Historical Fuel Economy Competitions

[Copperhead]

What constantly irks me is how the heavy commercial engine OEM's have increased overall fuel economy in their engines by 20-25% in just the last 10 years (pulling same weights, same routes, same weather conditions, etc) while the pickup OEM's have just inched upwards a little, if any. My 2015 2500 6.0L Chevy only averages about 1 mpg better than my 1998 2500 with a 454. That is pretty sad. My commercial semi truck will now get the same mpg (32,500 lb truck with 40,000 lb cargo) as many claim to get with a gasser pickup pulling a 8,000 lb trailer, about 8-9 mpg. Popped a 9.24 mpg on 582 miles yesterday with my 2013 Freightliner. Rolling hills, headwind of about 5 mph.

I think the pickup OEM's might want to pick up the phone and give the heavy truck OEM's a call.

 

[DEWFPO]

What constantly irks me is how the heavy commercial engine OEM's have increased overall fuel economy in their engines by 20-25% in just the last 10 years (pulling same weights, same routes, same weather conditions, etc) while the pickup OEM's have just inched upwards a little, if any. My 2015 2500 6.0L Chevy only averages about 1 mpg better than my 1998 2500 with a 454. That is pretty sad. My commercial semi truck will now get the same mpg (32,500 lb truck with 40,000 lb cargo) as many claim to get with a gasser pickup pulling a 8,000 lb trailer, about 8-9 mpg. Popped a 9.24 mpg on 582 miles yesterday with my 2013 Freightliner. Rolling hills, headwind of about 5 mph.

I think the pickup OEM's might want to pick up the phone and give the heavy truck OEM's a call.

That's pretty amazing....! I remember when 6 mpg used to be the norm.

DEWFPO

 

[roadhunter]

It's true, newer is not always better. We used to have a little VW pickup when I was a kid. That thing wouldn't pull a greased string out a cats arse but it got around 50 MPG. I remember going up the pass between Laramie and Cheyenne going about 40 because that was as fast as it would go uphill.

Same with Dads old 6.2. I think that diesel got around 30 MPG.

I had a 2011 RAM 2500 diesel and loved the power but was getting about 11 MPG. I went back to an 07 (pre emission) and nearly doubled my mileage.

It seem that in the process of reducing emissions some vehicles were made to be less fuel efficient. So we were saving the earth with cleaner emissions but having to use more fuel to accomplish the tasks. Not sure if that is better or worse for earth.

 

[Copperhead]

That's pretty amazing....! I remember when 6 mpg used to be the norm.

DEWFPO

Did a little better today. That 5 mpg headwind yesterday became a tail wind today. Came in at 10.0 mpg for the day. And I am not the mpg king when it comes to semi trucks. My average is around 7.93 for the 615,000 miles on my semi. The king is Henry Albert out of N. Carolina. He took a new Cascadia with a DD15 last year (with all that new emissions junk on it), grossing 72,000 lb, from California to N. C. and did about 9.8 for the entire trip running around 65 mph. That is documented by Freightliner.

This is why I hold the contention that the pickup OEM's are not even trying, with either diesel or gasser versions.

 

[oldballs]

My 1980 Dodge 1/2 ton, slant 6 cylinder (225 cc) only got 16 mpg with no significant weight on board. I was quite disappointed. So, the '99 SuperDuty 5.4 L gets 12-14 mpg with three loaded tool boxes. Since I am now retired, the MPG is not an issue with me anymore, but it sure could be improved. Maybe it has since 1999.

I'm with Copperhead.........Are they even trying?

 

[3930dave]

What constantly irks me is how the heavy commercial engine OEM's have increased overall fuel economy in their engines by 20-25% in just the last 10 years (pulling same weights, same routes, same weather conditions, etc) while the pickup OEM's have just inched upwards a little, if any. My 2015 2500 6.0L Chevy only averages about 1 mpg better than my 1998 2500 with a 454. That is pretty sad. My commercial semi truck will now get the same mpg (32,500 lb truck with 40,000 lb cargo) as many claim to get with a gasser pickup pulling a 8,000 lb trailer, about 8-9 mpg. Popped a 9.24 mpg on 582 miles yesterday with my 2013 Freightliner. Rolling hills, headwind of about 5 mph.

I think the pickup OEM's might want to pick up the phone and give the heavy truck OEM's a call.

The pickup wars have been about (marketing) hp, torque, and tow rating. Even if you do not live in a jurisdiction where you need a CDL to use the full limit of a modern 1 ton pu tow rating, I've come to the conclusion that it is way more cost effective to move to a medium-duty or better truck if you are always hauling heavy.

Modern pickups are getting more gears in automatics, but given the money to play with, I'd sooner just Gear Vendor an older diesel.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Same with Dads old 6.2. I think that diesel got around 30 MPG.


It seem that in the process of reducing emissions some vehicles were made to be less fuel efficient. So we were saving the earth with cleaner emissions but having to use more fuel to accomplish the tasks. Not sure if that is better or worse for earth.

I've often wondered the same....

Someone (I'm thinking it was you rh) posted in another thread about even further back - an IH Scout II diesel in the 70's turning similar #'s to your Dad's 6.2. For its size, the Scout II was not a light vehicle. That diesel wouldn't pull 20k#, or do 0-60 in 8 seconds, but I'd still buy one - today, adding a low-pressure turbo if not present.

Rgds, D.

 

[Egon]

Economy??

[video]http://theoldmotor.com/?p=155357[/video]

 

[Bird]

My Dad owned a Mobil service station 1956 to 1964, so of course I kept up with the Mobil Economy Runs and the results back then. But now I've forgotten what year (1958 maybe?) that Chrysler got into trouble for cheating. All the cars were bought from local dealers instead of being furnished by the manufacturers, and the dealers didn't know when a car was being bought for that purpose, and no one knew exactly when the cars would be bought. So, for some period of time, without telling anyone, including the dealers, Chrysler put a light weight motor oil in the manual transmissions and differentials instead of the customary 90 weight gear oil, expecting one those cars would be selected for the Mobil Economy Run. That came to light when owners starting having transmission and differential problems with those cars.

As for current vehicles, my 2015 Ford F150 Super Crew with the 2.7L engine has averaged 20.794 MPG since I've had it, but Monday I had to make a little 406 mile trip, keeping it at the speed limit (mostly 70 and 75 MPH) and got 22.336 MPG (didn't have to use the A/C on that trip like I do most of the time).

 

[3930dave]

Economy??

[video]http://theoldmotor.com/?p=155357[/video]

Cool article and site. I've read a bit on Rudolf Diesel - he had an interesting take on how his engine was viewed in America.

A gearhead like myself often doesn't mind the sound of an old diesel. Today's modern light diesels are hard to distinguish from gas ones, sound wise - or maybe it's just that my hearing is going .

Rgds, D.