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Dodge v10 gas milage

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#22 ·
hummm, thanks for the info. I have about 56,000 on it... and DUH I just remembered I got an extended warranty when I bought this truck in Janurary. I'm going to bet those would be covered by the warranty one way or another. guess I better do some checkin.
 
#26 ·
I get 15-16mpg with a K&N air filter, 5w-20 synth, 4.3L V6 and pulling 1-2 thousand pounds, mostly highway driving.

I will tell you the following can help with fuel mileage:
  • A bi-fold gate folded down, a full sized trailer gate closed is like a sail in the wind.
  • Driving the speed limit.
  • Stop anticipation (learn to let off the gas earlier than most drivers).
  • A light foot on the throttle, easy acceleration.
  • Keeping distance from vehicles in front
  • Tires filled to Max.PSI sidewall
  • Low-viscosity synthetic oil

What kills fuel mileage:
  • Weight
  • Big engines
  • Heavy acceleration
  • Frequent and/or hard braking

I do not personally believe the K&N to improve fuel economy, but it's cheaper than buying paper filters over time.
 
#30 ·
sidemouse.ii said:
What kills fuel mileage:
  • Weight
  • Big engines
  • Heavy acceleration
  • Frequent and/or hard braking
Click to expand...
Braking doesn’t affect fuel mileage, unless you are saying you eventually have to accelerate, which temporarily lowers economy.

Big engines don’t work as hard as small engines. Typically they get better economy with the same load. I assure you, a Duramax with the same load will get better mileage than your 4.3 V6.

Sure weight and acceleration lower economy. I mean, that’s obvious. No need in mentioning those.
 
#33 ·
J. Baker said:
Braking doesn’t affect fuel mileage, unless you are saying you eventually have to accelerate, which temporarily lowers economy.

Big engines don’t work as hard as small engines. Typically they get better economy with the same load. I assure you, a Duramax with the same load will get better mileage than your 4.3 V6.

Sure weight and acceleration lower economy. I mean, that’s obvious. No need in mentioning those.
Click to expand...
The 4.3 should have been limited to s10s and never put in 1/2 tons. The 4.8 and 5.3 were both better choices in that application. I wouldn’t count on the Duramax getting better mpg simply because it’s a lot heavier truck. If you were doing a more realistic comparison gas 2500 vs Duramax then it would. But diesel also cost twice as much which wipes away any savings.
 
#34 · (Edited)
J. Baker said:
Braking doesn’t affect fuel mileage, unless you are saying you eventually have to accelerate, which temporarily lowers economy.
Click to expand...
The first rule in getting good gas mileage is to drive as if your brakes don’t work. It’s not the low speed limits that causes low gas mileage in urban driving, it’s the constant braking. If you can drive around town without touching your brakes, your city gas mileage will be higher.

Braking shaves off speed that took fuel to build.
We spend fuel to get up to speed, we spend it maintaining it too.
Fuel is consumed at a greater rate anytime our foot is on the gas.
If we let off the gas sooner we use less brakes, consume less fuel, and our tires last longer.

On a note, retarders, j-brakes and "smart" (or radar) cruise controls that like to activate brakes are not good for fuel economy either. Better to let off the gas sooner, even if that means falling below the speed limit.

Take it from someone who has taken vehicles from 10 to 15 mpg, trust me one thing, it's nothing that can be learned overnight... Takes years, decades really, decades of driving and paying attention to what is actually going on. However I seriously doubt a V10 pulling 12,000 pounds is going to see much of anything close to 16mpg.
 
#36 ·
Mowing monkey. said:
The 4.3 should have been limited to s10s and never put in 1/2 tons. The 4.8 and 5.3 were both better choices in that application. I wouldn’t count on the Duramax getting better mpg simply because it’s a lot heavier truck. If you were doing a more realistic comparison gas 2500 vs Duramax then it would. But diesel also cost twice as much which wipes away any savings.
Click to expand...
I have a Duramax. It gets better MPG than any of our other trucks. I am not talking about fuel cost. I don’t care what it costs. The truck is a piece of equipment we got to do a job. It costs what it costs. It makes good power, tows heavy loads and gets decent economy doing it. The 454 truck does too, but gets 8 mpg no matter whether it’s loaded or not.
 
