Portland, Oregon New Guy

[RoadRaceJosh]

I've been dropping in and doing quite a bit of reading, but this may be my first post. I recently bought a 1993 Dodge D250 with the Cummins diesel engine. I started a fuel log, but don't expect to update it all that often as this is my 3rd vehicle. My most economical vehicle at the moment is my 1998 Honda VFR 800 and it generally gets me about 41 MPG as I ride it with some enthusiasm. I'll get a fuel log going for it as well.

To achieve the greatest reduction in fuel consumption I am looking at giving my 1998 Subaru Outback to my Mom as she doesn't drive much any more and picking up a late model used Ford Fiesta. Other fuel use reduction measures include riding the motorcycle more frequently and some aero mods to my pickup. There is some low hanging fruit in removing the tall cap from the truck bed. Once I have enough posts I'll show you all what I'm working with.

[nemo]

Welcome. Picking up a more fuel efficient vehicle makes sense if you drive a lot.

[RoadRaceJosh]

I do need to keep better track of how much I drive. With a couple of cars and a motorcycle of my own plus the girlfriend's car it's easy to lose track. Hey, now I have a New Year's Resolution; keep mileage and fuel logs for all vehicles.

I know the VFR will get upper 40s if I keep it to 60 MPH or less, but if that's all the faster I wanted to go I would own something different. Some of my female friends would be disappointed by the loss of acceleration too. The truck is here mostly to pull the race car around. Towing a hatchback on an open trailer isn't a recipe for stellar fuel economy, but this truck will use less fuel doing the job than the V8 Dakota I used to own.

[nemo]

Tracking your mileage and expenses is always a good place to start.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

You'd be quite surprised to see some 4-pot turbodiesels outperforming your Cummins in overseas markets. Anyway, one thing that would provide a good increasement to the fuel-efficiency in your engine is an intercooler. BTW you may be aware of the wide aftermarket support for the 6BT, but apart of all the coal-rolling posers you can also find some options to increase fuel savings.

[RoadRaceJosh]

Yes, my Cummins with the rotary Bosch VE injection pump is rather low tech compared to any common rail injected engine, but it's what I have and the price was right. 160hp and 400 ft/lbs may not compare well with new trucks, but it does it's job just fine. I would rather have the P7100 injection pump and lockup transmission as installed in the 1994-1998 models, but it is what it is. It is intercooled as are all the 1991.5+ trucks so no worries there. I will likely only put a few thousand miles on the truck annually so any investments in economy are likely to be small. I still have to catch up on deferred maintenance. I have replaced the center link and idler arm and will go for an alignment soon. My second fuel log entry will be coming soon. Not much high efficiency driving there. Mostly slogging through traffic and a little trailer towing.

[redveloce]

Is fuel savings the ultimate goal, or cost savings? A lot of mods take a lot more money than you'll be saving, but some of us do it just for fun. Sorry if you noted already, and I missed it, but do you still have the stock exhaust? Diesels love flow, so upgrading the exhaust is one relatively easy way to do that.

[RoadRaceJosh]

Cost savings and fuel savings need to be balanced. Because I will be loading the truck with gear for racing I can't get rid of the tall canopy without a large investment in a lockable alternative. A spoiler on the cab roof and a Kammback is probably the most I can do with the existing canopy.

Yes, the truck has stock exhaust, but it appears to be a good system. Of course without instrumentation that's just a guess by looking at the rather large muffler and 3" piping.

[RoadRaceJosh]

Okay, here's a picture of the beast. Any low cost mods come to mind? Streamlining the cab to cap transition, a Kammback and air dam are what come to mind for me. Wheel covers and maybe side skirts. I already deleted the running boards.

[RoadRaceJosh]

Okay, after the 5th post, not with the 5th post.