Performance issues 01 Ram

[92bonny]

Hello everyone,
About a year ago I purchased a 2001 dogde ram 1500 (5.2L), but before I purchased it I had no idea the truck had such poor gas mileage, in the neihborhood of 9 miles per gallon on the streets and I was wondering if this was typical or not and how much tire size affects it. Also the truck is extremely underpowered, has pretty good torque but takes forever to get to 60-70mph and off the line the truck has no power and it has poor passing power on the highway especially. Is this typical or do I have some problems with the truck. I previously had a 1999 suburban 1500 and it was a hundred times more powerful and much faster and it's a huge SUV!!!. Anyway if this is typical what can I do to get better gas mileage and Performance without a lot of money. And if it's not typical what might be the problem. Any help at all would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

[BleedDodge]

Is your check engine light on? There must be something wrong with it.

You mention tire size, as if you're worried about it. I'm willing to bet you have some huge tires on that truck...

[indyram]

You have issues

[92bonny]

There are no check engine lights or lights of any kind that come on and the engine runs very smooth. The only odd noise it makes is a sort of squeaking from the front bottom of the truck when it's warmed up and in park, it either stops or is less obvious when in gear, I have no idea what it is. Also I do have large tires on the truck, not sure exactly what size cause the truck isn't here right now but they are larger than stock. The truck is also under warranty but I don't know what to tell the dealer since there are no lights coming on indicating a problem, what should I tell them to get the issue resolved? Thanks so far for the replies. Any more help would be appreciated.

[indyram]

explain to the dealer what is happening they will run a diagnostic test and drive it themselves to find out what is wrong. That is why you gave them a bunch of money to do.

[WaltonsMtMan]

hey man.....you got the "death flash"........thats why your ram runs like a pig............

[bsmitty]

I found that a superchips tuner ave my about 2 more mile to the gallon and better power also. It costs around $300.

[BleedDodge]

LOL death flash again.

[WaltonsMtMan]

Originally Posted by BleedDodge

LOL death flash again.

i know its not your basic b.s. "get it scanned" answer but if they dont know they should be told.......

[92bonny]

hey, thanks a lot for all the replies, as far as the death flash goes, what can I do to fix it.

[WaltonsMtMan]

Originally Posted by 92bonny

hey, thanks a lot for all the replies, as far as the death flash goes, what can I do to fix it.

Air, Transmission flash will raise your shift points.......and after that its gonna come down to buying a programmer.....good luck....

[TRAILDUSTER79]

92BONNY...THE BEST THING TO DO IS AS MENTIONED ABOVE. HAVE A DIAGNOSITCS RUN ON THE ENGINE TO FIND OUT IF THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG, THAT IS WHAT ALL THE COMPUTER JUNK IS FOR. MORE THAN LIKELY THERE IS. AFTER THAT, BUY A PERFORMANCE CHIP, HEADERS, HIGH FLOW CAT, HIGH PERFORMANCE MUFFLERS AND LARGER EXUAST. THEN LOOK AT GETTING A SPARK BOX (MSD IGNITION HAS ONE), AND MAYBE EVEN A BETTER AIR FLOW DILERVERY SYSTEM. REMEMBER THOU THAT THE ENGINE LIKES COLD CLEAN AIR. CLEAN YOUR K&N AIR FILTER ABOUT EVERY 3 MONTHS AND IN REAL DUSTY CLIMATES UP TO ONCE A WEEK......NOW, THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY FOR MOST OF THIS, BUT IT IS WORTH IT IN THE LONG RUN. ALSO, IF YOUR TIRES ARE OVER 33" BRING THEM DOWN TO THAT OR STOCK. BIG TIRES EAT FUEL LIKE CANDY!!!!!

[BleedDodge]

Do you absolutely need to use caps? I don't know why, but I hate it...

[TRAILDUSTER79]

Sorry, am use to it on a different font

[bigboyblue327]

Originally Posted by bsmitty

I found that a superchips tuner ave my about 2 more mile to the gallon and better power also. It costs around $300.

That's true but dont you have to use premium fuel after tuning your engine?