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Dodge Ram Real World MPG Numbers

360 messages,  Last post on Jan 20, 2013 at 10:22 AM

You are in the Dodge Ram-2010 and older Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Ram Pickup 1500, Dodge Ram Pickup 2500, Dodge Ram Pickup 3500, Fuel System, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Truck

This is the place to discuss (or even brag about) the mileage performance of your Ram pickup!

Messages Page 33 of 37

#319 of 360 2010 RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4x4, Hemi 5.7 MDS MPG by tmak

Feb 20, 2011 (10:25 am)

I have had this vehicle since AUG it was a Dealer retired DEMO with 3K miles I now have 14255 Miles and my AVG MPG is still at 16.43 (manually Calculated) on higways I get 16.7 MPG in City I get 12 MPG. If I hit a small upgrade on the Higway, forget it I lose power and mileage dips at 14 MPG (according to my CPU display).
 
Oh by the way I am not towing.. Not too pleasing. my dealer says I am not to expect much because of the high alttudes in SLC, UT. I can't beleive that. I use 91 Octane to get these Fuel mileage. 85 Octane kills my power and I use more fuel driving. I don't have a heavy foot and I believe let the power and torque do the driving but I have to stay at 70 MPH to keep that power and momentum going when I hit an upgrade on the highway, in the city forgrt it no power and torque 2500 RPMs just to maintain.
 
 I got rid of my Chevy 2500 Duramax because of fuel mileage (16.7 MPG) went gas and I see the only advantage was I save money on fuel costs. Maybe I should had bought the Cummins and dealt with the fuel prices.....
 
Is any one else experiencing this or am I expecting too much from Dodge...
 
95% Highway Driving. 15% City Driving

#320 of 360 mpg sucks by fueledup

Feb 20, 2011 (11:06 am)

I had a 2009 ram 1500 crew cab 4x2 with about exact same milage your experiencing. But when added any weight mpg would drop dramatically. I do mostly city driving in Miami, traded, ram in for a duramax after one year. Much happier with the ride mpg city has averaged at 14.8 , highway 16.9mpg. Worst than the mpg on ram was the giggly ride anytime you went over a bump, and hated the navigation.

#321 of 360 Re: 2010 RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4x4, Hemi 5.7 MDS MPG [tmak] by stanoski

Feb 20, 2011 (11:21 am)

Replying to: tmak (Feb 20, 2011 10:25 am)
Sounds about right bro. On the 4x4, you will also get about 1 mpg less than a 2x4 so 16 to 17 mpg sounds actually pretty good to me overall. My 2007 5.7 HEMI with MDS gets an average of 15 mpg (1/2 city and 1/2 highway) on a good week, NO towing or hauling arse around town either!!
 
If you have the factory towing package, the rear gearing is probably geared for towing lessening your mpg. Might also be the same on the 4x4?
 
If your looking for real good mileage, dont look for it in a full sized truck, doesnt exist "yet". Even the midside trucks dont get much better, maybe 20 mpg overall if your lucky.

#322 of 360 Re: 2010 RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4x4, Hemi 5.7 MDS MPG [stanoski] by cobrazera

Feb 26, 2011 (3:30 am)

Replying to: stanoski (Feb 20, 2011 11:21 am)
You're right. When moving nearly 3 tons with truck aerodynamics and 390HP, there simply is no magic formula. I believe that on strict highway cruise at less than 70 MPH, these trucks can surpass 20MPG - but on anything else, forget it. The GM hybrid trucks are capable of getting better city mileage than other full size trucks, but they are not cheap.
If you use your truck for commuting and other things where you really don't need a truck, get a cheap economy car for that stuff. Gas is headed to $4-5 a gallon and a couple $100+ fillups per week in our trucks won't be pretty.

#323 of 360 Re: 2010 RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4x4, Hemi 5.7 MDS MPG [cobrazera] by dustyk

Feb 27, 2011 (3:49 pm)

Replying to: cobrazera (Feb 26, 2011 3:30 am)
I've talked to three others with 2009 & 2010 Ram 1500s and we seemed to be getting the same results for gas mileage on the 5.7 Hemi. In August my YTD average was 18.4 MPG on my 2010 Ram 1500 Big Horn Quad, two-wheel drive, 3.91 LSD and 20 inch wheels. Since the cold weather and snow it's down to 17.04. The MPG has defintely dropped in winter, with my lowest at 14.45 so far. Keep in mind my daily work comute is 3.1 miles and I see mostly around town driving. My three trips from Rochester to Gettysburg, PA, gave me 20.63, 21.13, and 20.86, all summertime trips. Considering the power of the Hemi, I really don't think that's too bad.
 
