Forum Discussion
Gdetrailer
Apr 07, 2019Explorer III
My comments below in red..
Tacky wrote:
Hi Shawfamily6. I do know a lot about GM trucks, I used to work for their Technical Assistance Center. That 2500, with the 6.0 V8 has a lot of pull, but is not known for good gas mileage. The 4:10 axle gives you even more pull, but less mileage. Still, 6 mpg is pretty low.
I concur, decent and enough engine to get the job done and 4:10 axle does help the cause for towing although can rob you of some mileage if you are routinely stomping the go pedal when towing.
Yes, your 6 speed transmission does have OD, I think both 5th and 6th gears are overdrive gears. Probably you don't get into 6th while towing with tow/haul on.
Technically, the manufacturers DO NOT CONSIDER 5 and 6 as "OVERDRIVE" in a 6 speed transmission, yes there IS SOME extra "gearing ratio" ABOVE 1:1 but in reality not all that much to write home about.. That extra gearing above 1:1 SHOULD NOT be a problem for the 6.0 EVEN WHEN TOWING!!!, Especially when combined with 4:10 axle, this is not a 5.3 engine nor is it a 6 cylinder..
What I would suggest, is to keep speed a little lower, and try putting the transmission into manual and put it in probably 5th gear, and see how that does.
Speed LOWER, YES, however that does not seem to be the issue here, if I remember correctly OP IS towing WELL UNDER 70 MPH (55-65?)..
Transmission in "manual"??? HECK NO, that IS one of the DUMBEST MYTHS that just keeps getting brought back from the dead by folks who just won't give up the old manual "handshaker is better" mentality.
To that mentality I say GET OVER IT, manual transmissions have gone out of existence like the dinosaurs, 8 track tapes, cassette tapes, analog TV and many other old out of date things that used to be the way of life.
The truth is, the last few years that real manual transmissions were offered in trucks the manufacturers DERATED the towing capacity.. Automatic transmissions were rated higher towing capacity and they are here to stay.
The manufacturers ARE SMARTER than most folks who feel they are better shifting than how the manufacturers programed the automatics to shift. These newer transmissions can detect and adapt faster to changing conditions and have one big advantage of being directly fed information on the engines operating condition..
Your "manual" button is only a MAKE BELIEVE "manual", back in the 60's and 70's it would be actually referred to as a "semi automatic" mode (automatic transmission without a valve body to automatically shift and no manual clutch). Engine computer is not going to let you over rev or do something that will damage the transmission or engine, it will throttle your engine back.
Put the stupid thing IN DRIVE and forget about the manual button.
Tow/haul is nice, and I use it most of the time on my truck, but it seems more concerned with giving you maximum tow power, and less concerned with mileage.
Tow/haul should be concerned with maximizing your tow power, it basically is running your engine inside the max power band which puts the absolute max of your EFFICIENCY down to the road surface. More power gets to the road the less wasted power elsewhere.. In doing so it CAN actually IMPROVE your mileage over not running Tow/haul.
As mentioned before, Tow/haul alters the shifting strategy, it does also alter the torque converter lockup strategy, these ARE EXTREMELY GOOD THINGS and you are basically poo-pooing it..
Tow/Haul also enables automatic hill decent downshifting, this feature in it's self should be something that everyone is taking advantage of. You do not have to do anything and it will automatically downshift down hill so you don't need to stand on your brakes.. If you feel you need to slow down more, just tap the brake pedal and it downshifts to the next lower gear.. Much nicer than having to manually downshift and much safer.
POWER EFFICIENCY IS KEY TO BEST MILEAGE, LESS LOST POWER DUE TO HEATING UP YOUR TRANSMISSION AND TORQUE CONVERTER.
Speed is the enemy of fuel mileage.
OP ISN'T SPEEDING so why keep bring this up?
However, if OP is trying to stomp on it at every stop light they WILL take a massive hit to the mileage.. Nice and easy on rolling from stop lights will vastly improve gas mileage.. Forcing it to get up to speed from a stop light just vacuums out the gas tank..
Pretend there is a egg between your foot and gas pedal, you WILL see a vast improvement in mileage.. OP is not towing a popup anymore in this case so it takes time to get back to speed, takes some time to adapt to the bigger and heavier trailer in tow. What the OP did when towing a popup, no longer applies to a big, heavy cement block.
I can tow at 70, but the mileage is lousy. Way better at 60-63 mph. That said, it is shocking how poor the fuel mileage is when towing a travel trailer.
My mileage as I mentioned is 9.5-10.1 hand calculated and have no issue getting that running 70 MPH speed limits. Main reason I do get decent mileage is I use a LIGHT foot on the go pedal when getting up to speed.
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