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Caleb
Dodge Dakota
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10/19/2006
22:39:08

Subject: Gas mileage
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I have a 2000 dakota sport with a 4.7 and a 3 inch suspension lift and 33.5 toyo MT's and im averaging around 200 to 210 miles and i was wondering if that is normal cause to me that doesnt sound right and i was wondering if there was a way to help that number. thanks for the imput



71firebird
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2006
00:03:30

RE: Gas mileage
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The only way i've been able to help my mileage with my 5.9 is while on the interstate setting the cruise on 65 and staying in the right lane. the occasional trucker gets mad at me but I don't worry about it.



Tireguydave
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2006
02:01:13

RE: Gas mileage
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Alot of people are probably going to disagree with me but i dont give sh!t. I have a 99 4x4 5.2 The thing that helped my mileage out the most was my helix throttle body spacer I put on. I didnt notice any power gains really but I was averageing about 12.9 mpg (according to the little computer thermometer/mileage deal-e-o), and now im getting around 16.1 around town and 22 on the freeway at 75mph and no wind. The flowmaster exhaust helped a little but not as much as the TB spacer (I know,I was surprised too, especially since I payed $300 for the exhaust and $83 for the TB spacer. But I got that more for the looks and sound. Anyways, not sure if it will have the same effect on your 4.7 but could be easily worth 80 bucks. Running 33" tires obviously is going to bring your mileage down a little. not sure what size wheels you're running but you could always go up in wheel diameter like a 17 or 18" and that will save you a little bit of power you have to use too (easier to turn alot of wheel and a lil rubber than alot of rubber and a lil wheel). Another thing is do a tune up. If its been awhile since you changed your spark plugs and such, that could save you some gas. Proper tire inflation which is about 35PSI for dakotas is another little thing to help out. All the little things add up. Cold air intake is an obvious one. Cant tell you by how much, still waiting for the new dry flow Filter from AEM , been on back order since like june. Well anyways hope that helped you out. Got any more questions feel free to email me. Oh, one more thing to check is your catalytic converter, if you have close to 100k on your truck and it hasnt been changed that will help also.
davester8022@yahoo.com



crow318
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2006
09:42:12

RE: Gas mileage
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33" tires = gear change, plain and simple.

Some guys say 4.10 is enough, others like the 4.56
Me personally, (I have a 5.2 with 31's) will be getting 4.10's right after I replace the intake manifold.

And, of course, as tireguydave said, make sure you have a good tuneup.



N56629
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2006
13:30:12

RE: Gas mileage
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yes, larger diameter tires will get you you better gas mileage. However, if they are wider and you run lower tire pressure you may not get those gains. As far as wheels go it doesn't matter what diameter the wheel is. The wheel has nothing to do with tire diameter in fact a larger diameter wheel may make the tire/wheel combination heavier and that will cause a reduction in gas mileage.

If anyone thinks that they increased their gas mileage by over 3 mpg, with a throttle body spacer, then I have some mountain resort property for sale in Florida you might be interested in. The use of a helical spacer is even more illogical. Try some gas line magnets instead.



Kowalski
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10/20/2006
15:09:51

RE: Gas mileage
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Caleb, what kind of gas milage are you getting ? The correct way to figure this is miles per gallon - looks like you might be trying to figure miles per tank or something ?

Also, larger diameter tires on a 4.7 may not get you better gas milage on a 4.7, even at stock widith. That would have the same effect as going to higher gearing; and several of us with the 4.7 actually saw a slight increase in milage going to lower gearing (from 3.55 to 4.10).

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

modain
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10/20/2006
15:32:29

RE: Gas mileage
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Not to mention the added weight of larger tires and wheels. More rotating mass eats into the gas comsumption. And a larger circumference tire is harder to turn than a smaller one. And, larger tires will make the odo/speedo read less/slower than reality. The measured distance must be corrected with the tire size difference to determine the correct distance traveled. Caclulate MPG on this figure.

Bottom line: go larger and expect to pay for it in the MPG department.

What's your left foot doing?
=========================================
2002 Graphite QC SLT Plus, 4.7L, NV3500, Superchips 3715, 3.92 LSD, loads o'fun...
2001 Patriot Blue Durango SLT, 4.7L, 45RFE, Superchips 3715, 3.55 Open (for now)
1999 Forest Green Dakota RC Sport, 2.5L, NV1500, 3.55 Open


Tireguydave
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2006
23:03:19

RE: Gas mileage
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hey n56629,
Lets say you have 35" tires on 15" wheels and 35" tires on 18" wheels, which do you think is going to require less torque? I can tell the difference just from spinning it on the spin balancer at work (which is a tire shop by the way where I work on tires all day everyday). And I didnt say that everyone who puts on a throttle body spacer will get the same results, I'm just stating what I'm getting. And if you dont believe me, like I said I dont give a sh!t.
Maybe you should keep your mountain resort property in florida.



Adam
Dodge Dakota
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10/21/2006
08:42:37

RE: Gas mileage
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I understand what your trying to say about the whole larger wheel less tire...but what weighs more? A 2inch layer of thin rubber cuz that's the only part of the tire you're sacraficing when increasing rim size and then the extra 2 inches of metal. Yes I know it's not a solid extra 2 inch rim but still...It may be just me but I would thing it wouldn't take much more of that extra 2inches of metal to easily make up for the lack of rubber and then some. Not trying to argue just trying to understand a little better.



N56629
Dodge Dakota
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10/22/2006
00:33:10

RE: Gas mileage
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The easiest way to settle the arguement on wheels vs. tires is to weigh the tire/wheel combination and not spin it on a balancer.

Once you get moving torque is not a big factor and would have little to do with getting better gas mileage. The total rotating mass and moment would affect things like drag racing but we are talking about better gas mileage not better e.t.'s.

I'll have to wait while someone tries to explain how the little swirlies, from a helical tb spacer, make their way down into the intake plenum, up and over the top and into the combustion chamber. For some people faith is more important than logic.



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