looking at a 09 superduty 6.4L powerstroke

[crazyal]

It's turning out to be a world where you can no longer have just one vehicle that does everything. A 2wd Diesel for towing 3/4 ton+(unless you need 4wd) and heavy loads in the bed. A 4wd 1/2 ton gasser for normal use where you may be unloaded most of the time but at a moments notice you need to haul some lumber or trash to the dump. A nice 4dr midsize car to take trips in. And a econobox or motorcycle for local driving where you just need to get there the cheaper the better.

 

[westcliffe01]

These trucks are simply too heavy for commuting. You are going to burn a lot of fuel and wear out the brakes in stop and go conditions. I have a "daily driver" project which is a 93 Toyota 2wd. No-one makes a truck so light anymore. Sure the payload is not great, but thats the whole point. It is good enough to go to the hardware store and get 6 sheets of OSB or the drive to work every day.

I paid $1200 for it and will probably spend an equal amount fixing the bodywork, but then it should last me another 10 years. I can buy the entire frame from a nearby Toyota dealer for $1300 (new). The cab is tiny, an extended cab would have been better, but for whatever reason most I come across are regular cabs. I got 2 leather seats from an Audi TT for $250 which will be a lot nicer than the old bench seat. I'm pretty sure I will get mileage close to 30mpg with it. I had a Toyota motorhome and that got 14-16mpg, was over 10ft high and weighed 6200lb

In Africa and Argentina one can purchase small FWD pickups that get easily 50mpg and are fine as commuters:

 

[Diamondpilot]

These trucks are simply too heavy for commuting. You are going to burn a lot of fuel and wear out the brakes in stop and go conditions. I have a "daily driver" project which is a 93 Toyota 2wd. No-one makes a truck so light anymore. Sure the payload is not great, but thats the whole point. It is good enough to go to the hardware store and get 6 sheets of OSB or the drive to work every day.

I paid $1200 for it and will probably spend an equal amount fixing the bodywork, but then it should last me another 10 years. I can buy the entire frame from a nearby Toyota dealer for $1300 (new). The cab is tiny, an extended cab would have been better, but for whatever reason most I come across are regular cabs. I got 2 leather seats from an Audi TT for $250 which will be a lot nicer than the old bench seat. I'm pretty sure I will get mileage close to 30mpg with it. I had a Toyota motorhome and that got 14-16mpg, was over 10ft high and weighed 6200lb

In Africa and Argentina one can purchase small FWD pickups that get easily 50mpg and are fine as commuters:

Now that is ugly. Looks like a hatchback with the rear end cut off. Can you say El Camino or Ranchero all over again.

Chris

 

[westcliffe01]

Yep, its a Chevrolet/OPEL Corsa with a "tail". For someone who only tows a Jetski and does not haul a serious load, its a pretty practical solution. The styling is not too bad. They are light and can drive on the beach no problem. And with the low weight and car suspension they have fine handling too. I knew someone who had something similar from VW and we all worked at the same refinery project. Worked every second weekend, so once every 2 weeks one would have a weekend off and go "home" which was 300 miles away.

If one did that drive following all the speed limits (75mph mostly with mountain passes thrown in), it was a 4 hour drive. Now I will admit to having done it in 3 hours in a VW GTI and the record went to someone we knew with a BMW 328I at 2.75 hours or 109.1mph average speed. I personally chickened out at 130mph with cars in the opposite lane approaching at over 200mph, not the time for anything to go wrong or someone not to be paying attention.... Amazingly we did this twice a month for over 2 years and I never even got a speeding ticket.

Anyway, I guess I have strayed off the topic somewhat, but the jist of it that these smaller vehicles can be fun to drive and totally practical for ordinary people and housewives.

 

[Builder]

No offense taken. different strokes for different folks. I'm happy with mine but not everyone would be. I'm not as concerned about parts and what not for two reasons. First off I rarely keep a vehicle past its warranty period, secondly since the engine is made by International it's likely that parts will be available for quite some time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, buy the truck that you get the best value deal on and be happy. In test driving all of the trucks I didn't feel like there was a ton of difference in any of the areas that are most important and applicable to me, so I went with what I got the best value on. I really think that we're fortunate in owning trucks during a period where we have so many great products to choose from.

