I know there aren't many out there, and even fewer that are even close to broken in yet but, what are you guys seeing for mpg highway? I was gonna order a 3500 4x4 EC LT3 srw with the 8100 6 speed Allison combo. Dealer just found same truck I built but a 2500 with the LBZ. I want the rear spring pack of the 3500 but, there are none out there and buying now would get me the Red Tag deal making a LBZ only about $2400 more than the Vortec 8100 I was gonna order. I don't expect the 20+mpg I get on the highway with my 03 but I would like to hear how the LBZ does with the 6th gear on the new Alli. I'd keep my 03 if it had a 8ft bed but it doesn't, so I'm trying to justify the cost of the diesel with all the hype about the U.L.S.D. coming in June. When you google ultra low sulfur diesel some of the possible scenerios that pop up are pretty scary. Higher prices, shortages, less btu's meaning less power and mileage, hard on fuel systems. :mad:

If you can't find the exact truck you want now on a lot somewhere, order it. There'll be so called "Red Tag" deals after the 1st of the year. Nothing worse than paying that kind of money just for the privilege of saying you came close to exactly what you wanted. And next year you'll be kicking yourself because you settled. We found the truck we ordered with everything but the rear DVD. The dealer gave us the same line; "Better settle and buy now to get the Red Tag deal". We ordered the exact truck we want. We plan to keep the truck at least 10 years and I don't want to settle. And I'd bet a paycheck there'll be better deals after the holidays to get people back into the dealerships.

As for mileage, I don't mean to sound rude but no one buys a truck for the mpg, gas or diesel. You want mpg, buy a Hyundai. I doubt you'd get an honest mileage answer here anyhow. With the D/A LBZ, I expect to get 16 to 20 highway solo, 12 to 16 in town solo, 16 combo solo, and 10 to 12 towing. Now go order your new truck the way you want it.

Truck on!!!

my buddy just got an LBZ extended cab 4x4 short bed 2500hd and he is only getting 15mpg right now in the highway, hopefully it will get better for him

My LBZ is getting 15mpg so far but it only has 400 miles on it and is a week old.

21mpg @ 65mph empty, 11,000 miles. Put some air bags under it for the weight. The 2500HD rides a 100% better than the 3500 I got rid of.

My LBZ extended cab 4x4 short bed 2500hd is 3 weeks old with 940 combo miles on it.I'm getting 12.8 to 15.2 depending on the foot.Fun to drive during break-in.Never at a steady speed.

As for mileage, I don't mean to sound rude but no one buys a truck for the mpg, gas or diesel. You want mpg, buy a Hyundai. I doubt you'd get an honest mileage answer here anyhow. With the D/A LBZ, I expect to get 16 to 20 highway solo, 12 to 16 in town solo, 16 combo solo, and 10 to 12 towing. Now go order your new truck the way you want it.

Truck on!!!

Thanks for the tip. I actually use my truck everyday for work so I do care about mileage. More often than not it will be just carrying it's everyday 200+lb load of me and 200+lbs of tools to 1 or more job sites or it may have a cube of cement in the bed with a 6000lb concrete pump in tow. I am wondering if the extra OD gear actually improved mileage over previous Duramax's or if the LBZ is a thirstier motor and they needed the 6th gear to break even.

More hp = more fuel.
I am getting about 12.2 mpg with mine so far and it appears I am at the low end compared to others.

Hi. I can't seem to get mine passed 12.8 mpg. I do about 50 - 60 miles per day, unloaded and no trailering, about half local traffic and about half highway. I'm crediting it to it still being new, about 690 miles on it. It runs beautifully. I would love to eventually get near 20 mpg like some of the other fortunate ones, and if I do, that would be great. If I don't, I'll deal with it, because I love the truck. As they said earlier, if you want great mileage, buy a Hyundai. Couldn't have said it better myself. Good luck and happy truckin'...Carmine

13.4 mpg, according to the DIC, thats with 285's

Maybe it depends on the truck but my Lightning gets 14-15mpg driving back and forth to work and towing my Cobra at 75-80mph gets 10-11mpg. It doesn't sound like the Diesel is going to do much better than that.

