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Old 10-28-2008, 12:10 PM   #1
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Cool Best Mileage? Powerstoke vs. Duramax

A few people have told me that the new G.M Duramax diesel gets better fuel mileage than the new Ford Powerstroke diesel. Can some of you diesel owners help confirm or deny this?
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Old 10-28-2008, 01:13 PM   #2
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I can neither confirm nor deny........

I think a lot of it is how you drive and how heavy your foot is as well as gear ratio. My 2000 PSD dually with a 4:10 rear-end used to get on average 14.5mgp dry and 7-9 towing. It's a bit more broke in now and my foot is lighter so I'm now averaging 18+ dry and 11-13 towing trying to keep it around 60ish, (55-65).

Quoting Robert (powerboatr) from another post.......
Quote:
Originally Posted by powerboatr View Post
my friend has the identical truck as mine
same year and only a week apart on build dates
both are crew cab dually fords with auto and 6.0 engine
his has a 4.10 rear gear and i have a 4.30

he gets 9-10 towing at 60- 65 and 8 any faster
i get 12-13 towing at 65-70
we are both towing high profile heavy fivers

so if you plan to tow alot i would suggest the lower gear of 4.30
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Old 10-28-2008, 05:00 PM   #3
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Well I have a somewhat related story. Last year there were 3 rv's very close to the same size and weight going from Montgomery, Al to Spruce Pine, NC . I tow with a 2006 Dodge MegaCab, one of my BIL tows with a Ford F250 7.3L and my other BIL tows with a 2006 Chevy Duramax. We followed each other, drove the same roads, at the same speeds and stopped for fuel at the same time and locations. Each and every time we stopped and filled up we were all within 1 gallon of each other. While I can't speak for the new models I suspect they all get about the same. As an aside. The deciding factor as to when we stopped for fuel was the Chevy guy. He has only a 26 gallon tank whereas the other two of us had 35+ gallon tanks.
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Old 04-15-2009, 11:29 AM   #4
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I own a '07 Dmax/Allison with the new LMM engine. As far as a daily driver, I get great mileage (~20 highway, ~14-15 city), but since I just got my first 5th wheel last week, I don't have any towing figures to provide yet.

Like the previous post said though, alot has to do with how heavy your foot is and driving conditions.

I can also tell you that from a quality standpoint regarding the new emissions equipment these diesel engines have, the Dmax is a bit more ahead of the game than the PS and CTD...IMHO.
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Old 04-15-2009, 05:41 PM   #5
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not to start a brand war but you do realize that the Cummins is the only engine of the big three that already passes the 2010 emissions requirements. Kinda blows a hole in DMax being ahead of the emmisions game.

This will be my last post on the subject.
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Old 04-16-2009, 06:48 AM   #6
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diesel

I can not speak for the new diesels but our 2005 DMax is getting 24mpg empty and 16 mpg pulling our fiver. DD used a 1996 power stroke and gets 10 mpg regardless of load. My parents had a 1994 cummins and it was the small diesel and they were extremely unhappy with its pulling capacity. My parents now have a 03 Dmax and love it. We all pull other things than just our campers. Lowboys with dozers and other equipment and car trailers and boats for example. Good luck with your decision.
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Old 04-16-2009, 11:34 AM   #7
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I for one do not want to start a brand war either and so this will be my final comment as well...

My previous post was only regarding the quality of equipment used to meet the federal mandated emissions requirements. I do not care so much whether the standards are met since these are set by groups that do not build cars nor know much about them, but I do care a lot that that the equipment manufactured for this purpose will not prematurely fail and cause me grief for repairs and loss of personal time having the repairs made down the road. Meeting targets is one thing, but durability and longevity in doing so is something more.

Regarding the original question, mileage is a difficult topic to discuss as you will find a wide range of answers from many people. Reasons for this are varying driving styles, loads, road terrain, calculating methods, etc... and the list goes on. Whats important is that your are comfortable with what you're driving and it tows to your satisfaction.

Enjoy the great outdoors!
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Old 04-23-2009, 09:02 PM   #8
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In all stock form, I'm going to call shenanigans on anything over 20 MPG. This is as delivered from a dealers lot. I turn wrenches (and have done so for 25+ years) on these platforms every day.

