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Car guys need advice

N

nwguy

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Get Shredded!
So I do a lot of highway driving each day to and from work. I got a 2017 ram 1500 5.7l hemi v8 yesterday. I keep reading about all of these “mods” that can be done super cheap. My question to you fellas is...

what in your opinion would be the best ones to actually help fuel economy?
 
You bought a truck with a big V8 and are looking for ways to save money on gas? Keep your tires properly inflated and draft semi tractor trailers. I would be surprised to see any mod that gets you more than a mile or two more per gallon of gas. Very surprised. Go out and buy a cheap daily driver.


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Get a car with a smaller engine.


Lol.

Here's a few things that could help.

Wide tires generally have higher rolling resistance which decreased fuel economy.


Putting a warm air feed to take air from behind the radiator or better still just under the branches of the exhaust manifold*will do much to increase urban*fuel economy at mid to light throttle settings.

Remove any unneeded weight.

Invest in a truck cap.

A vacuum gauge

When you step on the gas, do it slightly to avoid a high acceleration off the bat.

Find the right rpms for your your tire and engine combo. As in, don't speed so much.

Controlling your right foot will do the most for a lot of people.
 
Let me rephrase my question. YES I know I bought a big engine. This will be my daily driver as part of my drive in the winter it is needed. It says that it gets 21 on the highway which is pretty true. But if I can get a few extra MPG I am all for it.
 
I think Dodge did all they could to make your truck as energy efficient as possible already, some good advice already.

You can try and read up on aftermarket upgrades but I doubt there is much out there that is better than what anybody else mentioned.

I imagine you have economy mode where the engine cuts fuel to half the engine when on the highway and on flat ground.

Tire size and pressure are a big deal and like also mentioned a vacuum gauge would be a good indicator as to how much fuel you are sucking down.

Not much left to make it any more fuel efficient.

I cannot live without a truck, gas mileage is just a reality for me, I have a Chevy Silverado 1500 with 235K miles. VERY few problems, other than a throttle body motor that just quit on me and left me stranded it has been a great truck.

A friend of mine just bought the same truck you did with 4 wheel drive and he let me drive it. I am not much of a fan of Dodge but I got to say it was a really nice truck. I would have never known it was 4 wheel drive, drove really nice!
 
Skip Foursome said:
I think Dodge did all they could to make your truck as energy efficient as possible already, some good advice already.

You can try and read up on aftermarket upgrades but I doubt there is much out there that is better than what anybody else mentioned.

I imagine you have economy mode where the engine cuts fuel to half the engine when on the highway and on flat ground.

Tire size and pressure are a big deal and like also mentioned a vacuum gauge would be a good indicator as to how much fuel you are sucking down.

Not much left to make it any more fuel efficient.

I cannot live without a truck, gas mileage is just a reality for me, I have a Chevy Silverado 1500 with 235K miles. VERY few problems, other than a throttle body motor that just quit on me and left me stranded it has been a great truck.

A friend of mine just bought the same truck you did with 4 wheel drive and he let me drive it. I am not much of a fan of Dodge but I got to say it was a really nice truck. I would have never known it was 4 wheel drive, drove really nice!
Click to expand...
New rams are NICE! Interior is really nice and I like the styling. I heard the Hemi gets awesome MPG too.
 
bigtime916 said:
New rams are NICE! Interior is really nice and I like the styling. I heard the Hemi gets awesome MPG too.
Click to expand...
Did they ever fix the longevity of the hemispherical head configuration?

Back in the day they used to beat themselves to death.
 
Look into hypermiling. Just slowing down some saves tons of gas.
 
Skip Foursome said:
I think Dodge did all they could to make your truck as energy efficient as possible already, some good advice already.

You can try and read up on aftermarket upgrades but I doubt there is much out there that is better than what anybody else mentioned.

I imagine you have economy mode where the engine cuts fuel to half the engine when on the highway and on flat ground.

Tire size and pressure are a big deal and like also mentioned a vacuum gauge would be a good indicator as to how much fuel you are sucking down.

Not much left to make it any more fuel efficient.

I cannot live without a truck, gas mileage is just a reality for me, I have a Chevy Silverado 1500 with 235K miles. VERY few problems, other than a throttle body motor that just quit on me and left me stranded it has been a great truck.

A friend of mine just bought the same truck you did with 4 wheel drive and he let me drive it. I am not much of a fan of Dodge but I got to say it was a really nice truck. I would have never known it was 4 wheel drive, drove really nice!
Click to expand...

I am in the same spot as you are in the needs of a truck. I love the truck. I drove all the other kinds and settled on this one because it felt the best!

It does have the eco light that pops on. When I was going 65 to work today in the rain it was on that and it said my MPG was in the 30's on the gauge but if you sped up 1 mile and rev the engine drops to 15 lol
 
nwguy said:
Let me rephrase my question. YES I know I bought a big engine. This will be my daily driver as part of my drive in the winter it is needed. It says that it gets 21 on the highway which is pretty true. But if I can get a few extra MPG I am all for it.
Click to expand...

Just giving you a hard time man. Never owned a truck but the more I look at the dodges coming out, the more I want one. Again, keeping your tires inflated will play a huge part. Keeping air filter cleaned also. Warm air intake during colder months might make a difference as I’ve noticed my mpg drops during the winter. Good luck!


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IML Gear Cream!
nwguy said:
I am in the same spot as you are in the needs of a truck. I love the truck. I drove all the other kinds and settled on this one because it felt the best!

It does have the eco light that pops on. When I was going 65 to work today in the rain it was on that and it said my MPG was in the 30's on the gauge but if you sped up 1 mile and rev the engine drops to 15 lol
Click to expand...
Yep! Mine does the same.

Are you running studded snow tires this winter?

