Kim8839

I have a stock 3500 dually, 45k miles, 4wd automatic with 3.73 gears, I'm only getting around 14 mpg city and hwy. That seems kind of low, is there anything I can do to get better mileage? Everything is bone stock on the truck.

AH64ID

A tuner is the easiest and simplest way to improve mileage, aside from your right foot.

A Smarty Jr is what I recommend.

After a tuner you get into cam/turbo/etc...

MegaTony06

Don't make him taunt you a second time. Silly K-nigh-it.

The last part of that post made me think of John Cleese. It is a slippery slope once you start down the path.

1-2-3

Actually, maintenance and driving habits are the best way to improve economy. Fully inflated tires, clean filters, empty out weight that you really don't need to be hauling around anyway. Drive sensibly, No Joe Rocket takeoffs and stops.

cdennyb

start by trying to never run over 60 mph. Try to coast up to stop signs under 40 mph. Mine kicks into a kind of neutral under 40 and the engine rpm drops to an idle, coasting for 1/2 block at idle helps the mpg a bunch.

ALSO... you ain;t got enough miles on it yet to get great mileage. Mine started coming around when it got 70K on it.

+1 what they said above.

AH64ID

There is a difference between getting the best mileage, and improving the mileage for your style of driving. The latter is what most people are after.. That really only comes thru altering the motor thru tuning or hard parts, assuming proper maintenance.

Kim8839

Thanks everyone for their good input. I guess my truck still hasn't broke-in yet for any real good mpg. I'll definitely look into getting a tuner. What would be a good tuner and price? Someone here recommends a Smarty Jr.

Lost Lake

A smarty jr will get you immediate mileage and power by changing the tuning. It will also make your truck run better and as far as I can tell, you will have fewer injector problems.... Guys with Smarty's just seem to have fewer problems.

Now that extra power will cost you mileage if you keep your foot in it!!!!

AH64ID

Smarty Jr is hand's down the best thing going for what you are looking for!

.boB

I would agree with that statement. Probably the one proven method that can actually pay for itself.

There's a number of proven mods that will increase mileage. The key word here is proven.

And, there's a number of expensive mods that will not gain you any mileage, and will cost you big bux. For example, a fancy air cleaner will cost $200-400, and will gain you absolutly nothing. Nada. Zip. Just money down the drain.

The other part of this is the return. The goal )for most people) is to increase efficiency to save some money. Some mods will gain 1-2 mpg, but are so expensive that they would take well over 100K miles to pay for themselves - like a new camshaft.

And some mods will never pay for themselves - like maximum tire pressure. It works, but new tires are expensive. There's no return there.

Kim8839

.boB, and everyone else thank you. Your truck is almost identical to mine, what kind of mileage are you getting with the Smarty Jr.

Spooler

Best thing you can do for mileage is to work the truck. Yes, a Smarty will help some. Our trucks just need to be worked.

cdennyb

A lot of people on the boards recommend the smarty series of tuners. I was tempted to buy one 4 years ago but ended up with a good deal on a Banks 6-Gun w/speedloader and for $400 I have one that has worked flawlessly for all those years.
It even passed the smog check here in communist Kalifornia! Worth the price of admission in my book.
Look into it as well. It has a good track record, regardless what I hear from the so-called experts who haven't used it.

johnh

was a 5.9 available in '07?

Bill M.

"was a 5.9 available in '07"


Yep. mine is an 07 that was built in october, 06. O7 was a long model year.

4wd, automatic. I get about 13-14 towing a 7000 lb trailer, about 15-17 with my wife driving it around town, and sometimes 20 on the highway when I drive it 65 or so. I can do a little better when the land is flat, the wind does not blow, and I don't have to stop every 50 miles for the rest area, but those days are far between, it seems.