Tahoe diesel claims 80k payoff in diesel fuel economy

[arto98607]

For sure I am convinced now.

 

[Hay Dude]

Assume this is based on what was on the lot? Mine is a 2020, LT, $53,120 sticker. i suspect once you get as far as a Denali you can't go without too many options. monroney lists Z71, All star edition, diesel, convenience package 2, and brake controller which is exactly the build i wanted. was lucky that they could get this next day in a dealer swap at under 100 miles away. I added floor mats, bed mat, mud flaps, step tubes and a tonneau, so it wasn't everything i wanted when it arrived, but everything that should be pre-installed.



not exaggerated at all. hand calc'd the first 15-ish tanks to compare. i did a thread on it here back when i got it. without digging back to find the thread, I got equal or higher by the hand calculation pretty much every tank when compared to the on-board meter. GM does a "best 50 mpg" on one of the dash widgets. my best 50 is 37.2mpg. i fall of the 30 pace in the winter, course, i start and pre-heat 10 minutes daily, and we're on winter blend here. no way to tell if that makes a real difference or not since there are so many other factors too - temp & starting way early. it's also near impossible to perfectly fill to the same point every time, but when you go multiple tanks in a row at 30, then you're pretty confident. I only got over 31 one time, and it was followed by a 29.x, so i can't really say i got 31 for certain. could have been a fill difference.

Relatively speaking, how much acceleration does it have? Is it ever lacking or feeling like it doesnt have the get up and go you want when you need it?

 

[Randy Gann]

My 99 F250 7.3 also gets around 16mpg on Hwy when not towing. Towing my 36 foot 5th wheel a little over 10,000 lbs it gets between 10 and 11 mpg depending on terrain and speed. Had a smaller lower profile 5th wheel less than 9000 lbs and got 12mpg towing. My son has a 2017 or 18 Ford Transit Van. It’s the 15 passenger high top version. Handicap conversion. It has a 3.2 liter in line 5 cylinder diesel. He says he gets 24mpg on the Hwy. That seems reasonable as the engine is only 3.2L and 185 hp but with 350 ft-lbs torque with 90% of torque between 1500-2500 rpm.

 

[lostcause]

Relatively speaking, how much acceleration does it have? Is it ever lacking or feeling like it doesnt have the get up and go you want when you need it?

if you try to stand on it and stay on it from a standing stop i suspect you might be disappointed because being a small diesel you could get yourself out of the power band and do little but make revs with no gain. however, if you come out of the gate reasonably and don't put it on the floor, once you get rolling slightly and shift a couple gears, the mid-range acceleration is really nice. once you see the tach drop you can stand on it to about half throttle and it won't downshift and you can feel it really pull pretty hard. it's rated a 7.0 seconds 0-60 - never tried it myself. some of my hesitation to stand on the pedal comes from having owned a few diesels now. this thing will accelerate hard throught the mid range without any revs to speak of. whenever i hear someone with a gas engine i cringe a little at those 3000-4000 rpm runs. even towing i have not been disappointed by the ability to accelerate. we're only talking up to 7k max tows here, but it is able to come out of a corner or go up a hill with no concerns while towing.

last vehicle was a colorado with the 2.8 diesel, and it was a good vehicle, but the 3.0 has it over the 2.8 in all areas. i get almost 2mpg better economy, and have a lot more pulling power. i did prefer the ride of the colorado - the full size is more like driving my couch while the colorado was more responsive and sport-like when driving empty. My previous full size was a 2006 2500hd with a 6.0/4l80e. i feel the 3.0 diesel has better power all across the usable range than the 6.0 gas did - on paper the 6.0 only bests the 3.0 when you get to max rpm, and who drives it there? i certainly prefer the 2500's suspension when towing a load, but the 1500 diesel power is better in my mind, and i don't tow big loads.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

With ICE vehicles on their way out for todays sin of consuming fossil fuels, the Tahoe does offer a nice alternative.
Car & Driver reviews show 27MPG on sustained 75MPH trip. Diesel upgrade price not as dramatic as thought. Pretty impressive for a large SUV. They claim payoff at 80K. Less if you drive more highway miles
Article about 2 years old, but still not bad.

Tested: 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Impresses with Diesel Power

Chevy's redesigned Tahoe makes a great home for General Motors's light-duty Duramax diesel six.

www.caranddriver.com

A friend of mine bought a pickup with that diesel engine and he says stopping for fuel is like a long-haul trucker.

Me: I'm waiting for the first ground-up, purpose-built as an EV pick-up truck by people who've been making pick-ups for years. Started thinking about this when I started seeing Teslas with hundreds of thousands of miles (because let's face it: trucks tend to get retired when their drivetrains fail, not because of ratted-out suspension and steering bits).

