Half-ton pickup redux

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They are really pushing the tech and price hard. They are only putting that race engine in the Raptor model, thus the high price. On the XL with the normal 3.5 ecoboost it adds $3000. . That's what's in my truck. That has 375 horsepower and 470 ft lb. torque. I've loaded the truck up with a ton and it still pulls quite well, even up mountain grades.
 
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begreen said:
On the XL with the normal 3.5 ecoboost it adds $3000. . That's what's in my truck. That has 375 horsepower and 470 ft lb. torque. I've loaded the truck up with a ton and it still pulls quite well, even up mountain grades.
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Ill be looking into this model when it comes time to decide on a truck. Id pony up the 3k for that much HP. Unless something changes ill be waiting on the 2019 models to come out. At this point its between the GM and the Ford. Does your truck have the 10 Sp tranny?
 
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I got the bronco running today. It was easy just a fuel pump. And looking it over it doesnt need to much work a little bit of rust repair and a paint job.
 

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Seasoned Oak said:
Ill be looking into this model when it comes time to decide on a truck. Id pony up the 3k for that much HP. Unless something changes ill be waiting on the 2019 models to come out. At this point its between the GM and the Ford. Does your truck have the 10 Sp tranny?
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No, mine has the 6 speed.
 
I was thinking about this thread while driving yesterday, and noting that physics generally agrees with my experience, in that every 4600 lb. pickup I’ve ever owned gets the same local mileage. Engine displacement has almost no effect in the mileage I see:

4.3L V6 Chevy K1500 5sp. manual = 14 MPG
4.7L V8 Dodge 1500 6sp. manual = 14 MPG
5.7L V8 Hemi Ram 1500 8sp. auto = 14.6 MPG

Bottom line, when you’re accelerating the same weight to the same velocity over the same time interval, you’re going to use roughly the same amount of fuel. There is no magic bullet, here.

Get to constant highway speeds, and then the game changes. There the acceleration factor diminishes, and drag and efficiency take over. However, I almost never drive my pickup truck on a highway, it’s all local use.
 
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Seasoned Oak said:
What kind of fuel mileage do you get with that?
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It varies radically with the terrain and load. Best case scenario is 55mph on a flat road where it will average 24mpg, but we are in hilly and mountainous country so I rarely see that. Average 65mph freeway driving is about 19mpg. Average winter hilly local driving is 14.6mpg with short trips and about 16mpg in summer. (To get into town I have to drop down 400ft, then back up 600ft.) Fully loaded 65mph freeway driving about 14-15mpg. Mountain driving really kills mileage when fully loaded. (As Sportbikerider warned me!) I have a friend with a 2015 F150 with the 5.0 l V8 and his average mileage is just as good with a less complex engine. I bought used, but if new the V8 would be my choice. My truck is the steel body version. The new aluminum body model is 700# lighter for the biggest version and has the 10 speed auto. Mine is also a 4x4 which adds weight and reduces mileage.
 
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Interesting that you(Ashful) get better MPG with the Larger engine and auto tr. Im not even getting that much locally .Somewhere between 8 and 11. Dont know where they get the city figures of 16 to 18 on the EPA test. That said the Forum for multiple owners of newer GM trucks reports an average of 17 combined which is way better than i ever see. Even our family hauler Dodge V6 used to get 25-26 on a trip now cant even crack 20 on trip. Id say my usage is 95% city and 5% Hwy, for the trucks and 70-30% for the family van. The 2019 Dodge truck will do brake regeneration into an e-assist battery ,so that may help city numbers.
 
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Begreen: Those are pretty good numbers. Especially give the HP that engine is making. ID be happy with anything remotely close to that. For the MPG differences were talking the larger engines seem to be the better choice. I dont need 4WD as im keeping my HD truck for bad weather and hauling.
 
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Seasoned Oak said:
Interesting that you(Ashful) get better MPG with the Larger engine and auto tr. Im not even getting that much locally .Somewhere between 8 and 11. Dont know where they get the city figures of 16 to 18 on the EPA test. That said the Forum for multiple owners of newer GM trucks reports an average of 17 combined which is way better than i ever see. Even our family hauler Dodge V6 used to get 25-26 on a trip now cant even crack 20. Id say my usage is 95% city and 5% Hwy, for the trucks and 70-30% for the family van. The 2019 Dodge truck will do brake regeneration into an e-assist battery ,so that may help city numbers.
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My thoughts on the mileage as a tech do not line up with what the makers advertise. The one thing that will always make a difference is driving habits.

