What kind of mileage are you 360 and V10 guys getting? Manual or Auto? Do you prefer your gas engine? If so why? Any mods done to your engine?
We get 11 empty around town, 11-12 on the highway empty, and 6 towing the 8500lb trailer. Auto trans here. The Dodge is my wife's DD, and she's just as much of a leadfoot as I am, so it could be better, and the highway could be better if we could pull overdrive on the interstate. At 80mph, the slightest hill or headwind will kick the trans down to Direct due to 33" tires and 3.55 gears. -Mike
Wow, you tow 8500 lbs in a truck with 33s and 3.55 gears? You should seriously consider changing to 4.56s or so. It'd make a drastic improvement in your fuel economy across the board.
...and a small block gasser, in mountainous Montana. Lets just say I spend a LOT of time in 2nd gear.....It's quite painful, but it does the trick until I can get my CTD.
Mine (see sig) gets 15-17 in the highway with the cap on the bed. Pullin' the 5er it gets 9-11. Never bothered to check city driving mpg.
I got about 11 overall and could get 14.5 hwy if I kept it at 65mph for long trips for a 1998 reg cab, 4x4, V10 auto that I use to have.
I get about 11-13 on the highway and about 9-10 in town, I have replaced everything I can think of to help, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter, synthetics in the diffs and new trans fluid and I keep up on my regular maint. It just is not the most econonmical engine dodge made.
my old dodge gets about 9 mpg on the highway empty and about 5mpg towing but it could haul just about anything i hook up to it its a 360 with edelbrock intake and 750 cfm edelbrock carb and a set of open headers
My got 8mpg driving with an empty trailer down the highway and 5mph with a loaded trailer. It's a stock 360 with an auto tranny. He prefers his third gen CTD without a doubt.
96 1500 5.9 auto 4x4 3.55's and 33's EMPTY: 11-12 city, 15-17 hwy LOADED BED (400-1000 lbs kept below roofline): 11 city, 13-15 hwy LOADED TRAILER (22 ft tagalong car trailer up <3000lbs): 10 city, 12-13 hwy LOADED TRAILER (same trailer loaded over bedline or >3000 lbs): 7-11 hwy Except for the heaviest loads, the engine pulls fine, but the trans is the definite weak spot. Can't tune it right for towing and even with a large cooler and electric fans it likes to heat up.
I would say to find a deep sump for the transmission and find a full synthetic transfluid that can take the abuse. Yeah and those gears would help to get lost as well.... Find a 4.10:1
