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  #1  
Old 08-13-2002, 09:21 PM
Sam French Sam French is offline
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Default gas mileage

This is what I got. 96 ram 318 2WD LWB with a camper top. I hae 275 75 series 16's for tires. I have flowmaster series II 70 3 I/O cat back setup. KN filter setup. 180 degree Tstat. Accel coil. I get BELOW 10 in the city and MAYBE 15 on the highway. At 70 I am just over 2000. In city I do drive with OD off to save the tranny. Any thaughts. I have read in other posts where 4WD's get better mileage than I do.
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  #2  
Old 08-13-2002, 09:48 PM
Buster Wisenor Buster Wisenor is offline
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Sam,don't know who told you a 4X4 gets better gas mileage but think about it,now you have front hubs to turn and that takes away from gas mileage. Seems like you are equiped about right with your up grades. You say you run 275 16's what was the original tire size, you may be running a higher rear gear ratio than you should be. All engines have a power piont where it runs better and gets optimin gas mileage. The expense to gain a few miles a gallon I don't think would be worth it. I was getting 10-12 in my 2001 sport 4X4 with 392 gears. I'm getting 11-13 in my 2002 4X4 four door with 355 gears,highway 16 at 65-70,360engine in both trucks. We Dodge owners from time to time talk about gas mileage, we all know that Dodge does not get the best mileage,we buy Dodge trucks because we like them,If I wanted a truck for mileage I would get a small foreign 4cyl,enjoy what you have. Del
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  #3  
Old 08-14-2002, 01:50 PM
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Mr Priest Mr Priest is offline
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Default keep the foot light?

If I had the mods you had I have my foot in the gas all the time! But I don't.... yet... Like Buster Wisenor, if we wanted better gas mileage... you know the rest. P.S. I'm getting 13.3 in town and 14.5 on the interstate with the cruse set at 75. But then again I really try to keep it slow on starts and let up way before stops, down hills and use the cruse control whenever I can.
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  #4  
Old 08-14-2002, 03:06 PM
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Sam French:

I have a '95, 4x4, 5.9, 1500, LWB, std cab, 3.92 LSD, 265/70-16's and I get 17-19 MPG highway with the cruise set at 70 and the air on. Once I got an amazing 20 MPH highway. I probably had a good tail wind that day. My truck is all stock except the tires and the mods below.
So, yes my 4x4 gets better mileage than your 2 WD. Maybe it's the two tone paint.
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  #5  
Old 08-14-2002, 03:27 PM
Sam French Sam French is offline
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Hey thanks for the post. I am really wondering why mine is so crappy. Perhaps my tires are too tall. I think they are around 30 to 31 inches in heighth. I have thaught about putting some 15X8's with 235 75 Series R 15's on it. I will admitt I do have some pretty tall tires on it. Just my guess.
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  #6  
Old 08-14-2002, 04:01 PM
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BartRam1500 BartRam1500 is offline
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Default MPG and Tire sizes

Keep in mind that with taller tires, the effective gear ratio is higher (numerically lower) and thus creating an error on the part of your speedometer. The odometer is calibrated for the size tire listed on your door sticker. If you have bigger tires than what is listed on the sticker, your speedometer will read slower than actual speed and the odometer will show less miles traveled as well. This may be the cause of your poor MPG calculations. A 20% error in odometer reading can decrease the MPG calculation by 1-2 miles per gallon. Your MPG isn't all that bad. I average 11 in town and around 15 on the highway, and I drive it like a Viper!
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  #7  
Old 08-14-2002, 04:27 PM
Sam French Sam French is offline
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I just checked my door sticker. It came with 225 75Series R16. Dose anybody have a idea what the higth difference would be on those two sizes? hmmm I guess my speedometer would be way off then. I do appreciate everybody's input on this. Perhaps it is ok. Any guesses how far I am off wth mileage.
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  #8  
Old 08-14-2002, 05:30 PM
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BartRam1500 BartRam1500 is offline
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Default Tire Calculator

Check this site out.

