i have a V8 auto and i would kill for mpg like that on city driving
i get 12 to 13
sometimes as low as 10 if i wake up that morning with a big grin on my
face!
on the highway i got 18-19 with the tailgate but with a pronet i gained
2mpg
-Master Of Reality
'93 Dakota Sport
318 CID
auto (unfortunately)
4X2
short bed/cab
On Wed, 22 Jan 1997, Karl Kromer wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> My name is Karl, and 2 weeks ago I purchased a '96 Dakota Club Cab Sport
> 4x4, V6, auto, 3.9 gears, cruise, etc., etc. This truck replaced my '95
> Sport 4x4, V8, 5 spd, 3.55 gears. After having the old truck for 18 months,
> I realized I should have gotten a club cab, and maybe the V8 was a bit
> much, and wouldn't cruise be nice..... Since the left over '96's were about
> $3k off MSRP, I was able to swap trucks without loosing my shirt.
>
> The '95 was a pretty trouble-free truck, with the exception of a pesky body
> seam leak that flooded the passenger floor board last winter. The dealer
> attributed this to a factory defect when they applied the seam sealant. The
> problem was fixed by them. I have a 2700# boat/trailer, and this truck
> would pull it up almost any grade at 60 in 4th. I think once I had to go
> down to 3rd, but needless to say, the power wasn't lacking. I had a
> cab-level shell on it, a K&N filter (the big one that replaces the stock
> airbox), and synthetic lube everywhere (Mobil 1 & Redline products). With
> this stuff, I averaged 15-16mpg in normal driving, and got 20 on trips
> (14-15 while towing).
>
> I liked my old truck, but I love the new one (so far, at least). The club
> cab is very nice, and I've carried 4 people in reasonable comfort. The
> power is adequate; not as good as the V8, but good enough for my sedate
> driving style. The tow rating of my new truck is 5200#, vs 5700# for the
> old one. I doubt the new one will rocket up hills with my boat behind it,
> but I don't mind going a little slower. The shell, Alpine CD player, bed
> mat, and K&N all came off the '95 before I got rid of it. I haven't put the
> K&N on the V6 yet (same filter fits both engines) but everything else has
> gone over. Sometimes I miss having a 5 spd, while other times I'm glad I
> have the auto (like next time I can back my boat into the driveway without
> having a clutch to burn up). The turning radius sucks, but I expected that.
>
> The only part I don't like is the mileage: I get worse mpg than with the
> V8! So far (<1000 miles) I've been getting between 14-15 in 60/40 city/hwy
> driving. The club cab weighs a little more, but I suspect this is solely
> due to the nature of an automatic's torque converter, and the lower
> gearing. I expect that I'll get 21 or 22 on trips, when the torque
> converter is locked up. This isn't really a big deal, since I ride a
> motorcycle most of the time, but I'm a mechanical engineer who gets
> bothered by little things. So, after I get over 1000 miles, I'm going to
> try the K&N and see if that makes a difference. At 3k, I'll go all
> synthetic like the old truck, and see what that does.
>
> -Karl
>
> -------
> Karl Kromer
> karlk@ssl.berkeley.edu
> Assistant Development Engineer
> Space Sciences Laboratory
> http://ozma.ssl.berkeley.edu/~karlk
>
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