I drive a truck part time that has a C15 Cat at 600+ HP. my boss has a Cummins ISX 2015 that has 450 HP. We pull identical loads and identical trips. I get 6.3-6.5 mpg and he gets 5.5-5.8. Why? Horsepower and engine displacement works backwards. Larger displacement and higher horsepower works more efficient when driven sensibly. I have the power to dump black smoke and get 90,000 lbs up to 65 mph in less than a mile but, I choose to drive it easy. He has to get on his engine to get to speed in 1.5 miles and it drinks fuel doing it.

As I stated earlier in this thread the 3.5l ford is a good motor but, I've been replacing turbos on occasion in the last year. Most are 100k+ trucks but, it's happening.
 
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I do a lot of short trips.Much of the time the engine hardly even warms up to operating temps. That will factor into the equation as well. MPG always suffers under those conditions.
 
Seasoned Oak said:
I do a lot of short trips.Much of the time the engine hardly even warms up to operating temps. That will factor into the equation as well. MPG always suffers under those conditions.
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Yes, my local driving is about 7 miles into town, 14 mile round trip. The truck is just getting warmed up in the winter. Fortunately I don't take many long trips with it, so a big tankful lasts a couple months or more. But when I do take a trip there likely is a camper on it which adds mucho weight and some more wind resistance.
 
Youve got that volt for running errands Bg so no gas at all ,cant beat electric for short local trips. Coming to a light truck soon i hope. Dodge is expected to do a light hybrid for 2019 but its not a plug in. More like a prius type propulsion electric assist with regeneration. Will be interesting to see if this moves the needle much as far as MPG.
 
Yes, the Volt milage at this time of year is coming from the sun. If done well, a hybrid drive should help quite a bit. Wonder if they are adapting the drive off of the Pacifica?
 
Ashful said:
I was thinking about this thread while driving yesterday, and noting that physics generally agrees with my experience, in that every 4600 lb. pickup I’ve ever owned gets the same local mileage. Engine displacement has almost no effect in the mileage I see:

4.3L V6 Chevy K1500 5sp. manual = 14 MPG
4.7L V8 Dodge 1500 6sp. manual = 14 MPG
5.7L V8 Hemi Ram 1500 8sp. auto = 14.6 MPG
Click to expand...

Calculated my 2002's 5.3 V8 1500 4sp. auto - also right in the range at 14.6 MPG. That was with about 27% highway. That's what I've heard - the V6s and different displacement V8s get about the same overall in full size pickup. The data above coincides with the fueleconomy.gov ratings that show with full size pickup trucks automatic transmissions get slightly better mileage.
 
Looks like the GM 4.3 V6 is staying around, a good choice for those who don't have the option for the newer engines. This is in reference to the new 2.7 4 cyl.:

"In addition to being about 80 pounds lighter than Chevy’s 4.3-liter V6 (which will still be offered as the standard engine on Work, Custom and Custom Trailboss trucks)...."

Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/trucks/...rprising-all-new-27-liter-turbo#ixzz5G9l1qgBt
 
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Stelcom66 said:
Congrats on getting the Bronco going. I have a feeling that highway picture was taken in 1995.
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Thanks it was much easier than i expected.
 
bholler said:
I got the bronco running today. It was easy just a fuel pump. And looking it over it doesnt need to much work a little bit of rust repair and a paint job.
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Those wheels bring back memories.
 
Seasoned Oak said:
Dodge is expected to do a light hybrid for 2019 but its not a plug in. More like a prius type propulsion electric assist with regeneration. Will be interesting to see if this moves the needle much as far as MPG.
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Looks like a wimpy hybrid system, not really Prius-like afterall. It's just a 48V motor/generator that can add a little torque when run as a motor. The battery pack is a measly 430wh.
 
begreen said:
Looks like a wimpy hybrid system, not really Prius-like afterall. It's just a 48V motor/generator that can add a little torque when run as a motor. The battery pack is a measly 430wh.
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What’s the expected boost in MPG? It seems such a system would still have appreciable advantage around town, charging during braking and delivering during acceleration, even with a relatively small battery. Definitely not Prius-like, but perhaps another worthy alternative?
 
Ashful said:
What’s the expected boost in MPG? It seems such a system would still have appreciable advantage around town, charging during braking and delivering during acceleration, even with a relatively small battery. Definitely not Prius-like, but perhaps another worthy alternative?
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I guess we'll see once real world usage and testing shows up.
 
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