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Gasser MPG's?

aggar

aggar

Don't tear it up!
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Location
Kirklin, In
WEll I've decided to look into getting a smaller truck and let the Dmax sit a little since Diesel has gone up some more and gas is about $.70-.80 cheaper. Lookin into a half ton 2wd. ANyone got a 5.3 chevy or something similar and what kinda mileage you gettting? Can i expect to get close to 18 with a 2wd 5.3 or am I hoping for too much? Just lookin for a little input.

How bout the 4.3 v6?? Anyone with input on that one either? I know If I get one I'll feel like I got castrated but gotta pinch some pennies some where.
 
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I think 18 is shooting a bit high. :eek: Highway miles, maybe, and being a 2wd up's the chances a little. Honestly, the 4.3 gassers rate about the exact same milage as the 5.7's do. Low teens. Seems they have to work harder to move the truck, so milage decreases in the meantime. The 5.3's are a bit better and can see 14-15 around town with a light foot. 6.0 gassers are worse, especially if they are loaded and working for it. As far as 2wd goes, it's your decision. But on the other hand, if you plan to use it around the farm at all, I'd look more into 4wd. I know you understand why, but sometimes it sucks not being able to throw it in 4wd, even in the least important situations. I have that 2wd service truck of mine and one of my guys got hung up the other day off the beaten path in a wet yard. The front end sunk a little and he couldn't get back up the hill in the back yard. It was empty, but still pissed me off that it had to be pulled out. With weight in it, it plows snow with the v-blade just fine. No issues at all.
 
Yeah I'm not getting a 6.0. I've had 2 and they were nothing to write home about on mileage. My grandpa ha an 02 w/t 4.3 2wd and gets around 20mpg but he doesn't go over 50mph!
 
I've heard as bad as 10mpg out of the 6.0; thats with a good amount of punch it though. I wouldn't be suprised to see 16-17mpg out of a 4x2 5.3, higher if driven with a light foot.
 
I had a 1500 with a 4.8, set up with a ladder rack. I got about 12 or 13 hiway. It really sucked. The worse thing about it was it couldn't pull a 2500 lb trailer up a 3% grade at 75 mph
 
I may be the only person alive that gets 18-20 with my 6.0... My grandpa has a '99 5.3 and it averages around 20mpg.
 
idk how i do it, cause im in no way light footed, but it does damn good. better than the old 3.0L Ranger i used to drive.
 
with a light footyou can do it. A few weeks ago, with my 6.0L AWD i was able to get 19.2 MPG. i triple checked the numbers and it was correct. the key is a light foot. i set the cruise to like 60 and do mostly highway.
 
I don't know about the Vortecs, but my 1991 can get about 20, it will pull a 7k car trailer loaded to about 3-4.5k. With that load, it gets around 16. If i baby it empty, it gets around the factory rated 23(21 in 1996 newer). (not for sure on mileage, odo is broken) It is not super heavy, RC LB, steel rims, aluminum crossbox & 1/2 full 34 gal tank its around 4200.

I think that my manual transmission helps a lot on the power and mileage, built in tow/haul! (That program is uploaded into the brain of the driver, not the brain of the truck! :yesnod: )
I know it can't pull big loads, thats why there is dad's dually, the 3500hd's, the 2 ton trucks, and 425 hp Series 60 in the Marmon, 370 Cummins in the IHC, 300 Cummins in the Pete, etc. If it can't do it, we just use something bigger!

I guess in your situation, you have the D-max for demanding situations, so for less demanding, the v6 should do good.

Good luck!
 
my 5.3 used to get around 14. never much better, never much worse. unless i had the plow on it. then it sucked arse. i bet 16 ish with the 2wd.
 
my 03 extcab long bed, 4x4, 4.10 ls. 5.3 with mods returned 19-20mpg highway 60-70mph. with 2wd and 3.73 and some light mods(exhaust) and well inflated tires you easily should get 20mpg.
 
I had a 4.3 V6 and got 20 mpg 60 mph. Kept daily log Truck had plenty of low end power and just a little weak passing at 65MPH. Liked the engine.

Got a 4.8 extended cab. Was getting 18.6 MPG lots of passing power but was a heads up match with the V6 at slow speeds. Added a true ram air system, gutted cats, and a free flowing exhaust. Get 21 mpg and now hauls butt.

Neither will pull a heavy trailer easy. Both 1500 Silverados with extended cab. auto, one size up tires, and I drive smart.
 
I bought a 97 1500 with the 4.3 2wd with 69k. I'll get some pics. My uncle bought it new and it had a new motor at 38k and the 2nd owner was another old man. So it wasn't drove hard.
 
I had a 2000 5.3 ex cab LB 4x4 4.10 Auto, it would get around 20 at 70-75, around town 14-16 depending on how i drove it. in the city like san jose, it blows anyways. Everyone floors it to get to the next light and if you take off at any sane speed you look like a fool.
mind you those numbers were when empty. when you load it up, they drop like a rock. I had 2000lbs in the bed once and lucky if i got 9 in the city 10 or 11 on hwy.
 
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