Ram 1500 Hemi

[Diesel_Dude]

Hi all - I have been a member here for a while but mostly read.

In Feb of this year I bought a new Ram 1500 with the Hemi. Very pleased with the truck so far and my first ever Dodge/Chrysler product.

I have 4400 miles on the truck so far. I had a free dealer oil change and had them do it at 1400 miles. I had figured on 5000 mile OCI's. Anyway the "change engine oil" light came on at about 4000 miles, I am unsure if the dealer reset the computer, I do not remember doing it.

So I change the oil & filter which had 3000 miles on it. I was surprised at how dark the oil was that came out. I am not sure I would have wanted to run another 2000 miles on it. I probably will not bother with an analysis because it is virtually brand new and still under warranty.

Since I am new to the Hemi, my question is, is this normal? I mostly ran Honda's and GM's prior to this and I do not think that the oil I drained from them at 5000 miles was as dark as this one at 3000 miles. I live in the country and most of my trips are 5 miles plus, so it is not like a lot of short run stuff happened. Actually about 1700 miles of this 3000 was on the highway, 1100 miles of it in one 3 day trip.

Any thoughts?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Modern Hemis run pig rich and have fuel dilution issues in some types of service.

It all depends on how you use it.

Choose a high quality 20w synthetic and change by the OLM and it will likely outlast both of us!

 

[donnyj08]

My oil change light didn't come on until 7500mi. It has also gotten 18-19 mpg since the first tank so it definitly doesn't run rich. I changed the oil at 1900, then at 5k and doing 5k oci on synthetic so far.

 

[Diesel_Dude]

My mileage is pretty good too, as a rule above 17.5 in normal driving which is mostly rural as I mentioned, so not a lot of stop & go. Will do 20-22 on the highway if I keep it around 65. It does smell a bit rich from a cold start but that goes away pretty fast.

I reset the computer so we will see how that goes. May change it again in 3000 to see what it looks like. I am using Castrol GTX 5W20 oil with a Mopar filter, not sure what oil the dealer used. Would still like to do a 5000 OCI though.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: donnyj08
My oil change light didn't come on until 7500mi. It has also gotten 18-19 mpg since the first tank so it definitly doesn't run rich. I changed the oil at 1900, then at 5k and doing 5k oci on synthetic so far.


Believe what you want. The facts are it does, but I can't change your mind and I'm not even going to try. But you might want to look at the tops of the pistons in any modern Hemi, they're online for anyone to see. Not a big secret!

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
My oil change light didn't come on until 7500mi. It has also gotten 18-19 mpg since the first tank so it definitly doesn't run rich. I changed the oil at 1900, then at 5k and doing 5k oci on synthetic so far.


Believe what you want. The facts are it does, but I can't change your mind and I'm not even going to try. But you might want to look at the tops of the pistons in any modern Hemi, they're online for anyone to see. Not a big secret!


i wasnt intending to say your wrong, however it would appear that the engine running rich has little effect on the fuel economy, especially for a crew cab truck. the worst ive gotten was 17.4 and that was towing a 2500lb trailor all day. other than that my averages have been 18.9 mpg. i think that is competitive fuel economy with the other brands, even if it is rich.

 

[SteveSRT8]

No problems here. I was an early adopter and bought my first Hemi back in 05. The rich tuning is part of a design strategy that has yielded a fantastic combination of fuel economy and old fashioned horsepower.

Your mileage is really high for that model, but that just shows good driving.

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
No problems here. I was an early adopter and bought my first Hemi back in 05. The rich tuning is part of a design strategy that has yielded a fantastic combination of fuel economy and old fashioned horsepower.

Your mileage is really high for that model, but that just shows good driving.


In Rural indiana almost all trips anywhere besides farmland consist of a 10 mile plus drive on a highway, a good warmup on the first start, coupled with MDS and good pedal control allows for decent gas mileage. i use 89 or 91 octane, depending on which station has the best price, both grades return the same mpg and performance as far as i can tell. I guess rich isnt too bad because the Eagle 5.7 is pretty wicked for a truck if you really get down into it!

