Improve 2016 mpg

[ReaganAbington]

I currently own a 2005 power wagon and I'm on the market to buy a new heavy duty truck to last me my next 15-20 yrs. I currently get around 10 mpg in the city 14 or so highway. The power wagon is everything I want in a truck but I just can't justify buying another 10 mpg truck. If I bought a 16 I'd put 35s on it and that's about it. What would yall do upgrades wise to get the best mpg out of a 2016? What mpgs have yall heard for 16?

[rbpowerwagon]

Honestly if it was me I'd keep the 05 and buy a heavy duty truck that suits my needs. Mileage wise your best bet would be not to buy a powerwagon. Nobody buys it for the mileage, they buy it for its capabilities. Just my two cents

[RamGentry]

So you would buy a PW and put bigger tires on it and then worry about the MPG? 6.4 Hemi, 4:10, gears, 7,000lbs and 35" tires....No matter how much money you throw into the standard intake, exhaust, tuner you are still going to average, i dunno, 13mpg? I dont understand even considering a vehicle like the PW if MPG is one of your top concerns and I see this topic a lot (not necessarily on this forum).

[ReaganAbington]

People have to use it for daily driver also? I just wondered if there was any mpg gain over the last 10 years I've owned this truck.

[RamGentry]

I DD my truck and I just sigh and bend over every time I head to the gas station. I'm sure they've made little improvements here and there but ultimately you are looking at a big heavy, gas guzzling, off road machine, same as you have right now. Its not going to be a significant difference. I honestly cannot provide you with a definitive answer because I have not driven a 2016 but I can say with fair certainty that you are not going to gain 5-10mpg over what you are getting now, especially after adding larger tires. I guess I also dont know what you would accept as a marked improvement over what you are getting now.

[MoparToYou]

What would yall do upgrades wise to get the best mpg out of a 2016?

The best 'upgrade' you could do would be to leave the stock tires on it. I've owned a lot of four wheel drive vehicles in the 40 years I've been driving, and putting on bigger tires is something I almost always do. The fuel mileage always goes down with bigger tires. I don't think bigger tires will affect the Power Wagon as much as other vehicles, because it comes with gearing more suited for larger tires. But if fuel mileage were a top concern for me, larger tires would come off the mod list.

What mpgs have yall heard for 16?

I have a 2016 Laramie Power Wagon, and fuel mileage is really quite variable. If you are able to drive downhill with a tailwind at 55 to 65 mph the MDS will kick in, and fuel mileage is quite good. I did a 60 mile trip in those conditions, starting at 6000 feet elevation and ending at 3000 feet elevation, and got 21.3 mpg. That is by far the exception though. Most of the time on the interstate fuel mileage will be 13 to 14 mpg with no load, and 11 to 12 mpg with a lightweight trailer. Around town daily driver fuel mileage is 10 mpg. I have not reset the fuel mileage calculator on one of the trip meters on my truck since the truck was purchased. Overall fuel mileage for the first 3000 miles on the truck thus far, according to the computer, is 10.7 mpg. 640 of those miles were spent towing an 18' auto transport trailer with a light load on it, and three tanks of gas have been spent exploring dirt roads in the southwest desert, with a little low range 4x4 use, and one time requiring both lockers.

This truck is awesome. I've owned a lot of different vehicles in my life, and this truck is by far my favorite. The interior is outstanding (Laramie trim), the stereo is fantastic, and overall driveability is just unmatched. But fuel mileage? Not one of its strong points.

[loveracing1988]

Mine is a 2014 non power wagon, and I have 3.73 gears but you will see an improvement over your 05, you just have to decide how much of an improvement are you looking for. With the stock 33" tires I averaged 15 to 16 on the expressway and 13 to 14 mixed driving. Now that I added 35's I'm down to mid 14's highway and 11.5 to 12.5 mixed driving. Not long after I bought my tires I added a hemifever 87 tune and it didn't help meg's much over the standard towing tune my intune had. I've read multiple accounts on here of people adding intake, exhaust and a tune and getting back to their stock tire size mpg's with 35's but that is all for the 2013 and older crowd. I haven't seen many people tune their 6.4 trucks and gain much of anything for miles per gallon, so pretty much whatever your truck gets from the factory is what you will get in my eyes. I want to add a mufflex muffler to my truck at some point but I'm not expecting to gain anything at this point. I switched to the hemifever 93 tune and still never gained any mileage although the power increase was nice. As a last note from 2015 on in order to tune it you will need a new cracked pcm as of right now, they may figure out how to crack them in the future in vehicle but right now tuning a late model ram is around $1000.

