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Thanks,
Chintan Talati
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
We also recently went on a 2300 mile trip towing a 5000lb gooseneck horse trailer (two feet taller than the cab) and in freeway driving at 65-70mph, half in the mountains of North Carolina and West Virgina, and roughly 1300 miles with the trailer empty (5000lbs) and 1000 miles with a horse in it (6200lbs total) we averaged 14.1mpg for the whole trip. We're pretty happy with that!
I read an article (that I wish I would have kept) that stated that oil companies were "restructuring their fuel prices based on energy content", which means that even though diesel is cheaper to refine, they are going to charge you more for it at the pump because of its high energy content...
With diesel costing more per gallon that gasoline, I've been second guessing my desire for a diesel truck. Granted diesel is 30% more efficient than gas (given the same vehicle), but if diesel is going to cost 30% more than gasoline I can't see paying the additional $5,000 to get a diesel truck.
It is very nimble in traffic and has tons of power. I was getting 15-16 mpg in a small town stop and go. I change my oil at 2400 and went on a 400 mile trip avg speed 70 mph with an avg mpg of 18. I pulled a Tacoma 4X4 on a tandem trailer for 75 miles and avg. 16 mpg. This past week I went on a trip of 580 miles all on the interstate avg speed 75-80 mph, (I set my cruise at 75-78) and left it alone as much as possible. I had 3200 miles on the truck and I filled the tank until I could see the fuel about 2" from the edge of the fill nozzle. I averaged 20.8 mpg. I couldn't believe it.
I have been very happy so far. I plan to continue my "break in period" and then I have been considering a programmer, AFE air filter and +/- dual exhaust. Any thoughts out there?
2. Keep records and check mpg while highway cruising at 70 mph and 65 mph.
3. Increase your oil change interval to the specified one.
4. What oil are your using? After full "break in" consider changing your oil to the best you can afford.
Thanks for the knowledge.
At least get a really good baseline on the performance as designed and built so that the true result of any mods will be determinable.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Hmmm... i don't know about them being able to see if the ecu has been remapped. Seems unlikely, but I guess there is no point in taking a chance if it worries you.
My father got a programmer for his GMC 2500 diesel. He's been running it steady for the past 80k miles on the middle program (can't remember what exactly the numbers are). He's never had issues with the warranty, and he even blew up the engine early on (not due to the programmer ... it was a known design defect that they repaired improperly ... long story). He tells me he gets better mileage with it ... real slight, though. I'm guess either placebo effect or just the engine breaking in.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Otherwise, to improve your mileage, changing your driving habits is the only way.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
PS.. I have heard the dealer might be able to re program the computer to the new fuel capacity with the auxiliary tank but I have not personally checked this out.
Hope this helps anyone who is considering installing an auxiliary fuel tank.
$ 650.00 and the Diesel install kit was around $65.00.
You can find regular auxiliary fuel tanks cheaper but I liked the look and it does not look like a fuel tank. I have the 6.5 foot bed and I have a slider 5th wheel hitch and don't have a problem, but you do give up some of you truck bed.
Northern tools handles these RDS brand tanks, they are very well constructed and you can get a larger capacity if you like. WWW.RDS.COM
ONLY 5K miles on the odometer!
I straight piped my exhaust, by basically removing cat and muffler and replacing with a straight piece of 4" pipe.
YES, its loud... similar to a Harvester or a Tracter, BUT I am getting a solid 1.5-2 MPG better in mixed city driving with no load. Before my truck was avging 13-14 MPG now I am 14.8-15.4 MPG.
Again, its loud... people will know when you leave and arrive whereever you go. I am in TX and straight-piped diesels are fairly common.. so in the 3 week since its been done I haven't been remotely hasseled by people or cops... that said YMMV, if you do it do it at your own risk.
FYI, straight piping will void your exhaust noise and emissions warranty. So if I got a ticket for noise violation or altering the emissions of my vehicle.. Cummins and Dodge are NOT liable. That seems fair. Oh and keep your old stuff you never know when you might change your mind... Diesel cats are $300+, fyi.
How will you pass state inspection? Is straightpiping really that common in Texas? While riding my bicycle on some 2-lane country roads near Dallas I have had some young guys floor it to go past me in diesel pickups. There was a terrific cloud of dark smoky exhaust. Is this probably straight pipes or a legal stock exhaust system?
My 2500 is same as yours but most of my milage has been in mountains/high passes (Colorado and AZ). On my last trip of 1800 miles from Mesa, AZ up through 8 and 10,000 ft passes in Colorado and return, pulling a 9000 lb FW, I averaged 13mpg. I now have 18,000 miles on my 04 and have been pretty happy with its pulling performance.
Filling the tank with the foaming diesel has been a headache when I tried to get a good check on MPG. Usually takes about 10+ minutes to finally get the last 3-5 gallons in the tank. Have you had the same issue with the small filler tube in yours?
Thanks for the post.
