How can i get better gas mileage

@Huffdaddy1 nobody ever wants to admit that their driving habits suck but a person's driving style ranks right up there with poor maintenance and location for mpgs. Injectors maybe if you have reason to believe that your current ones aren't functioning properly. Couple bottles of injector cleaner might be just as effective. CAI also maybe, though some may debate that. Keeping your foot off the accelerator pedal as much as possible, using cruise control and properly inflated road tires are your best bets at improving your fuel mileage. Also, check your brakes to make sure they're not dragging. And stay under 60 mph. Sounds horrible, right? Unfortunately If your 2500 5.7 is capable of achieving 20 mpgs, that's how you'll do it.

BadHemi2014 said:

Drive a small fuel efficient car.
It's a truck, built to do work.
If I need to conserve gas, I drive my beetle. If I need to tow or haul something (or just have fun) I drive my Ram. Yeah it costs over a hundred bucks to fill her up, but that's the price of driving a truck.

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Yep, it's a truck, best point made. No one who buys a full-size one wants good mpg because they don't want a all-aluminum, 4 cylinder, tiny bed, bubble-looking vehicle. Honestly, other than hyper-mile type of driving, you can't reengineer the rolling block that is a truck to get mpg increases that won't, in cost to implement, far exceed the savings you might get. Keep it in good running order, take off all the heavy accessories like bumper guards and rear window protection frames, remove the hitch and empty out the chains and tools, keep yourself at lowest weight possible, keep windows up and a/c off, and you will maximize mpg for minimal cost. And you see I get silly at the end of that. Just enjoy the ride!

Different Drummer said:

Just do what the guys you refer to are doing. ( assuming they are driving gasoline powered trucks ) Just tell yourself you are getting 20+ MPG on a routine basis and believe what you tell yourself. What you cannot do is take a long highway trip at 55MPH with a horrendous tailwind and level terrain, compute the fuel mileage for that one trip and call it your overall average for thousands of miles. Good luck with however you decide to handle it.
edit: And don't believe the "Lie-O-Meter

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Calculating highway mpg means literally no city driving. You definitely clear your meter, drive 100% on the freeway, and then when you're done you record your mpg. That is hyw mpg. Anything else is mixed, or city. You do not have to run through a whole tank because chances are at that point you're getting mixed mpg.

And yes, keeping it at 60 is how to get best numbers, that's not cheating. You do have to make sure you average out multiple trips like that to account for wind and elevation changes.

My best mpg to date on the highway is 25. Now that I run thicker oil and better tires I generally hit 23. Average mixed through all last winter is about 18, just to give you an idea.

Fediej said:

@Huffdaddy1 nobody ever wants to admit that their driving habits suck but a person's driving style ranks right up there with poor maintenance and location for mpgs. Injectors maybe if you have reason to believe that your current ones aren't functioning properly. Couple bottles of injector cleaner might be just as effective. CAI also maybe, though some may debate that. Keeping your foot off the accelerator pedal as much as possible, using cruise control and properly inflated road tires are your best bets at improving your fuel mileage. Also, check your brakes to make sure they're not dragging. And stay under 60 mph. Sounds horrible, right? Unfortunately If your 2500 5.7 is capable of achieving 20 mpgs, that's how you'll do it.

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Good call here actually - tires and driving habits are so true. Honestly, it is why I will never buy a used car, ever again. Many drivers in CA know two modes…mash the gas and slam on the brakes.

When you take care of the truck, it will take care of you also. I did think the erosion factor for MPG at speed was at speeds above 70, or maybe that's just where the curve drops off more steeply than at 60.

My 2500 when it is here will be my daily driver while my girl continues to drive her Lexus Hybrid. So, we do have that rig if we want to save on the fuel - it gets 28 mpg. But, for my work, I don’t need to report to the office each day so that is a huge plus to help manage the nearly 7.00/gal for Diesel here in CA.

ramffml said:

Calculating highway mpg means literally no city driving. You definitely clear your meter, drive 100% on the freeway, and then when you're done you record your mpg. That is hyw mpg. Anything else is mixed, or city. You do not have to run through a whole tank because chances are at that point you're getting mixed mpg.

And yes, keeping it at 60 is how to get best numbers, that's not cheating. You do have to make sure you average out multiple trips like that to account for wind and elevation changes.

My best mpg to date on the highway is 25. Now that I run thicker oil and better tires I generally hit 23. Average mixed through all last winter is about 18, just to give you an idea.

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One last point on all the discussion at keeping 60 MPH, make sure you are not putting yourself in danger by driving 60 when everyone else around you is going far faster. A slow driver often can cause a safety issue.

KoboldTaco said:

One last point on all the discussion at keeping 60 MPH, make sure you are not putting yourself in danger by driving 60 when everyone else around you is going far faster. A slow driver often can cause a safety issue.

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When I'm trying to save on gas I'll sit in the right lane and keep up with the semi's. They're doing 60 to 65 and are speed governed. So I'm fitting right in with all the other slow traffic.

ramffml said:

When I'm trying to save on gas I'll sit in the right lane and keep up with the semi's. They're doing 60 to 65 and are speed governed. So I'm fitting right in with all the other slow traffic.

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Right on - sorry if I sounded a bit like a whiny bit!#…drives me nuts here in CA with folks doing wicked slow in lanes they have no biz driving in, then people get impatient and it all goes downhill from there. Careful hanging around with those big rigs tho too!

I can't imagine driving 60mph for long distances. Or relatively short ones. I understand my situation is not everyone's situation, and I truly feel for younger people starting out in life but that's not me and I'll pay for the gas to drive how I want to drive in what I want to drive.

ramffml said:

Calculating highway mpg means literally no city driving. You definitely clear your meter, drive 100% on the freeway, and then when you're done you record your mpg. That is hyw mpg. Anything else is mixed, or city. You do not have to run through a whole tank because chances are at that point you're getting mixed mpg.

