How to improve fuel efficiency
#11
12-25-2016, 12:18 PM
every thing in the red
UPDATES: I've crossed a few items off my list for efficiency mods based on Great feedback and More research. And added a few new ones. I listen and want your feedback.
My goal remains focused on improving fuel efficiency while remaining quiet; I'm not after horsepower or speed. Currently, my stock truck is at 19 mpg, I wantED 35 mpg, but have re-scaled my expectations from your feedback to aim at 25 mpg.
25 MPG is still high expectations and not very realistic
New items I am looking at for upgrades:
-- HE351 Turbo mods to compressor and turbine- Turbo Resources has been recommended to me and I am in touch with Austin/Ian. Looking at 'Holset HE351CW Turbine Housing + Shaft Upgrade 67 mm'. Let me know if this is on target or needs adjustment to another Turbo mod (model/maker/sizing/?)
-- Do you think Turbo Resources' 'HE351 HX40 67mm Billet Compressor Wheel Upgrade' (on top of the aforementioned) will increase or decrease fuel efficiency?
keep the stock turbo. you will only gain power from a bigger a turbo and loose a little bit of spool up time depending on how much bigger you go. keep it stock
-- Cams are an item identified to me as a hard part mod for efficiency- Hamilton 180/220 is on my radar for a daily driver (but my research is in its ground-level stages and open to guidance on manufactures/models/sizing).
cam is a waste of money, even if you were going for more HP the cam would be a waste
-- I'm looking for tips to keep my IAT up (100*) and a thermostat to stay under 200*
Which makes/models have been successful for your trucks?
use the cummins 200* thermostat. its for the 2010-2012 cummins, iirc
-- Tuners- Smarty Jr., EFI live, Smarty UDC Pro, and Diablo Sport Extreme or Predator programmers: which programmer is best for fuel efficiency?
EFI, EFI, EFI or EFI. there is no comparison, EFI is the only way to go. must make sure you pick a good reputable tuner to write your tunes
Items on my original update list with adjustments or changes in priority:
-- MBRP 5" Turbo back exhaust system (possibly with Quiet Tone muffler as I like quiet) - still looks good to decrease exhaust backpressure
exhaust pressure will not be an issue
-- Cold Air Intake- Banks Ram-Air Intake System with Banks Super-Scoop Kit; or S&B's equivalent; or just a BHAF by AFE.
keep the stock intake. you want to keep your IATs up and a CAI defeats the purpose of that. plus the stock air filter filters the best.
-- Banks Techni-Cooler System package (but with the 3 ½” mandrel bent boost tubes from the ‘42766-monster-ram-intake-w-boost-tube-2003-07-dodge-5-9L’ package), and
-- Banks Big Hoss Intake Manifold System- is this intake manifold system necessary if I'm looking at an intake horn upgrade? Which one gets the most efficiency out of the 5.9L Cummins?
waste of money and wont help your fuel mileage
Items I've crossed off my original list are: (and let me know if they should be placed back on the 'do' list)
1- BD Ported Wastegate T6 exhaust manifold: not necessary as enlarged manifold does not create the pressure necessary to maximize / power the turbos
2- Turbo Smart Hyper-gate 45mm: not necessary as I'm not looking combining enough turbos to overpreassure the exhaust manifold
3- Wicked Wheel 2 or another turbine wheel upgrade to pull in more cold air: I'm on the fence here as turbine wheel upgrades bring more air into the turbo for efficiency but are usually intended to increase horsepower (I'm considering Turbo Resources).
leave these off of your list. add manual hubs to your list of things to add to the truck
Achievements:
600 lbs of sandbags placed at the tail end of the truck bed gave me 2mpg. My theory is the added weight over the rear axle transforms the rwhp into moving Big Blue forward instead of spinning the tires. My attention focused here because within 5K miles of buying the truck my rear tires were noticeably worn. I'm looking to place a 1/2" steel plate back there to cut down on the space required for 12 sandbags.
Thank you for your time and insights.
Jay
My goal remains focused on improving fuel efficiency while remaining quiet; I'm not after horsepower or speed. Currently, my stock truck is at 19 mpg, I wantED 35 mpg, but have re-scaled my expectations from your feedback to aim at 25 mpg.
25 MPG is still high expectations and not very realistic
New items I am looking at for upgrades:
-- HE351 Turbo mods to compressor and turbine- Turbo Resources has been recommended to me and I am in touch with Austin/Ian. Looking at 'Holset HE351CW Turbine Housing + Shaft Upgrade 67 mm'. Let me know if this is on target or needs adjustment to another Turbo mod (model/maker/sizing/?)
-- Do you think Turbo Resources' 'HE351 HX40 67mm Billet Compressor Wheel Upgrade' (on top of the aforementioned) will increase or decrease fuel efficiency?
keep the stock turbo. you will only gain power from a bigger a turbo and loose a little bit of spool up time depending on how much bigger you go. keep it stock
-- Cams are an item identified to me as a hard part mod for efficiency- Hamilton 180/220 is on my radar for a daily driver (but my research is in its ground-level stages and open to guidance on manufactures/models/sizing).
cam is a waste of money, even if you were going for more HP the cam would be a waste
-- I'm looking for tips to keep my IAT up (100*) and a thermostat to stay under 200*
Which makes/models have been successful for your trucks?
use the cummins 200* thermostat. its for the 2010-2012 cummins, iirc
-- Tuners- Smarty Jr., EFI live, Smarty UDC Pro, and Diablo Sport Extreme or Predator programmers: which programmer is best for fuel efficiency?
