I've been using the tow/haul mode in town to stimulate higher RPM between shifts. It holds the gear longer and makes the trucks RPM work in the power band of the turbo better. I assumed it would increase consumption of fuel and was really interested to see if a planned upgrade to my turbo, may in fact be an annoying whine I would get tired of.

My plan is to go to a 2.0 turbo and that would increase the RPM needed to spin it up. It's reported to run better at several hundred RPMs higher.... so tow/haul would be effective in achieving the higher RPM.

To my surprise, my fuel consumption is actually down and each tank is showing the same result, better mileage in town. I notice the RPM is closer to 2000 when shifting and when mph drops, it down shifts to keep the RPM up.

Anybody else ever see something like this or try tow/haul on a tank without towing?

 

I just tail gate a Prius.....

 

Very interesting... Makes good sense in my not so special brain! I just averaged 14mpg hand calculated driving mostly around town... wouldnt mind bumping that up to 16/18ish!

 

Interesting. Ive never ran my trucks without towhaul on to know if the mpg goes down in normal mode. Empty or towing im always in towhaul. Even on the 6.7. I like the engine holding the truck back on deceleration. SCT with the jake brake function, or the BD tapshifter make it even more effective. 220k on my 2006 all in towhaul mode and its on its second set of brake pads.

Im a believer in towhaul to say the least.

 

This is an interesting thread, Randy. I have always enjoyed the Tow/Haul mode, but never thought about using it all the time.

What about the wear/tear on the motor? Non existent? Makes sense of less wear and tear on the rotors and brakes.

If the wear and tear is non existent then I would will start doing it.

Too funny John.

I am sure the drivers of the Prius' are doing this.......
HAHAHA!!!!!

 

I'm going to have to give this a try since the trucks running again.

By the way, I consider it "Drafting" versus "Tailgating".

 

I would be very surprised if any additional motor wear came as a result of higher RPMs in town. In a gasser, i could understand the theory. Diesel lifespan isn't effected by RPMs to a point. The greatest wear factors are overdue oil, frequent short trips, bad injectors or fuel, excessive temps, extremely cold starts and irresponsible tuning.
That is my understanding at least.
There are a lot of guys who haul heavy loads with their diesel trucks for a living and they are regularly seeing 500k+ miles out of their engines. They also often run mild or no tuning, have long run times and have good maintenance schedules. They run high RPMs and engine load all the time, yet get insane miles out of their engines.

Edit: as far as fuel mileage goes, i got the best fuel economy in my 6.0 with moderate acceleration. Granny driving yielded poor results. 1/3-1/2 throttle acceleration with a fairly aggressive tune would yield 15+mpg in town and 20 on the highway. My 6.0 was a 2wd, which adds approx. 1mpg.

 

I'll definitely try this.
Y'all do know what the difference between a prius and a porcupine is, don't you?
I've been getting around 14ish, hand calculated. The liar gauge isn't too far off, though.

 

Damn it........ Now I have to get in the habit of pressing that button. I just got to work and realized I didn't press the button for tow/haul.