7 MPG big issue what am I doing wrong?

[Innis]

I’m new to the forum so forgive me if there’s a thread out there already for this. I’ve got a 2018 Power Wagon and am getting about 7 mpg. That is all city driving. Stop and go. But on my drive to and from Colorado I was getting 9.7 mpg.

I got 37x12.5r17s on the AEV salta Wheels. I did a two inch leveling kit, a K&N cold air intake and a muffler delete on it.

My gas mileage was around 9 city before I got the tires and wheels but I had already done the intake and exhaust. I can’t imagine those two things making that much of a difference.

My question is, what am I doing wrong, what can I do to increase my MPG? Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Alloway]

That’s an awesome truck man! Are you figuring in the extra distance you are going on a tank of fuel due to the big tires. If your truck still thinks it’s turning the 33s but actually turning the 37s you are going quite a bit farther than what your trip is saying...for peace of mind I would call it 10% farther. That will bump you up a good little bit. I’d say if you haven’t been doing that, when you start figuring it in you will be about where the other guys on 37s are at.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

How are calculating the fuel mileage? Are you doing it by pen and paper with miles divided by gallons or are you using the EVIC? If you are using the EVIC, don't hit the reset until you are at a steady cruise on flat ground and then drive for at least 15 miles to get the most accurate number.

Did you recalibrate the speedometer after the tires were installed? If not then the pinion factor is incorrect and the odometer is not counting the correct mileage. The taller tires turn slower/less revolutions per mile while driving so your fuel economy is actually higher than what the EVIC shows.

You will need a scan tool or a tuner to set the pinion factor to match the 37" tires. Once corrected you will see your fuel mileage go up in the EVIC.

 

[mtnrider]

Sounds about right for the lift and tires you are running.

With that said have you re calibrated your speedometer to match the tires. Won't help much but might give you a little better number.

Honestly not much you can do but drive slower and stay out of the gas. You could re-gear but that gets expensive and probably isn't going to give you a whole lot back. The best thing you could do is get rid of those 37's, That's the honest truth of it. Got to pick one or the other. Can't have big tires and decent mpg, just doesn't work that way.

.

 

[Maligator]

If you haven't recalibrated that's definitely a cause for some of it. I have 37s and recalibrated my tire size with Alfa obd. I usually average anywhere from 9-11mpgs during everyday driving hwy is usually 12-14mpg depending how I drive. Best I've ever done was close to 15 on my drive from Maryland to the outer Banks in North Carolina. Hills kill you as well if your are driving in hilly areas bye bye mpgs...lol

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Trailmaker]

I’m new to the forum so forgive me if there’s a thread out there already for this. I’ve got a 2018 Power Wagon and am getting about 7 mpg. That is all city driving. Stop and go. But on my drive to and from Colorado I was getting 9.7 mpg.

I got 37x12.5r17s on the AEV salta Wheels. I did a two inch leveling kit, a K&N cold air intake and a muffler delete on it.

My gas mileage was around 9 city before I got the tires and wheels but I had already done the intake and exhaust. I can’t imagine those two things making that much of a difference.

My question is, what am I doing wrong, what can I do to increase my MPG? Thanks in advance for any advice

View attachment 192066

Welcome to the Club!

as already mentioned in the last few post, it seems like use are looking at the truck’s read out and not hand calculating your mileage. The problem you will still face till you get your truck calibrated, is the odometer will be off as well. You need to top off you tank, drive down the road using the mile markers and put 50 miles on your truck then top off again. Divide the gallons used by the 50 miles driven. I bet it will be 3 gallons. 3-4 so 12-16 mpgs on the highway.
Good luck and hope to get feed back to this thread you started. Btw run 91 octane

 

[tjfdesmo]

Return to stock

 

[Trailmaker]

Return to stock

Friend you are speaking blasphemy!!
Whenever you find yourself on the Power Wagon thread, (like this one) you will find 100% of us PW owners have modified our truck by the first 3,000 miles of ownership. 35s and 37s are the most common mod done almost immediately.

