If you have factory non-A/C, you have the nice air vents in the kick panels.

 

Yep....kick panel vents. Hardly even use them with wind wings.

 

 

I live in alaska. Im after heat lol

 

If you have factory AC you can replace the kick panels with vented ones, remove the block off plate and have vented kick panels.
That's what I have done as it gets damn hot here when the AC doesn't work.
Dave ----

 

Question....

460 4x4 c6. Crew cab long bed. Vs
6.9 4spd. 4x4 mpg.

Would I see an increase? And what could I expect? How much better would it be with a 5spd instead of a 4?

 

You will get single digit mpg with the 460. You might get 10mpg or a little above with the 6.9 diesel. The diesel will always win in the mpg challenge. But, it doesn't have the power that the 460 has unless you add a turbo. And diesel fuel is so much higher in cost, that it's to the point now where it doesn't win as far as costs.

The 5 speed overdrive is always a win, no matter what engine you use. My truck has a 7.3 idi non-turbo diesel. With 4x4, c6 auto and 35 inch tires, 4.10 gears, all I could get was 12mpg. I did nothing else, just changed from the c6 to the zf 5 speed and I got 3 more mpg. I haven't checked the mileage lately, but I got rid of the large 35 inch tires and put smaller ones on it. So that should give me a little more mpg.

 

Not true. The 460 typically gets 10 mpg. The 6.9 with the 4 speed and 3.55 rear gear gets 20 mpg. Do the math, diesel can be twice per gallon before it stops winning in the cost department.

 

Very careful driving with a 2wd diesel, I think it would still be difficult to get 20mpg. Maybe with the older fuel. Are you getting that now? When was the last time you checked it?

Last time I checked mine, with 4.10 and 35 inch tires, 4x4, 7.3, I was getting 15mpg on trips. Now that I have gone to smaller tires I haven't checked it, but would expect maybe 16mpg? That is a long way from 20 mpg. If you are running waste oil or something like that, it doesn't count. There is way more btu's in other fuels. They took a bunch of the btu's out when they went to this low sulphur fuel.

 

I check every fill up. Usually it's 20 mpg. But if I go to CA I only get 16 mpg. So yes fuel has plenty to do with it. When pulling grades or headwinds it's less than 20 mpg. Also if I travel at 65 mph it's better than 75 or 80 mph.

Here in WA we will likely see fuel quality go down in the next few years. Right now it's about the same here still because the refiners can pay a carbon fee in leiu of producing "low carbon density" (what ever that really means).

but even at 15 mpg it's 50 percent more mileage and the cost is well below 50 percent more. I wouldn't trade my 6.9 for two 460's

 

Right now here diesel is about $4.30 per gallon. So to go 60 miles, and if I got 15 miles per gallon, 15 goes into 60 4 times, so 4 gallons times 4.30 equals $17.20 to go 60 miles with a diesel at 15 mpg.

Right now here gas is 3.69 per gallon. So to go 60 miles and if I got 10mpg with a 460, 10 goes into 60 6 times, so 6 gallons times 3.69 equals $22.14 to go 60 miles with a gas engine getting 10 mpg.

So yes, the diesel still wins,, especially with a heavy duty truck.

 

Avg price for gas in WA is 5 bucks. Locally I see diesel for 5.20. It's a different dynamic between gas and diesel. And that's for regular. Premium and ethanol free are higher, more like diesel price now.

 

Our diesel will stay high now, and may go even higher as it is used for heating oil here. It's the same thing except the heating oil has the red dye in it, just like off-road diesel. In fact, heating oil and off-road are the same thing. Diesel came down to around 3.18 per gallon sometime in June, so I bought some to fill my heating oil tank. But it's been going up ever since.