My brother just switched to Chevy/Duramax from Dodge/CTD. It's a nice truck and has a very smooth ride but the one thing I noticed was that is fuel mileage thus far is 12.7 mpg.

Do the Duramax engines get this bad of fuel mileage?

**A good thing did come out of his new truck is that he sold his old truck, 2001 21mpg truck, to our mom and now we are an all diesel family.

-CM

 

My brother-in-laws 06 with the LLY engine is getting about 15 in town.

 

I'm guessing this is the high output LBZ model? I've heard guys report numbers like your brother is getting and I've heard others say they get 18-20 mpg. I suspect the right foot plays a big part in what mileage they see. Glad I bought a stick with mine. I get a consistent 20 mpg with only 5000 miles on the clock. I'm just missing 60hp and 130 ft-lbs. of torque.

Edit: I forgot to ask, has he reset the computer yet? It keeps an average between resets and can be skewed by heavy towing or hard driving. Have him reset it at his next fill-up and see what it shows.

 

Between 12-15 empty and 9-10 when towing seems to be the norm.

Check out http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/index.php

That's were all the D-max boys hang-out.

 

Well with 800 some miles on mine, I average 15.7 mostly city, and a solid 19 highway 65mph. Needless to say I am more then impressed with the fuel mileage, its alot better then I expected. The .61 6th gear is a big contributing factor I would guess. So hopefully it will stay at 19 on the highway, and with a little bit of luck if it would pick up another mpg I will be all that much more satisfied with this truck. So far I like this truck alot more then I thought I would have.

 

I run 13.5 to 14.5 in town 17.5 to 18.5 hwy. This is with a 3500 crew cab dually 4x4. Your brother in law may need to reset the DIC. Otherwise you have an average of everthing since new.

 

It's not an LLY but my mom's 03 gets 16 at best unloaded on the highway and 10 towing 10k.

 

He hasn't reset the MPG function and it has less then 400 miles on her so the engine is still tight.

My brother doesn't stomp on it so I don't think that's a factor in the MPG. I'm not so sure he'll be getting better fuel mileage then what he is getting now but I'm sure I'll hear about it if he doesn't.

Ya that tranny/engine combo is pretty nice. Why can't dodge find a smooth tranny? Have the engine need the tranny. One thing I noticed when I was in it was that there's not much room for big people. Both he and I are 6' 200lbs guys and the seat fits like a cockpit, no room for stretching out.

Thanks for the input I'm sure I'll have more to say about his scowling hauler...

-CM

 

Cmckinney,
If he hasn't reset it then the numbers are off because it will have alot of on and off cycles without being fully warmed up when they moved it around before transport. Also idle time at dealer pulling in and out of bay before and during PDI. Fill it up set trip odo. to zero, clear mpg then drive normally. Check numbers on DIC then also hand calculate to check accuracy of DIC. My truck in sig. does 13.5-14.5 in town, 17.5-18.5 hwy and 9.5 to 10.5 towing 40ft CrossTerrain with combine weight of 21,800 on CAT scales.

 

I was a skeptic of the aluminum beast but it seems to be holding up well and advancing fast in the aftermarket . Competition is good for all of us .....except the Ford guys of course !! Keeps the manufacturers on their toes . Personally I prefer inline diesels and I go way back with Cummins but to each their own ya know .

 

Mixerman,
Have an inline in my freightliner M2 330/1000. I like the V8 Duramax, pulled the same trailer with both units. Some Dmax's have run into the 400,000 mark. Alot has to do with maintenance and how much bombing you do. Like you said to each their own.

 

Well I brought up the question on the GM pages. And as you have all noted GM seems to a little on the poor side for economy. What are some of the Dodge owners getting?
I'm averaging about 20 with my 1994 3/4 ton 4x4 all stock
If you are interested in the GM replies. heres the link
THE MPG/ecomony of GM's

 

The last week I checked I hauled my 16' to work three times and hauled off two loads of scrap 35 miles from my house down some country, barely two lane roads with lots and lots of hills. I was at 13,000# with both loads(gross weight) and I went 450 miles. Got 20 mpg that week!! I love my big fuel efficient Dodge CTD!!! Can beat my 200,000 plus saturn though, still average around 32-35 on a 94' model. Oh yeah, that driving in my truck was mix, highway and city, well as city as it gets in my town.

 

As a long hauler the Detroit would shine , great fuel mileage and power while she was wound up on the upper end but in a ready - mix truck they were just flat out pathetic . The power needed to run all the hydraulics at idle and such just killed those things . Personally NEVER saw a Detroit in a mixer go past 60 or 70,000 miles and had one let loose a head gasket and liquid lock while I was cruising on the interstate with a full load on board !!! Most I ever saw out of any of the Cummins was bad injectors ........ guess what engine is under the hood of just about every ready -mix truck in St. Louis ?

 

Mixer,
I've got the Mercedes, very slow out of the hole, mileage isn't the greatest plus, the Freightliner network s#%ks. Mine is a crewcab sportchassis. The 330/1000 is not cutting it in a 15000lb package. I think being that the chevy weighs about half and is 360/650 it just pulls better and averages better mileage. As far as longevity goes who knows I'm selling the M2 off and will never make that mistake again. Bigger isn't always better, unless it's beer.