I recently purchased a 2004.5 Ram 2500 crewcab cummins with 4:10 gears and would like to add a mod to increase mileage and a little extra power will be a bonus. Research points to Quadzilla M3 Max Mileage, Edge Mileage Max, and Diablosport predator U7130 ranging in price from $150 to $270. I am a "rookie" to all of this, 70 years of age, will not be racing, but will pull a travel trailer at approx 8,500 lbs and really need good sense advice as to the best approach for my needs. Your help and experience will be very much appreciated.
Fuel mileage upgrade
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I am not sure how those boxes increase mileage but i would suggest one that does it by advancing timing rather than increases rail pressure. Also consider a smarty jr. It costs a little more but i do believe you get what you pay for. With 4.10 gears you might also consider a taller than stock tire to knock the rpm's down on the highway. Anything over 1,800 rpms seems to really suck down the fuel.
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I'm kind of a rookie myself, I just bought an 04 as well and have been going through posts with a fine tooth comb... as far as I can tell the Quadzilla max mileage is the only programmer that doesn't boost fuel rail pressure. The rail pressure from what I've read on here, is the cause of injector failure, however most of the people I've talked to or read posts by say running a tuner like smarty or edge in the lower settings(1-3 or stock, tow & econ mode) won't put enough stress to cause issues anytime in the near future (of course there are tons of variables such as fuel quality at the pump or the filter on the truck. The mileage on your vehicle, or more precisely the mileage on your injectors and I'm guessing that keeping the air filter clean would help a bunch as well!
hope I've helped out a bit
hope I've helped out a bit
I purchased my truck with the goal that it do the most for the least: longest life at lowest cost with highest reliability. To that end, on any truck establish the mechanical baseline first:
- All book service performed
- Perfect (not just good) wheel alignment
- Tire pressure according to load (empty different than loaded or towing)
- No brake drag
- Eliminate steering wander
- No CAC leaks
Changing rear gear ratio to 3.42 would provide real benefits (and is on my list). Those 4.10's on yours just kill any idea of good mpg and aren't needed for such a light trailer either in Texas or Florida (even with the occasional trip out West).
For towing set up your WDH with the help of a certified weight scale to get numbers dead-on (FF axle returned to unhitched weight, and RR axle to 60-75% of non-distributed weight with balance to TT axles. TT needs wheel alignment, shock absorbers, wheel balancing, alignment, ideal tire pressure also. Best antisway keeps steering corrections minimal, which counts. Avoid friction bar type).
Other than that:
* Stock spec closed-shoulder highway rib tires such as MICHELIN LTX A/S or BRIDGESTONE Duravis m500
* Bed tonneau cover
* SMARTY Jr (over modules listed); see mpg spec's per AH64ID -- "With a stock auto I would run SW2 TM2 TQ4 . . . . " -- (if you just have to send money to strangers for a magic box; improve the driver and these boxes aren't very impressive is the point).
Other changes aren't warranted. Driver skill is the item to improve. Highest FE will be from 1,300 to 1,500-rpm. Choose gear first and road speed second to optimize economy, town or country, and:
600F-temps or less
60-mph or less
6-psi or less
* Conventional gauges or SCANGAUGE or ULTRAGAUGE for instantaneous readouts.
* And set up a logbook to record every gallon used. The occasional high or low tank is meaningless. What counts -- the only thing that counts -- is the overall average mpg. One can break out the info all sorts of ways past that.
Never stop, never idle. No short trips, no drive thru's, combine all errands. Run 5-mph under in town as a maximum, and only accelerate to 5-mph below that, then drift up to optimized rpm range. On the highway horsepower demand doubles from 55 to 70-mph, so keep it under 60 as aero resistance skyrockets past that number. Trailer towing only makes it worse.
How "fast" other traffic moves is an irrelevancy. In the land of the free you might be surprised at how many of the sheeple feel real panic at being left out of the flock by driving a little differently, bleatin' & hollerin' for Jesus that they's gonna get runned over, never noticing that there has always been slower traffic.
Driving for FE pays cash money weekly, monthly and annually thus incentivizing any changes. I can run the highways solo for a conservative fuel cost estimate of 16-cpm or pull the trailer at 26-cpm (for planning purposes; at todays price). Run the numbers you collect and you'll be able to predict fuel costs accurately. A CTD is a great machine. Overpowered, straight from the factory. Only the kiddies think a 7,000-lb truck should be driven like the fart can Honda they had just previous to it.
