Other Technical QuestionsDiscussion of other technical topics. Please see the sticky post at the top of the thread listing for specific rules. The rules for this forum are more restrictive than they have been in the past. Topics will expire automatically in 60 days.
Roof, I saw a chart floating around the fuel desk of the local Pilot TS showing how speed affects MPG in a class 8 truck. (I'm sure it would roughly be the same in your DT-466 equipped trucks.) The chart showed MPG to be best between 35 and 55 MPH. It started falling off after 55 MPH with a steep plunge when it hit 75 MPH. According to the chart, every MPH over 55 MPH starts costing .1 MPG. So a supertrucker traveling at 80 MPH consumes 2.5 MPG over the 6.5 MPG he would get at 55 MPH. That's a 40% increase in the amount of fuel consumed. And no amount of fuel subsidies would cover that.
Also, I saw an article about how air carriers are cutting back on the top speed of their flights to save fuel. Overall big savings can be had by reducing fleed cruising speed by 10 MPH. See My Way News - Airlines slow down flights to save on fuel
One of the best purchases I've made on my 7.3L Powerstroke (towards improving fuel economy) was a $159 ScanGauge that plugs into the OBDII port. Even though I have a full set of gauges, I have mine to show turbo boost, load, real time MPG and trip MPG. It will show more, but that's how I have mine set up. With it, one of the things I've learned that momentum is my friend. On the rural interstate, down a hill at 65 MPH @ 30 MPG (real time), up the other side letting it fall back to 55-60 MPH @ 20 MPG. On level ground, I've found it's sweet spot to be 57 MPH as well. This seems to be where max torque, boost, lower wind resistance come together to give me an average of 22 MPG with ULSD in a stock truck.
Same driving habits, same amount. About the only thing changed is now the wife, as she enters my debit's into her software app, asks "did it cost $130.00 to fill up the truck?" I say yes. She says, "it cost 65.00 to fill up the jeep this time". I say ok. And life goes on.
12injectors so far
1 FICM
8 glow plugs
1 glow plug control module
1 HPOP
2 EGR valves, plus(cleaned 6 times)
EGR cooler
buzz flash replaced with
heat flash(seems to work quite well)
2 Batteries
8 Tires
Rear brake pads,,,At 105,000 miles.
Enough Rotella to float a boat!
New flywheel/clutch assy(possibly not needed)
Death wobble-FIXED!!ihope
2006 F350 CC LWB Dually XLT Oxford white manual 4x4 6.0 PSD 6 speed. 4.10 LS front and rear,captains chairs, polished forged wheels, sunroof, tow mirrors, tow command brake controller, skid plates. Built May05. 4" turbo back w/modded OEM CAT,turboflow muffler, 100gal aux fuel tank, low profile black toolbox,5th wheel/gooseneck hitch, LineX(hate it), GlowShift fuel pressure gauge and fuel crossover tube. A real pig from a stop, but give me 10' and she'll lite'em up. 88K troublesome miles. Running fairly well for the last 20,000( Let us pray.....).
BTW: Jacking the truck up 5 inches it retarded, it makes the frontal area increase tremendously, and screws up handling a lot.
Tires tires tires. A train weighs a lot but has a small contact area so resistance is relatively low. We all know those big fat tires lower mileage but Im not sure everyone knows why. I took off the softer mud tire and went to a much higher presser street tire.
When I was a kid I rode bicycles a lot. I started to get arthritis in my hands from riding dirt bikes so much I had to stop riding dirt. When I switched from a dirt tire to a high pressure street tire the difference was night and day. The street tire had so much less resistance. The hypermillers are overinflating to lower resistance even more.
Remove all unnecessary weight from your vehicle(even if it means your going on a diet). Racers know 100 lbs cost you a tenth in the quarter mile because
your wasting hp to get motivate the extra weight. I took a peek around my car and tire pressure is good and only about 20lbs extra weight in the trunk.
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"Im voting for Dukakis"
1984 E350 Quadravan, 6.9 IDI, 4x4, E4OD, ext. van : recent acquisition 1984 mitsubishi mighty max 4x4; a work in progress to run on homebrew if all goes well
Tires tires tires. A train weighs a lot but has a small contact area so resistance is relatively low. We all know those big fat tires lower mileage but Im not sure everyone knows why. I took off the softer mud tire and went to a much higher presser street tire.
When I was a kid I rode bicycles a lot. I started to get arthritis in my hands from riding dirt bikes so much I had to stop riding dirt. When I switched from a dirt tire to a high pressure street tire the difference was night and day. The street tire had so much less resistance. The hypermillers are overinflating to lower resistance even more.
Remove all unnecessary weight from your vehicle(even if it means your going on a diet). Racers know 100 lbs cost you a tenth in the quarter mile because
your wasting hp to get motivate the extra weight. I took a peek around my car and tire pressure is good and only about 20lbs extra weight in the trunk.
