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Maxtor

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2250 rpm = 78.5 mph= 17.24 mpg

Hey Kleetus,,, took a 251 mile trip and kept it at 80 mph approximately 2250 rpm, and mileage went down from 18.5 to 17.24 so 2000 rpms is what my truck likes.
With the manual trans, it keeps the speed up with no problem. I went up to Mt Shasta that has many 6% grades, and I left it in overdrive, and it did not slow down any. These small economy cars were passing me going down hill, but when we went up the grades, here they came back to me. I just left it on cruise control at 80 mph. Only dropped out of cruise a couple of times to make 55 mph turns through the canyon. Also here in Calif. on I 5 the speed limit is 65-70 mph, so doing 80 keeps your eyes moving for the CHP.
 

W4RLR

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oi8228oi said:
wish i had a open strecth that i could cruise at 70... oh well with my dually i am going close to 70 at 2k think i have 4.10 but i was told they might be 4.56's
Move to the rural South. There are plenty of places that you can go 70+. On certain stretches of I-10, the traffic runs 75-80. And the FHP will pass all of that traffic so long as people aren't making arses of themselves with aggressive driving.
 

WD40

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Ray, back when speed limits was 55 MPH I drove a freight truck that would run 62 to 63 and a MS State Trooper passed me in the right lane and got on his CB and Said Saia, get out of the left lane, Your truck an't fast enough for that lane. Now you know you are driving a slow truck when you are doing all you can do and a cop says you are to slow. LOL:roflmao :roflmao
So driving slow didn't help my mpg's that much
 
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jharvey

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Just changed fuel and air filters in my '06 this weekend, turned 33k miles and am happy to report I don't know what my mpg is right now. It had been sitting at 18-19 hwy and 15-17 city. I live in Atlanta and run the Atlanta 500 everyday (I-285) so 75-80 is the norm there.

WD-40---I got a ticket coming down the Grapevine for going TOO SLOW???? CHP said I was impedeing the flow of traffic, I said I'm just following company rules thank you sir. Got to the bottom and low and behold there were 8-10 Big Rigs ALL being inspected something about the smell of brakes :D
 

Kleetus

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Here's a question for you guys... what tire sizes are you running? I have the plain 17 inch, and my tires look small under the truck. I just picked up a set of 18's with the 275 continentals on them, (for $425) that look a lot better. They are a bit bigger, and I wonder if that is helping the final drive ratio...
 

powerboatr

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whatabudro said:
I get better mileage using my foot, so the cruise doesn't floor it to make the grade at exact speed. I stay under 2000 rpm also when I can.

or if your rig has the right HP or gears, IDM :D :roflmao it never floors it to keep up

2000 rpm for us is a hazard to navigation
now 2500ish we be running 70 or so and get a whopping 15 :sweet on cruise
 

Maxtor

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18" wheels

I have 18" wheels on my truck. I think that most of the 2006 trucks came stock with 18" wheels and continental tires. I just turned 4000 miles and the tires still look good. If you are doing 2500 rpm at 70 mph, your differential or tire size is a lot different than 3.73 and 18 inch wheels. My truck at 70 mph looks to be a tick below 2000 rpm. 6 spd manual.
 

Kleetus

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I'm going to have to look... I'm thinking I might have a slightly deeper rear end, effectively anyway, than those of you with the 18 inch rims. I'd be willing to bet I can pull harder, but I might be giving up mileage because of it.
 

Maxtor

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Final drive ratio

Your final drive ratio is dependent on what your differential gear is, trasmission (if you have overdrive), and the diameter of your tires.
Example:

3.73 (diff) X .72 (overdrive trans)= 2.6856 final drive ratio
Tire dia. 32 inches
mph=71.49
rpm= 2000

If any of you want a quick simple program to get
rpm
tire size
gearing
speed
let me know and I will send you the program via email attachment. If you know three of the four, the program will give you the fourth value.
The program is free.
 
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