EFI, EFI, EFI or EFI. there is no comparison, EFI is the only way to go. must make sure you pick a good reputable tuner to write your tunes
Items on my original update list with adjustments or changes in priority:
-- MBRP 5" Turbo back exhaust system (possibly with Quiet Tone muffler as I like quiet) - still looks good to decrease exhaust backpressure
exhaust pressure will not be an issue
-- Cold Air Intake- Banks Ram-Air Intake System with Banks Super-Scoop Kit; or S&B's equivalent; or just a BHAF by AFE.
keep the stock intake. you want to keep your IATs up and a CAI defeats the purpose of that. plus the stock air filter filters the best.
-- Banks Techni-Cooler System package (but with the 3 ½” mandrel bent boost tubes from the ‘42766-monster-ram-intake-w-boost-tube-2003-07-dodge-5-9L’ package), and
-- Banks Big Hoss Intake Manifold System- is this intake manifold system necessary if I'm looking at an intake horn upgrade? Which one gets the most efficiency out of the 5.9L Cummins?
waste of money and wont help your fuel mileage
Items I've crossed off my original list are: (and let me know if they should be placed back on the 'do' list)
1- BD Ported Wastegate T6 exhaust manifold: not necessary as enlarged manifold does not create the pressure necessary to maximize / power the turbos
2- Turbo Smart Hyper-gate 45mm: not necessary as I'm not looking combining enough turbos to overpreassure the exhaust manifold
3- Wicked Wheel 2 or another turbine wheel upgrade to pull in more cold air: I'm on the fence here as turbine wheel upgrades bring more air into the turbo for efficiency but are usually intended to increase horsepower (I'm considering Turbo Resources).
leave these off of your list. add manual hubs to your list of things to add to the truck
Achievements:
600 lbs of sandbags placed at the tail end of the truck bed gave me 2mpg. My theory is the added weight over the rear axle transforms the rwhp into moving Big Blue forward instead of spinning the tires. My attention focused here because within 5K miles of buying the truck my rear tires were noticeably worn. I'm looking to place a 1/2" steel plate back there to cut down on the space required for 12 sandbags.
Thank you for your time and insights.
Jay
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Blue5.9L (12-26-2016)
#13
02-20-2017, 10:52 AM
Diesel Bomber
I used to have one. The darned thing really worked and I enjoyed it for about a year. Unfortunately, during one of my maintenance inspections I found that the plastic housing somehow developed a crack from front to back. Fearing that it might break into pieces and ruin my turbo, I took it out. This is a pretty good design but the plastic housing could have been better quality. THe TAG help my towing,as I felt an improvement in torque. As long as you kept the rpms below 2500, it worked as claimed, but otherwise it was a restriction at higher rpms. These aren't available for purchase anymore......too bad. Too bad the housing wasn't made of metal such as stainless or aluminum............. Good luck with your search. Youre better off making improvements in exhaust flow, lower restriction intake set-up and programmer designed to improve towing.
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Blue5.9L (02-21-2017)
#14
02-21-2017, 08:14 PM
#15
02-22-2017, 10:54 PM
Diesel Enthusiast
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Blue5.9L (02-26-2017)
#17
02-26-2017, 06:18 AM
#18
03-01-2017, 10:17 PM
Diesel Enthusiast
I am not sure who the best vendor is since I have not used one. I have a buddy tune my truck using this program and it is much better than your typical box tuner like edge or even smarty. I'm sure someone will chime in
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Blue5.9L (03-06-2017)
#19
03-06-2017, 07:31 PM
I purchased an EFI autocal and tune from Silverbullet tuning. I have been very happy with EFI and the tunes I received. Les matched them to the mods I have. Truck has been very reliable and I've not caused any excess damage due to "extreme" tuning. Looking for MPG rather than HP he should be a sensible match up. I note that with EFI stage 3 (my street tune of 5 tunes ) I get 18-19 mpg; while in tune 1 or close to stock I drop to 16.5 mpg with my truck. My daily driver "2006 1 ton Mega cab on 12 inch wide rubber in hill country".
I figure 25 mpg is a stretch but we all need a dream eh!
"Googler" this guy.
Les Szmidt
SilverBulletTuninig
I figure 25 mpg is a stretch but we all need a dream eh!
"Googler" this guy.
Les Szmidt
SilverBulletTuninig
Last edited by loucojegue; 03-06-2017 at 07:33 PM.
The following users liked this post:
Blue5.9L (03-09-2017)
#20
03-06-2017, 08:18 PM
Diesel Enthusiast
I purchased an EFI autocal and tune from Silverbullet tuning. I have been very happy with EFI and the tunes I received. Les matched them to the mods I have. Truck has been very reliable and I've not caused any excess damage due to "extreme" tuning. Looking for MPG rather than HP he should be a sensible match up. I note that with EFI stage 3 (my street tune of 5 tunes ) I get 18-19 mpg; while in tune 1 or close to stock I drop to 16.5 mpg with my truck. My daily driver "2006 1 ton Mega cab on 12 inch wide rubber in hill country".
I figure 25 mpg is a stretch but we all need a dream eh!
"Googler" this guy.
Les Szmidt
SilverBulletTuninig
I figure 25 mpg is a stretch but we all need a dream eh!
"Googler" this guy.
Les Szmidt
SilverBulletTuninig