 

[Innis]

Sounds about right for the lift and tires you are running.

With that said have you re calibrated your speedometer to match the tires. Won't help much but might give you a little better number.

Honestly not much you can do but drive slower and stay out of the gas. You could re-gear but that gets expensive and probably isn't going to give you a whole lot back. The best thing you could do is get rid of those 37's, That's the honest truth of it. Got to pick one or the other. Can't have big tires and decent mpg, just doesn't work that way.

.

Thanks for the quick replies guys (and gals I suppose.) I’m thinking about doing 4.88s and possibly a tuner if anyone knows of a good one out there. The shop that did my tires said they did recalibrate the speedo for the right tire size but I’ll check the math by hand soon.

 

[ttusomeone]

Friend you are speaking blasphemy!!
Whenever you find yourself on the Power Wagon thread, (like this one) you will find 100% of us PW owners have modified our truck by the first 3,000 miles of ownership. 35s and 37s are the most common mod done almost immediately.

I'm in the minority I think. Don't get me wrong, I did several mods myself within the first 1,500 miles (bed cover, exhaust, and Amp power steps) but at this point, I'm liking the look of the stock size tires. I plan to keep them until they wear out, then who knows if my taste has changed.

 

[Trailmaker]

I'm in the minority I think. Don't get me wrong, I did several mods myself within the first 1,500 miles (bed cover, exhaust, and Amp power steps) but at this point, I'm liking the look of the stock size tires. I plan to keep them until they wear out, then who knows if my taste has changed.

That’s what I did as well.
I took a 3k road trip 2 months after I got my truck last July, and knew I wanted to keep it stock rubber till I got a feel for the truck. I did custom order a cover before I had 100 miles on my truck and added some boxes and cargo space before my trip.
My laundry list is still long, as I have big plans for the Moab trip in May.

 

[McBroom]

Lead foot?? Driving style is a big part of good/poor mpg's

Blue Mule

 

[Ram Wagon]

winter time gas seems to cause MPG's to go down as well. I see that in my truck running 35's, usually drop about 2mpg in the winter.

 

[Trailmaker]

winter time gas seems to cause MPG's to go down as well. I see that in my truck running 35's, usually drop about 2mpg in the winter.

Good point. Winter blend in the northern markets is similar to running e85. Glad I live in Texas.

 

[Jerrybob]

Friend you are speaking blasphemy!!
Whenever you find yourself on the Power Wagon thread, (like this one) you will find 100% of us PW owners have modified our truck by the first 3,000 miles of ownership. 35s and 37s are the most common mod done almost immediately.

Maybe your next mod should be an extra fuel tank.....then you can really floor it!

 

[olyelr]

Your mpg’s sound a little lower than normal.... but not by much. These things just drink, even in stock form. I never got much better than 12 when stock. Stick a set of heavy 37’s on there and its only going to go downhill.

Its borderline ridiculous, but I guess it is what it is.

However, I have driven many a miles with our 8000 pound camper in tow, peddle to the metal at times going way faster than I reckon I should, and the worst average tank I have seen was 8.5 MPG. Seems a bit odd you cant hardly get that empty with a set of 37’s. You must drive like an @sshole LOL!

 

[mtnrider]

Thanks for the quick replies guys (and gals I suppose.) I’m thinking about doing 4.88s and possibly a tuner if anyone knows of a good one out there. The shop that did my tires said they did recalibrate the speedo for the right tire size but I’ll check the math by hand soon.

Like I said, gears will help.... a little. Don't expect a big change in mpg though. Truck will be "peppier" though. Same with adding a tuner, don't expect a big improvement in mpg. The day's of slapping a tuner and air filter on and seeing a big improvement are long gone.

I'd be a bit skeptical that the tire shop adjusted your speedo (most don't) but maybe if it was a specialty 4x4 shop they did?

