My crappy mileage...should I trade it?

[steved]

My crappy mileage on this past weekend's trip to Washington... 4. 10s, 6 speed, and a 600CTD. The mods are 155000 miles, rokktech sensor, dynatrac hubs, and a straight through exhaust.



359. 2 miles - 15. 927 gallons - 22. 5

218. 7 miles - 12. 635 gallons - 17. 3 (stuck in traffic a few hours)

276. 0 miles - 12. 838 gallons - 21. 4

377. 3 miles - 14. 68 gallons - 25. 7

362. 7 miles - 13. 773 gallons - 26. 3

412. 2 miles - 20. 058 gallons - 20. 5

232. 2 miles - 11. 497 gallons - 20. 1



I still haven't gotten this last tank, but it pulled three passes here... still should be 20mpg... oh, and these are consistent fills, I can fill to the same level using my auxiliary tank.



Should I trade it?

 

[betterthanstock]

Yes, definitely.

The headlights are passe', the taillights lack that bulbous lump, and then there is the environment.

Your truck is a dirty polluter.

The new 14 MPG model is so clean, a smoker would die from withdrawal if he was forced to breathe the exhaust and never allowed to light up again.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I actually would have expected a bit better #s, but I suppose those 4. 10s are probably holding you back a bit.

 

[JDiepstra]

That is great mileage for that truck with 4. 10's. How fast were you going?

 

[steved]

I actually would have expected a bit better #s, but I suppose those 4. 10s are probably holding you back a bit.

I'd like to see an average fuel mileage number for most 3. 73 equipped truck... I'll bet most of them can't get hand-calculated numbers close to mine.

 

[steved]

That is great mileage for that truck with 4. 10's. How fast were you going?

I had lots of time, so I averaged 60mph.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I'd like to see an average fuel mileage number for most 3. 73 equipped truck... I'll bet most of them can't get hand-calculated numbers close to mine.

Well if that's the case that your truck is THE exception... ... . Anyways, I honestly would have thought you'd be consistently from 22-24mpg empty, and 24-25 if in the flat lands. I guess I've been around 12Vs for too long. What do you feel a typical broke in 04. 5 be averaging then for what type of respective terrain?

 

[steved]

Oh, and I just filled up... keep in mind that this tank was from western Montana through Idaho, and finally resting in south central Washington... I was running mountains to put it lightly...

408. 9 miles - 22. 153 gallons - 18. 458 mpg

I actually drained the entire auxiliary tank on this run (its only 22 gallons)... the funny part is, I did not need to pump it at anytime to keep the siphon going! It sucked all 22 gallons out by itself (mine is not gravity fed)... shows how much vacuum is placed on the tank/fuel system.

 

[steved]

Well if that's the case that your truck is THE exception... ... . Anyways, I honestly would have thought you'd be consistently from 22-24mpg empty, and 24-25 if in the flat lands. I guess I've been around 12Vs for too long. What do you feel a typical broke in 04. 5 be averaging then for what type of respective terrain?

From what I've gathered, I'd guess the average for the 3rd gens is high teens. I mean if you read the forums, there are some guys that can't even get 15 mpg consistently... I just averaged around 20 without trying.

3rd gen does not equal 12-valve... I would expect mid 20s at least from a 12-valve (and most any pre-CRD CTD)...

And most numbers posted are wrong anyway... I posted hand-calculated numbers, not the reading of a flaky computer.

 

[Coalsmoke]

From what I've gathered, I'd guess the average for the 3rd gens is high teens. I mean if you read the forums, there are some guys that can't even get 15 mpg consistently... I just averaged around 20 without trying.



3rd gen does not equal 12-valve... I would expect mid 20s at least from a 12-valve (and most any pre-CRD CTD)...



And most numbers posted are wrong anyway... I posted hand-calculated numbers, not the reading of a flaky computer.

I think most TDR members who post about fuel mileage have the where-with-all to know to compare hand calculated figures when counting beans. Its the common Joe that I see often claiming the overhead console readout as gospel. I have read of earlier 3rd gens being off by as much as 10MPG. Interestingly enough the overhead readout on my 08's EVIC is quite close as it seems that I am usually within a half of a MPG.



12 valves have been good in my experience, but I know they can be quite inconsistent from one truck to the next. My old 95 would see numbers upwards of 26MPG on 80% highway 20% town, mountain routes with 2,000lbs in bed. But, I know of a 97 that is unfortunately getting around 16-17 MPG on the same routes. I thought for some reason that the earlier HPCR trucks would be getting only a couple MPG down from the 12vers, but I never really paid much attention to 3rd gen mileage until I sold the 95, hence why I was asking. My 08 is too new to nail down a solid typical number yet, but the one definite pattern I have seen is that it is getting better mileage every tank I put through it, and with 4,000kms on the clock the last full tank average (30 gallon fill-up) it hand calculated at 18. 7MPG with an even mix of in-town and on-highway running, and pretty much all of it has been heavily mountainous being all of it has been here in British Columbia. The overhead EVIC read 19. 1MPG, so I'm happy.