#37 ·
J. Baker said:
I have a Duramax. It gets better MPG than any of our other trucks. I am not talking about fuel cost. I don’t care what it costs. The truck is a piece of equipment we got to do a job. It costs what it costs. It makes good power, tows heavy loads and gets decent economy doing it. The 454 truck does too, but gets 8 mpg no matter whether it’s loaded or not.
Click to expand...
If you don’t care about cost why are we even talking about fuel mileage? I’ve never owed a Duramax but I used to borrow one before I got my own trucks. I currently have a V-10 Ford, a 5.9 Cummins and 2 7.3 Fords. One is 350 srw automatic transmission and the other a 350drw with a 6 speed manual and flatbed. I also still have the truck I started out with a 1992 3500 with a dump bed and 6.5 turbo. I’d just assume every one of the trucks be gas burners. They’re cheaper to buy upfront by a lot, cheaper to do maintenance on, and cold start better. The diesels will exceed them in mileage but when you’re buying twice as expensive fuel you’ve lost that advantage. A diesel will tow better especially a new one but a V-10 or 8.1 gas burner will tow as good as the older diesels.
 
#38 ·
Mowing monkey. said:
If you don’t care about cost why are we even talking about fuel mileage? I’ve never owed a Duramax but I used to borrow one before I got my own trucks. I currently have a V-10 Ford, a 5.9 Cummins and 2 7.3 Fords. One is 350 srw automatic transmission and the other a 350drw with a 6 speed manual and flatbed. I also still have the truck I started out with a 1992 3500 with a dump bed and 6.5 turbo. I’d just assume every one of the trucks be gas burners. They’re cheaper to buy upfront by a lot, cheaper to do maintenance on, and cold start better. The diesels will exceed them in mileage but when you’re buying twice as expensive fuel you’ve lost that advantage. A diesel will tow better especially a new one but a V-10 or 8.1 gas burner will tow as good as the older diesels.
Click to expand...
I don’t want to say I’m not concerned with mileage, but it isn’t top of the list when I consider a truck. (I’ll come back to that in a moment.)
Why are we talking about it? Well, that’s the topic of the thread.

So, I was a heavy equipment mechanic and shop owner before starting the current business (we, brother and I) have. So, I’m not scared of diesel equipment and can easily justify the cost. I want the power and related economy of a diesel. Now, you say the higher fuel price washes out any savings. I disagree. I’ve had to replace or do major work on every gas truck I’ve had between 200/250k. The diesels…. Never had to do more than routine maintenance and once a pump and injectors. I had 5.9 Cummins with 500k still going strong, but had went through a couple trans. I typically keep a truck ten years or so, but not always. Longest I had one was 14 years and I got rid of it just because the body was starting to go and I was just tired of driving the same truck I’d had for 14 years. I simply wanted a different truck. (It was a 1990 Dodge D250 Cummins.) Honestly if it had been a W250, I would have kept it.
When I started buying diesels, diesel was way cheaper than gas. But fuel prices change with politicians now, and fluctuate more with politics than the market. As far as being concerned with mileage…. The Duramax will get 13 towing a 14k gooseneck with full load, no loss of power. And we’ll put way more miles on it than a gasser before doing major work to it. Mostly due to the care (maintenance) I give the trucks, but because that motor can handle it. Sure the 454 truck will too pull a 14k load without much problem, but not with the ease the diesel will and not at 13 mpg. Believe me that gasser won’t keep up with the diesel towing, but will hold its own. We live in a very rural community and burn A LOT of fuel just due to distance between everything. So I kinda want decent economy, but moreover I want a truck to do its job day in day out without major repair work. A diesel does that. But I also don’t care the 454 sucks gas. It’s a 1 ton truck and its job is to haul equipment. I don’t think an 8L will outlive or outperform it. Yes, I’ve driven 8L gassers.
 
#39 ·
Just as a note, the business currently has 4 trucks. All General Motors.

1991 2500 with a 350 and auto
1993 GMC 3500HD with a 6.5 and 5sp (that’s equivalent to a 4500 now) it is our dumptruck
1994 Chevrolet 3500 with a 454 and 5sp (flatbed, 10k chassis)
And the 2010 3500 SW quad cab long bed Duramax/Allison

We like the 90’s trucks, and seek them out for the fleet. Find them in good shape and rebuild them. Cheaper than buying new and we end up with good solid trucks. However, really like that Duramax. I’d buy another. As long as it’s 2010 or so or older. I’d say that year was one of the best.
 
#40 ·
Mowing monkey. said:
The 4.3 should have been limited to s10s and never put in 1/2 tons. The 4.8 and 5.3 were both better choices in that application. I wouldn’t count on the Duramax getting better mpg simply because it’s a lot heavier truck. If you were doing a more realistic comparison gas 2500 vs Duramax then it would. But diesel also cost twice as much which wipes away any savings.
Click to expand...
I won't argue that a 2021 4.8 gets better mileage than the 2013 4.3 but a lot has to do with age and technology, and in some cases a lack of power is what helps me keep a light foot on the throttle. I didn't really test the 4.8 since it was a rental but I can tell you that from my experience with the 5.3L Triton I used to have...

When I don't have the power, there's no temptation.
 
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