Does anyone drive their CTD

[Ereynolds72]

If I'm on the interstate the truck stays at 2500rpm (about 80-82mph with 4:10s and 285s).

It's not that bad... It likes 80mph.

 

[Makensmoke]

In my uncles younger days he decided to put a perkins diesel from a refer semi trailer in I think a chevy vega (member those?) after all, they ran all day wound up and used very little fuel. That was the problem though, they are designed and cammed to run at so many rpms and thats the only way they made any power. From what I remember the car wouldn't get out of its own way.



Just a little FYI for you.

 

[DPKetchum]

Well back in the dark ages I remember FORD RANGERS with PERKINS. Not many but some. Factory built trucks. I handled Datsuns trucks with little Nissan diesels. Long wearing nice running beasts. We had some SENTRAS with diesels also. Front wheel drive and tiiming belt. They ran and drove good also.

 

[robert4570]

The best fuel mileage i ever got out of my stock 99 3500 was 24mpg empty no trailer or topper .



I did this test run many times , top off the truck drive almost 200 miles no stops , straight road at 55 mph and yielded a consistent 23-24 mpg.

Increase the speed to 65 mph ,same route and routine and 20-21 mpg .

70 mph same as above 18- 19 mpg.



Overall i was very pleased with the fuel mileage of my 2nd gen and say so far my 05 ' is doing quite well with only 600 miles on the odometer . The 05' is averaging 1 maybe 2 mpg worse in fuel mileage , not bad considering the hp/tq rating and not being broke in .

 

[JVolpe]

With my 48RE, 315s and 3. 73 gear cruising in OD I am at the following rpm/mph:



1800rpm 70mph

1900rpm 74mph

1999rpm 78mph ** This is were the cruise sets most of the time on the road.



See I stay under 2000rpm to conserve fuel and improve mileage.

 

[MRutledge]

My truck is still "new" but I've got some miles on it. On a recent trip from Denver to Jackson, WY I drove at or above the speed limit (75MPH) where the conditions permitted. The truck loved it.



The best milage for the trip was about 17. 6 and the worst was about 14. 1. (Hand calc. ) The 14. 1 was battling a wicked headwind between Laramie and Rawlins. Speedo read about 70 MPH, and I'm told the wind was a sustained 20MPH with gusts to 50MPH.



Coincidentally this milage is only about . 5 MPG worse than my little 2dr Cherokee would have gotten. Running winter blend fuel with an engine that isn't broken in, I'm pretty impressed.



-Matt



2005 2500 6-speed, 3. 73 LSD

 

[nkiewel]

I love my 315's and 3. 73's. 75 mph = 2000 rpm

I'll second that!

 

[Cattletrkr]

A lot of the 1st gens don't have tachs in them. I know a guy who's got one with just shy of 450k on the odo. When he bought the truck the dealer told him to shift when the governor says he had to. He would run with a load behind in 4th gear all day, only shifting into 5th when he was empty or going downhill. That engine has never been rebuilt and still gets uper teens for mileage, doesn't burn any significant amount of oil, and is showing no signs of slowing down.



That truck is a '93 1ton dually ext. cab, 3. 55's, 4x4. It was used to haul livestock. It was the first diesel p/u around here, so everyone kinda paid attention to its performance. The rear end got replaced numerous times, clutch a few, transfer cse has never been touched (unbelieveable), rods and mains at about 425k.



So long story short, no, running at 2500rpm shouldn't do your engine any harm. If you have a 2nd gen or custom exhaust on your 3rd gen, it might not be so good for your ears though.