Well I Bought a Truck...

[GeneK]

Well I bought a truck. Somehow it wasnt the Regular Cab 2WD V6 I was considering.

Life changes and due to some changes in mine I found a Crew Cab 4x4 was really more useful. While it certainly isnt going to threaten an Insight It does better than I expected.

2010 RAM 1500 Crew Cab ST 4x4 4.7L 3.55. Rated 13/18 mpg.
At $10,000 Off Sticker and 0% Financing I couldnt resist .

Average for first three tanks (Primarily a 15.5 mile mixed route that takes roughly 25 minutes at an average speed of 37 mph.) of 18.9 mpg (Hand Calculated) doing nothing beyond obeying speed limits from 30-70 mph and not charging redlights. The last tank with warmer weather was 19.6 mpg.

The 5.0L Mustang has been sold and Im now on a the lookout for nice commuter that will get at least double that. Likely a stick shift Corolla.

[theholycow]

19-20MPG for mixed driving is some relatively great fuel economy. For comparison I don't do as well with my smaller (and almost certainly lighter) 2002 GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab 4x4 5.3L 3.73 (with 200,000 miles on it). My driving is also mixed and my average speed when there's not snow is usually around 37mph too (see my gaslog).

I bet that 4.7L has direct injection and maybe displacement on demand and is hooked up to a 6 speed automatic. Package all that with the tall 3.55 gears (as well as probably taller gearing from taller tires too) and that's what you get.

It will probably get better after you get some miles on it, too.

[GeneK]

Originally Posted by theholycow

I bet that 4.7L has direct injection and maybe displacement on demand and is hooked up to a 6 speed automatic. Package all that with the tall 3.55 gears (as well as probably taller gearing from taller tires too) and that's what you get.

It will probably get better after you get some miles on it, too.

Actually while its a bit stronger than the 4.6L 2V Ford and 4800 OHV GM (310 bhp) its on the same tech level. No Displacement on Demand, No DI, No VVT. The trans does actually use 6 gears but Chrysler only considers it a 5-Speed since one is an alternative 2nd gear (One for normal accelerating and the other for downshifting when passing or climbing). It does have two OD, 0.75 and 0.67. It does have 31.7" Tires (265/70R17). Like the 2V Ford and 4800 GM the 4.7L Mopar seems to exist primarily as a cost leader as larger engines actually have better mpg ratings.

I think 20 mpg overall average is doable when it warms up. When its cold it takes about 3-5 minutes before the trans temp is high enough for the PCM to allow Overdrive Operation. One direction this is a minimal issue. The other it puts me turning 2600 rpm for the first couple of minutes on the highway.