Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) 12V putdown by ferd owner

[PPettit]

I have been wading around trying to find reasonable ways to up MPG a bit on this website: GasSavers.org - Helping You Save at the Pump .

In the diesel forums there was a question about using a diesel truck to replace a gasser. I suggested a second gen 12V truck and look at the reply I got!





"Cummins engines - particular the 12-valve - are great fovorites for hot-rodding becuase that lawn-sprikler injection system can easily be made to pass enough fuel for lots of HP. That and they are very compact and easy on the mechanic. "



This guy has a 2wd F350 that he has "untrucked" enough to get a claimed 26mpg in the summer. Do any of you keep records of your fuel mileage? I was thinking that ther must be bunches of 12V'ers out there running 20+ without mods.



Heres the full thread.

New Ford mods - GasSavers

 

[radcam]

Just let him know that the milage behind the tow truck doesn't count. :-laf

 

[dd76522]

the 98 12v 5spd i got rid of in the spring got 21 and if it counts i've got a bud with a turned up 90 with about 4k in junk in his utility bed gettin 25 and it's a 4wd with 4. 10s

 

[dd76522]

and while i'm thinkin about it i drove a friends 4wd f350 powerjoke for a bit and it didn't get anywhere near 20 and another friend of mine has a 99f250 powerjoke 2wd and they're not gettin anywhere near there either more like 17 after some mods before it was 14

 

[radcam]

Read the mods this guy has done to his truck linked at ther bottom of PPettit's thread, bottom of first page iirc.



He might as well be driving a Honda. Truthfuly my first thought was that has to be a gutless wonder.

 

[JGK]

There was a guy over on the Comp-D forum the other day claiming he was getting 26 mpg out of a 97 or 98 4X4, I think. He was complaining it suddenly dropped a bunch. He said it was originally tuned by a Cummins tech. I'm skeptical of his initial claim of 26 mpg. I've never heard of a 2nd gen 12v 4X4 ever getting that kind of mileage consistently. But maybe its possible. It certainly isn't typical.



-Jay

 

[SRath]

I have friends with both Duramax's and Powerstrokes and every one of them envy the mileage, durability, and power of my 12valve Cummins. Especially the mileage. Without wanting to ruffle any feathers, I also have 1 friend and a brother with 24-valve Cummins that can't match my 12-valve, either. I get an average of 23mpg with my x-cab 4x4 with fairly big tires and without driving like grandma.



Sure, the 12-valve Cummins is also the king of power among the four if you want it to be, but there is a very happy medium, too, for those of us who want it all in the best balance possible. The 12-valve Cummins is to diesels what the old 350 small block Chevy is to gas motors: incredibly versatile and thoroughly lovable.



I'd love to see a SUV with a 4BT being produced by someone. Talk about great mileage! I'd buy one for my wife. She just doesn't like the size of my pickup, but it irks her no end how much better mileage it gets than her 4. 3 S10 Blazer. She also likes the power of my Dodge better. Then she whines about parking it when shopping... women...



"Just let him know that the milage behind the tow truck doesn't count. "



THAT'S funny! Oo.

 

[EKlem]

He is probably getting 26mpg with his truck, but the claims that he often makes that powerstrokes get better mileage is not true. If you compare similarly setup dodge and fords, the dodge will slightly outdo the ford. Why he started with the ford platform, I don't know. Since they are in a different body, it is hard to tell whether the cummins is more efficient or whether the dodge body is more efficient.

 

[Buck88]

Well, I personally saw 23mpg out of my truck, flat highway with 600lbs of steel in the bed. Granted I was only doing 60mph at 1850 rpm. Another time I drove through the hills, kinda getting on it here and there, then hit the I8 and did about 75mph at 2200 rpm and netted 19. 97 mpg. I'm sure it would get better with smaller tires and 3:55 gears.

 

[SRath]

August, 2007 issue of "Diesel Power" magazine: 30. 94 mpg with a 3. 54 geared, auto-trannied, '97 Cummins Ram dually with $9. 26 in modifications. (Simple rolling and air resistance reductions. )



Changes in driving habits contributed the most and they are quite confident it could be improved even more.



They also got 26 mpg (freeway only) with just the tires aired up and the grill blocked off running 70-80mph.

 

[PPettit]

Thanks for posting the pointer to the 30mpg story. This idjit claimed Diesel Power Mag got that at 40mph top speed... ...

Now I got quotes!

 

[tgordon]

Thanks for posting the link, I got a good laugh out of the furd guy. Look at the pics of what he has done to his truck. Then go look at what he posted



"Another claim of Cummins MPG superiority. I hear them a lot but when I throw down the gauntlet for a a MPG roadtrip to separate the truth from the BS... crickets. All the Cummins boosters shut up and run.



Yeah I know about the guys in Diesel Power with the 30 MPG Dodge Cummins. All the grille blocking etc was window dressing. They got 30 MPG by driving 40 MPH.



I'll see that and raise them one. If I can just idle down the road (yes I can go down the road at 650 RPM) I'd probably scare 50 MPG.



There is other one valid condition for MPG testing. The legal limit at max gross. "



That is his post, now compare what was done to the Dodge in the test to what he has done and you tell me who has done more crap to attemp to squeeze out more mile per gallon.

Well, I personally saw 23mpg out of my truck, flat highway with 600lbs of steel in the bed. Granted I was only doing 60mph at 1850 rpm. Another time I drove through the hills, kinda getting on it here and there, then hit the I8 and did about 75mph at 2200 rpm and netted 19. 97 mpg. I'm sure it would get better with smaller tires and 3:55 gears.

Buck, I wouldn't bet on that. I run 285/75-16's and get better milage that with the stocl tires. The gears would make a differance, but the tires would only if you were running out of power.

August, 2007 issue of "Diesel Power" magazine: 30. 94 mpg with a 3. 54 geared, auto-trannied, '97 Cummins Ram dually with $9. 26 in modifications. (Simple rolling and air resistance reductions. )



Changes in driving habits contributed the most and they are quite confident it could be improved even more.



They also got 26 mpg (freeway only) with just the tires aired up and the grill blocked off running 70-80mph.

Like I said, just look at the list of modifications he has done to his truck, my 2500 4x4 gets better milage without any modifications other than larger tires, than his did from the factory, I guess my thought is who's the bozo now????

 

[NCovey]

If I tried to stick some flap like that on the front of my truck, with my luck, it would catch something, pull it down under the tire, rip the bumper off the front of the truck, run over the bumper, catch the drive shaft, and take it and the rear end out from under the truck as it exited. -Nicholas

 

[PPettit]

Ya know, I tried to be nice to the guy. I really do respect people that are making an honest attempt to create something that suits thier purpose better. But when he lashed out about the 12v Cummins and then the published data that Diesel world got, He lost all credibility in my book.

Like I said at the beginning, He should title his efforts "How to UNtruck your truck"



All that being said, I wish my Cummins was getting better than the 15-16mpg it is getting this winter.