Wanting better mpg!

[CHSmith]

I've only got 2000 miles on my 2013 2500 4x4 and getting 12.8 mpg. This is my first diesel and I thought I would be getting better mpgs. Any suggestions? Bully dog gt? Def model, ram active air.

 

[SnoKing]

Is it a non DEF model. If so it will only get slightly better!

Chris

 

[Bug Out]

At 2000 miles I was still getting sucky mileage. Do some towing with it and or around 6K you should start seeing better mileage.

 

[kvtcomdo]

I've only got 2000 miles on my 2013 2500 4x4 and getting 12.8 mpg. This is my first diesel and I thought I would be getting better mpgs. Any suggestions? Bully dog gt? Def model, ram active air.

Don't know where to start.

So many issues affecting MPG.

Had a 2004.5 5.9 Cummins. With mix of 70/30 highway and city I used to get about 16.5 - 17 MPG.

With my new 2014 2500 with 6.7 Cummins 4X4 I'm getting nearly 19 - 20 MPG with same mix of city and highway.

I do not jackrabbit and I stay within 2-3 miles of the speed limit.

My new truck has about 1700 miles on it.

I'm not towing or carrying any loads but using as a daily driver.

Very happy: how do you drive?

I will say that until I placed a tonneu cover on it my MPG was about 1 mile less.

BTW, is this loaded or unloaded???

 

[bmborum]

I've only got 2000 miles on my 2013 2500 4x4 and getting 12.8 mpg. This is my first diesel and I thought I would be getting better mpgs. Any suggestions? Bully dog gt? Def model, ram active air.

I bought a 2012 3500with 7400 on it from the dealer and the ERIC said 14.6 and it penciled out to about 13.1 so your definitely on target. Driving style is a HUGE factor in the new ones for sure....my only word of advice is to think before you do if you have ANY decent amount of warranty coverage left. If so, feel your dealer out as to how they react to emissions deletes....they're going to give you the book answer 9 times out of 10 BUT if your dealer is decent....they may be willing to work with you.

 

[bmborum]

Excuse my typos. I have fat fingers on this tiny phone

 

[Bug Out]

FYI, I owned a new 2012 3500 and now a 2013 2500. They are night and day as far as MPG goes. 13MPG was a good day with the 2012. The 2013 with DEF, I average per the EVIC 18-19.0 MPG.(subtract 1-MPG for the EVIC) I dont dog the throttle, easy from stops and dont race anyone to the next red light or stop sign.

At 2000 miles, the engine is not even close to loosening up at all, especially if you do not tow any weight. When you get past at least 5K, re check it. It should easily be over 15 on the EVIC by then.

I have 20K on the 2013 now.

My then new 2005 5.9 did not start giving me good mileage till near 20K and having towed a near (GCVWR) capacity trailer across country.

 

[mpaulson]

In my opinion, what you gain, if you gain, from deleting doesn't out weight the loss of the warranty. On the 07.5 I didn't gain anything on mileage, just the expense of being my own warranty station. Not happening again for me. With these new truck being so much like driving your desktop computer around, I wouldn't want to have to foot the bill for fixing it.

 

[SnoKing]

I use the term "Tethered to the Dealers Service Department!" No one it there right mind would own one of these new generation diesels without a warranty. Therefore it is foolish to do anything that would cause a dealer to void your warranty. Chris

 

[Jim W]

I use the term "Tethered to the Dealers Service Department!" No one it there right mind would own one of these new generation diesels without a warranty. Therefore it is foolish to do anything that would cause a dealer to void your warranty. Chris

I have a 08 one of the early 6.7L engines/trucks built by Cummins/Ram. Truck was built in Sept 07 and purchased in Nov 07; my truck has 70,500 miles on it now. I did have three early warranty issues all emission related problems in the first 15,000 miles. After my last issues the truck went over some very very rough railroad tracks and everything fell off. Since then I have been trouble free and have improved fuel mileage and never been back to the dealer until the N62 recall. Which the truck steering did not need to have repaired since it was the old style 3rd gen.. If you have an early 6.7L truck I would consider removing the problem generating hardware and the truck will run and provide improved fuel mileage.

