05 Cummins Mileage Is Horrible!!!

ruskent

I have a 05 dodge ram 2500 reg cab 4x4 auto work truck package. Truck has 42k on the clock and is all stock.

My mileage has always been horrible since day one. Normally i will get between 13.5-14 around town. When i drove to texas the best i got was 16.5.


Lately, when i have full tanks of towing 100% i am averaging 10.5!!!!!!!

What gives. I am not driving like nascar. Most of my towing and driving in general is in hill country.

Everytime it goes into the dealer for service they reflash it or do whatever they do and tell me not all trucks get the same mileage.



My fuel bills are off the wall. I love the truck but my fuel bills are way high. I got to do something. I am thinking of sell it, but i only owe 9k more on it and its mine. I hate to start over on another truck.

I am thinking of doing a programmer, air filter, and exhust. Any chance these will improve my fuel economy.

RobertCDF

That seems really odd. Most of the time when towing my diesel I only lose 1-2 MPG for towing.

Buddy of mine has an 05 dodge 2500 diesel and just chipped it (and air intake)... He gets 19-20 now when he was getting 12-14. (it took about 2 weeks before he started seeing the increase in mileage)

I get about 14-16 on my diesel. I will chip it someday soon just to save fuel.

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Matt,

Stop in over at turbodieselregister.com.
It's the biggest site for Dodge/Cummins nuts.

Your mileage isn't too far off; it's gotten lower each year as they squeezed more power out of the engines, and aded more environmental controls. Kinda funny, huh- It's "Better" for the environment, but it now runs less efficiently...therefor using more fuel & hurting the environment...

But I digress...

Exhaust and intake are both excellent. They'll help with the power and the milage as the engine will be able to work better.
For the exhaust, look for a company "MBRP" or something like that... my mind is a bit tired. Very good quality & fair price.

For the tuner, there's only one option I would suggest. Look up the Smarty by Mad Electronics. It's got 9 or 10 settings, so you can get the power when you need it for towing, then dial it back down to the fuel saver option for the usual driving...

Last thing- switch to all synthetics. Here I'd go with Amsoil. Better protection, fewer fluid changes, and better mileage.

You've got a great truck with a drive train that should last you for years to come. Treat it well, and remember that the biggest mileage help is how you drive. Treat that skinny pedal like a woman- take your time.

HTH,
~Matt

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BTW, out 01 with 230k miles and several adjusted parts gets between 12 & 24 MPG, that's from a low of plowing and a high of driving 60 on the highway.

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sonny

I have a 7.3 Powerstroke extended cab 2 wheel posi. Around town - 17 mpg - freeway 22 - 25 - tail gate down. I had a Chevy 4x4 6.5 Turbo that was a awesome truck sold it to a Soldier Boy on his way to Iraq. Now that Chevy drive train may have been the best ever!

Your truck should get better mpg.

I've been thinking of doing a cooking oil cross over.

Wonder if anyone has done that & if so is any particular diesel engine better to do the change over with?

house bldr

Mine is an 03 4x4 ext cab, get 14-16 city about 20 highway! I have a chip in it, made a huge difference power wise but as far as fuel efficiency it only made about 1/2 mpg difference. The chip messes with the onboard computer so it looks like you are getting about 5 mpg better but check it the old fashioned way and theres not much difference! I contacted the company that made the chip and they confirmed it is common. When cummins started making the H.O. motors in 03-04 they made the injecters bigger therefore less fuel economy!

RobertCDF

I have the 7.3.... What kind of mods do you have? I get 12-14 maybe 15-16 sometimes... I usually shift around 2k or just a little past... I am not really willing to keep it under 2k just beacuse I like my turbo

I would love to get 17 in town.

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dougger222

If your getting 25 mpg with a 7.3 your getting better fuel mileage than 70,000 member at TDS (thedieselstop) with International/Navistar motors. I've heard of 6.5 Burbs getting in the mid 20's but never a Powerstroke. Heard of 5.9's in the very low 20's but never 25. If your getting 25 mpg you need to bring your truck to Ford. They may want to buy it from you so they can find out why your getting 25 mpg when everbody else is lucky to get 20 mpg.

I've got three 7.3's currently and the best for fuel mileage is the Excursion and in 70K miles the best it's gotten is 19.8 mpg on a full tank. In 200K miles the F250 has averaged around 15 mpg, decent for how hard it's worked (241K miles).

Ran into a guy at the dump with a 178K mile 2005 3500 Ram Cummins DRW manual and his average is 14 mpg. Bought it new and has never touched the motor, clutch, or tranny, not bad!

SmithBuilt

I consistently get 22-33 on the highway with 6.0 powerstroke. 14 pulling trailer in town.

