Trick That Truck

[1sttruck]

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/general/0708dp_1997_dodge_ram_3500_dualie_cummins/index.html

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 Dualie Cummins - 30-MPG 1-Ton! - Diesel Tech

Go ahead and don't believe the numbers. The whole point of this article is to show how little tips and tricks can get you unbelievable fuel-economy figures-and it worked. If we hadn't been there filling the tank ourselves, we would've had a hard time believing the 30.94-mpg figure our cell phone calculator spit out after we filled the tank. There it was, though, we almost reached 31 mpg in a 1-ton dualie diesel all for the price of $9.26 in modifications.

It all started when we talked about different ways to increase our '97 Dodge Ram's fuel economy. Getting 21 highway mpg in stock form (3.54 axle gears and an automatic) wasn't bad, but there was more to be had.



http://www.biodieselnow.com/forums/t/3693.aspx

Re: 42 MPG Dodge Cummins Pickup

I just spoke to Jerry this afternoon. The 42 mpg truck was an 03 Dodge with the Cummins 5.9L common rail. Modifications included performance exhaust, propane injection, turbo mod, electronic controls and a wee bit of hydrogen injection. The rig still had a stock body, stock injectors and was (and still is) street legal. The 42 mpg was done on a track, so there was no "going downhill the whole time?". All the energy used, including the propane, was accounted for in calculating the 42 mpg rating. Jerry has sold that truck and the new owner gets between 800-1000 miles on the stock fuel tank (35 gal) along with the 8 gallon propane tank, that's between 23.5 and 29.4 mpg in normal (real world) street driving conditions. Currently Jerry is driving a 2004 1/2 Chevy Duramax with the LLY motor. He has of course tweeked it and is averaging 32 miles per gallon in general use. I was wrong in my first post. Jerry is located in the north Phoenix AZ area. The phone number was correct.

 

[Duffman77]

In the dually case, the gains are way too high for the mods done. The second one is an out and out pipe dream but anything is possible with the power of the internet.

 

[Gary Allan]

I could barely break 30 mpg with my 2.4 79 Peugeot 504 wagon. I could consistently get 47-50 with my 79 VW

Somehow, I just ain't buying it.

 

[Jett Rink]

I'm sure there are several things you can do to most vehicles to make them a little more fuel efficient than how it comes from the factory. I clicked on this link and saw this section:

Changing driving habits proved to be a big factor. We slowed down to 60 mph wherever we went, coasted down hills whenever possible, and put a block under the gas pedal to limit us to half throttle while climbing hills. Under full throttle, our gas mileage would sink to about 10 mpg, so we had a throttle block to keep us from flooring it when we got antsy.

Well, duh!

The next Dodge Ram I see driven in this fashion around here will be the first.

 

[mstrjon32]

I believe it, they said at the end of the article that 30 mpg was measured freeway gas station to gas station. I could probably get 35 mpg in my Monte Carlo if I set the cruise to 60 mph and didn't make a single other modification, I bet if I went crazy and built fins, covered up the wheels and masked off the grille, it could hit 40.

Unfortunately, these modifications are totally impractical for everyday use.

 

[Jett Rink]

Don't forget drafting about 6 feet behind an 18 wheeler. That wasn't on the list.

That, of course, falls into the "totally impractical", if not "death wish" heading for how to boost mpg.

A few years ago Car and Driver had a story about doing all kinds of things to a car to see how much they could increase mpg. I forget what car it was. But on their run, then drove a few feet behind a big SUV (driven by another one of their writers) for the drafting.

 

[1sttruck]

"The next Dodge Ram I see driven in this fashion around here will be the first. "

It's because fuel isn't really that expensive. Last weekend I made two round trips between Portland and Seattle and on the 70 mph stretches it was uncommon to see people doing something like 60 mph, traffic congestion aside. A few vehicles of different sorts were driving slower, including semis, but otherwise nothing to suggest that it was worth driving a bit slower to save on gas.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: Jett Rink

A few years ago Car and Driver had a story about doing all kinds of things to a car to see how much they could increase mpg. I forget what car it was. But on their run, then drove a few feet behind a big SUV (driven by another one of their writers) for the drafting.


Yeah. They had a cut out that the nose of the car fit into trailing off the back of the SUV.

 

[1sttruck]

"I could probably get 35 mpg in my Monte Carlo if I set the cruise to 60 mph and didn't make a single other modification.."

In my son's first long driving trip we got 32 mpg in a round trip from Portland to Eugene in a 99 Taurus. He was keeping up with traffic just fine but staying in the slow lane, doing between 65 and 70 mph. The point isn't whether a 3000 lb car with a 3L or so engine can do it, it's whether a 7000 lb truck with a 6L engine can do it.