3600 mile roundtrip, mileage report.

[DFranks]

We left Calgary,AB went straight south through Montana,Idaho,Utah and finally arriving at Phoenix.



The facts.

06 2500 5. 9l cummins QC 4X4 3. 73, 48RE, AFE stage 2, Aeroturbine 4040xl muff with cat, oilguard bypass with Valv synth 5W40 otherwise truck is stock.



The truck was empty except for my wife and I and our 5month old with the luggage and toys for the 2week holiday, Approx 500lbs.



We only used the air conditioner to "cool" off the truck and then turn it off tand then used the vent because the weather was mild, 60's-70's max.



As for which brand of fuel we used was from any of the larger fuel stations I don't think there is any difference in quality except that all the pumps said USLD. As for additives you can see the real world difference with Redline additive which I plan on using as soon as I burn up the Power service(Snake oil)



On my attachment I have converted the USgal to CAN gallon so that is why my mileage looks so good at first.

One US Gallon is 3. 8 litres

One Can gallon is 4. 55litres.



I purchased and installed a foldable Tonneau cover for the trip home(Bakflip)

there really was no marginal improvement for mileage but I sure felt better about it when we would get hit by a crosswind for fear of losing our luggage.



I am happy with the mileage I drove the truck fairly hard (to keep up with your crazy traffic) and the cummins performed flawlessly with plenty of power to spare when needed.



Otherwise I am pleased with the results and my family and I got to take a worry free holiday through some of the most beautifull scenery we have ever seen.

Next time we do it with a 5ver

 

[justme]

Great writeup on your trip, I will be doing a 6518 miles trip in Jan 2008. I was thinking about my mileage and was planning on 17 MPG (US). I hope that I get better but expect nothing less than 17 MPG.

I only have 2600 miles on the odometer now, plan on having less than 5000 miles on my truck when I start the trip.

I will post the results once complete... ..... In Feb 2008

Thank you.

 

[olznut]

Redline additive? Where do you get that, and why is Power Service snake oil? It quiets mine down. I just got back from Laughlin and strong head winds at 70-75mph netted me 17. 6mpg with my 4. 10's. 320 miles each way, and only used 1/3 tank each way. I LOVE my truck! I have Smarty on level 1, Amsoil Aef filter, home made air box mod, Silent Might muffler, Royal Purple in the diff, and Rokktek timing advance sensor thingy. What else should I do to up the mileage?

 

[DFranks]

I bought the redline from a autoparts store here but you can buy it here

http://www.redlineoil.com/. If you look at my trip to Phoenix with the Redline I was over 20. 3USmpg. The he best I got with the PS was 19USmpg. same stretch of road (Butte, MT to Salt lake city UT) same speed only difference was one heading north and the other heading south. Try using MMO it will make all the difference in quieting down your cummins. I shouldn't say that PS is snake oil but the Redline is definately better and for the same price as the PS. BTW I use the PS white in the winter with no complaints.

 

[p-Bar]

thanks for the write up. I would of liked to see you slow it down a bit and see the mileage increase. I guess you can do that on the next trip when fuel is 4. 00 gal

 

[DFranks]

thanks for the write up. I would of liked to see you slow it down a bit and see the mileage increase. I guess you can do that on the next trip when fuel is 4. 00 gal

To be honest with you, most of the driving was on the interstates and the speed limit was 75mph... to keep up with the flow of traffic I was doing 75-80mph, the couple times I did 80+ was a bit excessive for sure.



Again though I was trying to show real world mileage and didn't want to baby it to try and get an unrealistic average and not to be true all around so to speak.



Plus it does get a little boring on the straightways when we wanted to get home. I bet I could have gotten 2-3mpg better if I had kept it under 70mph.



Thanks for the comments... .

 

[olznut]

You know, that reminds me, you must be on to something, as I was talking to Joe Mondello last year at the Olds Nats, he also has a CTD for a tow vehicle and mentioned MMO as an additive, I don't remember how much to add tho... ...

 

[DFranks]

From everything I have read and from personal experience

at every fill-up I add 8oz od MMO and 16oz of PService (soon to be DFC)

My truck does not have the infamous "Timing knock) at low speeds any more thanks to the MMO.

If I used the PS on it's own the knock was worse thanks to the cetane which actually requires more lubricant in the fuel to burn. That's where the MMO comes in. Apparently been run in diesels since the 50's

 

[JHardwick]

320 miles each way, and only used 1/3 tank each way.

Ummmm, that's like 960 miles per tank

 

[JHardwick]

Why do we run additives in premium diesel @$3. 00/gallon?

 

[olznut]

Ummmm, that's like 960 miles per tank

320 there, 320 back, how confusing is that? I can run about 700-750 to a tank on the highway.