I agree with that philosophy. Drop the brand loyalty and buy what you think is the best truck at the time of purchase and you'll always do well. I know I did that in '07 when I bought my truck.

 

[jgrreed]

I don't own one, but I know a lot of others LOVE their Honda Ridgeline. Great mileage, drives well, comfortable, can tow jetski's/sleds, can fit plywood from Home Depot, etc. I had a Tacoma before my diesel. It was great, but a fuel pig considering it's capabilities (18-21 UK mpg). I've heard Nissan Titan's are the same way.

If I hadn't still been trying to impress girls when I bought the Tacoma, I'd have bought the Ridgeline.

-Jer.

 

[Soundguy]

The '08 - 2010's can be REAL lemons. Without chipping it, you should expect 10-11mpg (UK gallons, so more like 8-9 US gallons), and 4-5mpg towing. They are absolute pigs.

.

you sure about that 4-5mpg figure?

my 99 f450 with 7.3l PSD and 4.88 rear end wound up turning near 3000 rpm down the interstate doing 75mph towing a gooseneck loaded to 12000# gets 4.5 mpg.... drop down to 67mph and It goes to near 8-9 mpg

soundguy

 

[jgrreed]

you sure about that 4-5mpg figure?

my 99 f450 with 7.3l PSD and 4.88 rear end wound up turning near 3000 rpm down the interstate doing 75mph towing a gooseneck loaded to 12000# gets 4.5 mpg.... drop down to 67mph and It goes to near 8-9 mpg

soundguy

Positive. Hand calculated it over and over and over hoping that my math was wrong. It was an absolute disgrace. Ford should've been ashamed of themselves for putting those things on the road like that. I don't doubt that your '99 gets that mileage, the '07's did too. It was the DPF and the flow restriction that came with it that caused it. No DPF = reasonable mileage.

-Jer.

 

[JESSE1]

If the mileage was that bad, there's a problem with that particular truck. My '08 F-450 with 4.30 axles averages 12 mpg, interstate driving as high as 14, pulling a heavy trailer it will drop to 10 mpg. The 6.4 trucks don't get the mileage that the earlier trucks get or the new 6.7 but if the mileage is that low there's a restriction in the DPF that a regeneration is not cleaning out.

 

[jgrreed]

If the mileage was that bad, there's a problem with that particular truck. My '08 F-450 with 4.30 axles averages 12 mpg, interstate driving as high as 14, pulling a heavy trailer it will drop to 10 mpg. The 6.4 trucks don't get the mileage that the earlier trucks get or the new 6.7 but if the mileage is that low there's a restriction in the DPF that a regeneration is not cleaning out.

It regen'd fine - I could smell it everytime it happened. 2 friends bought the same truck at almost the same time, and had the same mileage. I know that an n = 3 isn't exactly a huge scientific study, but I did spend a lot of time on Powered by Determination, and there were many, many others that had the same experience.

Overall, mines been good to me, but only since I took it upon myself to tune it and remove the DPF.

I know what I got for mileage, I calculated it many, many painful times. I'm not going to say it again.

I'm just passing on my experience to those considering a '08 - '10 6.4L......be careful, you're taking a chance.

-Jer.

 

[JESSE1]

I wonder if you were getting Low sulfur diesel instead of Ultra low sulfur diesel. Anything other than ULSD will cause all sorts of problems with the DPF.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I wonder if you were getting Low sulfur diesel instead of Ultra low sulfur diesel. Anything other than ULSD will cause all sorts of problems with the DPF.

Yea, just does not make the sniff test. The 6.4 was not nearly as good as the 6.0 but I never head of one getting less than 10 mpg and no lower than 8 mpg pulling. When I say pulling I am not talking some of the Micky Mouse stuff some diesel owners claim are loads. The guys I know pull 12,000# with diesels as a minimum and loads twice that with F-350's. Heck, my Uncles V-10 F-350 4x4 with 4.30 gears gets 6 mpg pulling 25,000# behind it at 55-60 mph. We have had it down as low as 3 mpg messing around being rough on it. Makes his stomach turn knowing the gas money comes out of his wallet.

