2007 Peterbilt 386 C15 CAT MPG

Not a 386 but my old KW t2000 also 07 cat acert 13 speed 3.36 rears I was getting around 6 on a good day.

 

I would say if your looking for fuel mileage don't buy this truck. There are a lot off trucks on the market right now, the C-15 Acert is not a good option for fuel mileage, I have one and it can get low 7s but I run 25-30k one way and 0-5k coming back. thats with a columbia full fairings SS tires, Fleet air filter, Air Tabs, and flow through mufflers. I think you will be lucky to get out of the 5s if you haul much weight.

 

6.25mpg.....you'll have to really work at it to do much better.....but, man it's a sweet engine!!!!!

 

You wont see 7's.

In well maintained good running condition with 3.55 gears you'll see between 5.5 - 6 mpg with a tender foot keeping it under 70mph. Thats what I get with my C15 Acert with 3.55 gears and I cruise 65 - 68 loaded (Usually gross between 65k - 72k). MPG with a CAT depends greatly on how your drive it. Put your foot into it from every stop and every hill and you will barely see 5 mpg.

Your friend is not telling you the truth. I'm sorry,.. No way he is seeing 7 MPG pulling over 80k gross containers,.. especially not "easy" as he is suggesting. 4.5 - 5 mpg is easy with a CAT. 5.5 - 6.5 takes some effort.

The beauty of the CAT is its reliability,.. longevity and strong torq for pulling heavy. Not fuel mileage. But you can see 6 - 6.5 mpg with optimal conditions,.. (Long haul OTR, maintaining optimal air pressure in low rolling resistance tires, watching the boost gauge and keep it out of max boost, 62 - 65 mph is how I do it.). Difficult to see over 6 mpg at over 65 mph when running near gross.

For pulling containers and expecting 7 mpg,.. an older Freightliner with a 12.7 Detroit would have been a better buy.

This was my old 2007 386. C15 acert 475hp 1850trq, 13 spd, 3.42 gear on LP24.5 rubber. Average was 5.8 mpg. That was cruising the speed limit most of the time and not watching the boost gauge. I didnt start to really get serious about fuel mileage until I bought the Columbia I have now.


Hurst

 

3:55 gears are all wrong for an Acert pulling a box trailer. Fine gears for a single turbo CAT but too low for an Acert. It needs higher at least 3:36 gears. I would pass on that truck in that application if you are concerned with fuel mileage. With the right gears it might hit 7 mpg but would be a unicorn if it did. It won't do it with 3:55's if you run the speed limit not even close. Like many of these guys I hazard an educated guess this truck will do about 5.5 to 6.0 mpg.

 

IIRC Peterbiltt is from Ontario. That means the truck is limited to 65 mph. Quite a few twin turbo CAT's up here have 3.55 in them. Especially if they haul heavy or run in hilly terrain. The only twin turbos I see getting really good mileage have all been re flashed.

 

Not surprising to see 3:55's with an Acert doing heavy haul. Actually seems a tad high. OP said he was pulling a dry van and looking for fuel mileage. 3:55 is going to suck some fuel in that application and way too low. If he wants an Acert he needs 3:36 or even 3:25 for pulling general freight - hills or no hills.