I'm new to diesels and am trying to determine what to replace my Chev 3/4 ton HD gas with. Would love to have car and truck but cannot afford it so this needs to be versatile. I drive to/from work ~40mi roundtrip plus haul a 8 - 11 thousand lb horsetrailer on weekends & vacations. I am wondering what the difference in mileage would be in mixed city/highway driving unloaded would be between the 4x2 and 4x4 and the 250 and 350. I am also wondering what it would be between straight highway speeds avg 70 loaded and unloaded. If anyone can share any info I would appreciate it. I can't find any official data anywhere and most of the Ford dealers have no personal experience. Thanks in advace.
- cab size
- bed size
- terrain (flat, hills, mountains)
- seasonal weather
- tractional needs (winter, off-road, boat ramp)
The best will obviously be the lightest - which would be an F250 regular cab 4x2; the worst is obviously the F350 4x4 crew cab dually. You'll need to determine what your cab needs are, what will be in the bed, and how and where you drive. Once you have a good idea what truck configuration is best suited, others can give you an idea of the mileage. Be sure to browse the Ford F-Series Real World MPG Numbers discussion as well.
kcram - Pickups Host
I have to have a crew cab due to 2-3 little ones in the back. I am pulling a gooseneck trailer and can use a long or short bed. Most of the time the bed will be empty. I'd love to have a duelly, but it's too big for all the in-town driving I do. The greatest percentage of mileage is a mix of city/highway mostly in the flat areas. I would rather have the 4x2 but I have heard the diesel is a heavy engine and you need a 4x4 if you will be in any soft dirt or mud. It doesn't snow much in Dallas so snowy weather isn't an issue. It does get pretty hot here in the summer, but I don't know if hot weather makes a difference. The Ford dealers I have spoken with have said that I could expect 2-4 mpg better from the 4x2 over the 4x4. Does that sound reasonable. I'll check out the other discussion as well. Thanks!
Robin
I would be interested in conversing with you about your 08. my email address is firewalker_john@yahoo.com
Thanks
John
Any info about your warm up time would be thankful
John
I believe that some diesel engines can actually experience excess engine wear to the point of damage, if run at idle for an extended period--maybe an hour or two. The Mercedes inline-5 cyl diesel engine used in the Sprinter van actually had an option called "high idle", which I presume would be used to keep the interior warm if it had to be idled for an extended period say with a sighseeing application, or caught in a traffic snarl.
So I don't think you should use a remote start to try to warm-up your diesel by idling it for 10 minutes. Start it up and drive away immediately. It would however, benefit from a block heater on a timer.
kcram - Pickups Host
(http://www.dieselinjection.net/frames.html
.
The preceeding quote was in reference to large truck diesels, but Mercedes did offer an axiliary diesel fuel heater in their Sprinter van. Of course, it may in fact not be worth it to go to the trouble and expense of buying and installing a generator or diesel-fired cab and engine heater for the few days you might really need it. I am not familiar with these auxiliary heaters, their cost and maintenance issues.
Thanks
John W.
My Ford dealership was unable to explain the 12mpg when I asked them about it, so I had to do some investigation to figure out what was going on.
As for the fuel mileage trend while the engine is breaking in, I've kept pretty good numbers on my mileage, and 90% of my miles are commuting between Arlington and Seattle - a 100 mile round trip at freeway speeds. When new, my truck got about 14mpg. Now, with 7500 miles, I'm getting about 18mpg. This drops to about 15mpg when I'm tooling around town. I expect that mileage will continue to improve another MPG or two as the engine breaks in...
As a comparison, I traded in a gas 5.4 Triton 2005 F-150 that was getting about 16.5mpg doing the same type of driving. Doing the math, it costs me 27cents/mile to drive my diesel F-250. It cost me 25.5 cents/mile to drive my gas F-150.
Am I happy with my diesel performance? Yep! Still trying to justify a chip. If I could find one that has proven increase in MPG without playing with the fuel injectors, I would be interested. I'm pretty sure that the only way to improve gas mileage is to tighten up the shift pattern. :shades:
This is true,Why should we bother thinking about how to increase the mileage of the car using diesel.Even if we can increase the mileage its is still costly for us ,As the prices of crude oil are increasing day by day.So we should think of making a few alterations to the engine.We can run the car by the electrolysis of water producing Hydroxy gas.This is what called as HHO fuel.Lets think of it once.I have also seen some useful information in the site http://waterfuelkit.net.
I have given this idea because I have seen some of the people in the above posts saying that Its costing them a lot at a very low mileage and even the mechanics are charging a large amount of money.
I'm expecting a great milage at low cost using the HHO fuel
I hope you get what am saying.
I just joined this website after first researching hybrid cars etc. then fuel cell vehicles, and came across a site that said water could be used for fuel. :confuse: My husband and I have a 2006 350 Ford Super Duty outfitted "to pull a house" bought with the intention of pulling a really big fifth wheel now used to pull a horse trailer and bought when diesel was "cheaper" than gas. Our other vehicle is a 2002 little Ford T-Bird and that is not fuel efficient. Our truck gets 14.9 miles per diesel gallon even not pulling. Any thoughts on this??????????????
Kathleen