I've researched some engines & what ppl Claim they get with these engines & well heres the thing

Today trucks got 5 or more gears in a Auto & half the displacement & like 75 extra horses & Way less Truck Ability IMHO but still get terrible mileage.


YesterYear Trucks had a 3 speed auto BulletProof or a 4 speed NO OD & motors up to 502 Ci & alittle less power then trucks of today have but had Way more Truck Ability IMHO but they still get the same Terrible Mileage of the trucks of today.


I'll take a 76 F250 with a 460 swapped in with Zf5 & get 15 Mpgs all day loaded or unloaded over say a 09 F250 with a V10 & zf6 & get 15 .



What I Guess I'm asking is With all these Advancements How come they still get roughly the same MPGs.



You can even make a Statement for Diesels too.
15 years ago You could have a 6.9 IDI or 12 valve Cummins with way less power but get 20 mpgs roughly & if you wanted you could turn them up & still get 15.

Now you go buy a new anything diesel In a 3/4 ton & your lucky if you sniff 15

 

Newer trucks are heavier, newer diesels much more powerful.
Early IDI motors were what, 170 HP, with 338 torque?

It's really not much of a mystery imo.

 

it is very easy. the epa regulations add more crap to the engines, which in turn reduces fuel mileage.

i know someone who bought a brand new 2014 F-350 4X4 diesel.
it got 15 mpg empty on the way home from Delaware, where he bought it..
he took the exhaust and all the pollution stuff off, including the catalytic converter, the Diesel Exhaust Fluid tank and all its components, and replaced it with a straight pipe.
he then put a full set of side boxes on the truck, and loaded it to the gills. it runs down the road close to 11,000 lbs. and get 18 mpg running it hard.

 

Did he remove all the electronic controls and go with mechanical fuel injection too?

 

no just removed the pollution stuff and put a tune in it so it would not set any CEL's.
when i said removed all the pollution controls, he removed all the mechanical items, plus the EGR valve and cooler. the truck sounds and runs fantastic, and does not blow any black smoke at all.

 

Todays engines and transmissions are more powerful and require less maintenance. Today's truck will carry more weight and tow more than the older models and they will last longer as well.

 

I don't know that they actually require less maintenance, but less is expected and more things are sealed. Parts wear out just as quick.

 

Try towing 15Klb with that '76, if you and the truck survive the '09 will be far ahead in mileage as well as wear and tear. The '76 needs oil changes every 3K the '09 can go 5K-7500 and the overall engine will last at least 200K miles, that won't happen near as much with a stock '76 engine. Not to mention I'll enjoy driving all day in an '09 and it would be a miserable SOB in a '76. I also doubt comparing apples to apples a stock '76 460 will get the same mileage as a stock '09 V10. Our early '90s 460's never got over 10 and they had the ZF5's. Our '09 V10 that weighs several thousand pounds more and has 4.88's can hit just over 10mpg on the highway. Load one of those '92's down to weigh the same and they'd be around 5-7 and still had the better gearing.

 

my 77 F250 with the 460 got about 6 mpg, and it was empty 99% of the time.

 

Agreed on the second point, but on the first I think you must be disregarding the 6.0 and any diesel made thereafter. The old IDIs required a fraction of the maintenance and got better fuel economy.

 

Yeah, I never took into account for the older diesels.