Anyone else happy with MPG?

[Al Slick]

I know this has been beat to death but I wanted to take a second to brag on my truck. I bought this truck with highway efficiency in mind. I drive a 2020 1500 Bighorn Quad Cab with the Hemi plus eTorque. 3.21 rear end and highway tires. I averaged over 25 MPGs on Saturday driving 291 miles from Nashville, TN to Asheville, NC. This also included an increase in elevation of just shy of 1,500 feet. I admit I drove slowly as I knew we were going to be there before our hotel was ready. I was driving 65-68 most of the trip traveling on I40 east.

The return trip downhill was mostly into the wind and I was eager to get home driving 78 mph and at times well into the top end of high speeds. I average only 23.5 on the return trip.

My daily commute is highway and I am typically averaging 20.5 with city trips mixed in.

 

[Mb7640]

Nice I have 21 1500 warlock and I'm at 2400 miles I'm getting 17.5 Mpg 90 percent hwy. From 10 miles to the first 2k miles I was getting 14mpg lol. Mine is 5.7l 4x4 3.92 gears

 

[HandyCruiser]

We've only been getting around 17 mpg with our new 2021 Laramie with 5.7, 4x4, 3.92 gears and lots of bells and whistles. But this has been mostly commute and city driving. We were hoping for something around 22 mpg like our former Charger Scat Pack. But the good news is that the running regular grade fuel has pretty well offset the cost since the Scat Pack got 93 octane fuel. I've yet to see how she does purely on the open road.

 

[Mb7640]

We've only been getting around 17 mpg with our new 2021 Laramie with 5.7, 4x4, 3.92 gears and lots of bells and whistles. But this has been mostly commute and city driving. We were hoping for something around 22 mpg like our former Charger Scat Pack. But the good news is that the running regular grade fuel has pretty well offset the cost since the Scat Pack got 93 octane fuel. I've yet to see how she does purely on the open road.

Why are you not using 89 on yours? The manual says 89 for 5.7l. I was hoping closer to 20mpg with mine. I was getting 23 on my challenger r/t lol.

 

[Mb7640]

On a side note to offset the cost of gas I use gas buddy, getupside and my shell rewards card with t mobile Tuesday. Which saves me around $8-10 a week

 

[Scram1500]

I'm happy with the mpg for a 5700 lb truck with 400 hp that can hit 60 in 7 seconds from a dead stop. Back in the day that would have been single digit mpg so anything in the teens is win win

 

[Andymax]

I'm similiar to OP...I'm focused on highway mileage and I'm very happy...regularly getting 21mpg. My typical trip is between 60 and 200miles of highway driving and then a bit of city, then back on the highway for the return. In that scenario I always get 20+ average...always hand calculated. My Evic is pretty consistent with being approx 1mpg over hand calc...so I always encourage figuring out your Evic error.

Also, the manual CLEARLY states that 87 octane is perfectly acceptable. I get no knocking/pinging and darn good mileage. The extra cost of 89 does not compute to being more economically efficient, so until I'm towing or hauling heavy...87 it is.

 

[GKIII]

Why are you not using 89 on yours? The manual says 89 for 5.7l. I was hoping closer to 20mpg with mine. I was getting 23 on my challenger r/t lol.

The manual says 89 recommended but 87 is 'acceptable'.

Some trucks respond better than others. In mine I used 87 once and heard spark knock so I've only ever used used 89 ever since. Never heard that sound again. My brother's truck takes 87 just fine.

 

[Mb7640]

The manual says 89 recommended but 87 is 'acceptable'.

Some trucks respond better than others. In mine I used 87 once and heard spark knock so I never used 89 ever since. Never heard that sound again. My brother's truck takes 87 just fine.

Just curious I know you can use it. I have been driving 5.7l since 2015 all Challengers up until July when I bought the truck. I always thought you should use 89. That's great that there is no issues with 87

 

[Richard320]

That is impressive fuel economy. On trips, I generally end up with 21 and change.

When I get worse, I take comfort in knowing it's still better than the 1995 Cherokee it replaced -- 18 mpg -- or the 2001 Wrangler which only gets 14 mpg above 65 mpg.

 

[theblet]

Yup. Very happy for such a heavy truck. I usually avg 18 to 19 75% city and 25% hwy right now.

 

[Shots]

Just curious I know you can use it. I have been driving 5.7l since 2015 all Challengers up until July when I bought the truck. I always thought you should use 89. That's great that there is no issues with 87

The manufacturer recommends 89 for peak performance, but 87 won't hurt it. I've had several rams and chargers with the 5.7L and for the first couple I ran the recommended 89 because I thought I had to. Then I found out 87 is acceptable and figured I'd give it a shot. Turns out I can't feel any performance difference when just driving it around and mpg's are close to the same (maybe 1 mpg difference). I drive like a little old man so daily driving is unaffected by the lower octane, although I do use 89 when I'm hauling a camper or something that actually works the engine a bit.

I recommend trying it. Worst case you go back to 89 if you don't like it, but you won't hurt the truck trying and you may save $0.30 - $0.40 per gallon.

 

[SKT Customs]

Honestly I’m totally happy with my truck getting 12-14mpg! The details are in my signature and frankly my mpg is higher than I thought it would be! Sure I wish I got 25mpg like others here, but for what it is, I think my mpg is great.

 

[Shots]

Some people worry about the mpg loss of using 87. I was one of them so I did some math.
If 89 cost $0.30 more than 87 (which is average here), how much better mpg do you have to get to offset the cost?

