2003 Ram 1500 w 5.9 L engine... Help! w Hp & Mpg problems

[renzot]

Mopar & Truck-Guys,

On November 19th 2002, I purchase a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 w 5.9 L engine...BTW, it was my very first truck, I was more worried about our brutal upstate winters than anything else. This was definitely an impulse purchase... A month later I realized the mistake I had made, by not waiting another month or so...In 2002 they put the Hemi's in the 2500 first, with winter approaching...I got talked into getting the 2003 5.9 L 1500, I really do like the Dodge Ram design. OK, I've have been reading how bad this motor is for over a year now...Can anyone give me some honest answers, and specific things to do w this 5.9 L to improve my hp & mpg...I was told by my local Dodge Dealer, that even if I purchase Cat-back, Flowmaster-dual exhaust systems etc......The catalytic converter would prevent that from happening, and I'd be wasting money!!! They even slamed the Ram-Air breather system too. Only one Midas shop promised me a noticeable improvement with regards to my hp & mpg problem w duall exhaust piping 2.5" to 3" exaust system...

SUFFER MY IGNORANCE ON THIS MATTER, AND SET ME STRAIGHT....SURE I CAN PONY UP 12,000...AND BUY THE HEMI, BUT I'M DETERMINED TO STICK WITH THIS TRUCK FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN IT IS MY FIRST TRUCK!!!

BTW, I HAVE BOUGHT NOTHING BUT CARS SINCE I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, FROM SPORT TO LUXURY CARS...TRUCKS ARE A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL...SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO TRUCKS A LITTLE SOONER !

APPRECIATE SERIOUS COMMENTS,

THANKS,

STUCK ON STUPID

[BleedDodge]

Well of course a truck is gonna burn more gas than a car. That hemi is supposed to be worse on gas than a 360, I was told that from the guys I know personally that have them. We compare mileage, and the hemi engines are so bad, I don't know how anyone can handle the operating expense, and pay the truck off as well.

Those new style Dodges are bigger, heavier, and less aerodynamic. It's a truck. Going down the road is going to cost you money, and it's also gonna take power to get it moving.

You say you should have gotten into trucks sooner? Why? If you have nothing but complaints about this one then I guess you would have felt the same way if you started buying trucks when you were "16 years old"...

[slantsixness]

Darn. I was hoping to get an answer on how I could get a 360 to get better than 17mpg in a W250....
Never mind...

Here's an honest answer:
The economy of the 5.9L can be improved. What you have to do is not legal in most states (emmisions). Even if you did, the cost to "economize" is horrendous.
The new hemi is nice, but it'll cost twice to three times that the 5.9L does in gas.

Recommendation:
Love it or sell it. I prefer "love it". Much more fun than a car.

I'm happy with my '86 D100 with a 3.7L (read: 225 slant 6) that gets 29 Mpg on the highway (19-20 in -town) with an A904 auto trans and; it's a long bed truck to boot. Did I mention the truck has over 400K on it? (motor rebuilt, but only once). Daily driver.

Slantsixness

[renzot]

Originally Posted by renzot

Mopar & Truck-Guys,

On November 19th 2002, I purchase a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 w 5.9 L engine...BTW, it was my very first truck, I was more worried about our brutal upstate winters than anything else. This was definitely an impulse purchase... A month later I realized the mistake I had made, by not waiting another month or so...In 2002 they put the Hemi's in the 2500 first, with winter approaching...I got talked into getting the 2003 5.9 L 1500, I really do like the Dodge Ram design. OK, I've have been reading how bad this motor is for over a year now...Can anyone give me some honest answers, and specific things to do w this 5.9 L to improve my hp & mpg...I was told by my local Dodge Dealer, that even if I purchase Cat-back, Flowmaster-dual exhaust systems etc......The catalytic converter would prevent that from happening, and I'd be wasting money!!! They even slamed the Ram-Air breather system too. Only one Midas shop promised me a noticeable improvement with regards to my hp & mpg problem w duall exhaust piping 2.5" to 3" exaust system...

SUFFER MY IGNORANCE ON THIS MATTER, AND SET ME STRAIGHT....SURE I CAN PONY UP 12,000...AND BUY THE HEMI, BUT I'M DETERMINED TO STICK WITH THIS TRUCK FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN IT IS MY FIRST TRUCK!!!

