What This Blog Is About
What this blog is about: Can you save fuel and get better mileage from your diesel truck? Is there any product that can increase your diesel mpg and save you money at the pump? I consider these questions and many others on this blog about diesel-powered light-duty trucks. Suppose you have a Chevy Duramax (or GMC), a Ford Powerstroke, or a Dodge Cummins diesel truck. In that case, you will find out a lot about fuel economy, increasing your diesel fuel mileage, saving money on fuel, and improving your mpg. If your truck is old and needs some maintenance, or if your truck is new and gets worse fuel mileage than your old truck, then this Diesel MPG Blog is for you. Oh, and for those in a foreign land, “mpg” is miles per gallon in the US, but other folks refer to liters per 100 km. So while we increase mpg, you would lower your L/100 km.
Welcome to the First Version
Well, this is the very first version of this website. I have been thinking about a diesel mpg blog for a few months now, and I have finally found enough time to start this project. I think it could end up being quite a large undertaking, so I might ask for some help from the crowd. In this blog, you can add comments here and there. But at some point, I will open up another website in which will be a more open forum. I have registered www.dieselmpgforum.com and www.dieselmpgtalk.com, which will be launched shortly. They will initially point to the same forum pages until I choose to separate them. Additionally, I may be doing some blogging on other related websites, but for now, they are forwarded here. These are www.dieselmileageblog.com and www.dieseltruckblog.com. That last one will be more generic.
Why Now? Saving Fuel Matters More Than Ever
Since there are a lot of truck owners out there who want to save money on fuel, I thought the time was ripe to start a definitive study on saving diesel. I think there are plenty of diesel performance products on the market, but rather few that are entirely practical. Oh, sure, most people buy a running board or entry step for their truck. And there are gobs of those tonneau covers on the market (Can I spell it ton-oh? tunno? tonno?) But if you look at most “mods” for trucks these days, they are pushing the horsepower. I have to say that I don’t haul very often with my truck, but when I do, its 325 hp is enough. A modern turbocharged diesel engine has got a whole bunch more torque and power than what was common a few years back. So in most cases, folks need to be more concerned with efficiency than power.
When Power Still Matters
The exceptions to this practical rule are endless, but let me list a few times when we don’t care about a few miles. First, when you pull 15 or 20 thousand pounds on your gooseneck trailer, you might just need every horsepower and every pound of torque that your engine can safely handle. At least until you get on the highway to cruise along. And if you are playing around with “performing” for somebody you want to impress, then, yep, you want all the black smoke and all the burnt rubber just infusing itself into the observers’ nostrils. And if you are in a sticky situation that needs lotsa of juice, or if you work your truck for your livelihood, then chances are you would rather have a bunch of power to do it with.
What About Daily Driving?
But when you take your wife grocery shopping? Or when you drive to work? Or how about on that trip to the lake, pulling your littl20-footer? Let’s face it, you’re probably hoping to save some bucks, or you would be fishing right now. Yeah, but you’re not; you want to figure out why your nice diesel truck gets bad “gas” mileage. I don’t care if it’s a Ford Superduty F350 or F250, or a Chevy Silverado Duramax, or a Dodge Cummins Ram 2500 or 3500, you hate paying $100 bucks every time you fill it up with diesel. You’re contemplating whether red-dyed diesel really will permanently stain something, huh? Well, let’s start our adventure and see what the Diesel MPG Blogger has to say.