And yes, keeping it at 60 is how to get best numbers, that's not cheating. You do have to make sure you average out multiple trips like that to account for wind and elevation changes.

My best mpg to date on the highway is 25. Now that I run thicker oil and better tires I generally hit 23. Average mixed through all last winter is about 18, just to give you an idea.

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Like you when I changed tires I lost about 1 MPG.
Virtually all of my driving is highway. With just over 54,000 miles, my truck has 1296 driving Hours and 78 hours idle on the RAM. Albeit in all types of terrain and wind conditions.
In a previous life I spent seven years of criss crossing the country in a small diesel powered motorhome. Plus one four month trip to Alaska. Those miles taught me how wind, terrain and my driving practices play into fuel mileage. We purchased the MH new. In 70,350 miles the Admiral kept a spread sheet on our fuel purchases and fuel consumption. Average MPG was 18.01 MPG in a 5 Cyl Mercedes based, heavy for chassis sail being pushed down the highway. I learned how to drive for best efficiency while still being able to put a reasonable amount of miles behind us on any given day.
You have an exceptional Hemi. You get better fuel mileage than I do with a 6 cylinder, 3.21 geared Two Wheel Drive Laramie that see's mostly highway travel.
I have seen quite a few others claim better fuel mileage than what I experience with their 4 wheel drive Hemi RAMS. Some of them with the lower rear gears installed. I guess that every once in a while one of those rare High MPG unicorns rolls off the assembly line.

Drive conservatively, keep tires aired properly, and lay off the fun pedal. I personally on long stretches always engage cruise, and do not jet off of lines at stop lights, etc.,. But hey, if I can get 20 mpg on a Hemi motor, pulling almost 6,000 lbs, makes' dis BOIRD very happy. And I try to stay at 70 mph, unless say on IH 35, where everyone is running 90, U gotta run at least 80 or become road kill.

CAVEAT: I do not pay toooooo much attention to MPG since it is a Hemi, not a Prius, LOL.

KoboldTaco said:

Right on - sorry if I sounded a bit like a whiny bit!#…drives me nuts here in CA with folks doing wicked slow in lanes they have no biz driving in, then people get impatient and it all goes downhill from there. Careful hanging around with those big rigs tho too!

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When I was driving the motorhome I did quite a bit of reading on the speed vs efficiency thing. There was a guy who worked for NACA. That was before NASA. He did wind tunnel tests and I THINK ( I am going by memory ) he calculated that 48 MPH was the point at which efficiency began to suffer due to parasitic drag. I also THINK I remember that the effect of speed as it increased was not linear but was exponential in nature. Obviously if on a trip no one would drive at 48 MPH. At least I wouldn't. So we search for the sweet spot that yields best effeciency of miles traveled and fuel consumed. Wherever that sweet spot is I am sure varies between individuals. Add a strong headwind or tailwind to your speed over the ground and some pretty wild MPG figures can be experienced. Both positive and negative.

I just checked my evic and it was 18.5 mpg. It fits with my drive the last couple of weeks, I have had more stop and go, more idle time, and have been using the skinny pedal a little more.

Idle/drive hours at 459/4117

Just open the wallet and pay it….

EdGs said:

I just checked my evic and it was 18.5 mpg. It fits with my drive the last couple of weeks, I have had more stop and go, more idle time, and have been using the skinny pedal a little more.

Idle/drive hours at 459/4117

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we're not comparing light duty vs heavy duty.

Tonneau Cover. It seems to be good for an easy 0.75 to possibly 1 mpg at interstate speeds. Also, get rid of 10 ply tires and go to a lighter weight 6 ply. This is easily 1.5 mpg or more.

Huffdaddy1 said:

I have a 2010 ram 2500 5.7 . I read about guys claiming to get 20+ miles to the gallon which I kind of doubt but is there anything I can do to increase mileage... such as would upgrading to a newer 6 speed trans?

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It’s called @slow down”. I had a 2014 5.7 L and if I drove 55–60 mph, I got 21 mpg.

Huffdaddy1 said:

I have a 2010 ram 2500 5.7 . I read about guys claiming to get 20+ miles to the gallon which I kind of doubt but is there anything I can do to increase mileage... such as would upgrading to a newer 6 speed trans help?

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I have a 2021 with 5.7 hemi. My work commute is 27 miles and I consistently get 21mpg. It is on 2 lane country roads with no traffic, cruise is on 45-55 mph depending on the speed limit. A light foot is the best way to get mpg up. Freeway speeds (65 mph+) it will go down to 17-18 mpg.

Huffdaddy1 said:

I have a 2010 ram 2500 5.7 . I read about guys claiming to get 20+ miles to the gallon which I kind of doubt but is there anything I can do to increase mileage... such as would upgrading to a newer 6 speed trans help?

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Three things men will lie about: The status of their wife's virginity on their wedding night, vehicle does not use oil, and their vehicle gas mileage. Virginity seems to no longer be prized, except for German cars most do not use oil, but people sure as hell gonna lie about gas mileage. As if that puts money in their pockets.

2014 2500 crew cab long bed with Cummings.

Speed kills both ways.

On the highway running 60 - 65 I can get a little over 20 mph. Carrying ~ 600 excess lbs of tools ect.

But I live in a town which has lots of stop signs, red lights & strictly enforces it’s 20 & 30 mph speed limits. So only get +/- 14 mph in town.

Over 99k miles I average a manually calculated 17.4.