 

[DFranks]

Why do we run additives in premium diesel @$3. 00/gallon?

Well..... that is good question. For starters since the begining of last year(Don't quote me) the government mandated the use of low and ultra low sulfur diesel fuel to be used in our trucks and cars for enviromental reasons. Unfortunatley good for the enviroment but not so good for our vehicles the process that removes the sulfur in our diesel also removes most if not all the lubricants in the fuel that our lift pumps fuel injectors etc require for a nice long life span. hence the need for additives. This is my first diesel and all this information I have learned on this site and other sites like this one. If I am not 100% correct hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[JHardwick]

As far as I know additives have always been used in Premium Diesel ... ... ... ..... you don't hear the gassers talking about doping Premium Gasoline!

 

[JHardwick]

320 miles each way, and only used 1/3 tank each way.

320 there, 320 back, how confusing is that? I can run about 700-750 to a tank on the highway.

I didn't *think* it was confusing at all



320 miles = 1/3 of a tank

640 miles = 2/3 of a tank

960 miles = 3/3 of a tank



I guess maybe I'm missing something ... ... ... .

 

[olznut]

Never heard of "Premium Diesel" before.

 

[Cattletrkr]

To continue the hijack

I'd be willing to bet that anyone who is capable of reading this is NOT capable of buying diesel w/o additives.

A lot of guys just feel the need to add more. I've run a ton of them and never noticed any benefit whatsoever to any of them. Not saying those of you who do see a difference are full of it, it's just never worked for me.

MN has 2% bio mandated and according to a test sheet from a few years ago, 2% bio is optimal for lubricity. Benefits drop off with more bio.

I run B20 that comes full of additives. Every now and then when I have some spare change I'll run a bottle or two of Cetane boost of some brand or another just for fun. Mileage never changes.

DFranks, regardless of which additvie you use, those are some mighty nice mileage #'s. I could never touch them at those speeds. Empty at 70-75mph I get 14. 5mpg .

EHalterman--I can't tell if you're joking or not. Never heard of "premium diesel"??? Really???

 

[DSpencer]

ULSD has lubricity additives added at its distribution points instead of the refinery. The additive is because of the lower lubricity that can harm the engines. I use Primrose anyway and have almost since new but its not necessary. I do think I get better mileage with it than without it. I haven't run without it in a long time but back when I started using additives I did several tanks of additive, then none, then additive until I was convinced.

 

[hammersley]

Great writeup on your trip, I will be doing a 6518 miles trip in Jan 2008. I was thinking about my mileage and was planning on 17 MPG (US). I hope that I get better but expect nothing less than 17 MPG.



I only have 2600 miles on the odometer now, plan on having less than 5000 miles on my truck when I start the trip.



I will post the results once complete... ..... In Feb 2008



Thank you.

I tell you what - if the trip is exactly 6518 - you'd better start buying lottery tickets - I mean to predict a trip to the mile over 6000 is pretty bold IMO..... :-laf and if you want better mileage - keep it under 65 - the closer to 60 and under the better... ... if you think otherwise - try a 313 mile section - (Ok I couldn't resist the exact # -) ... . but say 300+ miles and drive for mileage... ... you'll be surprised..... speed does cost!

 

[DFranks]

Just throwing this out there, a couple of things I did notice which "seemed" to make a real world difference in my mileage was:

1) If I had to slow down for any reason(driving through a small town etc. ) I would manually and slowly speed up to my previous speed and then engage the cruise control.

2) The "sweet spot" for my truck on this trip was 2050rpm which (according to my GPS)was 73MPH. It seemed(while on cruise) that if the cruise control would have to add fuel while going up marginal rolling hills to maintain the 73MPH,(the truck speedo showed 76MPH) the engine did not seem to work as hard as if I was set at a lower or higher rpm/combo. I contribute this to the weight of the vehicle coupled with the momentum felt more balanced. I never increased my speed in anticipation of the upcoming hills because of fear of altering the real world everyday mileage. Definately on the flats(which were my achiles heel) lower speeds and less crosswind would have made an improvement in the overal mileage of my trip.

 

[WMcGuire]

Redline additive? Where do you get that, and why is Power Service snake oil? It quiets mine down. I just got back from Laughlin and strong head winds at 70-75mph netted me 17. 6mpg with my 4. 10's. 320 miles each way, and only used 1/3 tank each way. I LOVE my truck! I have Smarty on level 1, Amsoil Aef filter, home made air box mod, Silent Might muffler, Royal Purple in the diff, and Rokktek timing advance sensor thingy. What else should I do to up the mileage?

Have you tried slowing down??Oo.