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Old truck question
We have 2 trucks, mine is a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 and my husband's is a 1988 Dodge Ram 1500. Needless to say driving his is like driving a boat. My question is this: I rarely go over 55 in the old truck because I feel like I am going way too fast. Mine has a Hemi so I won't say how fast I go in it.....but I am not an overly cautious or nervous driver. So I am wondering does it just feel like I am going faster because the older truck is bigger and doesn't handle as well or is it possible that the speedometer is off? Is that even possible?
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Speedometers can be off on the later model vehicles if they have larger or smaller than stock tires on them. My Ranger is a 99 and my speedometer is off by 5 MPH. The speedometer will say 55 but I am actually doing 60. Its been checked by the radar that checks everyone speed at construction sites. The speed gear is located in the rear end and should be matched if you change the tire size so everything is synchronized. For every size tire you go up the speed will be off by 5 MPH. My truck came out with 225 tires, its got 235 tires on it, that's 1 size up so 5 MPH off. Hope this makes sense. To find out what size tires the truck is set for you can look on the inside of the door, either the latch size or the lock side. There should be a sticker that gives the original tire size.
Larger tires and the speedometer shows slower than your actually going, smaller tires and the speedometer shows faster than your actually going. Newer model vehicles have computer controlled speedometers that eliminates this problem. |
My '90 Dodge the Speedometer is off 15 MPH.Plus I don't trust the other Gauges on it either.
big rockpile |
Plug you a G P S unit in and it will tell you what your real speed is :grin:
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I didn't think about going by one of those roadside speed checkers, have to look out for one.
I am pretty sure the tires are the right size but I will check that out, good to know! Don't have a GPS..... |
Sorry, just gotta laugh at 1988 being "old"...still drive a bone stock 1973 F-100 Ranger (with factory installed (rare) dump hydraulics...looks like a short bed, but the switch on the dash makes it a dump truck...really turns heads).
My 1955 F-100 hot rod...can't trust the speedo due to the many changes over the years. My 65 t-bird...speedo is correct, but at 8 mpg, doesn't see a lot of road time... Daily drivers are a 95 Suburban and a 97 Volvo Wagon, so 88 doesn't sound old to me. But to your question, yes the older a vehicle is, the less responsive it is compared to a newer vehicle. If the tires are correct, it is more of a mind thing of it being older than a speed issue. Matt |
My motor home would read 55-60 and man,I was doing like 70! Once it hit 55 the speedo was a total flake!
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Roadking, you beat me to the 'old truck' comment.....
My two 'old trucks' are a 1967 and a 1969 Ford F-100 1/2 ton long bed pickup trucks. One speedo is dead on, and the other is 5 mph too fast at 50 mph. To figure out your true speed on a straight stretch of highway - get a watch with a second hand. Drive until you see mile markers, start at a known mile marker while going 60 mph. It would take one minute exactly to travel one mile. |
8 mpg makes me feel better about my truck! :)
Guess I need to check that speedometer somehow! |
Drives like a boat could be something else. I driven older trucks that could only be described as seemingly loose or like they could be all over the road before you knew it. I helped a local guy on a couple of jobs and drove an 80's Chevy 4x4 1 ton with a marine modified engine. Plenty of power but it seemed like you were always driving on edge.
After driving it day after day, and getting used to it, I could drive that truck comfortably without an air gap anywhere at speed even loaded. Other trucks have been the same way at first. Some definitely had mechanical issues such as lots of steering wheel play plus quirky brakes that could pull to either side when braking. I'm guessing if you drove the truck more, you'd get used to it. |
'73, inline 6 with three on the tree 14 mpg
'55, Mercury 312 V* and auto tranny with 4.11 rear 5 mpg T-bird, stock 390 with "cruise-o-matic" 8 mpg, 4 with the a/c running '95 Burb, 350 auto, 20 mpg '97 Volvo, 22 mpg... All but the burb and volvo I can fix on the roadside... ooops, sorry hijacked the thread...my bad Matt |
The steering wheel definitely has lots of play, the brakes do pull to one side and it feels like you are sort of floating/rolling on the road. :) It also sounds like it is fixing to fall to pieces.....
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My 1995 Dodge 1500 the speedometer is off. If I want to go 55mph, I need to set it at 61 mph. If I want to go 30mph, I need to set it about 34mph.
My 1992 Dakota is likewise, tho only by a few mph, not as much. The Dakota handles like a sports car - well probably not, but the front torsion bars and all it does handle really nice, can enjoy a ride down a twisty gravel road. Handles better than most cars I could think about owning. The 1500 just wallows. They are not well-handling vehicles. They just kinda lurch down the roads, with no 'feel' for the driver or quick predictible handling. It wallows. You can guess which I prefer to drive. :) --->Paul |
Could be the front end is ready to fall apart, so it feels like you're going faster than you are because you're fighting for control all the time.
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More accurate if you can do more than one mile. Just remember the time has to be converted into seconds and you have to multiply the number you get by the number of miles. Example: You go 8 miles in 9 min and 22 seconds Oh, on the faster thing. There's a couple of possible reasons. One, the older truck has a stiffer spings which transmits much more of the road to your body. Two, the older truck isn't as air tight allowing more wind noise. Three, the older truck isn't as sound proofed meaning more road noise. All of this things will give you the feeling of going faster even though you really aren't. Go down the road on a tractor with field tires in high gear and at full throttle and you feel like your doing 100 mph. Sit in the truck driving behind the tractor and you'll swear you just got passed by a snail. 9 * 60 = 540 540 + 22 = 562 seconds 3600 / 562 * 8 = 51.2 mph |
How many miles on the "old" truck? It may be that there are worn parts in the front end, as Ross suggests. That's the first thing I would check out. Maybe take it to a shop for a front end alignment, around here, if anything is wrong in the suspension the alignment shop won't align it and tellls us what the problems are. Then I fix what I can, let them fix anything I can't, until it is in shape for an alignment.
The accuracy of the speedometer shouldn't make it drive like a boat. |
We love our 92 Dodge 1500 Ram. It is one strong truck - but then it has the built in towing package on it. Drives real well. The speedometer does have a quirk though. Sometimes, you can be driving along, look at the speedometer, and it is laying on zero. Then after a few miles, it suddenly jumps up to 40 or 50 and begins working fine. Just in the past few months, the radio has started doing likewise - sometimes it is dead, then will suddenly start working fine.
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--->Paul |
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We need to get the brakes done and we will have them check the alignment too. It's actually in really good shape for it's age, we have had several offers from people to buy it because the body is in such great shape. |
Most speedometers are off by about 5-10% from my experience, some even more. It's not off by a MPH, it's off by a percentage. Meaning the faster you go the more it is off.
Wallowing like a boat, that is just lack of maintenance and worn parts. |
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