Dissapointed in MPG!

[signman1984]

I just bought my 06 2500 LBZ 4x4 crwcab w/6" fabtec & 35" BFG MTs (which are badly cupped and soon to be replaced) Ranch Hand bumpers front and rear w/ 34k miles. Other than that exhaust, intake and electronics are stock. After getting a ratio with a GPS I have figured a factor to attaining correct speed and miles traveled. After all calculations I am only getting 15mpg. I love the truck but need to replace the tires and would really like better milage. my buddy is traveling on the hwy with his LBZ 07 2x4 and reporting 19-21 mpg bone stock. I want a programmer and have considered buying a used one from classifieds. about 70% of new. I am leaning toward the Bullydog as simplicity and mileage being primary concern. I don't want to void my warranty but have heard it is not very reliable anyway. I am also worried about removing the cat. are there any legal ramifications from doing this?

[maxxflip]

15 mpg not bad for 6" lift and 35" tires imo

[collom7]

i have an 03 lb7 and always seem to be pulling something. but i average around 15 loaded or empty. any ideas on how to get better mpg. i just made a 3 hour round trip pulling 5 wheelers and burned over half a tank and my bro's cummins only burned just over a quarter.( but i was pulling more weight)
any advice would be helpfull.

[gr8shot]

Originally Posted by collom7

i have an 03 lb7 and always seem to be pulling something. but i average around 15 loaded or empty. any ideas on how to get better mpg. i just made a 3 hour round trip pulling 5 wheelers and burned over half a tank and my bro's cummins only burned just over a quarter.( but i was pulling more weight)
any advice would be helpfull.

Well obviously keep up on the fuel filter changes. 15mpg towing really isn't bad!!! You should be pretty happy with that. Keep the boost valve turned down. More boost needs more fuel to keep the mixture right. The other obvious things... accelerate lightly, let off early, keep it under 70mph.

With the cummins, its tough to say. He could have a bigger tank or something compared to yours which would make him seem to use less. Alot of the cummins' get pretty good mileage, so I wouldn't be suprised if he did a little better than you, just not a lot better. If he brags too much, just tell him to line em up, and put him in his place.

I'll also add that the 285's seem to hurt the mileage on the dmax's by as much as 1-2 mpg's.

[formula455]

Originally Posted by walleye guy

I realize that this topic has been beat to death, but I'm really sick and tired of my poor mpg. I have a ppe set on #3 and I am VERY anal about getting the best fuel economy and am extremely light on the throttle. My dic says I should be getting 21 mpg, but when I hand calculate, I got 16 mpg on my last fill. This was 90% hiway driving. 60 to 65 mph and not towing and I only got 16 mpg!!!!! I just cant believe it, just think if I didn't have the ppe, I would only be at 14 mpg!!!!!! I had the inj's replaced about 1,000 miles ago. New fuel filter and new air filter. New 265 tires. no other extras. 2003 crew lt. with 147k. auto tranny.

What do I need to do get my mpg up??????

My 03 cc has 118k on it, I have a 4" magnaflow exh a s&b intake and quadzilla tuner I get 22mpg empty and 14.5 pulling my 28ft toy hauler approx 10000 lbs, my mileage does drop significantly if i drive over 70mph and is best at about 65mph I will tell I got 20 running empty before the mods I do have the auto trans also

[collom7]

Originally Posted by gr8shot

Well obviously keep up on the fuel filter changes. 15mpg towing really isn't bad!!! You should be pretty happy with that. Keep the boost valve turned down. More boost needs more fuel to keep the mixture right. The other obvious things... accelerate lightly, let off early, keep it under 70mph.

With the cummins, its tough to say. He could have a bigger tank or something compared to yours which would make him seem to use less. Alot of the cummins' get pretty good mileage, so I wouldn't be suprised if he did a little better than you, just not a lot better. If he brags too much, just tell him to line em up, and put him in his place.

I'll also add that the 285's seem to hurt the mileage on the dmax's by as much as 1-2 mpg's.

i am happy with that pulling but i would like to see better empty. i know the tires hurt me but i like the looks to much.

[45Colt45]

I feel pretty good about my truck then, COMPLETELY STOCK, with only synthetic fluids, last fill up which was 90% in town with my foot burried in it was 17.9MPG (hand calculated), last trip to Idaho and back with 6500ft passes was 19.6@ 70mph (cruise), and 21.9@ 65mph (cruise). I cannot wait to get my mods and get 25 plus on the road!

[B--S]

i bought my truck and it got 16. since, i have done exhaust, intake, fuel catalyst, and a tonneau cover. and the biggest bang for buck was the tonneau cover... but isn't nearly as fun as the low end grunt of the exhaust. im hoping to get an economy efi live tune and a 2 stage tranny kit once my injector warranty is up to boost my mileage even more. oh yeah synthetics front to back make a noticable difference too

these are my average numbers before my injectors started crapping out on me below

[wildcat767676]

Wow, that's some great MPG guys! Mine has recently dropped over the last 6 months to the 15-17 range with a lot of freeway commuting even. I do have 105,000 miles now though.

I was at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week and ended up speaking to a rep at PPE about my power loss\MPG loss and he thinks I might need their fuel rail shim kit to keep my line pressure up. Do you guys have any knowledge on this? He also recommended going back to stock for 100+ miles then back to 120 hp tune and NO tranny relearn. Also suggested a new mass air flow sensor(again). Thoughts?

P.S. he said that I should be ok with normal driving upgrading to their 225HP tune on a stock tranny.......anyone using this tune out there without issues???

Thanks!!!

[Brant S. Fagan, SOC]

It seems like many of you guys have lifted and loaded up bigger tires and lost all your mpg performance.

My rig is stock except for the BFG 265s and the Bilsteins but the synthetics and hard bedcover have made a huge difference as I get 22-24 mpg on the highways by hand calculations consistently during the non-winter mix fuel season. During the winter mix time, my truck gets around 18-20 depending on surface and weather conditions.

Also note, I have the ZF-6 manual transmission which does contribute to higher stock mpg performance, as well as driving pleasure!

So I say ditch the Ally, slap in a ZF-6 and grab the stick for the big ride!