http://www.tyres1.com/calculators.html

According to what you have told us, your original tires should be 29.3" tall and your current tires are 32.2" tall. So if you go 70mph by your speedo, you are actually going 76.9mph! That is a 9% change. So if your odometer says you went 220 miles, you actually went closer to 240 miles. Now suppose you used 20 gallons of gas for that trip. 220/20=11mpg and 240/20=12mpg.
Not a big change, but 12 is better than 11.
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  #9  
Old 08-15-2002, 10:59 AM
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I've been getting between 12.5-14 mpg on the highway. That's with a 360 4x4 QC.
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  #10  
Old 08-16-2002, 02:15 PM
JeepMan_Iowa JeepMan_Iowa is offline
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Biggrin

Whats MPG? I know what GPM is though.
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  #11  
Old 08-16-2002, 10:25 PM
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Gas Mileage!??? That's a good one!
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  #12  
Old 08-16-2002, 11:04 PM
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anyone know what the spec is 2wd vs 4wd ?
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  #13  
Old 08-16-2002, 11:12 PM
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HighBlackRam HighBlackRam is offline
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My build sheet said 12/17! Even when I was totally stock, not even with a tail wind. 9/12 is normal now.
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  #14  
Old 08-19-2002, 08:22 AM
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Gas Mileage

Just got back from a 280 mile trip to see my folks this weekend.
Driving down the interstate with the cruise set at 75mph, I got 13.7 miles per gallon with the A/C on and bucking a 20mph wind.
On the way home, 75mph, no wind, and no A/C I got 15.11 miles per gallon. 2001 Quadcab 4x4, 360, automatic.
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  #15  
Old 08-19-2002, 10:13 PM
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K Rich K Rich is offline
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Where you drive your truck greatly affects your gas mileage. I bought my truck when I lived near Philly, PA. I drove 6.5 miles one way to work and was rewarded with 10.5 miles per gallon. On the highway, my mileage is 15-16. I recently moved back to my home area in a rural part of PA. Driving distances are longer. Last week I drove 27 miles one way to the training site for my new job and got almost 15 miles per gallon. I'm damn happy to be back in the country! I don't think my mileage has ever been less than 13 driving around here.
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  #16  
Old 08-20-2002, 04:56 PM
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I hope you aren`t using the overhead trip computer to determine your mileage. The one in my 2K Durango and the one in my 98 Jeep were both way off. I consistently got 1.5 to 2 mpg better than they told me I was getting.
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  #17  
Old 08-20-2002, 05:30 PM
jeepnmatt jeepnmatt is offline
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for some reason, my truck gets good gas mileage. i get irritated when i get below 15mpg (city driving).

last weekend, i averaged 10 MPG....pulling a loaded trailer (over 7000 lbs) 360 miles!

i wish i could post the picture...i had one jeep wrangle body in the bed of my truck, and another complete wrangler (minus front axle) on top of another wrangler frame with both axles (minus engine, tranny, and x-case). it was amazing.

if someone will post the picture, i'll email it the them.

thanks!

matt
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  #18  
Old 08-20-2002, 11:51 PM
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No trip computer here, I gotta do it the old-fashioned way and divide total miles traveled by gallons of gas put in.
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  #19  
Old 08-21-2002, 04:28 PM
98RAM 98RAM is offline
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krich is correct in the cities any more you have to deal with oxygeniated gas that cuts down on the BTU content of gas, but decreases emissions. The winter gas versus summer gas used to be the big thing also, I don't think that is so anymore. I have the mods listed below and get 18mpg back and forth to work in traffic. Just for another example.
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  #20  
Old 08-21-2002, 04:35 PM
Sam French Sam French is offline
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How would you wire in a 6a box? Spring time I might get some new tires and wheels and get tires the stock heighth but MUCH wider. Man with the flowmaster II its one SWEET sounding ride. Thanks for all the info guys.
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  #21  
Old 08-21-2002, 05:32 PM
98RAM 98RAM is offline
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Just follow the directions, but I put in weather pack connectors and disconnected from the coil and spliced in the weather pack connectors and can take the 6A out of the loop all together if need be.
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