What kind of MPG will a tuner get me?

[Jdell85]

I Just bought a 2019 Silverado 2500hd W/ 6.0 gas engine. I’d like to buy a tuner so I can get the power when needed. But mostly to save some money on gas with an economy tune. My truck is also my service truck for my company and I would like to keep cost down when possible. Anyone had any Luck with a certain tuner?

[CamGTP]

I've been tuning these GM vehicles for about 8-9 years now. Getting fuel mileage with a tune alone is very tough and the power gain on a stock engine with stock everything is not that much.

We are talking 15-20hp on a good day and that is running 93 octane fuel which costs way more money than 87 pump gas. So there goes the attempt at cost savings. If you could get 1 mpg combined with a tune alone I'd be surprised.

 

The majority of this stuff comes down to how you drive. You will get the best mileage with the proper air pressure in the tires and going 60-65mph on the freeway. As soon as push over 70-75mph your mileage is going to tank on something like this. Expect mid teens for mileage, roughly 15-17 if you are nice to it.

[cmysstailights]

Absolutely none. I use my truck daily. Mpg horrible. Did blackbear tune. Shifts got better mpg stayed the same. You cant get more hp and better fuel economy on these trucks.

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[Jdell85]

6 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

I've been tuning these GM vehicles for about 8-9 years now. Getting fuel mileage with a tune alone is very tough and the power gain on a stock engine with stock everything is not that much.

We are talking 15-20hp on a good day and that is running 93 octane fuel which costs way more money than 87 pump gas. So there goes the attempt at cost savings. If you could get 1 mpg combined with a tune alone I'd be surprised.

 

The majority of this stuff comes down to how you drive. You will get the best mileage with the proper air pressure in the tires and going 60-65mph on the freeway. As soon as push over 70-75mph your mileage is going to tank on something like this. Expect mid teens for mileage, roughly 15-17 if you are nice to it.

 

That’s what I expected to hear  I did buy a better cold air intake and a dual exhaust form what I hear that may help a tad bit. But I‘m doing it  more for fun/something to tinker with anyway

 

[Grumpy Bear]

4 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

The majority of this stuff comes down to how you drive. You will get the best mileage with the proper air pressure in the tires and going 60-65mph on the freeway. As soon as push over 70-75mph your mileage is going to tank on something like this. Expect mid teens for mileage, roughly 15-17 if you are nice to it.

2X on both points. 

 

Diablo has a tune they claim will give a 2 mpg increase. What I  think they are doing is raising the demand torque limit on the AFM kickout point and forcing an unnaturally high percentage of 'On time'. There Marathon OBDII plug it does this as does the Range AFM + plug in. 

[mjm-1957]

No AFM on a 2500 6.0 gasser. No vacuum pump, no direct injection, just a bullet proof long lasting truck engine.

[Waaazooo]

Best eco mod is to not modify your truck. No big 35” tire. No wide® wheels. Leave her stock. Throw the spare in the shed and drive in the middle lane where there is less speed transitions.

long trips usually get better mpg with mid grade gas. Depending on the pricing it might not be better cost per mile.


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[Grumpy Bear]

55 minutes ago, Waaazooo said:

Best eco mod is to not modify your truck. No big 35” tire. No wide® wheels. Leave her stock. Throw the spare in the shed and drive in the middle lane where there is less speed transitions.

long trips usually get better mpg with mid grade gas. Depending on the pricing it might not be better cost per mile.


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Now there's an idea.  

 

1 hour ago, mjm-1957 said:

No AFM on a 2500 6.0 gasser. No vacuum pump, no direct injection, just a bullet proof long lasting truck engine.

True and honestly I didn't take note of the forum. However I was pointing out the reason some 'believe' a healthy increase can be 'tuned' based on marketing. 

[Jdell85]

13 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Now there's an idea.  

 

True and honestly I didn't take note of the forum. However I was pointing out the reason some 'believe' a healthy increase can be 'tuned' based on marketing. 

Yeah it wants you to believe it’s going to do great things, but once I started looking nobody seemed to say what the increase was. 

[flyingfool]

you cant beat the OEM tune for mpg..  performance parts increase fuel consumption.  best  way to gain MPG's is DRAG reduction.  lighter rims and tires, low resistance tires, low viscosity oils in engine and diff.  high gearing.  lowered body,   remove mirrors,  install a giant tail cone for drag reduction or just drop the tail gate, .  highest octane fuel and NO alcohol  gas, race gas has way more highrocarbons and energy  that alone will yield 2 mpg's on a stock truck, recheck your aglignment for less road drag, delete cats for less back pressure, and  redesign your shift points, and keep it at 55 mph

Edited September 3, 2020 by flyingfool

[KARNUT]

I used tunes since they were available. I used them mostly for drivability. Firming shifts, increase shift points, raising RPMS, top speed and adding premium tune. Some had fuel mileage tunes available. I wasn’t looking for that.


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[aseibel]

1 hour ago, flyingfool said:

 install a giant tail cone for drag reduction or just drop the tail gate.

Mythbusters tested the tailgate down theory, as well as a hard tonneau cover. Result= no MPG improvement either way.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/g475/15-favorite-mythbusters-car-myths/?slide=7

 

Now a giant cone might help. It comes down to pushing a giant brick through the air, the problem is the front profile on trucks.

Edited September 3, 2020 by aseibel

[MaverickZ71]

10 minutes ago, aseibel said:

Mythbusters tested the tailgate down theory, as well as a hard tonneau cover. Result= no MPG improvement either way.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/g475/15-favorite-mythbusters-car-myths/?slide=7

 

Now a giant come might help. It comes down to pushing a giant brick through the air, the problem is the front profile on trucks.

Flying brick.  I like that!

[flyingfool]

19 minutes ago, aseibel said:

Mythbusters tested the tailgate down theory, as well as a hard tonneau cover. Result= no MPG improvement either way.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/g475/15-favorite-mythbusters-car-myths/?slide=7

 

Now a giant come might help. It comes down to pushing a giant brick through the air, the problem is the front profile on trucks.

do your own test..

i dont trust anything from popular mechanics,  remember they came up with the theory on how the Twin towers fell on 9-11 because the jet fuel melted the beams.  grain of salt my friend. 

use your scan tool and use the load graph  and do several passes on the freeway, tailgate down/up, 35, 55, 75 mph.  you'll find your answer

 

if frontal drag area is the issue , build a giant nose cone

Edited September 3, 2020 by flyingfool

[aseibel]

5 minutes ago, flyingfool said:

i dont trust anything from popular mechanics, 

Giant nose cone would help, it would suck to park in the garage though.

 

OK, you don't like popular mechanics, here's some more proof. Google is a wonderful tool. Time and again tests show no significant gains at best, or possible loss of economy at worst, with tailgates down.

maybe you should redo your tests. Simply put, the auto manufactures have to squeeze every ounce of economy out of vehicles to meet gov't requirements. Nothing we do to them is going to make significant improvements.

 

https://www.scangauge.com/tips-tricks/tailgate-updown-and-gas-mileage/

https://www.autoblog.com/2014/08/26/ford-f-150-tailgate-up-down-mpg-video/

https://removeandreplace.com/2015/07/28/does-a-pickup-truck-get-better-gas-mileage-with-the-tailgate-up-or-down/