From what I hear about the new emissions laws we better keep our old trucks. The 08's not doing so good on mileage.

TempestV

In Diesel Power Magazine, they tested the 08 6.4l in the F250, and picked up 18.28mpg city, 19.72mpg combined Highway and city, and 15.66mpg Highway, while towing 8500lbs.

Eric K

Any1 know of any sites or suggestions on getting better mpg in my 06 gmc savana 6.0? 1800miles and best i got was 12.5 and thats been consistant since I got it.

lazerguy

With the diesels the engine rpm is very important for fuel economy.
If your differential (rear end) is geared very low for heavy towing, you get strong pull, but fuel economy may suck, especially if your cruise speed is too high.
If you check your engine's Torque vs RPM chart (if you can get it), you'll note that for some RPM the torque is at maximum. Running the engine at this RPM will give the best fuel mileage.
For GM 6.2 & 6.5L diesel engines, the most efficient RPM is around 1800 RPM.
I believe the best RPM for your Cummins is quite close to that number, maybe even a little lower cause your engine's a little larger, if I'm correct.

If your truck doesn't have an engine tachometer, you can calculate the engine RPM for a certain speed with the following formula:

Engine RPM = 348 x (rear end gear ratio) x (transmission gear ratio) x (speed mph) / (tire dia. inches)

For example, my truck has 31 in. tires, 3.42 rear end, 0.70 tranny gear ratio (in overdrive) and I drive highway at approx. 60 mph.
At that speed, my engine is revving at: 348 x 3.42 x 0.70 x 60/31 =1612 RPM.
So I actually drive my truck a bit under the ideal speed for most efficient engine operation.

Suppose I had a 4.10 rear end, and wanted to cruise the highway at 72 mph. The engine would then be revving at 2319 RPM, way over the ideal speed, and the mileage would surely suck! (Not mentioning that, apart from poorer engine performance, the 20% speed increase would raise aerodynamic drag & fuel consumption by approximately the same amount)

Injection timing is also very critical in diesel fuel economy, but with recent electronic injection systems, I doubt that you could have a major misadjustment there.

As for aftermarket ''performance'' air filters and exhaust systems, I have run some real-life tests of my own. I have hooked vacuum & pressure gauges to my truck's air intake manifold and exhaust manifold, respectively. Then I drove the truck on highway and city routes, checking the gauges readings.
Even at very high speed or acceleration, the actual flow restrictions from the stock air filter & exhaust system were negligible. So there just isn't much room for improvement in the first place.
I believe that there is WAY TOO MUCH HYPE about aftermarket ''peformance'' products. Large exhaust pipes and chrome-plated air intake boxes they sure look cool, but considering their cost, they're gizmos, not investments.

ruskent

My mileage is still horrible. I am averaging between 12-13 miles per a gallon hand calculated. I fill up and by 400 miles on the trip meter i am EMPTY.

I know guys with the same truck who honestly get 20mpg on the high way. This is costing me alot of money. I am almost ready to just get rid of the truck. I have 54k miles on the truck and have not had a single proablem with it besides this horrible milage. I do not drive like a race car driver either!

tgeb

Banks makes the best aftermarket equipment to improve power and fuel mileage.

Check them out

http://www.bankspower.com/index.cfm

I have a friend that put some Banks equipment on his 6.0 power stoke and gained something like 3 miles per gallon.

Their stuff ain't cheap but it works.

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liltrainerboy

i have a 02 7.3 powerstroke...

air intake
sct programer
4 in exhaust
new oil
new fuel filter

and i still get 14 mayb empty in town and 9-10 pulln a 16 ft enclosed trailer.

i love the truck but damn.... another 5 mi would be great... dont know what else to do

trptman

I have a 2000 GMC Savana (5.7 engine) and the best I've ever done is about 15-16 mpg on the highway. That thing and its 30+ gal tank is killing me when I fill it up.
When I bought it, gas was around $1.30 (I think) in this area. I could live with that but now that it hangs around 3 a gallon it's painful.

BreyerConstruct

Talk to a few different Dodge dealers, they may be able to update your computer (flash it).

If that doesn't work, look up Marco's Mad ECM programmer over at turbodieselregister.com.

I used the original on our 01, and it was awesome at getting more mileage & better power.

Lastly, if the doesn't work, drive it down here & Let's talk about a trade for a 79 Chevy...

~Matt

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Floordude

My 99 F-250, with the 7.3 powerstroke clubcab 2wd longbed, gets around 15-17 in the city, and I got 19 going to New Orleans in a head wind, a few years ago and 18 going to Dalton, Georgia, right after I bought it.

I was thinking about a new Dodge, but if that is all the newer Dodges are getting,(I heard 21-23mpg, back in the mid 90's) I'm keeping my old "log"

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