With a few modifications, the common rail 5.9 CTD is breeching that magical 20 mpg mark empty. In some cases, I've seen it crest 24 mpg. This was on a 2wd single cab, flat bed. I've also seen those numbers from a 12v CTD. I've seen nearing 20 mpg on 7.3 and 6.0 PSD's with modifications and I've seen near that on GM's Duramax.

There's too many variables to get those kind of numbers on a consistant basis. Heck, head wind can change from mile to mile.

I'm not here to start a brand war as well, however, these claims of 25 mpg out of a 4.5 ton truck is not realistic. If that was the case, we'd already see the 1/2 ton and smaller trucks slowly get weeded out because they're just not cost effective to operate. I mean heck, would you take that 14 mpg F150, Ram 1500 or Silverado 1500 2wd gas burner over a 24 MPG Oil burner? Even at .50c more a gallon? No. Probably not.

Emission BS kills mpg on oil burners. It's a death sentence for oil burners as we knew them. Until our fuel gets produced cleaner (IE: Diesel ful in Europe is light years ahead of fuel here in the states) we can expect poor fuel mileage out of our Diesel platforms because we have to engineer them to burn it cleaner.

Bah, anyway...

As was said, find the one that suits your needs and pull the trigger. If MPG's, mall crawling or a grocery getter is the main focus for a vehicle, an oil burner might not be the best decision. ESP. for a powerstroke.

Cheers.
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Old 04-24-2009, 09:41 PM   #9
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I suppose one thing you can do is work out a deal with each dealer and give each vehicle a trial run to see how it goes with a tank full (empty of course, most dealers are not going to let you pull something and most diesel manufacturers suggest that you allow a 500 mile break in period before you drop a load on the bumper or in the bed. Some offer a 30 day money back deal, but you have to pay so much for the mileage that you put on it while you had it. If that's worth it to you, I would suggest doing that (just make sure you get the return policy in writing and get a date as to when you'll have decision made by). At the very least, test drive them both and check for things like comfort, quietness at 65/70 mph, convenience of all the bells and whistles they install in them.

Bit of my story - when i was looking around for a diesel, I test drove an ST (plain with rubber floors) model of the Dodge ram (04.5) and while i was at it, I drove it to the Ford dealership and test drove their Powerstroke (fully loaded because they "don't have a plain version on the lot"). The person kept telling me..."feel the power, take it to the interstate and get on it, feel the power". So the wife and I did and long story short, we liked the Ram better. The Ram (at that time) was more quiet, smoother on the bumps in the road, and more comfortable then the Ford was. In reality, I probably could have gone with the lowest price of either truck, but I couldn't see myself going long trips in a truck that wasnt comfortable and quiet. I can deal with an inconvenient switch or button, but the woosh of the air passing by the outside windows and cabs was a real deal breaker for me. I'm not too keen about having to shout at my wife while we're driving down the road.

Are you going to be a first time diesel owner? If so, i would also suggest reading through the forums for both trucks and see what people have to say about them. Good or bad, you'll have a better idea and will be 3 steps ahead of what a dealership employee will tell you. Nothing will beat the facts from actual owners out there, so research research research.

Here's a few links to get you started:

http://www.cumminsforum.com/
http://www.powerstroke.org/
http://www.duramaxforum.com/

Good luck!

joe


PS. I know that the original post is over 6 months old, but i suppose that anyone wanting to know about diesels might read something that will be useful.: ) Oh, and I agree with bulldog66. Slim chance you're going to get better then 20mpg in a diesel with out slight modifications or unless you never see a red light, never idle to warm up in the winter or cool down in the summer, drive downhill all the time or have a wind at your back everywhere you go.
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Old 05-08-2009, 02:39 PM   #10
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I have a 2007 2500hd 4dr 4x4, i pull a 11,800 5r behind it. i get 18 hwy 14 city w/no load,,,,,,,with the trailer its ranges from 11 to 8 depending on the grade. this is at 75 mph nm interstate. i love the power!!!!! its not chipped just a simple k&n stock replacement filter. oh yeah i do have a 3" lift and 285's on it. before that the mpg was about 2 mpg better
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