Truck MPG and Overdrive

[RCW]

I’ve had 6 Chevy pickups over last 25 years. All 1500 4WD, most with Z71 with locking rear differential. Had 5.7l, 4.8, and a few 5.3.

Most of those trucks I haven’t driven in OD.

Current truck is a 2017. Bet hasn’t been in OD for more than 200 miles. Keeps the VVT from running on 4 cylinders. Hate that feature. GM has had some issues with it as I understand. Keeps it out of the tall OD gear too. Don’t need that where I drive.

I drive 11 miles to work. All rural two-lane road.

My last 50 miles average 19.8 mpg, with a load of firewood. Best 27.4 was 2 lane road in the Adirondacks when the truck was brand new.

I’ve mentioned this to some folks that look at me like I have two heads…Pretty sure my MPG is better without OD, at least for my driving….

We get winter here too. Sometimes a little “gear” is handy on slippery hills. Much less braking needed.

Am I the only one?? I’m old-school. Maybe too old school?!!?!

 

[Daren Todd]

Do you have the 8spd automatic or the 6spd in your truck.???

That 8spd would account for the gas milage.

I have the 2016, 5.3, 6spd, and z71 package. I do have the lower geared rear end in mine that gets paired with the 8spd transmission.

I just put it in drive and go. Don't worry about it going to V4 mode.

Get 22.5mpg driving through the mountains.

19.5 here in the city and going back and fourth to Little Rock for work.

 

[RCW]

Mine’s 6 speed. Almost never on divided highway, but for trips to Philly.

I’m only bright red pickup on Market Street by Liberty Bell….

Day one with this truck pulled it down to M5. Thing was in/out of 4/8 cylinder 10x on way home…..electronic shifting in/of OD all the time. Engine lugging, etc.

You’ve been through our boonies on your way from Vermont. Very similar to rural VT, but not as scenic…

Don’t need the tall gear (having the option is great), nor want the V4 most of the time. (The option is good). A friend with a 2018 High Country, great mechanic on classic cars, didn’t realize you could lock the V4 out. He was complaining about his truck.

Tow/haul mode would probably work as well. Just haven’t tried it.

I’m very pleased with my mileage. Best I’ve gotten with any of them. Did have one that I didn’t feel need to pull out of OD. Don’t recall which. Mileage was still not as good as this one in M5

 

[Fordtech86]

5th gear is still technically an overdrive gear on those

 

[RCW]

5th gear is still technically an overdrive gear on those

Ford - thanks. Obviously tall enough for 55-60 mph, and not as tall as 6.

Don’t pay a lot of attention, but seems like I’m around 2,000 engine RPM at 60 mph in 5th, versus 1,100 RPM in 6th and it’s doggin’.

My other trucks were same or very similar. Don’t recall how many speed they were. Several generations of trucks and transmissions.

It also isn’t searching gears or flipping 4/8 cylinders if I run 5th on this one.

 

[Daren Todd]

Mine’s 6 speed. Almost never on divided highway, but for trips to Philly.

I’m only bright red pickup on Market Street by Liberty Bell….

Day one with this truck pulled it down to M5. Thing was in/out of 4/8 cylinder 10x on way home…..electronic shifting in/of OD all the time. Engine lugging, etc.

You’ve been through our boonies on your way from Vermont. Very similar to rural VT, but not as scenic…

Don’t need the tall gear (having the option is great), nor want the V4 most of the time. (The option is good). A friend with a 2018 High Country, great mechanic on classic cars, didn’t realize you could lock the V4 out. He was complaining about his truck.

Tow/haul mode would probably work as well. Just haven’t tried it.

I’m very pleased with my mileage. Best I’ve gotten with any of them. Did have one that I didn’t feel need to pull out of OD. Don’t recall which. Mileage was still not as good as this one in M5

I use cruise control quite a bit in my truck. On the way to work in the morning, I set it for 79mph on the interstate. Usually traffic on the way home is bumper to bumper and 85mph.

Quite a few of the secondary roads are a 60mph speed limit as well and 4 lane. So I set the cruise for about 4 over as well. Back off once I come into a town and hit resume once the speed limit jumps back up.

Try to keep my foot out of the injectors. But man, when you put your foot into the floor board it will move

Tow haul mode seems to drop the milage down to around 18mpg. But then I've had either mine or my brothers 16ft landscape trailers hooked to the truck and loaded down with furniture at the times as well.

Although with the trailer loaded down, you couldn't tell it was back there.

 

[Daren Todd]

Ford - thanks. Obviously tall enough for 55-60 mph, and not as tall as 6.

Don’t pay a lot of attention, but seems like I’m around 2,000 engine RPM at 60 mph in 5th, versus 1,100 RPM in 6th and it’s doggin’.

My other trucks were same or very similar. Don’t recall how many speed they were. Several generations of trucks and transmissions.

It also isn’t searching gears or flipping 4/8 cylinders if I run 5th on this one.

We have long rolling hills here. So you power 5 miles up the hill in V8 mode. Then the next 5 or so miles back down the other side is in V4 mode coasting.

 

[RCW]

Ford - literally the day before I picked this truck up 5 years ago, I ran across a mechanic friend. Real Chevy guy, just like his Dad.

He said get the 6.2l, not the 5.3, due to the VVT. Oil seals, tappet problems and potential catilytic converter plugging problems due oil buildup while running 4 cylinders.

That’s why they take 8 quarts instead of 6…. They’ll burn oil.

Too late for me, but mine’s never burned oil. Not the reason I lock it out.

Do you remember what the deal was with that?

I know you’re Fordtech, not Chevytech, but figured I’d ask…..

 

[Fordtech86]

Do you remember what the deal was with that?

I don’t. I believe they had some lifter issues on them, but I just don’t deal with them, we have enough issues on our side to keep up with

 

[lugbolt]

A lot of my friends have GM pickups, all say the same thing. They are shifting a little more often than "they" think it should be. Also the V8-6-4 mode bothers some. I never even notice it but I'm usually riding along with them.

A while back my friend and I took off and went to the lake, he was riding with me in my 2003 Ford. His very first response was holy cow this thing never shifts in/out of gear even in the hills. The other side of that is, they take a little getting used to, in that it takes a little more feeding of the pedal to make it downshift if it is needed. But I still like it a lot better than the GM pickups. I've owned a few and they're all like that.

My Ford climbs the hills with the boat on back, and never downshifts. Ever. Not a big boat though just a flat bottom. I don't get the same MPG as the GM trucks do, but typically within a few tenths. The long stroke of the engine helps it develop excellent torque and responsiveness to load changes. Dad's 2000 F-150 is the same way. I'm very very impressed with that truck! 5.4L. It don't make the top end power that the GM 5.3 did in the same year model, but it will out pull it. On the drag strip, dad's F150 runs exactly the same ET and MPH as Kirk's 1500 Silverado, 5.3. Same truck as dad's but GM version. It was funny, first time dad and him lined up together, after the race was over kirk rode his scooter over and said what have you done to that truck? he bought it brand new in 1999, and aside from maintenance, has done absolutely nothing. LOL. Kirk's got a cold air kit and programmer on his. Oh and dad's truck has 271,000 miles on it and a lot of it pulling my car and his cars to/from the track.

On the newer GM OD transmissions, I believe they have the downshift programmed into them such that they KNOW that OD is weak. For the matter the whole transmission is subpar. They STILL Haven't fixed them. The TH700's were the beginning, and their downfalls havent't been solved yet. I was just talking to the owner of a transmission shop just down the road from me. His lot is full of GM vehicles, says he does on average 40-70 GM units a week and most of them (but not all) are victim of the exact same failures. Odd.