Best regards,
Dusty

#324 of 360 Re: 2010 RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4x4, Hemi 5.7 MDS MPG [dustyk] by bigdave4269

Feb 27, 2011 (5:24 pm)

Replying to: dustyk (Feb 27, 2011 3:49 pm)
I started this post years ago. I own a 2006 dodge ram megacab 2500 hemi 4x4 with the 411 rear end. I now have 35000 miles on it . I just took a 300 mile trip set the cruise at 75 mph and held a great mpg at 12.3. This is the usual. Icant get any better I just tell it how it is. The hemi loves to guzzle gas. If there was anything I could do to get better gas mpg im sure I have tried it any suggestions? Oh I also added a cold air intake and use full synthetic oil.

#325 of 360 Re: 2010 RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4x4, Hemi 5.7 MDS MPG [bigdave4269] by cobrazera

Feb 28, 2011 (4:20 pm)

Replying to: bigdave4269 (Feb 27, 2011 5:24 pm)
A few tips to improve your mileage:
    1. Never drive over 65MPH
    2. Swap the 4.11 for a 3.55
    3. When in the city or burbs, coast up to stop signs and red lights
    4. If you have a remote starter, don't use it - while your truck is warming
        up it's getting 0MPG
    5. Forget about all the claims to improve mileage with air cleaners,
         exhausts, etc., if any of these were any good, Dodge would have put
         them on your truck to start with
These will improve your mileage, but are a real pain in the **s. For every 10K miles a year that you put on your truck, you're burning 800 gallons of gas. At $4/gal, that's $3200. If you do 1500 miles/mo, that's almost $500/mo. just for gas. $200/mo leases for economy cars are everywhere. Good luck....Richard

#326 of 360 Waiting for new 8-speed automatic transmission by german_leo

Mar 04, 2011 (2:26 am)

I'm from Germany and even though gas prices are incomparably higher than in the US (about 8 $/gal) I am thinking about getting a RAM 1500 4x4 Crew Cab in the Laramie edition. I know that the gas miliage will cost me a fortune but considering the "cheap" price of the vehicle compared to similarily equipped cars in Germany I will probably still be better off in the end. HOWEVER, it is spread in the news that Dodge has signed a contract with the German automotive supplier and technology leader for transmissions, ZF, to equip future Dodge models with the new 8-speed automatic transmission which is the same model as used in the BMW 7-series or the Rolls Woyce Ghost. According to the news articles I found, the RAM 1500 is also going to be among those privileged cars to be equipped with the new transmission. ZF claims to gain a gas milage improvement on the RAM of at least 25 %! That would almost make the 1500 into a economic car. I'll wait to see if the RAM is really gonna get the transmission before I get one...
I'm excited to see any progress to actually make those trucks more efficient!
What do you think of the announced transmission, especially if used in the Dodge trucks?
 
Best regards from Germany!
Leo

#327 of 360 Re: Waiting for new 8-speed automatic transmission [german_leo] by cobrazera

Mar 04, 2011 (3:14 am)

Replying to: german_leo (Mar 04, 2011 2:26 am)
The 8 speed ZF is, no doubt, a better tranny than the current 5-speed in the Ram. I would expect a mileage improvement, but their claims of over 25% seem overblown. Truck aerodynamics are poor and anything over 110KPH will absolutely kill fuel economy - regardless of the gearing. So gearing the Ram very high to make use of all those speeds in the ZF would not seem to work as good as in a more aerodynamic car. With the Ram, you need to be in top gear with the MDS engaged to get the best mileage. If the ZF allows top gear by 100KPH or so, 7 more gears below that speed seem redundant, especially considering the torque of the HEMI. Just my $.02....Richard

#328 of 360 Mileage update by cobrazera

May 06, 2011 (3:08 am)

Now that the weather has warmed up, the mileage on my '09 HEMI ( 4WD, Quad cab, 20" wheels ) has also risen - it really seems to like the warmer temps. While it struggled to get even 14 MPG during the winter months, it's getting over 15 MPG now. Small town/suburban driving with almost no freeway time - although about half the driving is country roads in the 45-55MPH range.
One thing I have learned is that in order to keep the MDS engaged and to avoid downshifts on slight grades on these country roads, I will not use the cruise control. Instead, I allow the speed to drop slightly in order to keep MDS and 5th gear engaged. When in cruise, the truck will hold its speed by downshifting, and that hurts the MPG. Keep truckin'!

Messages Page 33 of 37

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