Anyone been doing this. I am looking to trade in my 03 V-10 4x4 Crew cab for a 6.0 PSD. Has anyone done any comparisons to see how long it would take to pay for the PSD. Here is what I came up with.

Comparison

V-10 Engine = 9mpg
One 28 gallon Tank of gas will go 252miles. Cost of $1.51 per gallon at current cost would cost $42.28 to fill up.

Diesel Engine = 18mpg
One 28 gallon Tank of diesel will go 504miles. Cost of $1.79 per gallon at current cost would cost $50.12 to fill up. Typically Diesel is cheaper than gas but for some reason here in So. Cal where I live it is more expensive than even Premium gas.

Difference of the range of miles is 252 miles. So it would take 2 tanks of gas to go 504 miles with the V-10.

Savings for the Diesel for every 504 miles would be $34.44.

Cost of the Diesel engine is $4000 more than the V-10. Which I think it may be higher even but not positive.

So $4000 divided by $34.44 = 116. 116 times 2 =232 which gives you the number of tanks of Fuel you would have to use to pay for the Diesel engine. Or 59220miles to pay for the Diesel engine.

Does this sound about right. Anyone else have any better comparisons that they have done

 

Err, I don't know if I should be adding fuel to this over-discussed topic, but you've also got to factor in the cost of maintaining a diesel than a gas truck.

 

Now if you only drive 12-15k miles a year that would take 5-4 years to reach.

 

California, for years, has been pro-environment, but I think it's mostly to keep the smog down, not to save the environment itself...

I would imagine they are taxing diesel heavily to keep the truck traffic down. It's a social-engineering thing. If the truck drivers know fuel is going to be expensive in a certain area, they are going to try to keep their consumption down to save money. At the same time, pollution is reduced. NYC (40 miles away) is the same way... we now need to buy cars with the California emissions package in the Metro NY area.

Diesel is going to have a hard time soon. Read an article in the newspaper yesterday, and it seems that diesel is potentially causing something like 25% of the global warning estimates...

Anyway, it means the gov't will tax you to keep your usage down as a tool to keep you in lilne. European countries do it ... hence the high price of petrol. It's mostly taxes...

 

Oh, and, highway usage taxes come into play too... if a county or state want to charge more for commercial use of their roads, they will tax diesel more...

 

How did you come up with your mileage figures for the differnt engines? Seems like 9 is a bit low for the v-10 and 18 is a bit high for the diesel. I think a closer comparison might be 12 and 18 or even 12 and 16. If pulling, then something like 10 and 15 might be in order. I don't have either engine, but from what I've read, some v-10 owners are pretty happy with their engines getting 13-15 mpg.
Even so, that difference would shoot your payoff to somewhere around 140,000 miles and maybe 150,000 if you add the oil changes. So if you keep your truck or put lots of mileage/year on a truck, it will pay to have a diesel... if you don't mind the smell/noise, etc.
Tony

 

When I did my comparison a year or so ago, I came up with a fuel cost difference of $60 roughly. That difference was the same in my payment if I had the exact same truck with a diesel engine. With the amount of driving I do the diesel was not the best choice.

We all know the pros and cons of both engines. The real reason someone should buy a diesel is that they USE the truck EVERYDAY, and put tons miles on the truck. If you think you will be getting such better mileage than a gas truck, you should be looking at a Honda. There are posts that show not all diesels are getting the same mileage, they get great and very poor mileage.

 

My 04' F-350 ,V-10, with the 6-speed, I just filled up again, got 9.1 mpg, now thats doing a couple burnruns, and one rather fast trip, and weighing 8000 lbs,or more (tools and so on in it )and just about 2000 miles on the truck. Now my PSD I traded in, the best I ever figured for mileage was 13.1, now this was a F-350 SC, auto 4x4, with a 9' dump,with tools weighed 10,000 lbs.

I never did see the better mileage, with the diesel, and gas here is 1.49, diesel is 1.64 per gallon,,I like my V-10, and its alot more fun to drive.

10, burnin,- 6, turnin,- sometimes 4 smokin !

Later,,,,,,,,,Mark

 

I am convinced to keep my V-10. Since I bought my truck in May I only have 4000 miles on it. I figure at that rate it would take over 12 years to pay for a PSD. Besides I owe $30k for it still and would get killed trading it in. I guess I am a V-10man forever. Ok now what muffler should I put on it? Flowmaster FM40? What do you think is the best sounding muffler out there that won't kill the pocket book?