Until you mentioned personal diet..... Correct BTW but don't po me!
Actually on a motorcycle weights, think of this a bike like a new ninja weighs 500 pounds give or take. Now put a chunky guy like me on a diet and say I lose 50 pounds......that's 10% of the bikes weight, think that doesn't count a lot?
You also mentioned rolling resistance.......tire pressure, tire pressure also a big help.
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Too much junk/toys to mention, ever changing due to too getting bored too quickly. I need a 10 step program!
Want to call? I'm in the book. Want to argue....First explain the square root of negative one....lol
Bought a 21 speed mountain bike today. My bike that I had built from scratch, and had over half my life, got stolen out of my yard last year so I needed to find a replacement(the only worldly possession that could make me shed a tear when I lost it). Really wanted a specialty street but there is just too much offroad around here to completely ignore it. Ordered a set of hi pressure street tires with nobbies on the side so I dont get in to much trouble like if I ran slicks. I really wanted to get something along the lines of a vespa or an electric moped but with a newborn the wife says no. I live within a block of the grocery store so I figure I can run any other errands on the bike if I need.
Still have the 626 but Im gonna leave it parked as much as possible until I can get a line on a late 90s corolla or cave in and buy a prius. The wife really really wants a prius. I still have the Ford thats in my sig but at 140 dollars a fillup Id rather walk.
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"Im voting for Dukakis"
1984 E350 Quadravan, 6.9 IDI, 4x4, E4OD, ext. van : recent acquisition 1984 mitsubishi mighty max 4x4; a work in progress to run on homebrew if all goes well
Bought a 21 speed mountain bike today. My bike that I had built from scratch, and had over half my life, got stolen out of my yard last year so I needed to find a replacement(the only worldly possession that could make me shed a tear when I lost it). Really wanted a specialty street but there is just too much offroad around here to completely ignore it. Ordered a set of hi pressure street tires with nobbies on the side so I dont get in to much trouble like if I ran slicks. I really wanted to get something along the lines of a vespa or an electric moped but with a newborn the wife says no. I live within a block of the grocery store so I figure I can run any other errands on the bike if I need.
Still have the 626 but Im gonna leave it parked as much as possible until I can get a line on a late 90s corolla or cave in and buy a prius. The wife really really wants a prius. I still have the Ford thats in my sig but at 140 dollars a fillup Id rather walk.
I'm not sure but I think in very cold temperatures the batteries might not work so hot. I don't know I'm just speculating.
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Too much junk/toys to mention, ever changing due to too getting bored too quickly. I need a 10 step program!
Want to call? I'm in the book. Want to argue....First explain the square root of negative one....lol
Still works better than half the year. Couldnt get a full electic car by any means but an electric bike interests me because I do most of my short trips in the summer anyways. Not that anyone rides gas motorcycles in the winter much either so it doesnt matter what form of propulsion you use.
Slightly off topic but have you seen one of these. Mokai Manufacturing Inc.
My brother has one and lets me use it time to time. It is a blast to operate.
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"Im voting for Dukakis"
1984 E350 Quadravan, 6.9 IDI, 4x4, E4OD, ext. van : recent acquisition 1984 mitsubishi mighty max 4x4; a work in progress to run on homebrew if all goes well
Slightly off topic but have you seen one of these. Mokai Manufacturing Inc.
My brother has one and lets me use it time to time. It is a blast to operate.
Why does everything we do have to use gasoline ? Jet skis, Seadoos, quads, dune buggies, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, drag racing, NASCAR, boat racing, fishing, water skiing, motorcycles, hot rods, truck pulling... they all use gasoline (or diesel fuel) !
What would be wrong with river kayaking instead of that motorized kayak ? It wouldn't hurt for some of us to get some exercise !
We are addicted to oil. Everything we do uses oil. The internal combustion engine has become our hobby.
To defray the high costs of filling up my truck, I deployed to Iraq for six months.
Truck stays parked, and I get to work, chow, and bed every day on my own power.
I'll be riding my bicycle to work when I get back home late this year. It isn't safe because we only have a two-lane country road between home and part of the way to/from work, but on a mountain bike I should be able to pull onto the grassy shoulder and avoid trouble.
I'll take that $300 a month that it costs me to fill up the truck (before diesel went up even higher recently--it's $0.50 a gallon higher where I live now than when I left home for here) and put it into savings for a home downpayment to be used after military retirement. That, coupled with other areas where we've tightened the pocketbook, should net us a large downpayment in 9 years.
If the military had horse parking, I'd ride my horse the 12 miles to work each day. She'd be highly prepped for racing.
Mike
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- SOLD: 1991 F-350 XLT crewcab, dually. BTS E4OD. My favorite truck.