BTW, I HAVE BOUGHT NOTHING BUT CARS SINCE I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, FROM SPORT TO LUXURY CARS...TRUCKS ARE A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL...SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO TRUCKS A LITTLE SOONER !

APPRECIATE SERIOUS COMMENTS,

THANKS,

STUCK ON STUPID

Hey, If you read my post, notice the conflicting info that I was hearing from various shops, including my local dealer... just thought someone who really new about trucks...could give me some serious answers, with regards to my problems...I also stated that I will stick with this truck. BTW, I was a serious powerlifter, and have many victories to my credit, because I got into it early. If I had been into trucks at 16, I'm sure I would be pretty knowledgeable about Trucks today. Perhaps, I was a little busy at the time, because I joined the Navy at 17 yrs old, then C-130’s and latter Jets were my thing.

I’m not afraid to admit the things I do not know...
With all do respect...

renzot

[renzot]

Originally Posted by slantsixness

Darn. I was hoping to get an answer on how I could get a 360 to get better than 17mpg in a W250....
Never mind...

Here's an honest answer:
The economy of the 5.9L can be improved. What you have to do is not legal in most states (emmisions). Even if you did, the cost to "economize" is horrendous.
The new hemi is nice, but it'll cost twice to three times that the 5.9L does in gas.

Recommendation:
Love it or sell it. I prefer "love it". Much more fun than a car.

I'm happy with my '86 D100 with a 3.7L (read: 225 slant 6) that gets 29 Mpg on the highway (19-20 in -town) with an A904 auto trans and; it's a long bed truck to boot. Did I mention the truck has over 400K on it? (motor rebuilt, but only once). Daily driver.

Slantsixness

Thanks for your honest reply, I will Love it.

renzot

[BleedDodge]

I was honest too. If you still think your truck sucks, that's cool.

[tec68]

Not sure about the 5.9 but I recently bought the 5.7 Hemi. I do most of my driving in town so I get maybe 13 mpg or so. I have read about a couple mods that will give it ~50 more HP AND better gas mileage, but that is yet to be seen. Mods recommended are the K&N FIPK setup, Flowmaster (or others) cat back exhaust and a performance chip (can't remember the brand). Of course, all of these are not exactly cheap either, but I think I will try them when I can afford it.

[hdben]

Hey we have a 03 with a Hemi and just turned 45K on it. The mileage has dropped as of the last 2k miles. We average 14 in town and 19.5 to 22 on the hwy. We are also wondering how to increase our mileage. We have a K&N and magnflow Big Block muffler and thats all. I would appreciate any constructive ideas as well. We do love our truck though, 96 taco has 158k on it and gets 20 mpg in town an 31-33 hwy. Love it

[imtheoneandonlyD]

Trading my 360 for the hemi was the best thing i ever did. When i traded it in i was getting around 10mpg(at the best) So far the WORST mpg i've gotten on a single tank with the hemi is 11.5 all city. Its superior in every aspect. If you bought a truck for gas milage just drive straight back to the dealer and give it back.

If your looking for slightly better milage then YES the stock cat will override any CATBACK system you get. For an air intake screw k&n and their plastic parts go with an air-ram setup. http://www.airram.com/ however i dont think he is accepting orders right now because of him being stationed in iraq.

[fredjacksonsan]

Don't bring back old threads. This one was dead for almost 2 years. Check the date before you post!!!

hdben, you should start a new thread if you'd like to discuss mileage.

[marcbell]

[quote=renzot]Mopar & Truck-Guys,

On November 19th 2002, I purchase a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 w 5.9 L engine...BTW, it was my very first truck, I was more worried about our brutal upstate winters than anything else. This was definitely an impulse purchase... A month later I realized the mistake I had made, by not waiting another month or so...In 2002 they put the Hemi's in the 2500 first, with winter approaching...I got talked into getting the 2003 5.9 L 1500, I really do like the Dodge Ram design. OK, I've have been reading how bad this motor is for over a year now...Can anyone give me some honest answers, and specific things to do w this 5.9 L to improve my hp & mpg...I was told by my local Dodge Dealer, that even if I purchase Cat-back, Flowmaster-dual exhaust systems etc......The catalytic converter would prevent that from happening, and I'd be wasting money!!! They even slamed the Ram-Air breather system too. Only one Midas shop promised me a noticeable improvement with regards to my hp & mpg problem w duall exhaust piping 2.5" to 3" exaust system...

