Never rely on the overhead. When I was getting 20mpg, it was showing 16.5..

 

Using the cruise control is only part of the story. On downhills it will downshift my truck to hold back. So I cancel it and let the speed build up.

I will not shut mine off at every light.

Driving it real easy while in town makes a big difference. No fast starts or aggressive driving.

I'm finding the rear of the truck now stays pretty clean from less smoke.

And, of course, keeping the speed down on the highway does wonders for the mileage. I don't want to be a rolling road block either, but if you can stay below 70 and drive it smoothly, it's a good compromize. It just gets annoying when the slow lane is too slow and the fast lane only has people that will pass everyone regardless of speed. So it's either 85+, 60-, or constant lane changes.

Without going to extremes I'm getting 18 in combination highway/city and 20 on trips. If I don't have to haul anything I take the TDI and get 40. I'd always rather be in the truck, but 150 bux a fill up and 400-800 miles a week is irritating.


John

 

I drive the same area you do. And as you know, sometimes the wind helps and sometimes it hurts. Most of the time 99 is hard to get mileage on with all the traffic and crazies. This is one area where I like the truck over the car just for safety.


John

 

You didn't know that you don't hit resume on the CC until your up to or close to the speed it was set at before it was canceled or disengage? The CC only knows one thing how to hold the go pedal to keep you at a set speed. It has no way to know if you have a heavy load behind you that will cause you to slow down when going up any incline. Also when going down the other side our CC will try to hold you at the set speed unlike some CC that are in the older cars that do not try to hold you at a set a set speed on a decline. Though I had a Dodge mini van that I put a shift kit in and it would hold you at a set speed on a down hill just like out trucks do.

 

my milage has just gone up about 2mpg to 22mpg driving 65mph running on my stock michelins. 22300 miles on the truck. Best I could do last summer was 20mpg. I am looking forward to running summer blend fuel as I still have some winter blend in the tank. Also interested to see if I see an improvement towing? All hand calculated.

 

I'm in the 6.7 and my overhead has been pretty accurate so far compared to my hand calculations. Best I've seen hand calc is 16.7 mpg mixed hwy and surface streets. But this last tank of gas is showing 17.7 as of this morning. Unfortunately, I can't hand calculate this tank because I had to throw some extra fuel in mid tank to last me the rest of the week -- too much driving over the weekend. Normally, I can fill up on pay day, and it will last me until next pay day.

I just try to keep the speed down, smooth and steady, anticipate my stops and coast as much as possible, even with the exhaust brake on.

ben

 

No, I don't shut down at every light because I agree it's hard on the engine, batts and starter. On my commute (70 miles each way) I may shut down 1 or 2 times when I hit a major intersection traffic light just as it turns red and I know I'll be sitting for 3 minutes before it changes. Mostly I just drive it real easy, keep my speed down, and do some coasting in neutral. The "pulse and glide" technique is real annoying and probably puts undue wear on the clutch and throwout assembly.

I live at the end of a street with a slight incline, so instead of starting my engine at my house, I coast to the end of the street then start the engine and idle it while I'm moving instead of sitting at the house idling to warm up. Probably doesn't save much, but it's gotta help a little bit. I also do my warm-down while driving slowly (basically idling in 2nd gear) up my street so I can shut down sooner when I'm home.

I've also been plugging in my block heater for 1 hour before I leave, hoping to minimize warmup times, and improve mileage. The jury is still out on whether this is doing anything for me though.

This is so absurd that I have to drive my truck like it's got no *****. They need to drill ANWR, collect oil reparations from Iraq, and require 1 barrel of oil per day from Mexico for every illegal alien in our country now so I can stand on the throttle again and drive this truck like it's s'posed to be driven!

 

AMEN! sdaly! Im with ya brotha. I drive to work 140 miles each way. I fill up everyday I work. Suxors big time when less than half a tank costs $90 or so. I like the illegal thing, Ill have to bring that one up to my senators, but they have no *****.

 

~
I see the last post is from 5-06.
~
It would be interesting to hear back from all that posted to
hear how much fuel has gone up in their area/s in a week.
~
Get ready for $5. per gallon - it'll be here real soon.

 

It's gone up $.20 here in Houston Texas

 

I recently crossed the confederation Bridge between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, about 10 miles. The speed limit is 80 KMH (50MPH). I set the cruise at 80 and reset my overhead. When I got off the other side my overhead said 27 MPH. I reset and upped the cruise to 100 KMH (62MPH). In the next 10 miles I got 20MPH. Does this tell us that these trucks are inappropriatly geared??? Or is the overhead a piece of crap??

 

No, those numbers make sense. The faster you go the more resistance there is. The mileage goes lower and lower with a increasing speed. That's why several of us have been saying slow down to improve mileage.


John

 

$4.20 here today in Marysville, Ohio.

 

I'm impressed with the mileage numbers I'm seeing here. As a new owner I'm equally pleased with the mileage I'm seeing thus far. My second fillup was at 91180 miles and I got 441 miles used 23.31 gals (paid $4.07 at Safeway) on 5/7).
My truck is stock with an offset cps, stock sized tires and a canopy. The combination was used on our small town streets, a couple trips along a mountianous highway (299) and about 150 miles at 70. that computed to 18.9 mpg. I'm sure the worn down tires netted less distance (the overhead showed 20.1). I'm pleased and will likely bump a couple tire sizes by the end of summer, to net a bit more.

 

So you mean that the 26.2 mine shows now is not right???