DownTheAvenue wrote:
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
In other words: If you have a 500 HP diesel pickup and you only use 100 HP, it will only burn 100 HP worth of fuel. If you're WOT, you will burn 500 HP worth of fuel.
This is an over simplification and actually not correct. Anyone with a degree in automotive engineering will tell you you that fuel consumption is only one component of power output of any internal combustion engine, regardless of fuel type, method of fuel delivery, or combustion attribute (spark, internal or external heat).
That's been my experience too. When I had a little 4-cylinder gasser pickup, I could get 25 mpg when empty while driving over the mountains but was in single digits when towing 5000 lbs. This was an engine with 121 hp and 149 lb-ft which by your explanation should have been getting better mileage while towing because of the limited power it created.
