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Are you happy with your 4.7L V8?

  • Love my 4.7

    Votes: 193 41.5%
  • Kind of wish I went with the 5.7

    Votes: 134 28.8%
  • REALLY wish I went with the 5.7

    Votes: 103 22.2%
  • I'm not picky..

    Votes: 35 7.5%

Poll: Happy with your 4.7?

144K views 379 replies 148 participants last post by  woody31 
#1 ·
Me personally, I wish I would have spent the extra coin for the 5.7.. it wouldnt have been that much more expinsive, and with the MDS system you get the same MPGs as the 4.7.

I stuck to my budget and the only thing I HAD to have was a black CrewCab. I just wish I would have added 5.7 and dual exhaust to that list lol.

Oh well.. it was my first purchase of a new vehicle so all I can do is learn.
 
#267 ·
http://www.superchips.com/

click "search by vehicle" then enter your information (if you're a 3rd or 4th gen ram with auto transmission you have a 545rfe). Then click flashpaq.

You can buy elsewhere too and save a few bucks but superchips is a good company I bought mine direct to give them a little more support. You can buy used too, just be sure it's not locked or you'll have to pay superchips another $100 to unlock it.
 
#269 ·
I'm not going to get you all excited and say you will get 5mpg better or something like that. I did notice better mpg, but how much is hard to say. Maybe 1mpg city and no change highway. It's been so long though I really don't remember what I got before the tuner, plus I got the tuner almost immediately so I didn't have a good average baseline. But I currently get anywhere from 15-17mpg city(have never seen worse than 15mpg) and anywhere from 19-22mpg highway. Highway has been a little better lately, more often getting 21/22mpg as I recently redid my exhaust(deleted the cats, larger 2.5" down pipes, free flowing y pipe/muffler). And that's all with the 87 performance tune. I also have an airaid drop in air filter. I'm also rolling around on larger AT tires that are extremely heavy, so not complaints from me as far as mpg. And I only get that very high hwy mpg when I keep it at 65-70mph. I drove at 85-90mph today(late for a meeting) for about an hour trip and averaged 18mpg on that trip. Can't complain(that's when you love 3.55's lol).

If your sole purpose is increasing mpg, it may not be worth getting. My sole purpose was the huge increase in torque/hp across the whole rpm range. The 08+ 4.7L really benefits from the tuner. You can also adjust torque management, tire sizes, trans tuning, etc. The mpg increasing a little is a bonus.
 
#270 · (Edited)
I'm very happy with my 4.7 and I get 17 city/19-20 hwy (hand calculated) depending upon speed and load. I only occasionally tow anything and even then only a utility trlr or 18' 2,000 boat. The engine has all I need, and I spend 500 miles each week on the hwy.
If you're unhappy with your power, consider changing out the diff gearing. I"ve got a 3.92 rear end and it's all I need.

Let me add that, as a former engine technician from the early '70s, ... I prefer simplicity. Since Chrysler dropped that good ol' 318... I decided to go with the 4.7 because of my imagination of MDS problems with the 5.7. Besides, if I needed a REAL horsepower/torque boost, I'd probably go with one of the Cummins.... only problem is, I'm basically a gasser-fan. I simply don't think the diesels are worth the money and trouble when compared to the reliability and easy repairs/rebuilds of gasoline engines. (I should mention that I typically get over 300K trouble-free/economical miles out of my gas engines before rebuilding or wrecking them, and I don't like the smell/noise of diesels and I don't have an image problem or hormonal deficiency.) (where's that "jab" or "stick in the eye" emoticon?) LOL
 
#271 ·
Something must be wrong with my truck. Even with the superchips, exhaust and modified intake I only see 17 hwy mpgs. I have 3.92 gears and 20" wheels and I've always thought that was holding me back. Maybe when I get home from work this time I'll do a full tune up and see if that helps. At least I'll know it's been done.
 
#272 ·
LOL. I would kill for 17 highway mpg. The BEST BEST BEST I've ever gotten was 14.3 on the highway. This was I5 in northern California. Straight as an arrow road, doing 65-70 most of the way. In town I range from 9.5-11.5 or so. I manually check my gas mpg, so its not done by a computer. I don't have a clue what to do about it. I've checked my tire pressures, different octane, and more. I NEVER get above 13 in town. I can keep my foot in it all the time, or drive like a granny, and it doesn't change no matter what I do. I really want to do something different, and figure that a programmer would do SOMETHING, even if it is just give it a few more HP. I'm gonna get new mud terrains soon and guess that it will drop MPG also. I believe my truck has 3.55 axles, but would like to switch to 3.92 or 4.10's. If I'm gonna pay for a 10mpg truck, it may as well have some more juice to it! :D :LOL:
 
#274 ·
I don't think so on the wheels. Leveling kit, maybe, but do you think it would go from 17,18, down to 13 highway MPG? That is pretty dang bad either way you cut it. Again, at this point, I would rather swap to gears to put power down to the ground if I'm going to get 9mpg anyway. When I say I got 14.5mpg, that was ONE TIME on a long highway trip awhile back, after the leveling kit and all. Before I had these mods, I had the same MPG anyway, there was never a change. I'm not sure what the right thing would be to do in this scenario.
 
#276 ·
I'd say yes putting the nose of the truck up 2.5" will probably take a couple miles per gallon off your average.
The under vehicle air dynamics get really bad as soon as you start hanging everything out in the air.
The axles/tires /suspension components all grab way more air,as you're trying to push them through the air.
Deeper gears will probably help in your case
 
#277 ·
So you're telling me I should be going from 9-10mpg to 16-18mpg in town under 40mph or just highway. I RARELY drive highway and get roughly 9-11mpg on average. I typically get 12 on the highway. I've never seen above 14mpg PERIOD. I don't believe a 2.5" leveling kit with the rear higher than the front STILL will average less than double the MPG. I just can't believe that.
 
#278 ·
I'm not telling you nothing,i'm just saying.
Everything i've ever jacked in the air took a big hit on gas mileage.
Believe what you want,ain't my truck.

Think of the front-end as a big scoop,you just made the scoop significantly bigger.
Now you're trying to shove a pile more air under the truck,where the aerodynamics are terrible.
Not only that,you've opened up the tires to where they can really fubar the airs passage around them
I'd tell you to put it back to stock and see if your mileage comes back up,but i doubt that'll happen,so you'll have to believe what you want.
If you think it's not your level kit killing your highway mileage,then what do you think is killing your mileage sir?

I pull down 22/23 miles per gallon at 80mph with my dropped 2wd 4.7,actually have documented over 30 mpg at 45 mph cruising back roads
 
#286 · (Edited)
Sean this is from the Allpar link on the changes to the 4.7 thread,from a few days ago.
Looks like the heads are differant side to side,but they don't say if both intake and exhaust ports are differant.

The heads are 'handed' - ie. not interchangeable side to side, mostly because the ports are in a different order left to right.

Original is at Next generation V8 engine - the Dodge/Jeep 4.7 liter V-8 http://www.allpar.com/mopar/47.html#ixzz2rGgN2XM7
Follow us: @allparcom on Twitter | allparcom on Facebook
 
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