My numbers in sig.
Good luck
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892 Posts
Slowmover, I always enjoy your posts, very informative. Now that being said, what would you consider a perfect alignment? How about brake drag, how does one reduce it? I have an 04.5 2wd regular cab auto and I want to get max mileage out of it so I'm thinking 3.42 gear also. So any tips you can give, I'm all ears or maybe all eyes in this case since I'm reading this.
There is more discussion in depth on what constitutes "economy" over on the ECOMODDER forum. Other participants both there and here are Diesel_Dave and Texas_dj. How to, and what to, on that forum.
There are "book" alignment numbers that one ought to have at hand (from the FSM). And, as alignment work by the skilled is often a matter of experience, finding an old man, at an old shop, can be a good answer -- the shorthand version -- of what constitutes a "perfect alignment". My truck, at 180k has not needed an alignment in the time I have owned it and tire wear is next to nil. This first set of replacement tires may take the truck to 250,000-miles. The OEM set made it to 120k.
Alignment settings should be for lowest wear without unduly compromising road performance is the harder-to-answer question. It's fine tuning. Arguments abound on racing forums with details like this. Which is why I'd stick with experienced personnel. The "book" is the right place to start. Tire pressures should reflect loads, and wheels need to be balanced on a HUNTER GSP-9700.
I don't have a 4WD but any reading around here indicates wear rates on their front end componentry that should be checked often for slop or slack. I'd be more concerned with steering slop than with being perfectionistic on alignment. The amount of slack -- from the steering shaft out to the tires themselves -- is the area of concern. Ill-considered tire choices make it worse, as do lift kits, etc. It can be, or could be, a lot of work to get some 4WD CTD's to go down the road with no hands on the wheel, accelerating or braking, not just rolling. Even the best alignment won't overcome the penalty of too many steering corrections per 100 miles (reference both CUMMINS and KENWORTH).
Brake drag is a matter of getting the vehicle in the air and checking the brakes themselves. Fresh fluid, no seal leaks (and dirt accumulations; rust in some parts of the US) should be checked. Calipers should slide freely, no sticking or binding. All should be "equal" in this regard. Parking brake should be carefully done. We want the shortest amount of force, and the least amount of time, in brake use. First, drive so as to never have to use the brakes. Second, when in use one wants them like-new, not hanging intermittently or constantly. They can "hang" cold or hot (and not be quite noticeable at times), especially on the rear. Or with a really sloppy front end where the driver is compensating for pull due to several reasons.
I'm eye-ing the 3.42's (and tricked up by MICROBLUE RACING) as my travel trailer (I'm a full-timer now) makes my truck/trailer a matched pair. I'm unlikely to ever gross more than 17,000-lbs (a weight consistent with the OP's rig) so solo and hitched miles aren't going to be affected much by changing to a longer pair of legs in re performance. The rpm drop will put my rig right at 55-mph at 1,500-rpm which, over thousands of miles, will help with reduced fuel costs. Same for town speeds, or, more specifically, all driving between 35-55 mph. I'll trade a bit of performance from gearing to have a slight advantage for fuel economy, IOW, especially if it puts me in the sweet spot for 90% of miles traveled.
I might also go to a one-piece aluminum driveshaft next time I'm due for u-joint replacement to help reduce rotational mass and friction. Same for a 6.7L harmonic balancer, since, on both, the factory has "improved" the trucks with these. The FE effect may not be great, but it all adds up if the truck lasts longer or runs "better" (a more rested driver via reduced NVH). Sort of like 4-whl disc brakes. If it can be retro-fitted without too much problem, then have at it. (Also on my list are the hydraulic body mounts from the latest 4th Gen trucks).
Fuel economy really is just a lot of details to pay attention to. With the best driver or worst driver, once truck spec is set then not a lot can be done. But keeping things from worsening isn't so hard to do as it is really just being diligent about factory maintenance schedules and finding the best people to help sort things as the truck wears. That's the real difference, IMO.
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Fuel Mileage Upgrade
Thanks for the input from everyone, and special appreciation to all the good advice that "Slowmover" provided. Am digesting the input and trying to decide the best approach for my situation, considering $$$$$ and performance.
Pitacoy
Thanks for the input from everyone, and special appreciation to all the good advice that "Slowmover" provided. Am digesting the input and trying to decide the best approach for my situation, considering $$$$$ and performance.
