Diesel fuel penalty

rhagfo wrote:

ejfranz wrote:

Terryallan wrote:


Don't know about the MPG, But on the down hill. Gas has got diesels beat. They already hold back the truck and trailer. All you got to do. Is drop down thru the gear box.
Diesels have to add some sort of brake (trany, Exhaust, engine) to make a diesel do what a gas engine does naturally. With out some sort of add on. A diesel just free wheels down a hill, in ANY gear. I understand many manufacturers are putting them in their truck either as a option, or in some cases standard equipment. It should be required.

I can come down from Blowing Rock, 7 miles of 6 to 7% grade, with sharp curves and hardly touch the brakes.

???????

In a gas truck you gear down and hope you don't blow the motor by over revving it coming down or up a step grade. Have you ever driven a diesel? Exhaust breaks are added to diesel to pull loads you can only dream of pulling with a gasser.

The trailer he is holding back only MAX 7,000# more likely south of 6,000#. My Cummins did fine without an EB with our 1st 5er at 8,000# and 7,500# of truck.
Yep an EB is an add on, but having a turbo mounted on on an engine with 17 to 1 compression is a lot of Whoa!

Terryallan, your whole rig likely weighs about as much as just my 11,000# 5er.

Our truck had a turbo, Ain't that what the big whistle is coming from under the hood???. No engine braking at all. Just free wheeling. First time down the mountain. I stopped at the truck brake check at the top. Then started down. Speed limit 35. It was picking up speed so fast I couldn't keep up with changing the gears. Saw 3000 on the tach. Truck hit the governors at 2800. Driver teacher said. You better do as I say, or you ain't gonna make the runoff ramp. So I laid on the brakes, and got it slowed down, and listened real close to what he said the rest of the way down. Have never forgot what I learned that day. And have never smoked any brakes. But until that day. I never knew that diesels had no compression on the back side. Plenty on the front. Big hole on the back. So you can imagine my surprise when I dropped the clutch in 3rd gear, and nothing happened. I remember it like it was yesterday. But it was really nearly 30 years ago. After that, We ran all over the US from coast to coast, over the Rockies, and the Blue Ridge with no Jake. We made it cause he knew how, and taught me.

Y'all can do what you want. But when I next drive a diesel. It's gonna have some sort of engine braking added to it.

BTW. While the Rockies are higher. They are no tougher than the Blue Ridge. Seems they are less twisty. On the big roads anyway.

And truly weight is relative. You can smoke the brakes with an empty truck as fast as you can with a loaded truck. Shoot, You can smoke the brakes on a car if you try to come down in Overdrive. Seen it.