mpg on highway driving

Asked by merv Jan 25, 2010 at 12:36 AM about the 2007 Dodge RAM 1500 Laramie Quad Cab 4WD

Question type: General

What kind of mpg's are drivers getting with the dogde Hemi with MDS, since I;m only getting between 13 to 15 mpg's I even went as far as setting the cruse at 60 miles/hour, and putting premium gas with the same loosey results.

20 Answers

35

when i first got my truck i was getting anywhere from 18 to 21. but lately i've been gettin the same as you. my cousin who is a dodge mechanic cant figure out the problem either.

2 people found this helpful.
9,935

Cold weather hurts mileage bad especially if you're letting it sit and warm up. These trucks are killed by headwinds as well.

1 people found this helpful.
33,345

actually the engine inhaling cold air gets you better gas mileage cold air is more volatile than warm air thats why you dont ever see companies like K&N marketing warm air intakes cause cold air makes more power as well. my mother has a night runner durango with the MDS hemi and ive had it up to 30mpg on a long flat stretch of highway at 65 mph, but its very noticeable when the truck changes back to 8 cylinders from the 4 especially if it happens on a hill, i dont really understand the mechanics of the MDS other than it changes the timing and firing order its a very complex process, its very possible your MDS may not be working, but atleast it stopped working and you were on all 8 cylinders ive heard of cases were the MDS fails and the truck is stuck in 4 cylinder mode.

1 people found this helpful.
9,935

Dan you are correct to a point. The intake cooling I get with E85 in my Cuda makes up a lot of the difference in the extra fuel consumption required for ethanol mixture. Unfortunately that's where it ends. The problem with cold weather and/or winter driving as opposed to cold air in warm racing weather is that every lubricated and flexible surface (like tires) is cold and stiff creating LOTS more parasitic loss. The economies of scale between the extra power versus drag is less than optimum causeing increased fuel use. The engine is also very inefficient until it reaches normal operating temp so unless you're driving a great distance, you will notice a severe drop in mileage in the winter. Add snow and ice and it gets even worse.

2 people found this helpful.
33,345

i never took any of that into effect, i know right now in my 96 im actually getting about 20 miles to the gallon with the temp being about 20-30 degrees in NY right now were also having a fairly snowless winter here so im not worried about snow and ice, but your correct i can see how friction because of cold lowers your fuel efficiency

9,935

Is yours a 5.2 Dan? I would be pickled tink if my 5.9 would get 16 hwy with a tail wind going down hill!

16,905

whens the last time you changed plugs? the hemi requires them changed every 30k miles. also are you using the proper oil weight of 5w20? anything besides that causes mds failure and can damage the engine.

1 people found this helpful.
5

I have a 98 5.2L and I'm running about 10-12 city and if lucky I'm running 14 or 15 highway. Any one have any ideas how to improve this or is this about average? I am running it with dual Magnaflow exhaust, K&N intake, and 33" BFG AT, please any help in getting better gas mileage would be more than great. Also does anyone know of a replacement for the stock tranny better suited for off road purposes; the stock ones just keep going and i have been told its due to the lift.

9,935

The guys on the Spike Powerblock show, Trucks are doing a MPG project on a 98 4x4. Not sure what engine but I will be watching to see if there's something I can do to improve my 01 5.9 for sure!

1 people found this helpful.
33,345

i have a 5.9, with a custom 6 inch cold air intake and K&N filter, ive got a cryo kit that cools the intake piping to -10 degrees and it also cools my fuel rail to -15 degrees to create an overall denser charge in the air and fuel thus netting me better gas mileag, in the city how ever the mileage is terrible cause i turn the cryo tank off when im just around town it doesnt go on until im on the high way (cryo also cools all my other fluids but only when i have the tank on) the kit cost me $400 dollars for the tank compressor and lines all together, i run 93 octane with 104+ booser so far every thing is working for me im also using 0-20 but i dont recommend any one else to do that i do it because my engines tolerances are very tight because i put a very thorough rebuild on it.

15

im gettin about 13 city and 18 highway on mid grade. a lil better with high grade but not enough to really make a difference

375

I've been getting roughly 14 in the city, and 17 - 18 on the interstate. I got a '97 v6 1500. I use regular gas, but i got a programmer on it but have it tuned to gas saver mode. Plus i dont have cruise control either.

105

in my 07 quad cab 5.7 hemi, I have recently gotten 9.4 mpg in the city and 10.6 on the highway, gas is a killer but i tend to put premium in the tank. unsure of the results yet

1 people found this helpful.
10

I've been babying her for about 2 days and using cruise control alot.

1 people found this helpful.
199,615

My 07 Quad Cab 5.7 (107,000 Miles) was getting about the same as others listed above. was concidering getting rid of it but when I changed the plugs my fuel Milage came back. 20+ hwy 17+ city. Hwy mileage does even better than this if I keep it at around 60 to 62 miles per hour.

2 people found this helpful.
20

I live in Hawaii and I too started off with 18-19 mpg and now even with no a/c I'm getting only 14-15.

2 people found this helpful.
200

Own a 2013 RAM 1500 with 5.7 and MDS and only get 12.7. That is far from the average RAM advertises.

2 people found this helpful.
10

im getting 11 mpg on hiway or 22.5 kms is that ok foe a 2003 dodge ram 4.7 4x4

1 people found this helpful.
725

Well I'm old, 63, not in a hurry, and put it at 57 or 58 and let it stay on cruise control. When coming up on a hill i take it out of cruise control and use the accelerator to get up the hill and then put it back on cruise control. I get 18 all the time on the highway and have gotten 20.1 coming from northern NM and southern CO back home to Dallas. I have the 5.2 and get plugs changed ever 2 years, have a k&n cold air intake box, change fluids every 6 months (synthetics) and never drive in the city with it. It's a 4x4 long bed, quad cab, too hard to park in public.

10

I guess I got what was advertised. I have no issues getting a upwards of 28 MPG but average around 21-24 MPG on highway driving with my 2013 Ram 1500 with MDS. I only get around 12-14 MPG city driving, but that's common for a big 8 cylinder when you're doing a lot of stopping and going. You can feel the MDS kick in and I drive the truck to get the best gas mileage possible on longer trips, but again you have to be very careful with how much you're using the gas peddle. But now I'm having a problem with the MDS, I now have a check engine light on and the MDS no longer kicks on. I'm using the correct oil in which as been recently changed. The spark plugs are fine. The only thing I've done to my truck recently is got my tires by my mechanic when I got my truck inspected recently.

1 people found this helpful.

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