Tips needed for eco-driving my diesel truck!

[MetroMPG]

I was going to ask whether Doc had tried any instrumentation...

[Doc Joe]

Metro, No I do not have a scangage or anything like that. I had seen one last year and asked if they worked on a diesel truck and got no answer, so I never got one. Now that I know they will work, I am going to get one ASAP.

Tygen, I fill my tank and I drive it and when it is empty I refill it and do the math and get my MPG. Without a scan gage I have no way of telling at what speeds I get better MPG, like you said.

Thanks for all the help and comments.

Doc.

[Tygen1]

I keep good records of my gas mileage and have found that trip info can be misleading. Instant displays are the way to go if you really want to know. No doubt the scangauge will pay itself off with the price of diesel past 3 bucks a gallon. I bought mine when JCWhitney had a 30% off coupon. Make sure to check back in once you get one, and let us know what you have learned. It can be very difficult to improve the mpg of a 8,000 lb truck, at least that's what I have found.

[Tygen1]

Oh yea, figured I ought to give you some advice Doc. (Rather than just beating you up )
My observations on my PSD are that a steady state 55mph returns me 26mpg instantaneous. So you can wiegh the cost of slowing down to save money vs. extending you trip times. I just leave for work ten minutes earlier, drive slower and saved $800 on my fuel bill last year. (It's a bit more complex than that, but that is basicly how it works) It took me nearly two years to really advance my Escorts mpg to be able to double the epa. Ecomodding is a lot like racing, it takes practice and mods that are inteligently designed and measured to benifit your vehicle on your route.

[Dave's Civic Duty]

Originally Posted by Tygen1

I have a 2000 7.3 Excursion with nearly the same mods as you described. I will disagree with your well kept records. You really need a ScanGauge or similar device to get instantanious results, trip results can vary greatly. I've can clearly show you on my Scanguage how the mpg gets worse as speed increases. I can get some startling mpg at 40mph. I drive around 60-65mpg on the highway and can average mid twenties without much issue. You should re-evaluate the way you drive if saving money by getting better mpg is important to you.

I thought that didn't seem right better mileage at that high of speed! I don
't care what vehicle it is. Esp. a truck!

[Dave's Civic Duty]

with my SGii, my mileage doesn't register now since I started using it in my Toyota.

My best Mileage in my Dodge driving on vacation pulling 2 Jet Ski's & a weeks worth of gear was 24MPG. I was staying pretty close to 65MPH.

SGII's rock!
Dave