The PW is an AWESOME off road truck, but that comes at a price, especially if you start going with bigger tires etc. I loved mine but in the end, as a daily driver as well I could not live with mpg and lack of range (stopping at the gas station multiple times a week got old real quick)

I guess what I am saying is, enjoy it for what it is. Dumping a bunch of money into it trying to get better mpg is going to be a lost cause.


.

 

[Trailmaker]

Like I said, gears will help.... a little. Don't expect a big change in mpg though. Truck will be "peppier" though. Same with adding a tuner, don't expect a big improvement in mpg. The day's of slapping a tuner and air filter on and seeing a big improvement are long gone.

I'd be a bit skeptical that the tire shop adjusted your speedo (most don't) but maybe if it was a specialty 4x4 shop they did?

The PW is an AWESOME off road truck, but that comes at a price, especially if you start going with bigger tires etc. I loved mine but in the end, as a daily driver as well I could not live with mpg and lack of range (stopping at the gas station multiple times a week got old real quick)

I guess what I am saying is, enjoy it for what it is. Dumping a bunch of money into it trying to get better mpg is going to be a lost cause.


.

Going bigger gears will not help MPG. That backwards. It will be like staying in 5th gear. You can’t go 3.73 with 37s or your 0-60 time will be 6hours. thank about a transmission. 1st gear is huge compared to 6th. (In a 18 and older) look at this attachment @WAKEMASTER put together https://www.ramforum.com/threads/2019-ram-2500-6-4-8-speed-mph-and-speed-charts-vs-6-speed.134235/

This will help you understand the smaller the gear the lower the rpm. The lower the rpms the less you burn fuel.

 

[olyelr]

Going bigger gears will not help MPG. That backwards. It will be like staying in 5th gear. You can’t go 3.73 with 37s or your 0-60 time will be 6hours. thank about a transmission. 1st gear is huge compared to 6th. (In a 18 and older) look at this attachment @WAKEMASTER put together https://www.ramforum.com/threads/2019-ram-2500-6-4-8-speed-mph-and-speed-charts-vs-6-speed.134235/

This will help you understand the smaller the gear the lower the rpm. The lower the rpms the less you burn fuel.

View attachment 192148

regearing lower does not typically result in better mileage. However, with the 6 speed and its fawked up gearing, I really do believe that a bit lower gear would help. I think in the city type driving the lower gears would make it more effective getting up to speed and not struggle so much. Highway though, yea a lower gear will hurt mpg’s.

I could see a regear being damn near a wash as far as mpg goes.

 

[Grand Mesa]

I have driven the route from Kansas City to the Front Range of Colorado during the winter while towing my 15 Travel Trailer on I-70 several times with my PW. Even though it's around 600 miles, the majority of this route is up hill. Roughly 99%. It averages out to just 8 feet per mile, but then it's an approximately 1 mile of elevation gain. Every time that you're going down a slight hill, you've got to go up an even bigger hill more often.

The speed limit is 75 MPH. So being just barren grass with no trees you do 80 MPH plus to keep your sanity. Afterall, the other traffic does. With the usual eastern hard blowing wind at a steady 35 MPH, this headwind sucks the gas down to 5.7 MPG and lower when you're floored trying to maintain the speed while towing. Even empty it isn't easy on the gas consumption. The barbed wire fences don't slow the wind down, neither do the 400 foot high wind farms which aren't out there due to any lack of wind to turn those huge blades.

Add to that during the winter some 20 degree Fahrenheit temperatures and below these cold conditions suck the gas even more due to the denser air. Engage the 4 wheel drive to drive through the unplowed snow and even unloaded I have seen under 10 MPG with my 34" 285 75R17 tires while empty.

There's no need to purchase the higher than 87 octane gasoline out here due to that's the mid-grade and there's less atmospheric pressure higher up to ping on it. Also, our winter blend fuel and high elevation just cuts the power in the Power Wagon. Floor it to get to Colorado and then floor it up our mountains to make it over the 11,000 foot passes to find even more mountainous terrain to suck down the gas.

You're MPG is good.