Tip Steps To Increase My Diesel MPG

[FL-JOE]

I already mentioned in another post a camper here that transports new RVs out of norther Indiana. He has a few years under his belt and just "updated" his work truck because his old Ford was closing in on 600,000 miles and he was getting worried. His new truck is a 2019 F350 with only 98,000 miles. He considers it barely broke in.

The mpg he was getting towing and empty with his previous 6.7 Ford diesel was at least 2 to 3mpg more than I have ever gotten with either of my 6.7s. He has never done a DEF delete or installed any type of tuner on any of his trucks.

Last week he showed me what he has used for fuel additive for the last several years. I began using it (XDP Diesel Power Plus) and it has consistently increased my mpg by at least 1.5 mpg.

He also showed me his re-usable/washable air cleaner he uses. It is a K&N filter. It allows better air flow, still filters the same, and increases mpg another 1 to 1.5 mpg. I have used K&N air filters on my Harley's for several years and they deliver as promised. I just ordered one to fit my F350.

Averaging another 2.5 to 3.5mpg may not sound like a lot to some folks, but since we tow with our F350 plus use it for a daily driver our monthly average is around 2,000 miles. At todays current diesel prices this increase in mpg will save me around $100 a month, probably a little more.

I won't have the K&N filter on for another week or so. Once I have it installed and record 500 miles or so I'll update with the results.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

Do they make a comparable product for "GAS" engines??

 

[Rich W.]

I changed my air filter before this trip (it had about 25k on it and was two years old) and Ive been using the economy “mode” shift strategy almost exclusively on this trip and will continue to do so except where it just isn’t tolerable.

Also traveling at 60 mph, much to the consternation of other travelers out there, although I do my best not to hold things up. My goal is to break into the 9 mpg range. We’ll see in a couple days. Crossing the Sierras didn’t help much but I have a lot of low elevation, more or less flat travels ahead.

I’m not sure about additives and also wonder about the cost of XDP and others per tank and how that affects the final cost per mile. I’ll do a little research on XDP. I doubt I’d see 1.5 mpg in this rig, but any improvement would help.

 

[Fish]

I changed my air filter before this trip (it had about 25k on it and was two years old) and Ive been using the economy “mode” shift strategy almost exclusively on this trip and will continue to do so except where it just isn’t tolerable.

Also traveling at 60 mph, much to the consternation of other travelers out there, although I do my best not to hold things up. My goal is to break into the 9 mpg range. We’ll see in a couple days. Crossing the Sierras didn’t help much but I have a lot of low elevation, more or less flat travels ahead.

I’m not sure about additives and also wonder about the cost of XDP and others per tank and how that affects the final cost per mile. I’ll do a little research on XDP. I doubt I’d see 1.5 mpg in this rig, but any improvement would help.

I read an article by an Allison engineer that said to always use economy mode.

 

[Rich W.]

I read an article by an Allison engineer that said to always use economy mode.

That could be an objective opinion, based on a variety of criteria (I’d be interested to read the article), but in econo-mode it always hunts for the highest gear and shifts way too soon for most instances requiring acceleration. Basically the opposite of tow-haul in gassers and pick-ups.

So I find it almost excruciating. Maybe if I had more horse power it would be different, but with an ISB, this little rig needs all the help it can get, and since this is the same transmission used with the ISL powered coaches, its probably pretty much bullet proof in this thing. But Im experimenting with it because I’d like to see an increase in mpg.

Edit:

I think this a more objective discussion of econo-mode:

Allison Transmission Mode Button

Save fuel and help your motorhome operate at peak performance by learning how to manipulate the transmission's shifting schedule.

familyrvingmag.com

….but maybe thats just because its consistent with my findings.

 

[Fish]

That could be an objective opinion, based on a variety of criteria (I’d be interested to read the article), but in econo-mode it always hunts for the highest gear and shifts way too soon for most instances requiring acceleration. Basically the opposite of tow-haul in gassers and pick-ups.

So I find it almost excruciating. Maybe if I had more horse power it would be different, but with an ISB, this little rig needs all the help it can get, and since this is the same transmission used with the ISL powered coaches, its probably pretty much bullet proof in this thing. But Im experimenting with it because I’d like to see an increase in mpg.

Edit:

I think this a more objective discussion of econo-mode:

Allison Transmission Mode Button

Save fuel and help your motorhome operate at peak performance by learning how to manipulate the transmission's shifting schedule.

familyrvingmag.com

….but maybe thats just because its consistent with my findings.

That's the article I was going to post, I think wolfe is an allison engineer. He posts on the monaco board. I've got the 400isl.
I guess I'm reading the article different than you as I read it as to use econ mode so it doesn't downshift so soon.

 

[Rich W.]

Yeah if I had an ISL I’d drive differently I’m sure. This thing almost wont move in econo-mode on even the slightest grade, much less from a stop. I find myself manually shifting much more often, and going in and out of econo-mode on grades, as the article points out might be necessary. I’m envious of the ISL, but if I can hit 9 mpg, it will help ease the pain. So I’ll stick with the program (no pun intended) for now and see what happens. If I get into the 9’s I’ll brag about it here ;^) .

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Yeah if I had an ISL I’d drive differently I’m sure. This thing almost wont move in econo-mode on even the slightest grade, much less from a stop. I find myself manually shifting much more often, and going in and out of econo-mode on grades, as the article points out might be necessary. I’m envious of the ISL, but if I can hit 9 mpg, it will help ease the pain. So I’ll stick with the program (no pun intended) for now and see what happens. If I get into the 9’s I’ll brag about it here ;^) .

We have an ISX, I always take it out of Econ mode for better acceleration (unless I forget, which doesn’t happen for more than a couple seconds). If we can consistently get into the 8’s, I will come back to brag here.
Will check out some of the other suggestions here to see if they can help.

 

[FL-JOE]

Do they make a comparable product for "GAS" engines??

I'm not sure, I didn't completely read through their site.

 

[FL-JOE]

I changed my air filter before this trip (it had about 25k on it and was two years old) and Ive been using the economy “mode” shift strategy almost exclusively on this trip and will continue to do so except where it just isn’t tolerable.

Also traveling at 60 mph, much to the consternation of other travelers out there, although I do my best not to hold things up. My goal is to break into the 9 mpg range. We’ll see in a couple days. Crossing the Sierras didn’t help much but I have a lot of low elevation, more or less flat travels ahead.

I’m not sure about additives and also wonder about the cost of XDP and others per tank and how that affects the final cost per mile. I’ll do a little research on XDP. I doubt I’d see 1.5 mpg in this rig, but any improvement would help.

When I had my 4369 Ventana I never tired the Economy mode. I guess my thinking was that my coach was always loaded plus I was always pulling a trailer with a vehicle and motorcycle. Of course I averaged 6.5mpg for the three years we had it also.

As far as the cost of additives. I believe Cummins (and I know Ford) suggests additives in the fuel for lubrication purposes. Also, most diesel additives give you additional cetane. Most of the bio-diesel we end up buying is 40-42 cetane. Our newer diesel engines like to get their best fuel economy on cetane ranges from 45-55.

For years (4 different diesel engines) I just used Diesel Kleen as my additive. It possibly increased my mpg slightly but I always figured it was lubricating my injectors. When you figure this XDP additive only required an ounce per 32 gallons it comes out about 1/5 the price of Diesel Kleen. So far I'm finding it is about 100 times better than Diesel Kleen for my application, so well worth the few pennies per gallon it is costing me.