what kind of mpg do you get?

any one that has a cummin's with the computor on it has a mpg on it. it will tell you real time what fuel mileage your getting .Ive traveled over the mountains quite a bite say going threw the gorge in north carolina turge Tenn i get 1 to 3.5 miles
per gallion look at the gage im talking about .ant no one that pulls 80,000rig going to get any 6 miles a galion just not going to happy Ive driven bob tail threw the gorge in my 1999 freightliner with a 13 speed going out to mssippissi for a new job and going thru the gorge i only got 5,3 miles per gallion .now thats average over mountain's and big hills and level some what .there's just no way to get any decent fuel mileage of 6 miles a galion going threw the mountains.Ive gone cross country week's at a time back and forth with different trucks no way your going out 6 miles a gallion.dont believe this mess these guys are saying if you keep your speed under 65 you can get 7 miles some times 7.5 any more you arent very heavy on flate land out mid west i use to average 5.5 down to 4.3 if i drove over 65 that's seems to be the point were you see fuel millage go down .i no some one will despute me on this but im telling the truth as i what my computor say's.i had a 370/430 that was turned all the way up ,but was the small cam engine..!

 

What type of truck are you driving? A brick like a 379 Pete, W-900 Kenworth, Classic XL is not going to get good fuel mileage. An aerodynamic truck with highway gearing is capable of these mpg, I know for a fact because I did it. I have no reason to lie. The money I saved went into my pocket.My fuel figures are based on all types of terrain over about 3000 miles. When I go through the gorge or Fancy Gap and look at instantaneous mpg yes it is horrible probably as bad as 2.5mpg. The more miles your average mpg is based on the more accurate and repeatable.

 

First, the computer is NOT, I repeat NOT an accurate measurement of your MPG. Any professional will do it by hand always as:
1. an accurate measurement
2. A reliable backup to compare numbers with.

Second, you can achieve high 6's and low 7's or better if you make sure you have the right truck, drive correctly, and spec out your truck correctly.
*brick trucks are not good, every aspect about them sucks down the mileage: the flat fronts, the headlights, the ornaments, the wheel fenders, the flat winshields, the running lights that stick out, the air horns, the flat mirrors, the mufflers that stick out, the air cleaners, the door handles...etc. ALL of that sucks down mileage like you wouldnt believe.

*don't go 70, or even 65. Drop it down to 60, or even lower and you will see your fuel mileage increase. Skip shift, idle shift...don't power downshift while slowing as it uses fuel for no reason if you are coming to a slow turn or a stop.
Accelerate slowly, take your time getting up to speed. Set the cruise asap and let the computer bring the trucks up hills. My truck runs normally at 1550RPM when Im at 67 (Im a company driver so I don't care much about mileage, lol). But when Im lugging up a hill, that sucker can bog down to 1100 before I would need to downshift. No point in racing up a hill.

*you don't need a truck with a ton of horsepower because the more ponies you have, the more fuel its going to use. What you need is a truck with enough torque to get the freight moving. Gear the truck correctly as well so you are running at a lower RPM while at top speed.

Also, lots of people with their own trucks get aftermarket systems like the Turbo 3000D Veda which claims to imrpove mileage by 10%. Heck, even if its a 1/10th mile improvement, you keep the savings.

 

You are correct that the computer is not 100% accurate, however when I do my quaterly IFTA returns the computer is usually within +/- 5%. The computer is much quicker to look at than filling the tanks at every fueling and dividing mileage by gallons purchased. I can only fill tanks half way up on most loads due to weight limitations.

 

*you don't need a truck with a ton of horsepower because the more ponies you have, the more fuel its going to use. What you need is a truck with enough torque to get the freight moving. Gear the truck correctly as well so you are running at a lower RPM while at top speed.

Also, lots of people with their own trucks get aftermarket systems like the Turbo 3000D Veda which claims to imrpove mileage by 10%. Heck, even if its a 1/10th mile improvement, you keep the savings.[/quote]


This is not true, no matter what the horsepower of the engine, you're right foot controls the fuel economy. My big motor has to work so much less to get over a hill than what a little motor does when you are close to 80k or over. Go to Pittsburgh Power and read Bruce Malison's articles nobody knows more about this than him

 

I like my Eaton-Fuller 13 speed manual for everything except city driving. I dont know about the new auto-trans but Ive seen a couple drivers get stranded by their older auto-trans trucks. There is a solenoid that freezes up on them. If im not mistaken the manual trans trucks also get better fuel economy because they are lighter and it is easier to keep the rpms in the sweet spot. I love my D-16 engine though, I heard lots of people trash Volvo engines but the one I have has been very good to me so far. It has plenty of power plus, if you drive it nice, you get decent fuel economy. I have not seen very many D-16 equipped trucks on the road. Most of them I have seen are in the 880 model tractor, which is to big and heavy of a truck to realize the economical benefit this engine is capable of.