage (every drop recorded!). My 99 took 50k and towing a heavy trailer at 50k to break in completely. This one is finally loosening up a little at 70k.



I was under the same quest as you... more mpg, without increasing power significantly. My next mod, dynatrac hubs (DYNATRAC CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS BTW), should hopefully be on this weekend for even more mpg. After that, long term attempts at even more will most likely be when the Detroit Locker comes out later this year then I will try to find a set of 3. 42s or 3. 55s to load in the front and rear diffs.



steved