Now if I was to purchase a new 2013.5 and up truck; I would leave it sock since the SCR system has provided improved fuel mileage and less CEL issues since its introduction. This should have been what was released from Cummins at the start of the 6.7L engine series build instead of the EGR system/ Nox filter/DPF that was used.

I understand why it was not because of the indecision of the EPA concerning UREA when these engines were first conceived but the SCR system is the proper way to help eliminate diesel emission.

Jim W.

 

[slingshot383]

You can wrap the exhaust pipe from the turbo to the DPF chamber to help retain exhaust heat which will lesson the numbers of regens. You can also get a MADDS Smarty Jr. that works with all the stock systems. Not as good as deletes, but your not removing anything from the truck.

 

[Texas Bohunk]

I have the same truck with the 6 speed automatic and 3.42 gears. At 11k miles I'm getting between 17 and 19 hand calculated at 70mph. However I just got back from a 350 mile trip towing my 8500lb. travel trailer and mileage dropped to 8.3 at 70mph.

Slingshot383 I can not find any manufacture that list programers for 2013 2500 with 6.7

 

[Liecha]

I have only about 20K on my 2012 3500 SRW and I have found that the millage really depends on how and where you drive. I am averaging 15 overall. About 17 to 19 just highway driving (70mph unloaded) and 13 if I am just doing short city hops. I have found that i do much better when I let her open up and get warm. Mostly it sits during the week as I work only about 3mi from home. It barely gets to 130 degrees before I get to work, so I bike or walk instead. Towing 18K I get about 11 or 12. I forget sometimes that all that power has a price. My buddy's 94 2500 with the 5.9 gets 17+ consistantly. I want that truck when he no longer does.

 

[LocoPilot750]

Tank to tank, EVIC shows 16.8 - 17mpg at 3500 miles, normal driving city & hwy on my '14. Pleased with that, should do better on long hwy trips. No doubt it will show less hand calculated.

 

[Big Red 94Ram]

If it makes you feel any better; I get 24mpg during the summer and 18mpg in winter with my 94.

 

[Bob V]

If you Know and understand the new technology they are EASIER to work on. I remember when electronic ignition first came out in the 70s. EVERYONE wanted that "JUNK" off there engine. Like it or not computers are the new way thinks get done. I remember seeing a lot more cars broke down on the side of the road in the 60s and 70s than today. I have a 2011 that I bought used with no warrantee and am not worried a bit. I also get about the same MPG as both my 1997 and my 2005 got. BTW the 2011 is BY FAR the best truck so far.

 

[JLeake]

My 2011 took about 10K miles to show decent mileage, and it is not a DEF model. It does vary significantly, long trips are much better, anything less than 30 minutes is less than 15mpg, 2500 mile trip in a week overall average was 19.9 hand calculated (not loaded).

 

[Fabrat]

I had a 98.5 24V 3500, 5 speed manual that was getting tired, the truck, not the motor. It was a two wheel drive duelly and I really wanted a single rear wheel 4x4. So I went and sold the old 98 last year and bought a 2012 with 20K miles on it, long bed crew cab, automatic. The old truck was getting around 17-18 mpg. The one I have now is getting 14.5 to 15. Bigger motor, 4x4 and auto trans I am not going to complain. Most of my drive is highway, 20 miles to work and back. But I am curious if anybody has experience just running the Smarty Jr. programmer. They claim an increase of up to 25% fuel milage along with less particulate generation resulting in fewer regens and longer DPF life. I'd really like to delete the EGR because the idea of sucking suit back into the intake is just stupid, but I'll wait to do that along with the DPF until the warrenty period is over.

 

[Fabrat]

Unfortunately, I didn't do the research I should have before going truck shopping, or I probably would have got a 2013 with the DEF instead. Didn't realize that the previous year was recycling such a crazy amount of exhaust back through the engine to keep NOx down.

 

[jsffd]

My 2014 2500 has 500 miles, at 70 it is reporting 19-20 with the cruise control set. So I'm happy so far. My 2003 4x4, 2500 crew with so many mods, including the free spin kit would knock down 22 on paper consistently. But it wandered. And was exhausting to drive. Question is? My new truck has the factory front axel disconnect, did the 2013 have that? That's at least 1 mpg improvement...