SUFFER MY IGNORANCE ON THIS MATTER, AND SET ME STRAIGHT....SURE I CAN PONY UP 12,000...AND BUY THE HEMI, BUT I'M DETERMINED TO STICK WITH THIS TRUCK FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN IT IS MY FIRST TRUCK!!!

BTW, I HAVE BOUGHT NOTHING BUT CARS SINCE I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, FROM SPORT TO LUXURY CARS...TRUCKS ARE A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL...SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO TRUCKS A LITTLE SOONER !

APPRECIATE SERIOUS COMMENTS,

THANKS,

i have two dodge all 1500 change you air filter two a k&m and add the spacer plate for the Throttle form airaid put some headers and 3 im cat back exhaust and for better add high flow cat you can check out one of my truck at highvelocityauto.com city driving mpg is 13 and for the parkway it s about 18 to mpg 20 mpg and you will a big difference with power two

[imtheoneandonlyD]

[quote=marcbell]

Originally Posted by renzot

Mopar & Truck-Guys,

On November 19th 2002, I purchase a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 w 5.9 L engine...BTW, it was my very first truck, I was more worried about our brutal upstate winters than anything else. This was definitely an impulse purchase... A month later I realized the mistake I had made, by not waiting another month or so...In 2002 they put the Hemi's in the 2500 first, with winter approaching...I got talked into getting the 2003 5.9 L 1500, I really do like the Dodge Ram design. OK, I've have been reading how bad this motor is for over a year now...Can anyone give me some honest answers, and specific things to do w this 5.9 L to improve my hp & mpg...I was told by my local Dodge Dealer, that even if I purchase Cat-back, Flowmaster-dual exhaust systems etc......The catalytic converter would prevent that from happening, and I'd be wasting money!!! They even slamed the Ram-Air breather system too. Only one Midas shop promised me a noticeable improvement with regards to my hp & mpg problem w duall exhaust piping 2.5" to 3" exaust system...

SUFFER MY IGNORANCE ON THIS MATTER, AND SET ME STRAIGHT....SURE I CAN PONY UP 12,000...AND BUY THE HEMI, BUT I'M DETERMINED TO STICK WITH THIS TRUCK FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN IT IS MY FIRST TRUCK!!!

BTW, I HAVE BOUGHT NOTHING BUT CARS SINCE I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, FROM SPORT TO LUXURY CARS...TRUCKS ARE A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL...SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO TRUCKS A LITTLE SOONER !

APPRECIATE SERIOUS COMMENTS,

THANKS,

i have two dodge all 1500 change you air filter two a k&m and add the spacer plate for the Throttle form airaid put some headers and 3 im cat back exhaust and for better add high flow cat you can check out one of my truck at highvelocityauto.com city driving mpg is 13 and for the parkway it s about 18 to mpg 20 mpg and you will a big difference with power two

Dont advise people to buy stuff that doesnt work. ANY SEARCH will show you the TB spacer is a complete peice of shit. Its been proven AND claimed by the companies that make them that they show NO added power or MPG on fuel injected applications.

[BleedDodge]

This is so old already. Might as well post some more right.

[imtheoneandonlyD]

Originally Posted by BleedDodge

This is so old already. Might as well post some more right.

exactly

[DANGORDON666]

In our shop we have 3-1 ton's with 5.9 cummins engines and a freightliner wrecker with the same and the best thing you can do to them to keep your mpg and hp up is maintenance,especially running the overhead about every 50,000 miles,I just ran the rack on our 2008 with 48,000 mi. on it and lash was off by over .010 which made it noisier,low on torque, and lousy on mileage.

keep air filter clean,tire pressure checked,oil and fuel filters changed regularly.

Cummins has been building diesels for years and have a pretty good grip on getting the most of your truck so read your owners manual and do what they tell you as far as maintenance.
also always use oem parts,they were specifically matched to the engine setup through millions of dollars in research,aftermarket parts are a copy made by people who want to earn a quick buck,they don't do research they make copies or forgeries if you will,If you want a good example take your present car and put autolite spark plugs,and fram filters on it for a while and see how your fuel mileage does and how soon it starts running like crap.