Better Mileage

[stiles watson]

I ran about 200 miles of highway/freeway driving, not towing, today. On the trip, I turned 7000 miles. The recorded mileage for the trip was 18.1 mpg. Most of the time I ran about 62 mph. The 4.30 rearend turns our about 2100 rpm at that speed. This is the first time I have been close to happy with the mileage on the new Truck.

[richfaa]

Stiles..FYI.. My nearly same truck, with the 4:10 rear end turns @ a bit under 2000 rpm's at that speed. Not towing we also get 16/18 MPG..not bad for a huge truck (@9200lbs loaded for towing) bet yours is close to the same.HOW ever towing the 3400 anchor is a disappointment..The mpg is not much better,if at all, than my V-10. We have plenty of data to compare on this Florida trip since we did the same trip with the V-10 Note that my 05 V-10 with the 4:30 rear end turned nearly the same RPM at 62/63 MPH 2200 rpm's.That seems to be destroying another diesel myth. On this part of the trip..from Dry Ridge ,Ky to Cleveland ,tn on I-75 south the V-10 averaged 8.1 MPG the 6.4L 8.8.. Big deal..

[SlickWillie]

Rich, I bet that mileage picks up with more miles on the truck. From what I've seen, they need quite a few miles to loosen up. I wonder why Ford sees the need for the low gears. All Duramax engines (2500 & 3500) come with 3.73:1 gears. Torque and horsepower ratings for both engines are comparable. The weight of the Montana you pull is more than our Mountaineer, but the wind drag is really what kills us on mpg with these rigs. I have gotten as high as 12 mpg and as low as 9 towing. But, we don't have any bad hills or mountains where I tow.

One of the couples we met here last spring came back with a new HR Presidential this fall. He is towing with a Ford 350 V10 SRW. He said he gets 18 mpg or so running empty. IIRC, his mpg towing is comparable to mine. Made me want to look for one of those V 10's. If I was buying a new truck, with fuel prices as they are, I would sure consider the V10. As you probably have noticed in my past posts, I am not real loyal to brands. If GM paid me, it would be different, but I pay them dearly for the privilege of driving their brand.

[TLightning]

According to the Ford literature, the higher numerical rear end permits a higher GCWR.

[stiles watson]

Yeah, that 4.30:1 will start moving at idle when I take my foot off the brake even on a shallow incline while towing. My 3.73:1 never did that.

[richfaa]

Slick willie..We never came close to 18mpg empty with our 05 V -10 me thinks he is telling a story. We are 906 miles into our Flordia trip pulling this 3400 anchor and are averaging 8.8 mpg all over..3800 miles on the truck..very disappointing. This will not get me any points with the diesel crowd but the V-10 pulled the hills on this route as well as the diesel.Sure the diesel is doing lower rpm,s but is also doing higher boost and EGT temps to maintain the speed. On the Jellico grade we had to back off about 3/4 of the way up as my EGT warning lights were on (set at 1250) and I was runnning 3.6 boost..result was I could not maintain speed and the diesel did not do the grade as well as the V-10. The turbo does the work on the diesel...on the V-10 the motor does it all. I love the truck..but the facts are the facts.

[rogue]

Oh Come on Rich, I've driven the mountains in Florida, Seen the signs Elevation "6 Feet" sure the V-10 can pull those hills.
Only kiding, I had a V-10 in our prior Motor home a class "C" Minnie Winnie and best I could ever manage was 8.5, and that was on the streight and flat section of I-5 in the California Central Valley. Any place else I got 8.4. It would pass anything on the road except a gas station.

[richfaa]

Very funny Bob.. That is about what we averaged on our V-10..however we are averaging like 8.8 with the 6.4 Diesel.. The 6.4l has trouble passing fuel stations also. 906 miles traveled..247.00 worth of fuel.

[hazmic]

GUYS
You haven't even started breaking in that engine. Fuel mileage will be going up after you put miles on it. We are on our to TX and was down to 8-9+ today as we are running into a head wind like 25-35 gusts and blow 20 all day. Rick it will get better so just give it time and drive it hard.

[richfaa]

Actually I am not concerned with the MPG...That is NOT what I purchased the diesel for. I am just having some fun with the diehard diesel guys who claim outrageous MPG and since I can compare the V-10 and 6.4L having driven the V-10 for 3 years and now the 6.4L pulling the same camper over the same roads..destroying some myths.You know there is the guy who has never owned a diesel and will bad mouth the gasser and the guy who has never owned the gasser and will bad mouth the diesel//anything they say is ignored as they know not of what they speak. Then there are folks on both side that just flat out lie. I am having fun comparing data and data does not lie. Annd ..I am not so sure about the ....it will get better when it gets more miles on it... I think that may fall in the urban legend class .My thought is that after @ 100 hours or so on the motor it don't get much better. Some legends live on and on.

[pud2]

Rich we just took a 670 mile trip on way from Zachary,La to Pigeon Forge,Tn. I55/I59/I20/I24/I75/I40.La./MS./AL./GA./TN..I avg. 10.5 but i backed her down to 65-67 mph. and only really used the cruise when the terrain was somewhat flat. I can tell you that i haved used different brands of fuel and when i use Chevron my milage is better. I also use the additive from ford w/cetane boost. I asked my brother-in-law about the diff. in fuel because he is a truck driver and hauled fuel and he said that is probably right because Chevron puts different additives in there fuel than others do.