Is the whole "Diesel gets better MPG" thing a myth or what?

so if i only have 3k on the truck i can expect my millage to get better once it breaks in? im getting about 16mpg hwy rollin on 305 buckshot mudder tires so far, i just wish edge would hurry up with a chip and somone would release a intake and exhaust for it. my lb7 was getting 18mpg with 305 tires and 13mpg towing my 12k race car trailer

Maybe it depends on the truck but my Lightning gets 14-15mpg driving back and forth to work and towing my Cobra at 75-80mph gets 10-11mpg. It doesn't sound like the Diesel is going to do much better than that.

Is the whole "Diesel gets better MPG" thing a myth or what?

Compare apples to apples- HD pickup gas with HD pickup diesel, the diesel will be a hands down winner of that comparison.

Not sure what your commute is like...my LBZ at 7600 miles would run 20.5 to 21.5 mpg at 65 mph. My commute to and from work 20% urban, 60% I-system, and 20% country road would yield 17.5 to 18.5 mpg.

I think your new truck, once it has been broken in, will get better mileage than your Lightning.

so if i only have 3k on the truck i can expect my millage to get better once it breaks in? im getting about 16mpg hwy rollin on 305 buckshot mudder tires so far, i just wish edge would hurry up with a chip and somone would release a intake and exhaust for it. my lb7 was getting 18mpg with 305 tires and 13mpg towing my 12k race car trailer

Let it get broken in, and let the warm temps come back, and I would wager that your LBZ will get the same or better mileage than your old truck.

I get 19.3 m/g on I-40 with cruise set on 73 mph, 15.3 in town playing a lot with the accelerator. I have 265/75-16 tires and hand calculated mileage. The big problem this time of year is they screw with the diesel for winter blends and this can change your m/g by fairly large margins in my experience. I have about 2000 miles on my LBZ.

My buddy just bought a new LBZ last week. Maiden voyage of 175 miles yielded 23mpg. Has been doing about 18.8 since then.

My buddy just bought a new LBZ last week. Maiden voyage of 175 miles yielded 23mpg. Has been doing about 18.8 since then.

:eek:

When you google ultra low sulfur diesel some of the possible scenerios that pop up are pretty scary. Higher prices, shortages, less btu's meaning less power and mileage, hard on fuel systems. :mad:

Just remember, if you are old enough, that the end of the world was coming with unleaded gas too! I assume the LBZ's are built for what's coming! I built a '61 Fuel Injected Corvette and put hardened seats and valves in it and it ran like a storm on unleaded supreme and got 23 MPG. Don't expect problems, enough will come your way on their own! The world's computers were supposed to melt down one New Years Day too!

I dont know about you guy's but i have yet to see better than 11.5 mpg while towing.i dont care how slow or fast i go?I am going by the DIC,i have 3500 miles on her now??

I ran through the first tank (dealer supplied). I then top it off and calculated my MPG on the next fillup using hand calculations. I was just shy of 20 (19.9x) and that was will highway and city as well as the occasional tire roasting to show my friends what kind of nuts this new combo has right from the factory.

Needless to say I am very happy with the power, smoothness, and economy for a truck this size....

My 2004 Sierra Denali with the 6.0L gets 14mpg empty at 70 and 5 to 6 mpg pulling my camper. I think the AWD kills this truck. Hope to get better towing mpg with the 3500.

My 2004 Sierra Denali with the 6.0L gets 14mpg empty at 70 and 5 to 6 mpg pulling my camper. I think the AWD kills this truck. Hope to get better towing mpg with the 3500.

That's weird, my wifes Yukon Denali 6.0 awd gets 15.3 average, and gets 17.2 on a road trip, all hand calculated. My LBZ got 18.1 mpg on a short road trip with less than 1000 miles on it. My last tank was 13.2 mpg with lots of stop and go farm driving and some trailer pulling...and racing. :) Beat my wifes Denali by about 1 truck lenth, I have about 500 pounds in the back of my truck.