I can recommend a killer set of tires if interested.
 
Mods that actually help.
Cold air intake , programmer . Exhaust

The cold air intake works to a degree . I gained about 2 miles to the gallon on my Durango several years ago. Also a programmer will increase you mileage . It changes your timing curve and fuel curve to increase power and it also helps mileage. Bigger exhaust helps just like cardio helps us . If your motor breathes better you mileage will go up some.

Now that being will you get enough increase to pay for your mods ? It would take a while. You might get 2-5 miles a gallon . If you are not a car guy it will probably not be cost efficient .
 
Skip Foursome said:
I think Dodge did all they could to make your truck as energy efficient as possible already.
Click to expand...

This, big time!
Auto mfg are under incredible pressure to make vehicles, especially big engine vehicles, as fuel efficient as possible. It is why they use so much plastic for weight shaving and super thin oils.

IMO, they have done amazing things with fuel economy and these V8s. My 2010 Tundra averages around 16mpg on the highway and once in the Texas panhandle I got 18.5mpg going 85mph with my truck fully loaded.
My 1990 FJ62 got 12mpg with a straight 6.

I doubt you will get a single mpg more by adding aftermarket stuff and any recovery of the upfront costs will take forever to recoup.
 
Skip Foursome said:
Yep! Mine does the same.

Are you running studded snow tires this winter?

I can recommend a killer set of tires if interested.
Click to expand...

i might have to depending on how bad it gets. I will be looking into them Jan 1 prolly after Xmas and I get my bonus. Usually doesn’t get too nasty until January but it’s snowing heavy 3 miles above me already so I may be wrong.

What tires do do you suggest?
 
nwguy said:
So I do a lot of highway driving each day to and from work. I got a 2017 ram 1500 5.7l hemi v8 yesterday. I keep reading about all of these “mods” that can be done super cheap. My question to you fellas is...

what in your opinion would be the best ones to actually help fuel economy?
Click to expand...

http://www.ramforum.com/

Lots of info there.


I have a '14 Ram 1500 5.7 with the 8speed trans and 3.21 rear gears.
As was mentioned CAI and tuner. Will increase your mileage. And a bunch more power. The exhaust is well desinged. Wont see much improvement with an aftermarket cat back exhaust. Unless you throw some long tube headrers on. The stock exhaust manifolds are choking the 5.7.
 
nwguy said:
i might have to depending on how bad it gets. I will be looking into them Jan 1 prolly after Xmas and I get my bonus. Usually doesn’t get too nasty until January but it’s snowing heavy 3 miles above me already so I may be wrong.

What tires do do you suggest?
Click to expand...
I am a buy American guy so for me to buy a foreign tire it really has to outshine an American product for me to buy it.

I use these on my two wheel drive truck and I can pretty much plow through 6" of snow and keep good traction on ice.

IMO these are the undisputed best studded snow tire you can buy:

https://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-hakkapeliitta-8/
 
I heard about a hydrogen on demand system that can go in your trunk and it's quite cheap as well, it boosts horsepower and lowers emissions. It burns your fuel properly and doesn't waste it.

I don't know how true it all is but I've seen allot of videos about it so maybe have a look into it.


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Draggster999 said:
I heard about a hydrogen on demand system that can go in your trunk and it's quite cheap as well, it boosts horsepower and lowers emissions. It burns your fuel properly and doesn't waste it.

I don't know how true it all is but I've seen allot of videos about it so maybe have a look into it.


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Click to expand...

I've always wondered about this myself, not sure how factual the videos are. Can anyone chime in on this?
 
Skip Foursome said:
I am a buy American guy so for me to buy a foreign tire it really has to outshine an American product for me to buy it.

I use these on my two wheel drive truck and I can pretty much plow through 6" of snow and keep good traction on ice.

IMO these are the undisputed best studded snow tire you can buy:

https://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-hakkapeliitta-8/
Click to expand...


Thank you for the link. I will have to check it out!

- - - Updated - - -

Niteboss said:
http://www.ramforum.com/

Lots of info there.


I have a '14 Ram 1500 5.7 with the 8speed trans and 3.21 rear gears.
As was mentioned CAI and tuner. Will increase your mileage. And a bunch more power. The exhaust is well desinged. Wont see much improvement with an aftermarket cat back exhaust. Unless you throw some long tube headrers on. The stock exhaust manifolds are choking the 5.7.
Click to expand...


Thank you!
 
CoachCabo said:
This, big time!
Auto mfg are under incredible pressure to make vehicles, especially big engine vehicles, as fuel efficient as possible. It is why they use so much plastic for weight shaving and super thin oils.

IMO, they have done amazing things with fuel economy and these V8s. My 2010 Tundra averages around 16mpg on the highway and once in the Texas panhandle I got 18.5mpg going 85mph with my truck fully loaded.
My 1990 FJ62 got 12mpg with a straight 6.

I doubt you will get a single mpg more by adding aftermarket stuff and any recovery of the upfront costs will take forever to recoup.
Click to expand...

Completely agree


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Get Shredded!
i say fuck the gas and put a paxton or Whipple on it
 
Hey, you want lower fuel costs, convert to natural gas.

Cost a lot to convert but natgas is cheap as fuck.

I'm sure mounting a tank in the bed of the truck would be easy.
 
Long tube headers (if they make them for that vehicle yet), as much intake as they make for your vehicle (cold air, throttle body, manifold if applicable) and a nice full exhaust system from the headers back. no catalytic converters. I’m a Chevy guy so my aftermarket knowledge on dodge is limited to hellcats/demons. But long story short that’s the best way to do it.


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Don’t forget a professional tune if it’s possible. Programmers are ok but a good suno tune is how you get all of the potential from your vehicle.


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