Pitacoy
To make it easy there are just a few questions to answer, and then some data entry to come up with numbers that make-or-break personal transportation questions.
[1] How long will it be kept? (calendar years)
[2] How many miles will it travel in that time? (calendar year average)
[3] What is the total ownership/operating cost per mile given all line items entered on a spreadsheet?
Download AAA: Your Driving Costs -- 2011 Spreadsheet from .pdf file at linked page bottom.
Download OOIDA: Cost Per Mile Spreadsheet
There is also information at the EDMUNDS site on True Cost of Ownership. All of these are tools to put my desires into perspective.
Besides this I use the experience of my family. Both my grandfather and father quit pulling travel trailers between the age of 75 and 77 years. Were I today 70 years old, I would run calculations on both points: [5] years out and [7] years out.
Doesn't mean I would necessarily sell the TT at the end, as it could be parked at a scenic spot and still used so long as I felt like driving out to it; or, parked at a family members home to use as guest housing, etc. So I would keep income calculations separate for both vehicles.
Etc. There's more to this, PM if you want (more about retirement and RV'ng full-time).
[1] How long will it be kept? (calendar years)
[2] How many miles will it travel in that time? (calendar year average)
[3] What is the total ownership/operating cost per mile given all line items entered on a spreadsheet?
Download AAA: Your Driving Costs -- 2011 Spreadsheet from .pdf file at linked page bottom.
Download OOIDA: Cost Per Mile Spreadsheet
There is also information at the EDMUNDS site on True Cost of Ownership. All of these are tools to put my desires into perspective.
Besides this I use the experience of my family. Both my grandfather and father quit pulling travel trailers between the age of 75 and 77 years. Were I today 70 years old, I would run calculations on both points: [5] years out and [7] years out.
Doesn't mean I would necessarily sell the TT at the end, as it could be parked at a scenic spot and still used so long as I felt like driving out to it; or, parked at a family members home to use as guest housing, etc. So I would keep income calculations separate for both vehicles.
Etc. There's more to this, PM if you want (more about retirement and RV'ng full-time).
Fuel mileage
Slowmover,
Thanks for all your info & would really to visit with you via landline; I am not too swift on this type of communications & don't know how to pm. My phone number is 850 971-5093 & let me have yours for us to talk.
Thanks,
Pitacoy
Slowmover,
Thanks for all your info & would really to visit with you via landline; I am not too swift on this type of communications & don't know how to pm. My phone number is 850 971-5093 & let me have yours for us to talk.
Thanks,
Pitacoy
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160 Posts
A couple other things to try, but depends on budget are going to be a free spin kit for the front end if it is 4WD and a GearVendors unit for the an extra overdrive. The taller tire trick works well too. Look at Toyo Open Country H/T or Nitto DuraGrappler in 285/75R17. A little taller and less than an inch wider and are a goo highway tread. The GearVendors would help without have to change your gears. It just bolts to the back of the transmission or transfer case and will keep you in the sweet spot for the power band especially while towing.
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54 Posts
What slowmover said.
Best bang for the buck is changing driving style. At 70 years old you probably already have lots of those skills down cold. One of the cheap mods is to modify the hone ring for a couple/3 degrees of timing increase. I plan on doing this vice buying one of the mileage modules. Also a set of gauges (EGT, Boost). A Scangauge will help A LOT to give you instant MPG feedback so you can adjust your throttle foot to get the best fuel mileage. I use it to watch throttle position, fuel rail pressure, boost pressure, inlet air temperature, gallons left in the tank, estimated miles left in the tank, and all the MPGs (Trip, Tank, Instantaneous). Of course only 4 at any one time. ScanGauge - Trip Computer + Digitial Gauges + ScanTools
my 2 cents
Best bang for the buck is changing driving style. At 70 years old you probably already have lots of those skills down cold. One of the cheap mods is to modify the hone ring for a couple/3 degrees of timing increase. I plan on doing this vice buying one of the mileage modules. Also a set of gauges (EGT, Boost). A Scangauge will help A LOT to give you instant MPG feedback so you can adjust your throttle foot to get the best fuel mileage. I use it to watch throttle position, fuel rail pressure, boost pressure, inlet air temperature, gallons left in the tank, estimated miles left in the tank, and all the MPGs (Trip, Tank, Instantaneous). Of course only 4 at any one time. ScanGauge - Trip Computer + Digitial Gauges + ScanTools
my 2 cents
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