- NEW DAILY DRIVER: 2006 Ram 3500 SLT quad cab. 5.9L Cummins, 6-speed manual transmission, nav system, Jake brake. No mods, now or ever. 100% satisfied.
Last edited by Mike Lewis : 05-12-2008 at 12:02 PM.
I have added a bed cover to my 08 long bed F250, 6.4l,I also changed to the bigger air dam (77.00)I plugged up the two vent holes on each side of the hood and covered the two bumper holes where the lifting bolts stick out. I have seem my mpg increase from 16.8 to 20.1 mixed driving. this concept reduces the amount of air flow not needed in the engine compartment, less flow flow= less drag, no increase in temps on the guages.
I wonder how many still "drive it like I stole it!"? I suspect many still do just from the number of people that whiz by at a high rate of speed while I'm in the right lane holding it at 60 MPH.
i hate to say this, i drive both of my trucks like i stole them. i drive 400+ miles in a week. my 06 f-150 gets 15mpg on the freeway, and 13 mixed driving. my powerstroke gets 12. no matter how i drive it, the average ranges from 12.0-12.5. not a substantial increase.
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2000 F-350 PSD Super Duty 4x4 Dually Reg Cab Long Bed 145k miles
110 gallon Axillary fuel tank
Inter cooler Tube Foil Removed
Wicked Wheel
DP Tuner (40 60 80 140 high idle)
AFE stage 2 intake
3 gauge cluster
ITP Overboost annihilator
Custom stock exhaust (for now)
While I have done some hardware mods, there is a lot you can do about your fuel bill that costs you nothing. Zip. Squat. But you gotta change the nut behind the wheel.
This guy has a political agenda. Ignore it. He has the goods on squeezing mileage out of vehicles. You don’t have to do everything he does, but pick and choose what he recommends that you can do.
Shut off the cell phone and radio and pay attention to what you are doing. It requires effort but not a dime of your money.
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'00 F-350, 4x2, 6 Speed AIC 210,000 miles
3.08:1 Gears
Fuel tank mods: MaroonHarpoon, Pre-Pump,
Evans, 203 degree thermostat, Poor Man's Tymar, 4" Single SS Exhaust, Rugged Air Dam
225-75x16E tires in front 235-85x16Es in back, tires aired up to 100 psi, Lowered 4" in front and 6" in back, "Fastback" bed fairing
21.3 MPG before mods
27.0 MPG tested with mods
i hate to say this, i drive both of my trucks like i stole them. i drive 400+ miles in a week. my 06 f-150 gets 15mpg on the freeway, and 13 mixed driving. my powerstroke gets 12. no matter how i drive it, the average ranges from 12.0-12.5. not a substantial increase.
Are you towing with the PowerStroke? Take a tank and try some of the trucker tips, such as keep it moving, anticipating red lights, traffic slow downs, etc. If yours is a manual, get into high gear as soon as possible and accelerate slowly up to speed. It's called progressive shifting. Use momentum of hills, let the truck build up speed on the downhills, and use that inertia to push you up the other side. And if you're used to driving 75 or 80, try taking it down to 65 or 70 for a tank, just to see if it makes a difference. You might find it unbearable and go back to your old habits, but then it might save you a bit at the fuel pump. With a few changes isn't not hard to save roughly 20% buy adjusting the way you drive.
FWIW, my wife drives 'em like she stole 'em. Can't get her to change. I was hoping that the last speeding ticket would tone her down, but the judge threw the ticket out. Since then the GPS says she routinely hits 80MPH. We rarely have an argument, but when we do, it's about this.
Fortunately for me, she now has a company car that she can use for personal use as well. And double fortunately for me, the company pays for all her gas. So for now, the Excursion and he Jetta are off-limits. But I'm sure that won't last long.
And BTW, she has found that even a Toyota Prius gets dismal MPG if you drive it with your foot in it all the time.
i tow a 30' enclosed trailer with it, then i drive it the same way i drive my big truck. its an auto, and i antrcipate red lights, just cus i hate having to stop fast cus it really wears out the brakes, and i hate changing the rear brakes on the dually.
as far as driving it nice, thats why i got the econ setting on the chip. i keep my foot out of it then, and i havent had the truck up and running long enough out on the road to tell if it makes a difference.
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2000 F-350 PSD Super Duty 4x4 Dually Reg Cab Long Bed 145k miles
110 gallon Axillary fuel tank
Inter cooler Tube Foil Removed
Wicked Wheel
DP Tuner (40 60 80 140 high idle)
AFE stage 2 intake
3 gauge cluster
ITP Overboost annihilator
Custom stock exhaust (for now)
Correct BTW but don't po me! 
poor mileage no matter what.
Since then the GPS says she routinely hits 80MPH. We rarely have an argument, but when we do, it's about this. 