How to get the best MPG

One of the best things you can do to raise your mpg, is stop racing the truck.
Drive the load not the truck.
Find that sweet spot.
A driver whose been out here going on 52 years, told me, get on the highway, set your cruise at 55. Listen to the engine.
Every minute or so bump the cruise up.
When you get that spot just past the piston chatter, bump it one more mile.
That is the optimum spot.
It will change every load.
Sometimes you may only be doing 60 and others you may be doing 70.
But if you drive based on load and manage your time better, there is no reason you can't increase mpg.
Also keep in mind. It takes between 700 and 800 bad miles to loose a point on mpg, but it will take you almost 2500 to gain a point.

 

It's interesting you bring that up and your right. One bad load and the whole week is jacked up. Kind of like a diet. Easier to gain weight than lose it. I don't like to peddle his stuff because I find much of it to be snake oil but for anyone really serious about fuel mileage the Fuel Gauges app is great. The secret to fuel milege in my experience is watching every tank full and understanding it. The app is the same as good old pen and paper but it's quick, easy and stored.

 

Anyone driving an automatic want to ring in on fuel mileage?
I know that I personally think I would get better mileage out of a stick but who knows.

 

Mechanically id say a splitter is the best physical tool.

I get best mileage driving by EGT and boost. I dont lug ever, has cost me too many headgaskets.

In camelback hills i will sail down the hill with EGT flat cold from coasting toward the bottom. Before the downhill runs out i roll it on pretty heavy to get to the top RPM band and a hair over the speedlimit when safely possible, but not enough loud pedal to be loading the engine much.. Boost pressure still pretty low. Im just catching up to the load. So tach climbs up then hold there at high rpm.
The energy stored in that load is gonna push you a portion of the way up the hill and i may even roll off the throttle as i go up. Before the inertia runs out i drop a gear to stay high revs and low load. I personally split down every time i hit 900-950 egt or when i can feel each individual hole firing and shuddering. All my downtime has come from high boost and growling cylinders. Plus terrible mpg.

Most of the time i can nose over the top of camel humps at 15psi with the motor singing and temps well in check, maybe some inertia still left. On the miles long slow rising ramp up style grades like hazelton or port jervis i just drop as many gears as it takes and put the flashers on. Its faster than waiting for a wrecker at the top.

High boost and egt = lots of fuel and cylinder pressure.

High rpm lower boost is much easier on the headstuds and wallet if its your rig.

 

We had a auto in 2001 century as a husband wife team. Fuel was a abscrat problem to us. 300 plus gallons every 30 hours or less. 1500 miles. Please. NOW.

Now that's for the year of 2001, averaged out to right around 6.5 gallons a mile for the whole year on 85000 dollars worth of the liquid give or take. I estimate FFE made about half a mil if not more in gross revenue. Im real shaky on that number. If you take 1.50 for 230,000 miles total... minus a certain amount of losses etc. And added in saved accounts that threatened to fire FFE.

That was not the only company we ran for. Just one of three.

My FLD in my avatar pulling grape vine southbound was a 1993 tractor with a rockwell 9 and a big 500 plus detroit turned up to 72 mph. Dowdy of Batesville was more than generous with this tractor for me.

I was once told in WA not to touch fuel in CA due to very high level thinking the fleet bought too much fuel that month and it's best to skip CA as I understand it as a mere mortal. I don't get told nothing. But I asked why and a golden hearted angel of a dispatcher took a few moments. (That dispatcher supervises 100 drivers every day, many of which need handholding... some need yelling and fewer need firing... she aint got time for me....)

Well... That turned into a 1650 mile exercise looking ultimately in AZ for a fill. I did everything to baby thing. Nursed it down there, hunted from one 40's stop long closed to another hunting fuel like a vagabond. I finally found a 50's era pump and one place that had that liquid gold 335 gallons of it in 340 gallon tanks. The anquidated payment system over the phone line and old computers coughed and creaked on that one purchasing a while. But thats ok. Nothing is happening that far into AZ. maybe a few birds hunting food..... and me fueling. What a bonanza to this owner who must have slept the morning prior to my arrival with a very very thirsty truck.

 

My grandfather always taught me to get to my set speed as fast as possible. Its worked for me so far. Nst my 10 speed cascadia had checked in at 6.9 across my 9 months in it.

 

AND have enough horse to stay at that speed, aka cruise. A thousand horser would do 70 upgrade loaded on cabbage with I bet a fuel burn equal to or better than 6.5 miles to gallon.

 

I consider Cummins Engine, I think part of their history is sea going ocean boats that stay at one rpm for weeks. So that particular spot on the powerband would provide a form of gas mileage (To use a horrible analogy) or endurance to cross the atlantic with a useful and profitable load in whatever tonnage it might be.

To me Cummins did best at cruise, if you had the horses to hold it there in the midwest. Otherwise those were a pain. Detriots were my best, but the beloved old Cats and Macks and so on... Detriots for me was a good match, with my way of thinking in the mountains. CAT could do it too. But cummins need a little nursing along....

 

I have an opinion on this matter. And I'm getting 8 overall with my ISX.