Also I figured the mpg's for the V-10 at 9 because in my 4000 miles that is the best I get. City driving mostly. My friend drives the PSD and says 18 is his average for mostly the same type of driving.

 

I average 11.5mpg with my v10 mixed driving. 87 octane is $1.44 right now here in my town and diesel is $1.56.

Don't forget to factor in the extra finance charges and tax for the extra $4000 if you finance.

I did a similar calculation and came to the solid conclusion that unless you drive over 20,000 miles per year it will take 8 to 10 years to pay for the diesel assuming diesel costs about 10c per gallon more like it does here and you finance the truck for 4 to 5 years at 6%.

The more you drive it, the faster you'll get your money's worth with the PSD. I only average about 16,000 a year so the V10 made more sense for me.

 

18 MPG ? LOL In over 100,000 miles with a PSD I never got 18 and now with 60,000 on my V10 I have never gotten 9 unless towing. I average 13 in every day driving, I know everyone drives diferently but if I am getting better MPG in my V10 than you are I am sure I was getting better in the PSD.

 

More of the same...

Variables in this calculation will change based on: 1) the deal you can get (gas vs diesel) in your area, 2) number of miles/year and type of driving you do, & 3) cost of fuel in your area.

- My V-10 gets around 11-13 MPG as my daily driver, not 9 MPG
- Gas is about 10 cents more than diesel around here (varies regionally)
- Don't forget the extra trade-in value you get with a diesel vs gas... it is not the $4,000-$5,000 you put into it on the front, but you do get more for a diesel at trade...
- As someone mentioned, extra costs to maintain the diesel
- Warranty coverage for the 2 motors... I think the diesel warranty actually runs longer.

When I did the calculations back in 2001, I came up with a break-even mileage of between 80,000 and 100,000. At my 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year, that is a long time. Maybe I'll keep this truck that long, but I usually swap trucks earlier than that.

However, we must all agree that more torque is better when towing heavy. If I: 1) towed heavy trailers on a regular basis, or 2) put a lot of miles on my truck (especially when towing), there would be a PSD badge on my truck instead of the V-10 badge... Price wouldn't matter, performance would.

I do tow a 9,000 lb travel trailer on occasion and the V-10 snatches it around with authority. Even through the winding Canadian Rockies.

Bottom Line: The V-10 is a great motor and I love it. The PSD is also a great motor. Each has huge capabilities and the performance overlaps in many areas.

Edmo

 

Edmo and others covered a lot of the variables pretty well.

Another is re-cale value (face it, few of us "Drive a vehicle into the ground" any more). I just traded on 2000 V10 in and to be honest - I got hosed Resale on a diesel pretty much makes that innitial purchase price difference a wash.

The higher the miles you drive per year, the more the diesel makes sense.

Also, unless you rich people are forking over cash for these vehicles don't forget about the additional interest you will pay for the higher purchase price - gotta cover everything.

Good luck!

 

Alot of good topics have been covered. I am new to this board and new to superduties. I was on the fence for awhile about diesel or V10.

A few things made me get the V10. I dont drive enough to justify the additional cost and the truck is not a work rig that is making me money.

FYI Ford actually has done the math on justifying the purchase of the diesel for the fleet program. According to Ford it takes 65,000 miles to recoup intial investment of the diesel. This is a national average, so the above regional numbers are probably close.

As for mileage towing, I tow almost 75% of the time with the truck on weekends. I average 8.1 to 9.3 MPG towing a jeep, trailer and goodies . I get 10mpg without a load. I probably tow 6K. My buddy tows a similar load with a PSD and he gets 10mpg constantly.We usually do 75mph towing

On a recent trip to kentucky. Gas was cheaper then Diesel for most of the trip. .

Factor in oil changes, future maintence, additional electric costs if you have to plug the truck in all winter and most of all finding someone who can work on diesels.


I choose the V10 because it suits my needs and I could not justify the added expense for the diesel for what it offers over the V10.


Good Luck,

RK

 

I'm new to FTE, but has anyone done a similar comparison where horsepower performance per dollar is the determining factor instead of mpg?

I've seen some of the new diesels running propane injection, along with all the standard diesel mods, running low 11 second quarter mile times at a local dragway. I've debated putting a supercharger on my v10 just to keep up with these guys on the dunes. But I've not done a horsepower per dollar comparison . . . yet