Not missing my Powerstroke....at all!
 

I've had my 06 F250 3v V10 for a couple of weeks now and I have to say, I'm very impressed. I knew going in that fuel economy wasn't going to be great, but if I wanted good mpg, I would've bought a Prius. Even with that said, I've been averaging 12mpg commuting back and forth to work which is only a few mpg less than what I was getting with my 6.0 and since gas is $0.40/gal less than diesel here, I figure it's a wash.

I finally got to put it to the test last weekend and loaded my 1986 10' cabover camper in and hooked up to my 16' trailer with UTV and quad and headed for the mountains. Things I learned:

1) The factory camper package (overload spring and rear sway bar) isn't enough. I'll definitely be adding air bags to level it out. My camper is a heavy bugger and the added weight from the trailer didn't help. I had some serious sag after everything settled in. That being said, even with the sag, it rode fine.
2) The 3V V10 is no slouch. I found that I wasn't missing the "power" of my diesel at all. On the backside of Lucky Peak reservoir there is a pretty decent grade. I got caught behind a slow moving SUV (45mph in a 55mph zone) so I decided to take the opportunity to test the motor. I punched it and was surprised as I jumped up to 65mph as I passed the slowpoke. Even through the windy grades going up over the pass, the V10 just did its thing. Only loss of power I noticed was once the fan clutch kicked on. Even then, it pulled fine. So far I'm happy with the pairing of the V10 and 4.10 gears.
3) There wasn't too much of a loss of MPG when towing. Overall, I hand calculated 8.5mpg once the trip was finished. Not too shabby. My brother has an 02 Silverado 2500HD with the 8.1L V8. His truck drops to 6mpg when towing a similar load. Considering his truck and mine have nearly identical HP and TQ ratings, I consider this a win for the V10.

Bottom line is that this truck is a much better fit for me and my family. I'm loving the cheaper monthly maintenance costs and the reliability of a gas motor again. I'm not really missing any of the "power" benefits of the diesel either. The V10 feels far more snappy and responsive. I also enjoy how much quieter it is and can actually go through a drive-thru and order food without having to shut my truck off. Overall, I'm sold on the V10 and am disappointed Ford has stopped offering it as an option in full size trucks.

I was in the same boat as you last January when I switched from my 7.3 to the current V10. Even though I've recently had to deal with one of the problem spots of the modulars (exhaust manifold studs) I'm quite happy I made the switch!

We have an rv with the v10 and I am just the opposite. Miss the torque that the diesel delivers and the overall performance of the PSD!

Different strokes I guess.

My 06 f350 v10 is the best thing I didn't think I'd buy, I wanted a diesel. I'm a 3v v10 guy now with no regrets and I have driven/pulled with all the 06 and older diesel trucks.

I went from a tuned 2006 duramax 2500 2wd to a 2008 f350 4wd, I miss the power and the mileage but the v10 is smoooooooth,, quiet and loves gas, the Ford is much better build quality than the GMC, rides better, handles better and quieter on the hwy.
I lost about 5-6 mpg's though but the 3v v10 is awesome with 5 star tuning and very true I never have to shut off the engine in a drive thru as i always did with the diesel, my last trip I filled up with 91 octane non ethanol fuel at a premium price and set my tuner to 91 0ctane economy and set the cruise control at 72 mph and got 14.1 mpg's my last trip on 87 tow/perf best on 87 octane ethanol laced fuel was 12 ish at the same speed. but the tail wind really helped too.

When I went to order a new 2008, my choice was the "new" 6.2 diesel with the "new" soot bag and "lift the cab" to work on it or the proven and reliable 6.8 V-10. A very easy choice. In 142,000 miles, it has never let me down, in fact, never been in the shop except for 2 plug changes and a cruise control sensor. Best truck I've ever owned in 50 years of driving 4 wheel drive vehicles.

There's a reason AT&T has NO diesel vehicles in it's fleet...... it's called maintenance costs. All of our 2010 and newer bucket trucks are F450 V10s. I love my 2012 bucket, best work truck I've had in 18 years.

Two thing I've begin to love being asked buy diesel owners , #1 "that thing must be pretty thirsty" and I reply with "yep 13/14 mpg hyw is all i get" then after a long pause they always reply O that's what I get. #2 "bet you wish you'd got a diesel for the towing" and I reply with "how well dose your truck pull a 30,000# trailer, my v10 snorts a bit but I don't have much trouble keeping up with 60mph traffic" that ether gets a subject change or a "that's a big **** load"

In my mind it's not miles per gallon (diesel) it's miles per dollar (gas).

I like that. Ha!


I just chuckle when someone owns a V10 or any gas motor that is paid off, or very close to, and are so frustrated with low mpg they dump it cheap and then buy a brand new diesel. Then they boast they are so happy they are getting better mileage as they were so done with paying so much for gas. Somehow they forgot they went from $0/month to a nice $600+/month payment PLUS diesel fuel and possible insurance premium increase on a loan vehicle. So in reality you increased your costs.......but you don't have those darn high gasoline bills anymore.

No doubting the power of a modern diesel. But unless you drive some serious mileage the upfront cost and fuel savings would be hard to recover. Then they'll boast about higher resale. Sure, but you paid more for it in most cases. So in terms of savings it's likely a wash.

Now having a want for something. Each side is right.

I have an 09 F350 cc 4x4 V10 with 410's, so please what is this 5 Star tuner I'm reading about? My mileage is what I about expected, about 12 to 12.5 back and forth to work. No big trips planned till August. I sold my F 150 with a 5.4 and 373's (2003) and the mileage was not that much different (13 mpg) than with this much bigger and heavier truck. This thing is a beast! I didn't buy this for fuel mileage but for the room and the view. Plus only having 40000 miles and a steal at $23500 how could I go wrong!:)

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ky-thread.html, top of page on this forum.

I installed one for our rv, seems to have helped, but most of all made the engine more civilized in that there are fewer 5000rpm surges when climbing hills. Milage is supposed to improve up to 10% but then it all depends on the driver and his applications of throttle. Some rv folks drive like ol ladies at 55-60 so they claim they dont need, we go 65-70 saw .5 mpg decrease at the higher speed!

Thanks Hank Ill check out.