Will a 10 mile commute kill a diesel?

N-Trouble wrote:

bmanning wrote:

transamz9 wrote:

bmanning wrote:

Me Again wrote:

campingken wrote:
On the Olympic Peninsula in WA diesel is 30% more expensive than gas so that more than offsets the additional 15% better MPG of the diesel. Don't buy one to save money because you won't.

Diesels do like to me driven hard but don't put the pedal to the metal when you first start driving it. Putting the 10 - 12 quarts of oil that is sitting in the pan under extreme pressure is not a wise move.

Gasbuddy for Sequim

QFC
Gas 3.299 Diesel 3.849 or 16.7 percent more.

Chevron on 101
Gas 3.299 Diesel 3.799 or 15.2 percent more.

Safeway
Gas 3.369 Diesel 3.919 or 16.3 percent more.

Don't know how you came up with 30 percent?

Chris(who grew up in PA)

I've come to think that, at current fuel prices, it's pretty much a wash between gas & diesel when it comes to keeping it fed.

Example: my F250 gets about 12mpg running around town; let's assume I'm paying Safeway prices at $3.37/gal. At $3.92/gal for diesel, a diesel owner getting ~14mpg is spending the same on fuel.

I've read some (very honest) reports here of diesel owners getting around that figure (14) in-town. Of course, some of you get better, some perhaps a bit worse if your weapon of choice is a loaded 4x4 diesel dually with deep gears.

Even towing the spread isn't huge. Let's say my 5.4L got 8mpg towing a particular load. That'd be the equivalent of a diesel earning about 9.3mpg.

Funny, this can be spun a couple of different directions. The gasser guy can say, "See! There's little to no fuel savings with diesel!" whereas the diesel guy can say "I get twice the torque but spend the same on fuel!"

That all depends on the two engines you are comparing. There are gas motors that do better than the numbers you said in your post but there are also diesels that do better. Mine does ~18 (I've seen 17 and I've seen 19.5 on hand calculated tanks) in my town driving. I'm driving a Tundra 5.7 right now at work that's running in the 15 range. The 6.2 F250 we have is around 12.

No question, all comes down to the 2 being compared; I was just speaking in general terms. In your case, you have a great model year of the 5.9L for economy/power balance and a gasser would need to return about ~15.5mpg to match your fuel expenditure at ~18mpg (again using $3.37/gal for 87oct and $3.92/gal for diesel).

Who cares... All you guys are comparing what amounts to mice nuts when your talking a $40-50k truck. Choosing between gas/diesel should be based on towing needs, not nickel/diming fuel costs.

Congrats my friend, you clearly have a lot more money than I do! Fuel costs are a part of my monthly budget projections and have been pretty much since gas hit $3/gal plus some years back.

In the past I've run a small business and tracking every penny is still in my blood even though I'm a 9-to-5er now.