[TwinStick]

Pure & simple. If you want mpg---get the 1500 eco diesel. The one i test drove got 28.9 during my test drive. That included 10 stop lights & 80 mph a few times.

[RamGentry]

Pure & simple. If you want mpg---get the 1500 eco diesel. The one i test drove got 28.9 during my test drive. That included 10 stop lights & 80 mph a few times.

Dang, thats impressive

[TwinStick]

Plus, it has 420lb ft of torque, compared to my Hemi's 375 lb ft. I see it at the same price as a Coloraaaado with full size ability & all that goes with it. Probably gets the same or close to same mpg too & can tow 1200 lbs more. & when it comes to towing, it is just flat out easier & more enjoyable to tow with a bigger vehicle. I speak from experience on this matter.

[trevor78]

at the end of the day no matter what you drive, the way you drive it has the biggest impact on your mpg's car-truck-lifted-lowered. get a 16 wagon and drive it easy and you'll get the same mileage as a eco diesel being driven like a jack#@s. Oil is at a long time low and most likely well be for a while so get the wagon and don't worry if your getting 10mpg or 15mpg just set back and enjoy having a bada#@s truck!!

[Snowsled]

The mileage is definitely better than your third gen. My last truck was an '06 2500 qcsb hemi with a g56 and 3.73s. That was a 10-12 mpg truck on 33's, I did see 14 on highway trips. My '15 PW is a solid 3 mpg improvement across the board. I get 17 on highway trips, 12 city and 15 mixed. My mixed is 2 lane, 60 mph limit, mountain roads with a once a week bought of in town stoplights.

Improvements come from taller gearing and the center axle disconnect that reduces parasitic drag on the front end. The bonus for me was that the 6.4 seems to have about double the power my old 5.7 had. It actually passes cars where the '06 just waited in the conga line, too slow to safely make the pass.

The only way to do better than this in a HD truck is the diesels. The problem is, that is a $9000 price bump to pick up just 2 more mpg. You can buy a LOT of extra gas for $9000 last I checked.

I have seen some nice Eco 1500s lifted on 35s. As mentioned, that would probably get you 20-25 mpg, which is awesome in a full sized truck.

[Bill2014]

The mileage is definitely better than your third gen. My last truck was an '06 2500 qcsb hemi with a g56 and 3.73s. That was a 10-12 mpg truck on 33's, I did see 14 on highway trips. My '15 PW is a solid 3 mpg improvement across the board. I get 17 on highway trips, 12 city and 15 mixed. My mixed is 2 lane, 60 mph limit, mountain roads with a once a week bought of in town stoplights.
...

X2
That's exactly where I am with fuel mileage on the 6.4 MDS with the CAD front end! 17mpg on the highway and 15mpg or better with mixed driving. The trucks mpg calculator is 1/4 to 1/2 mpg higher than actual hand calculations.

[Will]

What would yall do upgrades wise to get the best mpg out of a 2016?

The best 'upgrade' you could do would be to leave the stock tires on it. I've owned a lot of four wheel drive vehicles in the 40 years I've been driving, and putting on bigger tires is something I almost always do. The fuel mileage always goes down with bigger tires. I don't think bigger tires will affect the Power Wagon as much as other vehicles, because it comes with gearing more suited for larger tires. But if fuel mileage were a top concern for me, larger tires would come off the mod list.

What mpgs have yall heard for 16?

