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I have a stock 2003 Dodge Ram 4.7L Pickup and wanted to know what kind of fuel mileage gains should I anticipate with the 3865 or the older 3815? My concern would be that the gain in MPG wouldn't be enough the pay for the programmer. I don't want to wait 2 years until I see a financial benefit.

Mileage gains have been seen in the 10% range when tested.

What size truck is it? crew cab, single cab?
factory 20" wheels?

What type of driving?

What grade of fuel do you run?

Where do you live?

Ron

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1500 Quad Cab
Factory 17" wheels
60% city, 40% highway
I normally use the lowest grade fuel (87)
I live in the Seattle, WA area

i have been testing each tune and recording the results. i have seen between a 1.6 and 2.0 MPG increase depending on tune. the best mileage was with the 91 tune but i have to run 93 as there is no 91 around here. so at .30 more per gallon it isn't feasible to run that tune. the only tune that is feasible in terms of money saved has been the XS tune. the others require 91 octane, except the 87 tune but it didn't show much improvement. the XS tune has given me about a 1.7 MPG increase (from 10.8 stock to 12.5), but i need to run 89 in it. and even with 89 it still pings occasionally.

i still save money in the end with the XS tune. how much? depends on how much you drive. i calculated it out and i think it was something like .03 per mile saved. so in 1000 miles i'd save $30 in fuel cost. at 10000 miles per year it would pay for itself in 1 year.

figure about a 1.5 MPG increase and calculate it out. figure out how much it costs you to drive a mile stock and how much it would cost you if you gained 1.5 MPG. then subtract the difference and divide that into the cost of the tuner (example-.25 per mile stock, .22 per mile with 1.5 MPG increase = .03 improvement. cost of tuner $300 divided by .03 = 10000 miles).

remember to factor in the increase cost of fuel to run a higher octane depending on which tune you use.

Ran the numbers and figured by using the XS tune I would save $120 ish a year. By those numbers it would take me around 3 years to make up for the cost of the programmer.

Good write up....




Ron

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A few examples:
14 MPG - 14,000 miles per year = 1,000 gallons per year @ $3.00 = $3,000 (@ $2.80=($2,800)

14 MPG + 10% increase = 15.4 MPG = 909 gallons per year @ $3.00 = $2,727 (@ $2.80=$2,545)

At $3.00 an annual savings of $273 or at $2.80 an annual savings of $255

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15 MPG - 14,000 miles per year = 933 gallons per year @ $3.00 = $2,799 (@ $2.80=($2,612)

15 MPG + 10% increase = 16.5 MPG = 848 gallons per year @ $3.00 = $2,544 (@ $2.80=$2,374)

At $3.00 an annual savings of $255 or at $2.80 an annual savings of $238

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10% increase is likely not achievable in most cases, that is quite an improvement. However, I would think 5% increase is achievable, and the programmer could pay for itself in about 2 years.

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Hemi 2008 Quad-cab TRX-4 - 4.56 axle ratio - 35/12.5-17 (34.50") General Grabber AT2 tires (or 33" Nitto TGs) - JBA headers/custom single 3" exhaust using factory muffler - Suspension: Kore UCAs, King coilovers suspension frt, King system back custom leaves - Bendix HP rotors