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I guess I need/should explain, my out of context words/opinion to the 22.3 MPG Ltngdrvr got, which IS good, great even... BUT,
What I meant and should have said in my very first post was... That I got 23.4 MPG average highway mileage, thirty years ago with the improvements I made with the overdrive splitter added onto my 5 speed, Thus me being unimpressed with todays trucks with the 10 speed that a billion+ $ were spent on development, and getting less MPG than I got 30 years ago...
I think getting over 20 MPG’s with all the smog stuff combined with all the HP and Torque is very impressive. The capability of those older truck’s is barely half of today’s, if that. My trailer is only 16,000 lbs loaded, but it sure is nice taking any hill effortlessly and have plenty of throttle left over. Double tap the traction control button when driving around and 475HP feels good even in an 8,000 lb. truck. That’s a billion+ well spent in my book😬
You may be right about the towing part/capacities compared to a smaller diesel, or not, after all the less HP diesel would have to work harder using more fuel. But empty, an 8cylinder diesel compared to another 8 cylinder diesel, both, using what... about 60/70HP. to go down the highway, empty, at 65 MPH... the modern fancy one should be better, not less MPG, ( doesn't matter that one can make 475 Hp. or the other can only make 190 HP. because they both need to make the same HP. to do the same thing... when both at 65 MPH). IMO
At the risk of stating the obvious, newer 6.7 diesels are not optimized for absolute maximum empty mpg at moderate speed cruising. They are designed to haul and tow heavy, or work with high average load in general and STILL comply with ever more stringent emissions rules that your 92 L65 never even heard of.
now if you go and tow a 15k 5th wheel with that 92 L65 truck at 65 mph and compare the mpg with a 22 scorpion motor f350 towing the same load at the same speed, then we can compare apples to apples in its intended usage case.
persoanlly, I don’t tow more than 12k and my usage requires the truck to idle A LOT so I am cool with the 7.3 gas but even I know you are hanging out in the wrong section of the truck yard if you expect new class 2B and up pickup diesel motors to be some hyper miling gadgets.
The higher the displacement, the lower the mileage, gas or diesel. The same can be said about HP. Ford went V6 in the half tons for that reason, then slapped a turbo to complete with others. At the end of the day however, small displacement won.
The average efficiency has increased around 2% every year for mileage. With that said, some engines today still get what they did 30 years ago. I had a 1.3l get 50 mpg in 1992. My 4.9l got 22 mpg in 1995. Today a modern 5.0 can get 22 mpg and have 2 times the HP or better.
So, made another trip, little different route, had some fair headwinds for about half of this MPG check, still came out pretty well at 21.7 MPG!
I kept feeling like it wasn't doing as well as last trip as I rolled along, but I pumped in as much fuel as I could and 31.1 gallons was all it would take and 675 miles, I was surprised.
The higher the displacement, the lower the mileage, gas or diesel. The same can be said about HP. Ford went V6 in the half tons for that reason, then slapped a turbo to complete with others. At the end of the day however, small displacement won.
The average efficiency has increased around 2% every year for mileage. With that said, some engines today still get what they did 30 years ago. I had a 1.3l get 50 mpg in 1992. My 4.9l got 22 mpg in 1995. Today a modern 5.0 can get 22 mpg and have 2 times the HP or better.
But, a higher horsepower engine doesn't have to work as hard, so you aren't having to use as much throttle, which can make for better fuel economy.
So, made another trip, little different route, had some fair headwinds for about half of this MPG check, still came out pretty well at 21.7 MPG!
I kept feeling like it wasn't doing as well as last trip as I rolled along, but I pumped in as much fuel as I could and 31.1 gallons was all it would take and 675 miles, I was surprised.
6.2 gasser with 6 speed and 4.30s. Best so far for me. Hand calculated this trip was 18.57. Interstate running was at 70 mph, four lane non-Interstate hwy was at 65 mph. Hit some traffic as well which impacted overall mpg and avg mph. Previous best was 18.2 mpg over ~600 miles.
Okay boys and girls, are you ready for this one???
Sort of the same run as last time, only this time stopped at a Kroger to buy fuel since I had some fuel points to use which was cheaper than the truck stop using my fuel card.
So, the miles from where I fueled near the house and this kroger are less than to where I have fueled before.
So, drum roooolllll....
536 miles, and only 22.9 gallons of fuel for a result of 23.4 MPG!!!!!
WOO-HOO!!!
Now, the winds were very kind, mostly light winds, either from behind or very slight crosswinds.
Is it the fact that my truck has over 50K miles on it and has loosened up?
Did the centramatic balance rings help fuel economy?
My previous RAM did better after 50K as well, but it was a progression, better after 5K, better still after 20K then maxed out after 50.
But, I'm stoked over 23.4 MPG.
I haven't checked the towing fuel economy because I don't top it off, usually just buy enough fuel to get me where I'm going and then buy cheaper fuel when I get close to home, but I am sure the towing fuel economy is quite a bit better as well.
Buyer's remorse now but I looked hard at getting the F350 6.2 with the 10 speed. I went cheap and went with the F250 6.2 with the 6 speed and 3:73. My highway mpg is 14-16 but towing is really bad at half that.
That was the average per tank for THAT tank.
Overall mileage would be WAAAAAAAAYYYYYY less because half the time I am towing big travel trailers.
And, you could include HUNDREDS of fill ups, but that isn't what this thread was about, it was about a BEST SO FAR, and that is exactly what I posted.
Also, I just remembered, that tank included a trip through Wendy's drive-thru for breakfast, probably 5 minutes of idling.
I appreciate the post and thread. Some get very upset when others get better mpg.
I get 20.5-21 mpg on most of my highway trips. I am 4x4 with 3.55 gears. I have zero doubt that a 2wd with 3.31 gears could get 22 mpg.
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great even... 
BUT,