Hand calculated highway at 65 or less, my LBZ got 20.35 on second tank of gas. Hand calculated highway at 75, it got 15.5 on 3rd tank of gas. Moral to the story - ITFS (it's the foot, stupid).

I'm wondering how so many trucks are so different in mileage. I know there have been engine calibration updates but nothing that should increase mileage. I have a 06 LBZ Crew Cab with 240 miles on it and I get 12.1-12.3 using a calculator. I have BFG 285 AT's on it and I drive pretty mild. I will be making some inquiries to see if I can isolate any calibration changes that would effect fuel consumption.

After my first week in full service, I'm getting 11.8mpg, hand calculated. My gross wieght with concrete pump and hoses is 14,500lbs. I use Tow/Haul all the time. My brother's '05 LLY gets 12mpg broken in so I expect about 13 later on.

http://www.amscorp.org/mileage.htm

i tow randomly 12000 as see in my mileage.

my truck empty weights 8800.

Nice record keeping Arico. Looks like you average around 13 or so.

What's with the one entry at 37MPG?

yea only 14.6 on my lbz/34oo mls on it. thts with 285 tires. i personally think it suks for milage specialy now that d fuel is now higher than gas her in ky. but its a hell of a truk

285 tires kill mileage. Tow haul kills mileage. Strong headwinds kill mileage. 265 tires are about a wash with stock 245 as far as mileage goes. I normally run 285's, but tried new 265 to see what it would do for mileage. Big difference. But above all, start and stop driving, rapid starts and acceleration, and driving over 63-65 kills mileage in most of our trucks.

:exactly: :Handshake

the 37 was when i missed a couple of entrys, I had several sled pulls close together and had have only 3-5 gals in the tank.

I don't expect the 20+mpg I get on the highway with my 03 but I would like to hear how the LBZ does with the 6th gear on the new Alli.

Looking at my "City" milage of 15.9... I took off for California... I jump on the freeway 1/4 mile from the house. The "Speed Limit" is 70. So I set the cruise for 70. There's "Mountain Pass", "Baker Grade, and "Cajon Pass", all over 4500 ft. to climb (and come down) Starting Odo was 1365. Arrived in Brea, CA. Odo was 1630. It took 13.1 Gallons. (No stops, 70 MPH, 265 Miles) Hand Calc = 20.2 MPG. Return trip... Set "Cruise" for 75... No stops, refueled at 1895 Miles. Took 14.3 Gallons. Hand Calc = 18.5 MPG. Looks good to me...

So. Here's some "other" stats... Looking at the "Temperature Gauge", Low = 160, 210 = Center, 8-Gradients between. (6.5 Degrees each?) Cruise set to 70 MPH, Flat road, Temp reads "Half-Way" to 210... 160 + 26? = 186-Degrees... Climbing the "Hills" Temp reads "1-Gradient" less than 210, 210-6.5? = 203.5-Degrees. Up-Hill-Pull = 203.5, Down-Hill-Ride = 186... RPM was constant at 1800. (Never downshifted).. On the way back; Cruise set at 75 MPH, RPMs stayed at 2000, Temperature "Stayed" at 203.5... No change, up-hill or down-hill... (No RPM Change = No Downshifting?)

Okay "Techys"... What do you think?

I like it...:exactly:

Your return trip temp sounds more normal. The temp needle on my LB7 might as well be painted on because once up to operating temp it doesn't move.

Just got back from a 400 mile round trip today to upper Vermont and back (no towing). 4800 miles on the truck. Mileage up and back was 18.85 mpg

my buddy just got an LBZ extended cab 4x4 short bed 2500hd and he is only getting 15mpg right now in the highway, hopefully it will get better for him
I am not sure if winter fuel is used everywhere, (I think it is!) but if it is, then you can add about 1.5-2 mpg in the warm months. If that`s the case, then 15-17 isn't all that bad. I get anywhere from 17 (Winter) to 20 (Summer) in my LB7.

There are different types of fuels / blends also.Who knows what is at the pump.This is what I use.

http://www.globalp.com/index.cfm?nav=prodservs&productid=4