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Horrible fuel mileage

5K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  CaptainKyle 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, im new to this forum and i just bought a 97 dodge 2500 ext cab 4x4 auto V10, now i already knew this wasnt going to get good mileage and i intentionally bought it swap a cummins into within a year or so.

The problem is im getting 7mpg around town and highway mixed, ive done research and understood that i seemed like most people were getting atleast 10mpg average, and even some were getting 12+mpg on the highway.

First off i dont have a heavy foot and im driving empty minus a lumber rack and toolboxes in the bed(all are empty for now) the truck does have about a 6inch lift with 35inch A/Ts, the gears are 3.54s unfortunetly... id prefer 4.10s.

I installed headers, and it already has a fairly free flowing exhaust, new airfilter and oil. havnt done plugs or wires yet thatll be next.

I just cant believe the best mpg i cant get is 7.5mpgs!!! also i was running premium gas too.

Any ideas as to why my mileage is so low?

Thanks
jason
 
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#4 ·
Hello everyone, im new to this forum and i just bought a 97 dodge 2500 ext cab 4x4 auto V10, now i already knew this wasnt going to get good mileage and i intentionally bought it swap a cummins into within a year or so.

The problem is im getting 7 GPM around town and highway mixed, ive done research and understood that i seemed like most people were getting atleast 10mpg average, and even some were getting 12+mpg on the highway.

First off i dont have a heavy foot and im driving empty minus a lumber rack and toolboxes in the bed(all are empty for now) the truck does have about a 6inch lift with 35inch A/Ts, the gears are 3.54s unfortunetly... id prefer 4.10s.

I installed headers, and it already has a fairly free flowing exhaust, new airfilter and oil. havnt done plugs or wires yet thatll be next.

I just cant believe the best mpg i cant get is 7.5mpgs!!! also i was running premium gas too.

Any ideas as to why my mileage is so low?

Thanks
jason
Fixed it for you. Gallons Per Mile.
 
#9 ·
thanks for the input guys! LOL 7 gallons per mile... acutually thats how it feels:SHOCKED: i still need to smog it... hopefully the bad 02 sensors are killn my mpgs.

the speed o is actually only off by a hair(gps checked) so when i do the math it comes out right.

jason
 
#10 ·
I know from what you speak. However, if the speedo hasn't been calibrated for the larger tires your doing better than you think. There are several online calculators you can use to figure out what the difference is in your current tires and the factory size. Randy's Ring and Pinon is one I used to use. Your speedo could be off as much as 10%-20% and that would put you at almost 9mpg combined. That's not great but setup like yours is it's not that bad.
 
#12 ·
Lower gears may help if you plan to keep the 35's. You may be geared too high that way and working it harder. I averaged 7.5 last tank. But that was with a trailer on the back at least half the time in stop and go traffic with a dually with 4.10's.
 
#13 ·
Hey guys… kinda new here I joined shortly after buying my 02 v10 2500…I've had the truck now for 7 months. It's all stock except for the cowl hood…I knew the mpgs weren't going to be great…I get 8-10 in the city and 13-16 highway…not to bad considering its winter and I live in vt…and for a bit more info I have 3.55 years in mine…
 
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