Tuners/Performance Chips

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   Any actual experience with these? I drive a 3/4 ton Dodge 4wd with the 5.7l hemi (which I bought to pull a much larger camper I no longer have) and I'm trying to figure out some way to improve the 10.2mpg I'm averaging. Stock height, stock street tires, k&n air filter, and drive it like a grown-up. I don't want to trade it in, I like the truck, just would like to get closer to 15mpg if possible.

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Jholler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 13 Jul 2018 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 99	Topic: Tuners/Performance Chips Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 11:09am
	Any actual experience with these? I drive a 3/4 ton Dodge 4wd with the 5.7l hemi (which I bought to pull a much larger camper I no longer have) and I'm trying to figure out some way to improve the 10.2mpg I'm averaging. Stock height, stock street tires, k&n air filter, and drive it like a grown-up. I don't want to trade it in, I like the truck, just would like to get closer to 15mpg if possible.

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 11:41am
	You are getting 10.2 empty, or when towing? Because, towing, with a gas engine, that's about right +/- a bit, most people see 10-11.5 REGARDLESS of what they see not towing.

Jholler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 13 Jul 2018 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 99	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 11:55am
	Average 10.2 empty. I'll see 14 sometimes on the highway, also empty.

Jholler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 13 Jul 2018 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 99	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 11:56am
	I understand a 3/4 ton 4wd Dodge is not going to get great mpg, just wondering if it could be improved noticeably with a tuner.

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 12:10pm
	I don't know first hand what you might achieve by chipping your truck but I'm skeptical of claims that performance chips improve fuel economy much. The manufacturers spend tons of time and money tuning for best economy to start with so they get the best numbers possible in the EPA tests to meet the Federal CAFE standards. I highly doubt that some little aftermarket company could do something the manufacturers weren't able to do. If you were looking for more performance that might be a different story. If you really want to go the chip route I'm sure there are lots of forums for the 5.7 Hemi. I looked at the Toyota Highlander ones one time and was quickly convinced the chips were a gimmick. By increasing ignition timing they can possibly reduce fuel consumption but at the expense of running high octane fuel so its probably a losing trade off. if you bought your truck for towing a larger trailer you might have pretty short gearing at cruise speeds so you might consider changing to a taller final drive ratio which would reduce engine rpm and pumping losses as long as the tranny didn't decide to drop down a gear to compensate. I still only get 13.5-15 mpg towing my pod at 60-65 with my Highlander on 87 octane. Our fuel economy is ultimately limited at freeway speeds by the pod drag coefficient no matter what your TV is. So the easiest way to boost efficiency (after going to the max allowable tire pressure to reduce rolling resistance) is to slow down as much as is safe and you can stand. The hp required to overcome drag at 65 mph is 27% higher than at 60. That results in about 1.3 mpg reduction in fuel economy if 2/3 of your total load is drag and 1/3 is rolling resistance, which is about right. You can also try one of the aftermarket aerodynamic spoilers and see if that helps. Some folks on this forum seem to have had an improvement doing that.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 12:19pm
	We are rolling a 3/4 ton, 4x4, 6.2 V8.. we see about 11 towing (6,000lb), 12-13 around town, and as high as 18 on the interstate, empty, 70mph cruise. We have 3.73 gears.

Jholler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 13 Jul 2018 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 99	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 12:31pm
	MPG towing is about what I expect, it's what the truck is built for after all. It's also my daily driver though, which is why I'm wondering about improving economy. That 35gal tank hurts to fill up so often.

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2702	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 4:45pm
	You did not mention the vintage of your Dodge. If it's a relatively latemodel (say < 5 years old), you might be able to squeeze something out of a tuner. Try out 5-star, and tell them what you want. However, if they re-profile for economy, expect some level of performance hit.
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Jholler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 13 Jul 2018 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 99	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 5:01pm
	Sorry, 2010 model. Last year for true Dodges.

Keith-N-Dar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Location: Mayville, WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447	Posted: 09 Sep 2018 at 5:55pm
	I asked a family member the same question a couple years ago. He is heavy into tuning diesel trucks, and he said that between a chip and a chrome exhaust tip on a gas engine the exhaust tip would give the most improvement. Since my truck came with one I decided I was done.
	Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150