I have a 2016 Laramie Power Wagon, and fuel mileage is really quite variable. If you are able to drive downhill with a tailwind at 55 to 65 mph the MDS will kick in, and fuel mileage is quite good. I did a 60 mile trip in those conditions, starting at 6000 feet elevation and ending at 3000 feet elevation, and got 21.3 mpg. That is by far the exception though. Most of the time on the interstate fuel mileage will be 13 to 14 mpg with no load, and 11 to 12 mpg with a lightweight trailer. Around town daily driver fuel mileage is 10 mpg. I have not reset the fuel mileage calculator on one of the trip meters on my truck since the truck was purchased. Overall fuel mileage for the first 3000 miles on the truck thus far, according to the computer, is 10.7 mpg. 640 of those miles were spent towing an 18' auto transport trailer with a light load on it, and three tanks of gas have been spent exploring dirt roads in the southwest desert, with a little low range 4x4 use, and one time requiring both lockers.

This truck is awesome. I've owned a lot of different vehicles in my life, and this truck is by far my favorite. The interior is outstanding (Laramie trim), the stereo is fantastic, and overall driveability is just unmatched. But fuel mileage? Not one of its strong points.

I gained mpg when I went to 35's and gained more to 37's. It gives you a better highway gear. 4th Gen

[Snowsled]

Keep in mind that the 4.56 gears went away in 2014 for the 4.10s. I do not expect to see better mileage when I fit 35s next summer. The transmission already has too much OD so I don't see the taller tires helping. I think the heavier, wider tires might hurt my mpg.

[Will]

True

[Jnallison]

Mine is a 14, I get about 10 around town and 12.5-13 on the HWY. It sucks. Honestly is a complaint of mine. If they ever find an economic motor for them I will be the first to buy one. There is no gain buying a new one and putting bigger tires on it.

[usmc369]

I got 13.3 hand calculated with winter gas, highway, going 70-73. This is with original 33's and 4.88 ring and pinion. Summertime the best Ive seen is is 15.1 hand calculated staying between 55-65. Stay away from the ethanol gas if you can, it makes a big difference. When i visit relatives in MD the gas is 10 % ethanol everywhere, where in NC we have ethanol free or stations that have less than 10%. My mileage drops in the 12's in MD.

[MoparToYou]

This is from today in my 2016 Laramie Power Wagon. My truck is still stock.

[Bill2014]

That's awesome
Many of the 6.4 power wagons have demonstrated 17 mpg on the highway now.
I'm considering getting a DiabloSport I2 DCX tuner to push toward 18 mpg. I have already been running tanks of 93 octane, so the tuner would instantly drop in an extra 15-20 hp AND the better mpg.

[loveracing1988]

That's awesome
Many of the 6.4 power wagons have demonstrated 17 mpg on the highway now.
I'm considering getting a DiabloSport I2 DCX tuner to push toward 18 mpg. I have already been running tanks of 93 octane, so the tuner would instantly drop in an extra 15-20 hp AND the better mpg.

I gained essentially nothing with the canned tunes or the hemifever tunes. Do not buy them for any type of MPG gains, buy it for the former shifts and more power.
Also if you are still stock running 93 octane will actually drop your mpg's.

[leo72987]

Wow 17 thats pretty darn impressive!! Im currently average 12.5 in my 2005 mds really does seem to make a big difference on these newer trucks!

[Bigskyguy1976]

I just traded my 5.7L 2012 PW for the 2016 6.4L. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't. The Leaf spring suspension and the 5.7L motor with 4.56 was a far, far better set up then the 5-link coil, 4:10 and 6.4L. The set up on the 2016 feels completely wrong. Feels a lot less powerful. On the 2012 I got about 14mpg. On the 2016 with just shy of 1000mi have yet to see better than 11mpg. The truck is far too heavy to get into the eco mode on the 6.4L.

Keep your old truck!

[Stickman]

Wait until you get the oil changed a couple times and then see if anything improves. My '12 was a dog with horrible mileage the first 2k miles or so also, then it slowly got better. I see alot of guys saying they love the new '15+s and I always think I want one, but I think I would like my '12 better in the long run.

[huntinguy]

Your mileage and power will go up with time. After break in it's like the truck retunes itself.

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