[lwcdg]

Rich your facts are only accurate to a point. 07 - 08 diesels are under new emissions thus mpg may vary when compared to old v10 (2005?). If you had the same year diesel as the v10 I wonder if the mpg would be the same or very close?
Just a thought
Chuck

[stiles watson]

Sorry, Rich, I don't think you have destroyed any myths. The mileage figures that outran the gassers was prior to the last two years and the changes in the exhaust gas handling.

My 2002 3/4-ton PSD got 18-21 mpg mixed driving,, not towing and for that year model, that was 2-4 mpg better than the equivalent gas engine. Normal towing of the 2003 Big Sky yielded 10-11 mpg while the gassers were complaining of 7-9 mpg. It was 3/4 of a ton lighter and had a 3.73:1 rear end.

To compare that to a 2008 1-ton 4:30:1 with all the changes that have occurred is comparing apples to oranges. The disproportionate increase in the cost of diesel fuel further distorts the picture. Circumstances change over time and the V-10 and diesel may be closer than the older models, but the story is yet to be completed.

As far as those who exaggerate, gassers are as guilty as diesel drivers. The mileage stated above is neither exaggerated nor outrageous. Neither were they best-day-mileage, but routine. It is absolute fact. I am quite willing to place my personal integrity on the line to validate my claims.

[richfaa]

Stiles... think we are saying the same thing.. I am looking at the same truck one a 05 the other a 08..one gasser the other diesel. The V-10 has changed little...the diesel has changed greatly. My point is that the 05 V-10 that I drove for 3 years, same truck, performs nearly as well as the 08 6.4l that I drive now. It should not be that way....The diesel should far outperform any gasser..it no longer does.

[hazmic]

I do have to agree with PUD2 on the different fuel mixes. I get better mileage from different brands of diesel fuel. This is also true with different gasoline's. Its is funny how some get wild fuel mileages while others get different figures. A lot depends on weather wind and altitudes and how they drive. The list just goes on and on including the oil in the engine,gas or diesel.I think both of you have good trucks but the new ones are great motors but the environmentalist have got them so choked down they can not run at there potential. This is what I was told by a very good source that does know diesels.

[sailer]

rich i feal that you bought the wrong truck for what you are pulling ,, you are in fl in the winter , no snow so why are you hauling around that extra 1000 lbs on the ft end for a snow plow when you will never use it ,, you are going to have tire problems in 25000 miles and no millage ,, i get on my 06 f250 king ranch 20" tires on the computer pulling the coach , a 3000rk which is heaver than your 3400 on the truck and now at 25000 miles i never go below 10.0 and most of the time its 10.8 or 11.4 as we were out 6 weeks on the way down and ran the smokies and all ,, get more millage on the unit , it willl improve in mpg.. i always run 65 to 70 or more as the trafic is , if i go down to 60 and run i had it up to 11.8 mpg on a 400 mile tow ,, when not towing i ran 700 miles from north wisconsin to chicago and back and got 19.9 on the rd trip and ran with trafic all the time as in chicago its always 80 or so , so give it a chance ,, the dullys eat up fuel too keep the chin up and get miles on it .. buy only diesel at truck stops to get cleaner fuel as i change oil every 15000 miles and will change fuel filters at 30000 miles john

[richfaa]

Understand the the 06 Ford 6.0L diesel is a different motor than the 6.4L .The NEW diesel motors..ALL brands..The ones that use ULSD, That go through the regeneration process and have the new 08 emission standards.. these motors are different and do NOT perform as well as the earlier versions. The camper package and the snow plow package were to increase the suspension..I will never plow snow or mount a slide in camper and the two packages do make a difference.My rear axle is rated at 9K..the front at 6K. This truck is awesome. I am just looking at 2 nearly identical trucks..one a V-10 one a 6.4 diesel...05 gasser..08 diesel..Pulling the same camper over the same route at the same time of the year and I am finding that there is little difference between the two..The myth was that the diesel is always better and you can pull nothing with a gasser If that is not yet a established myth it soon will be and it will not get better..Of course IMO the big block gassers will fall victim
to the new emmission standards in the very near future..The 8.1 is all but gone and the good rumor is that the V-10 is on the way out.
If I were to buy a new diesel now I would go with the any brand pre regeneration, pre ULSD fuel..We will be on fairly level ground in todays travel..we will see what MPG we can get. The V-10 gasser would get 8/8.5....

[waldo238]

I have an 03 with the 7.3 and when I towed my old TT I got an average of about 15 mpg and when towing, the boat 23' cruiser and weighed less I would get about 9 mpg. The difference I think is how the load is on the vehicle. The boat was dead weight on the hitch were as the trailer was more part of the truck with the torsion bars leveling it all out. I have not towed my new 3000RK unit on trip yet to see how this affects my mph.
I also use Rotella fuel adative, it quiet's down the injectors and also gives more lubrication for them. Being the new motors will only burn ULSD means they also have less lubrication in the fuel. Might be something to consider adding, it also will boost the octane a few points also.

[ggranch]

To sum this mess up, it looks like the old V-10 is a full equal to the new diesel. As you all know, I run the '08 version of the V-10 with 4:30 gears. Average fuel mileage for me is now at 9.9 with approx. 9mpg towing and 11mpg empty. Driving styles are substantially different for each. I do enjoy shocking the little sports cars at the stop lights, he-he-he!

Bob

[waldo238]

Don't know if this helps but just a little info I ran across.

http://www.johnfjensen.com/Diesel_fuel_additive_test.pdf