Diesel MPG decreasing..

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Ray

Dsel is running 3.39-3.49 in Los Angeles, 3.49-3.69 in San Luis Obispo and 3.29-3.49 in Cntral Calif valley.
I actually was thinking Rio Grande Valley but it's interesting to see diesel in California isn't any worse than it is here. I was thinking the west coast was considerably higher. Thanks for the info.
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Price of Diesel in OKC currently $3.06 - $3.29, depending on which rip-off you choose! Rural OK prices from $3.11 - $3.21. Bad thing is - 'they' have charged so much for so long, we start to believe that $3.00 a gallon for diesel is a 'good' thing! Bummer!
 
Talked to the guys at the Ford Powerstroke display at the Tampa RV Show. They said the biggest problem with diesels right now is the fuel. They recommended using cetane booster (Motorcraft of course) to boost the cetane level and lubricity. Said is not necessary every tank of fuel. Also said that it will only boost cetane to a certain level, I think the number was in low 40's.

It does seem like my injector noise is less when I use it.

They also said that the way the new Ford 6.4 is built to reduce emissions is the reason the mileage is less than the older engines. Takes more fuel to burn cleaner.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Ray, diesel prices in the RGV are $3.12 on up. When we came here the prices were around $2.89 Across the border diesel is somewhere around $2.60 but I do not know the exact price.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
You know, the fuel suppliers know that we'll scream when they raise the prices but are happy when they lower them again. The problem is, they never go back down to where they were before. When I bought my diesel truck, the price was around $1.25 a gallon and lower than gasoline prices. Prices have risen to a high (here) of $3.40 a gallon, so now we are happy to find diesel for $3.10 a gallon and diesel is higher than gas.

My friends that work in the refineries tell me that diesel is one of the first things cut out of crude oil in the refining process, and are basically by-products, so why is it higher? Oh yeah, it's because Exxon made $1,200 an hour (24/7) in profit in the last quarter.
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
You know, the fuel suppliers know that we'll scream when they raise the prices but are happy when they lower them again. The problem is, they never go back down to where they were before. When I bought my diesel truck, the price was around $1.25 a gallon and lower than gasoline prices. Prices have risen to a high (here) of $3.40 a gallon, so now we are happy to find diesel for $3.10 a gallon and diesel is higher than gas.

My friends that work in the refineries tell me that diesel is one of the first things cut out of crude oil in the refining process, and are basically by-products, so why is it higher? Oh yeah, it's because Exxon made $1,200 an hour (24/7) in profit in the last quarter.

Yes, all true, just like the fairy tales about loaded tankers waiting offshore for the prices to rise. The increased demands in growing industrialized nations like India and China are all products of the oil-industry controlled media propaganda machine. Never mind demand curves and supply curves (we haven't built a new refinery in the United States in over 25 years). It's all a plot ...

Funny how these conspiracy theories don't apply to dot.coms which produced nothing and had no hard assets but generated thousands of multimillionaires. How about real estate prices in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and NYC which have VASTLY exceeded petroleum product price growth in the past 50 yrs? Where's the outrage for these? How about Microsoft? Dell?

Geez. Only in the past two years have petroleum product prices exceeded the inflation adjusted prices of THIRTY years ago! People pay $5 for 8oz of Starbucks coffee but scream about $3/gal for motion lotion. Want to know why diesel is more than gas ... because the demand outstrips the supply. How many of you drove or knew anybody that drove diesel pickups 25 yrs ago? Not many, because they were very rare and almost were almost exclusively used in commercial applications.

Demand vs supply. Economics 101.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Not trying to be an oil company advocate but I have been told that diesel fuel prices rise going into the winter and falls in the summer due to the demand on that cut of fuel for home heating oil in the winter.

Why they did not come down last summer to the levels we expected.......I cannot say.

On a positive note, Al Gore will be pleased that I will be driving a Prius come this Saturday. I'll be offsetting my carbon foot print from when I tow my trailer with my diesel truck :) Just doing my part Al. Maybe he'll share his prize with me :D
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Maybe you can offset Al's private jet that burns more on one leg than you'll burn in a year in all of your vehicles.

Your point about heating oil is very true. Kerosene, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel and similar density products come from the same refinery cut. Heating oil is seasonal and makes a substantial difference since the current demand for these products essentially matches the available supply. There's no slack in the system any longer and the new ultra-low sulfur diesel also has had a huge impact in the supply side.

No wait ... it's a conspiracy ... my bad.
 
Last edited:

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Well, to his credit Al has recently installed some solar panels. But there is NO way anybody can characterize his carbon footprint as anything other than "BigFoot".
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Some of these folks are about to get a rapid education in Economics 101. If they think they can dictate the supply or the demand curve, they're about to get a secondary, and somewhat rude, lesson in American politics. They might want to take note of Iran which is awash in crude and has but ONE refinery in the entire country. So there is a, gasp :eek:, gasoline shortage with rationing in Iran. All the oil in the world doesn't count for Jack if you can't convert it into usable product. Think your mileage sucks now? Try filling the tank with crude oil.
 

Gary Steeves

Well-known member
I e-mailed Chevrolet and received a personal call back the same day. They stated that Chevrolet does not recommend using additives. With that said, Chevrolet also has a memo that was sent in 2003 that states they do not recommend additives, but if you use one, Stanadyne and Racor were mentioned as ones that are alcohol free (which is important).

My personal belief (I am certainly NOT an authority) is that the Duramax is warranted for 100,000 miles, so I am not going to put anything in the fuel and chance Chevrolet not honoring a warranty claim due to a foreign substance in the fuel. I do not live nor drive in the extreme cold, so my situation is probably very different than others.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
I made a run up to the Dallas area yesterday to see the new grandson and got 19.3 mpg. That's down from the 21 I used to get when I used the truck for my daily driver to work.
 

Delaine and Lindy

Well-known member
Just my opinion, but anytime you have a fuel mileage problem, I would change the fuel filter. I carry a extra fuel filter in the tool box at all times, you can get bad fuel at anytime and anyplace. ULSD is getting less mileage and all the new model Trucks with the new DPF systems are get less mpg. I also don't believe in adding any thing to the fuel. But if it makes you feel better do it. I think its a total waste of money, but again some people believe that it helps. I have owned 7 Diesel Trucks and haven't used any additives. I also don't believe you have to put a gadget on a Duramax Diesel engine to get more HP or better fuel mileage, again thats just my opinion, heck I have 360 hp now why would I need more. Change your fuel filter, its the cheapest thing to do first. Good Luck. GBY....

The above is all just my opinion, if you disagree thats great:). I LOVE this Country.................. :D
 
Top