Need to do something

These gas prices are killing me... and its getting worse while the price just keeps going up.... so what are some things I can do to get better mileage besides the programmer (which I am currentley looking for...) I know it's a truck and I got a beast 5.2 but come on.... I'm averaging around 10 in the city. There has to be something!

gears, efan sorta helps. i noticed an increase after i installed mine.

Take off the glasspack. You'll stop driving the way you like it to sound

put in neutral wen goin down hills, And NO FAT CHICKS

go back to stock for muffler and intake to quiet it down you'll notice increase. because less heavy foot. more mods + more power and the tendency to get into it more. I doubt you'll get any better for the age of your truck.

gears if you primarily drive in the city. They pretty much break even at hwy speeds. But it'll take a lot of miles to recoup the investment. Buy a newer/smaller truck, car or motorcycle to run errands. Fuel prices will only increase as demand increase globally.

I might just have to get a small car cause I love my truck and especially the way it sounds lol

The more mod money you spend, the longer it takes to recoup the funds in gas savings. But the more engine load you can remove, the better mpg you will have. efan, and u/d pulley will reduce engine load. Headers and exhaust. Gears help in city but worsen hwy.

Remove the truck bed, passenger seat and spare tire. That'll help alot lol. It's a flipping truck man, your never gonna get awesome gas mileage! So get a small car, or drive less! = P Buying more mods won't help either.

I consider myself lucky I guess...I am getting roughly 16MPG to 17MPG stock with my 96. When is the last time your O2 sensor was changed? Those are commonly overlooked and have a service life.

ramthis9501 said:

I might just have to get a small car cause I love my truck and especially the way it sounds lol

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That's what I did. By not driving the truck, what I save in gas, pays for my Fit.

adamwilkes14 said:

I consider myself lucky I guess...I am getting roughly 16MPG to 17MPG stock with my 96. When is the last time your O2 sensor was changed? Those are commonly overlooked and have a service life.

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Not sure

Might wanna soak them with penetrating spray (nothing with silicon) and pull them out to see their condition. Without knowing when they were changed last, it would be a good idea to go ahead and change themout. Only really worry about the precat sensors though.

Where is the O2 sensor?

on the exhaust pipes before the cat, you should have them after the cats too, but the more important ones are the precat sensors, or "upstream"

check

intake plenum gasket

cat

and for the death flash

what was the last time it had a good old tune up

you really should be geting around 15 in town

Where do I get the O2 sensor? And where is the intake plenum gasket?

O2 sensors from either a dealership, or find/order a good brand name. Bosch sensors, which are the most common found at auto parts stores, are hit or miss, quality wise.

My favorite brand so far is NGK/NTK.

My 98 Ram was supposed to get 16 hwy and around 12 city stock from the factory, don't really know, I modified it as soon as I got it home. I do know that it has been getting 26-27 highway (at 65-70 mph) and in the 17 range in the city ever since I have had it. I put true duals with no mufflers or cats on it, added a ram air setup, use 8 mm wires, platinum +4 plugs, 4 degree advanced timing, and K&N air filter. For me at least, the sound is actually a good indicator of the fuel econony. With no mufflers at all and true straight pipes, you can really hear what the engine is doing. A loud roar indicates acelleration, and probably none to good fuel economy, when she's in the cruising 'sweet spot' those pipes will quiet down to barely a whisper as you're going down the highway. I have her engine set up to run at under 140 degrees, so even with the timing advance, I can still run 87 octane with no pinging. I tune it up every year, and usually run marvel mystery oil in my fuel. I usually seafoam it once a year too, only rather than sucking seafoam into the engine through a vacuum hose, I simply add the gallon jug of seafoam to a tank of fuel before going on a long trip. There's nothing in the stuff that would hurt engine or fuel system components, and the concentration is enough to break up any carbon or varnish formations on the injectors or pistons/valves. Oh, and it burns cleanly at this concentration and does not smoke.

I make quite a few road trips, and have found out that speed is a big factor, above 70 mph, the mileage decreases rapidly. If I maintain speeds of 85 mph and above on a trip, I estimated my mpg at around 16-18. And stop and go traffic at speeds under 40 really eat up the fuel too. I have the 26 gallon fuel tank, and if I'm doing mostly highway driving and keep her just under 70, I'll get just around 700 miles to a tank of fuel. Unfortunately, i rarely keep my foot out of it or keep from roasting the tires long enough to realize that kind of fuel economy, lol.
Dave