 

[nickleinonen]

great mileage... i average about 16. 3mpg in my 04 6speed 3. 73 with 99% city stop/go driving

 

[DWeiler]

I"m getting better mileage with my second genner than my bro-law 3rd genner,even with all my mods running back and forth to our vacation property i get 20-22MPG if i keep it under 70MPH. Brolaw is in the mid teens. Last weekend pulling a small flat deck quad trailer with about 4000LBS of rock/supplies i still hit 18. 5 MPG round trip(hand calculated)BUT----- if i find a "pacecar" thats runs 85/90MPH i'm in the mid teens. Still better than my old 01 Ford 7. 3 bread truck,lucky to get 12MPG on a good day empty.

 

[LRutigliano]

steved,



Those mpg numbers are phenomenal. I haven't taken my truck on a bob-tail road trip, so I can't do any compares. (I always have the trailer)



The best I have EVER gotten is 18. 6mpg with mine.



Whatever you are doing to get those numbers, don't change a thing! Don't touch the truck and don't change your driving style...

 

[Cattletrkr]

Don't you have different injectors???

 

[Edgemann55]

Stock 05 except what is listed below. 56000 miles,Smarty Jr on level 1. Hand calculated I always get above 20 mpg running 70-75 on the freeway. Just got back from a weekend down in the Bay area from Carson City,NV. 420 miles-19. 1 gallons. Almost 22 mpg-who needs a half ton gasser! Now if we could just get diesel fuel down to the price of regular unleaded.

 

[jgillott]

Stock 05 except what is listed below. 56000 miles,Smarty Jr on level 1. Hand calculated I always get above 20 mpg running 70-75 on the freeway. Just got back from a weekend down in the Bay area from Carson City,NV. 420 miles-19. 1 gallons. Almost 22 mpg-who needs a half ton gasser! Now if we could just get diesel fuel down to the price of regular unleaded.

I find it interesting you mention a gas powered half ton. Our Silverado 1500 (4. 8L 4x4) and the '07 Ram regularly see right around 22 mpg on the highway. Where I see the real difference is in mixed or mostly local driving. The Ram will stay right in that 18. 5-19 MPG range with me driving. The Silverado drops off to around 14.

 

[TRLRTRSH]

I'll post again, My :"03" with 373's at 65mph flat highway speeds gets 20mpg HAND CALCULATED.

Steve, if you are getting those numbers with 410's quit bi itching about it. Those are great numbers. )

 

[FLynes]

My '05 2500 auto w/3. 73's got 23MPG steady, when I first got it. When the ULSD came out, my mileage sank to 17 and never went back up... my driving habits didn't change either and I had no performance mods on it.



My '01 3500 HO 6-speed w/4. 10's initially got 19MPG, but I watched the mileage steadily drop to 14 and couldn't get it to go back up. I had an AirDog FP100 put in, changed out the IAT sensor, put in a new filter, changed the oil, changed the transmission fluid, took the radiator out and cleaned it and put new coolant in and still nothing. I think the problem was the VP44 was slowly dying.



Keep in mind that for the '05 I kept it at 65MPH; the '01 I kept at 55MPH.



So what did I do? I traded it for a Ferd. Now, driving 55MPH, I'm getting 16MPG with that POS Navistar V8 motor. The only reason I have this truck is for the body, interior and transmission. When the warranty expires, the truck is getting DeStroked and a CTD is going in its place.

 

[Edgemann55]

I find it interesting you mention a gas powered half ton. Our Silverado 1500 (4. 8L 4x4) and the '07 Ram regularly see right around 22 mpg on the highway. Where I see the real difference is in mixed or mostly local driving. The Ram will stay right in that 18. 5-19 MPG range with me driving. The Silverado drops off to around 14.

Yea my 05 will do around 17mpg combined type driven which is still not bad. My buddy just got a new 08 Silverado and it gets above 20 on the freeway but really drops off around town.

 

[steved]

Don't you have different injectors???

Flux 1s, but they really haven't impressed me with mileage increases...



I can show numbers like this with a complete stock truck at under 5000 miles (complete with cat, no mods, factory fluids, and no dynatrac)... the "new" truck I was never going to mod...



I think a lot of it is driving style...