GM with the 2.8 diesel

[buickanddeere]

My 1500 Silverado with a 5.3 only gets about 12 mpg around town. Pulling a trailer that weighs about 2,500 pounds drops it to about 10. It gets about 16 mpg on the highway, The F-350 with a 5.4 does about the same and a little better when towing due to the lower gear ratio. A family member has a 3500 Dmax. He gets about 19 mpg on the highway and about 11 mpg pulling his 14,000 pound 5th wheel. He used to have a 7.3 F-250 that got about 25 mpg unloaded and 11 mpg towing the 5th wheel. My gasser f-350 gets about 7 mpg pulling that load and can't run with the D-max.

5.3 port injected or 5.3 Direct Injected ? The early 5.3 and late 5.3are almost as different as a gas engine is from a Diesel engine .

 

[4570Man]

5.3 port injected or 5.3 Direct Injected ? The early 5.3 and late 5.3are almost as different as a gas engine is from a Diesel engine .

Not sure. It was built in 1999. We've had a newer 5.3 ( 2005 ) that didn't get any better mileage.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Not sure. It was built in 1999. We've had a newer 5.3 ( 2005 ) that didn't get any better mileage.

I'd trade the mileage of the current 5.3 for the reliability of the one from 99-07. One of the best engines ever! Too bad GM screwed it all up and that's one of the reasons I left GM trucks recently.

 

[buickanddeere]

Not sure. It was built in 1999. We've had a newer 5.3 ( 2005 ) that didn't get any better mileage.

They are old, only port injected, much better than carburated but a long way from the power and efficiency of a direct injected gas. Direct injection V8 Chevs began production for the 2014 model year.

 

[wawajake]

I have had my 2014 5.3L V8 for two years, no problems and excellent gas mileage , Buickanddeere is correct , comparing older 5.3's is apples and oranges comparison.

 

[JJZ 109]

Back to the subject at hand, a friend bought a new Colorado with the 2.8 a few months ago. He normally gets in the high 20's for a 50 or so mile commute that's mostly 2 lane state highways. To this point he's very happy with the truck. I haven't heard if he's towed his 23 foot boat with it yet so I can't comment on the towing aspect.
They seem to be a little hard to find in this area, or at least they were when he got his in June. He grabbed the only one available for many miles around.

 

[DieselBound]

A few factors at play with those VWs...... They were a little scarce to start with, many aren't around anymore, and aside from traditional old diesel fans as buyers, anything mechanically injected has good value to veggie oil fans.

Here, they'd have additional value as emissions exempt, as would a gasser of that era.

Rgds, D.

Veggie oil in general is a bad idea as it tends to gum up injectors. I'm running mechanical IPs in my ALH VWs and there's no way I'd run veggie oil in them: all the top injector people will back this up. Early on when you could get veggie oil for free it might have been worth it (offset the costs associated with increased maintenance).

 

[DieselBound]

I'd trade the mileage of the current 5.3 for the reliability of the one from 99-07. One of the best engines ever! Too bad GM screwed it all up and that's one of the reasons I left GM trucks recently.

Not sure that it's has so much to do with a manufacturer screwing things up as much as it has to do with the emissions burdens. Direct injection became necessary in order to have better control over fuel delivery (in addition to spark, for gassers). My ALH VW diesels (13 to 16 years old now) are great direct injection engines; they're very reliable, and properly maintained they'll rack up some serious miles.

When assessing fuel mileage keep in mind that it's the package, the body and the engine. Saying that a particular engine doesn't deliver as good as fuel mileage as some older engines tends to miss that in many cases the bodies are loaded down with a lot more crap/weight. Engines are pretty much more efficient now than in the past.

 

[DieselBound]

Sorry to barge in here. Brought up this thread because I like diesels. Don't care what manufacturer is coming out with new ones, just that new ones are coming out! I like that Dodge came out with a 1/2 ton diesel. And this is the first that I'd heard of someone else doing so: I seem to recall that Ford thought it silly to even think of this!

My commuting vehicles are diesel VWs, ALH TDIs. I wouldn't want to drive anything other than a diesel!

 

[3930dave]

Veggie oil in general is a bad idea as it tends to gum up injectors. I'm running mechanical IPs in my ALH VWs and there's no way I'd run veggie oil in them: all the top injector people will back this up. Early on when you could get veggie oil for free it might have been worth it (offset the costs associated with increased maintenance).

Agreed, there is more knowledge/time/maintenance involved than many people want to take on. In most geographies, the v oil supply-side economics has changed too, but still hasn't stopped everybody from trying this option.

A good-friend of a a good-friend of mine runs an old Cummins on extensively re-processed petro-oils. But, that process is well outside of this thread, and effectively Phd level behaviour compared to what most people want to take on.

Enjoy your diesels, it sounds like you are !

Rgds, D.