Octane	Cost per gal	mpg	miles	gallons used	Cost of trip
89	2.80	20.00	300	15.00	$42.00	actual	highway
87	2.50	17.85	300	16.80	$42.00	break even calc	highway
89	2.80	17.50	300	17.14	$47.99	actual	city
87	2.50	15.63	300	19.19	$47.99	break even calc	city

In the above chart I used 300 miles for a "trip."
I was averaging 20 mpg on the freeway and 17.5 around town when running 89. To figure out if 87 was less cost effective I calculated what my mpg would have to be to cost the same (or worse).
I highlighted the calculated values in red to show where the break-even point is. If I use 87 and lose more than about 2 mpg I'm actually better off running 89.
In my truck, the way and where I drive it, I lost about 1 mpg on the freeway and 0.5 around town by switching to 87. I don't feel a performance difference so I'm well ahead of the break even mark. No reason at all for me to run 89.

And to answer the OP's question. Yes I'm thrilled with the efficiency of my Ram. All the older ones got much worse. My last Ram was getting 14 mpg, so to get a 3.5 mpg bump on the new one is great.

 

[Zig10]

If I ever managed to get over 20 MPG anywhere I'd be ecstatic. As it is, I can't seem to get over the high 18s/low 19s on any trip I've ever taken. I would not say I'm happy with it, but I can certainly live with it, given the towing capabilities and the ride.

 

[Redfour5]

I know this has been beat to death but I wanted to take a second to brag on my truck. I bought this truck with highway efficiency in mind. I drive a 2020 1500 Bighorn Quad Cab with the Hemi plus eTorque. 3.21 rear end and highway tires. I averaged over 25 MPGs on Saturday driving 291 miles from Nashville, TN to Asheville, NC. This also included an increase in elevation of just shy of 1,500 feet. I admit I drove slowly as I knew we were going to be there before our hotel was ready. I was driving 65-68 most of the trip traveling on I40 east.

The return trip downhill was mostly into the wind and I was eager to get home driving 78 mph and at times well into the top end of high speeds. I average only 23.5 on the return trip.

My daily commute is highway and I am typically averaging 20.5 with city trips mixed in. View attachment 103746

I have a 3.21 rear end, crew cab and am between 15 and 16 mixed driving. Compared to my old 2015 Outdoorsman Crew with 3.92, I am ecstatic but still not at the rated mileage. The 2015 seldom saw 13 mpg... I'll take the roughly 20% increase in daily in MPG... Towing, so far, about a wash... Performance? about a wash, tranny works more, looks/comfort, much better... even though the 2015 was no slouch in those areas...

 

[Redfour5]

If I ever managed to get over 20 MPG anywhere I'd be ecstatic. As it is, I can't seem to get over the high 18s/low 19s on any trip I've ever taken. I would not say I'm happy with it, but I can certainly live with it, given the towing capabilities and the ride.

And aside, but the best mileage I ever got relatively consistently in my 2015 Outdoorsman with a 3.92 was towing... Yep, I had an 8 foot pop up camper at around 1800 to 1900 lbs. I saw 20 mpg a few times and consistently 17/19 mpg...while regular driving never topped 15 mpg. So, if you want to camp, don't mind towing and want to improve your gas mileage try one of these... https://www.forestriverinc.com/rvs/camping-trailers/flagstaff-tent/176LTD/778

I tried to figure it out and all I could come up with was that the height of the pop up was like exactly the same height as the bed of the truck with a topper. It was almost identical on width and same underneath. So, it essentially became an extension of the truck from wind resistance standpoint. I would love for an engineer in certain fields to comment. I think somehow the same dimensions and added length must have created a reduction in wind resistance somehow and very favorably so. It was really kind of strange.... Now, the new travel trailer? Let's talk 9 mpg on a good day... But of interest, I went from a 19 footer TT to a 27 footer and the added weight and length didn't seem to affect mileage much... It just sucked all the time. That was on the old 3.92. My new 3.21 rear end may have picked up some 10ths to one MPG... Still working on that and will need a few more times...

 

[Andymax]

But of interest, I went from a 19 footer TT to a 27 footer and the added weight and length didn't seem to affect mileage much... It just sucked all the time.

Same...I had a 1000lb all aluminum 7x12 cargo trailer and a 4700lb camper that was over twice as long. Got the same mileage regardless. It's all about pushing wind...

 

[Sluggo0018]

When I bought my 2021 Bighorn 5.7 liter Hemi, I was resigned to getting 12-14 mpg like so many on this forum. I am pleasantly surprised to consistently get 20+ mpg. We do frequent trips from NJ to VT and NJ to NY State and typically get 22-23 mpg on these 600 mile round trips. I typically travel at 75 mph on the highway. The truck has the 3.21 rear end and OEM 18 inch wheels. I am thrilled with the overall fuel economy.

 

[Mb7640]

The manufacturer recommends 89 for peak performance, but 87 won't hurt it. I've had several rams and chargers with the 5.7L and for the first couple I ran the recommended 89 because I thought I had to. Then I found out 87 is acceptable and figured I'd give it a shot. Turns out I can't feel any performance difference when just driving it around and mpg's are close to the same (maybe 1 mpg difference). I drive like a little old man so daily driving is unaffected by the lower octane, although I do use 89 when I'm hauling a camper or something that actually works the engine a bit.

I recommend trying it. Worst case you go back to 89 if you don't like it, but you won't hurt the truck trying and you may save $0.30 - $0.40 per gallon.

Thats true thanks for the information