Also Deisel_Dude, this was my first chrysler product as well. im very pleased thus far. i love it!

 

[Diesel_Dude]

I am not sure about all this running rich talk, but I have been around engines for a bit over 40 years and if this truck is running rich all the time it has sure fooled me. Like I said, it does seem a bit rich when I first start it but that goes away pretty fast.

I usually burn 93 and did see an increase in the gas mileage delivered from the 87. First time that has ever happened for me. As a rule I never saw a difference and I did try it in about every vehicle I have owned. Some of the vehicles I owned required 91 or better, never ran 87 in them.

I have towed some items with the truck, nothing real heavy but towing mileage is not anywhere close to the 17.5 donnyj08 gets, more like 14-15 is what the numbers were.

Looks like I will just do a change again in 3000 miles and see how things look. I did reset the monitor so there will be no guessing there.

Donny - What OCI do you use?

 

[DemoFly]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
My oil change light didn't come on until 7500mi. It has also gotten 18-19 mpg since the first tank so it definitly doesn't run rich. I changed the oil at 1900, then at 5k and doing 5k oci on synthetic so far.


Believe what you want. The facts are it does, but I can't change your mind and I'm not even going to try. But you might want to look at the tops of the pistons in any modern Hemi, they're online for anyone to see. Not a big secret!

So the modern Hemi has very low fuel dilution, great fuel economy...but runs rich?

Ok.

 

[chevman4life]

I love mine, already had the tune up, and wow noticed a difference in pep. Also, the plugs looked worn out at 36k(didn't have it done at 30k like the manual says). I also drive 80% highway which made no difference and I only use Shell, Chevron, or Conoco gas (mainly 89 but do run 87 depending on the price, no difference in mileage between the two for me). The only difference in mileage that I saw was when I used Exxon gas a few times (station near my house) and the mileage was at least 1 mpg lower than with other brands. I have purchased Exxon from other stations and never had that problem. Thought that was odd. I've gotten 21.2 mpg before driving to Houston cruising at 70-72 and the worst I've gotten that was all city this summer was 15.4mpg. I average 17.5-18.0 per iPhone app each fillup depending on traffic. I will say, it's usually 0.5-1mpg less than what the readout says.

Love the truck and it's the first Chrysler product I've ever owned.

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: Diesel_Dude
I am not sure about all this running rich talk, but I have been around engines for a bit over 40 years and if this truck is running rich all the time it has sure fooled me. Like I said, it does seem a bit rich when I first start it but that goes away pretty fast.

I usually burn 93 and did see an increase in the gas mileage delivered from the 87. First time that has ever happened for me. As a rule I never saw a difference and I did try it in about every vehicle I have owned. Some of the vehicles I owned required 91 or better, never ran 87 in them.

I have towed some items with the truck, nothing real heavy but towing mileage is not anywhere close to the 17.5 donnyj08 gets, more like 14-15 is what the numbers were.

Looks like I will just do a change again in 3000 miles and see how things look. I did reset the monitor so there will be no guessing there.

Donny - What OCI do you use?



I must note that i towed it all day on the highway at about 55-60mph tow mode on, tacking about 1650rpm. i have the 3:55 gears. trailer is a double axle dump trailer, it pulls very well. it was a 350 mi trip i filled up before i went, and again after just to see how it did. my first change was at 1900mi used Mobil super 5000 5w20 fl820s ford filter. then again at 5k and i switched to Amsoil OE 5w20 ford filter as well. running 5k intervals, but may move up to 7500 per the indicator. im waiting until i get 20k on the motor to do a UOA and see if 7500 mile oci's are feasible. i dont like to run my TBN to 1.0 like many here. i prefer 2 or higher. i like my engines to stay clean.