Chris

 

[westcliffe01]

Didn't ya hear that at -60 the air gets as thick as soup up there in the frozen north ? I have to say that if I were to get 6 mpg, I would be writing to CAFE and the EPA after I had exhausted correspondence with the dealer and Ford. I have a ~1300 mile overland trip coming up in the one I am buying and I will let you know how it does. According to the scan the dealer did, it had a lifetime mpg of 11.5 and it has spent a substantial part of its life towing gooseneck trailers.

 

[Soundguy]

If the mileage was that bad, there's a problem with that particular truck. My '08 F-450 with 4.30 axles averages 12 mpg, interstate driving as high as 14, pulling a heavy trailer it will drop to 10 mpg. The 6.4 trucks don't get the mileage that the earlier trucks get or the new 6.7 but if the mileage is that low there's a restriction in the DPF that a regeneration is not cleaning out.

that 4.88 arear nd the fact that my 99 doesn't have a tow option ( only overdrive disengage ).. and the trans it has means I turn just inside the safe limits of rpm to make 75mph... that's where my fuel economy goes. My 04 F250 has the tow/haul option, higher gear rear end ( 3.73 ) and better trans option ).. and it makes better milage loaded.. mid you I only pull a 16' trailer and can only get leaded to 7k with it... makes 12-13 in that config..

soundguy

 

[Brokermike]

I have an 08 Crew Cab Short Box, King Ranch, lifted turning 35s and still get 12-13mpg commuting 35 miles round trip each day. Fully loaded, towing, in 4 wheel drive in the snow I get down to 8 or 9 mpg. On the highway on a trip I easily get 15-16. Those numbers are winter blend numbers, they improve slightly in the summer. That said, I'm considering getting a commuter car

 

[bozowise]

I've been averaging around 14 mpg unloaded with a mix of city and highway driving on my 2010 F250 with the 6.4 liter Powestroke. When keeping the speed to a max of 70 mph I got about 18.5 mpg on the highway. Those are hand calculated mileage numbers too. The engine just hit 1,000 miles so those numbers are likely to improve a little bit after a little more break in. The 6.4 is a real hot rod if you want it to be, but if you drive it like a truck and not a drag racer you can get reasonable fuel economy. Do your best to keep the boost at 10 psi or less when accelerating and you'll probably like the fuel economy numbers.

Those numbers are near identical to our 09 crew cab 4x4 6.4L

I can get 20 if I wanted to drive 65, but would rather pay for extra fuel.

 

[Soundguy]

wow.. 20.. I guess rolling down hill with the engine off I might get 20..

soundguy

 

[Diamondpilot]

wow.. 20.. I guess rolling down hill with the engine off I might get 20..

soundguy

Actually Soundguy, my 06 6.0L F-350 SRW 4x4 will do high 23's on the highway. I drive by the tach and at 1,900 rpm, the sweet spot for the 6L from everything I have read, is where it does the best. I do have it chipped, 4" exhaust, and a different intake. My 04 F-250 4x4 is equipped the same but does about 1 mpg less. It has smaller tires so I think thats where the difference is. My 05 Dmax I had for a short time would do 20mpg at about 60mph with no mods.

Chris

 

[nickadi]

I have a 09 Dodge with the 390hp Hemi and if I stay off the gas pedal, which is really hard to do, I can easily get 20+ on the highway. Now around town I only get about 15 or so. I have never hauled anything heavier than a couple of steers in horse trailer, and still got 14 or 15. This is my first Dodge and I love it. Although I am going with Ford for my next truck, just because of the no bailout stance they took.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a 09 Dodge with the 390hp Hemi and if I stay off the gas pedal, which is really hard to do, I can easily get 20+ on the highway. Now around town I only get about 15 or so. I have never hauled anything heavier than a couple of steers in horse trailer, and still got 14 or 15. This is my first Dodge and I love it. Although I am going with Ford for my next truck, just because of the no bailout stance they took.

Thats excellent for a gas engine. I had a 2500 4x4 Hemi and it would not do better than 12mpg no matter what you are doing and pulling it was down to 8mpg. I think it had 3.92 gears but I can not be certain of that.

Good call on the Ford.:thumbsup:


Chris