 

[lostcause]

 

[RjCorazza]

On the matter of computer reported mpg and calculated mpg, over the past 50k Miles my truck computer mpg is within 0.1 mpg of the actual calculated values (average of each fuel up).

 

[lostcause]

A friend of mine bought a pickup with that diesel engine and he says stopping for fuel is like a long-haul trucker.

Me: I'm waiting for the first ground-up, purpose-built as an EV pick-up truck by people who've been making pick-ups for years. Started thinking about this when I started seeing Teslas with hundreds of thousands of miles (because let's face it: trucks tend to get retired when their drivetrains fail, not because of ratted-out suspension and steering bits).

frankly, i'm not responsible enough for an electric vehicle. what do you do when you get up in the morning and realize you didn't plug it in the night before? i've forgot to fuel up before and had to grab 5 gallons from the shed before I left for work, or maybe i had just enough to make it to work or a fuel station, but not enough for the round trip? wish i didn't forget stuff, but occasionally i do. also, how to do you take it on a trip? i've done 800-1k miles in a day in a truck. not sure what you can get on a charge, but i'm thinking that a full size truck won't do anywhere near half that.

 

[Hay Dude]

frankly, i'm not responsible enough for an electric vehicle. what do you do when you get up in the morning and realize you didn't plug it in the night before? i've forgot to fuel up before and had to grab 5 gallons from the shed before I left for work, or maybe i had just enough to make it to work or a fuel station, but not enough for the round trip? wish i didn't forget stuff, but occasionally i do. also, how to do you take it on a trip? i've done 800-1k miles in a day in a truck. not sure what you can get on a charge, but i'm thinking that a full size truck won't do anywhere near half that.

Imagine same scenario and you need your EV to rush someone to a hospital, help a neighbor, etc.

 

[dodge man]

I think a lot of people don’t understand all the factors that go into fuel economy. Winds, using the air conditioner, bad roads, your speed, driving in town or out on open highways, all affect your fuel mileage.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I think a lot of people don’t understand all the factors that go into fuel economy. Winds, using the air conditioner, bad roads, your speed, driving in town or out on open highways, all affect your fuel mileage.

And having the fuel tank to the exact same level before and after the run. I know on all my Superduties I've owned the fuel station pump will shutoff but another 3 gallons can be pumped in before fuel is actually visible down in the filler hose.

Every vehicle I have owned or rented that had MPG readout, the vehicle computed mpg was always higher than the actual hand calculated value, usually by 10-15%. This is across various Ford's and Chevy's, haven't owned or rented any Dodge/Ram/Chrysler vehicles.

 

[dodge man]

I had a Dodge with a Cummins that would also take a few gallons after it shut off the first. Diesels seem to do that but not gas powered vehicles. Some of that could be the foaming of diesel I see.

My F150 seems like the mpg meter is spot on or within 1/2 mpg. I have had some vehicles that are off up to 1 mpg.

 

[TxSteveS]

I reset it every time I fill up and watch it religiously. It’s honest. Maybe your friends dog it too much! I drive 2 hours up into the mountains almost all highway 55-70mph (5500-8600 ft elevation gain total) then back down. That is 23 mpg. I do it every week.

When I lived in Denver and had my old Ford 7.3 diesel, the best mileage I got was driving in the mountains. I gained more coasting downhill then I lost going uphill.

That probably has a lot to do with it.

 

[TxSteveS]

Something else to keep in mind is that 3.0 GM diesel requires an oil pump replacement at 150k miles. That requires dropping the transmission (and transfer case of 4wd).

Gonna be expensive.

 

[Hay Dude]

Something else to keep in mind is that 3.0 GM diesel requires an oil pump replacement at 150k miles. That requires dropping the transmission (and transfer case of 4wd).

Gonna be expensive.

I didnt see where they said it was “required”. I did see where they said 150,000 was the minimum time for replacement and some may go much longer before needing replacement.

 

[Jchonline]

When I lived in Denver and had my old Ford 7.3 diesel, the best mileage I got was driving in the mountains. I gained more coasting downhill then I lost going uphill.

That probably has a lot to do with it.

Regardless, im still getting 23!

 

[arto98607]

Something else to keep in mind is that 3.0 GM diesel requires an oil pump replacement at 150k miles. That requires dropping the transmission (and transfer case of 4wd).

Gonna be expensive.

I bet it will be expensive to replace - not only the oil pump but I predict the "wet belt", high pressure fuel pump chain and the long camshaft timing chain will also get replaced at the same.
According to the Engineering guy in the video, the "service of the wet belt is not that difficult" & no service required for the timing chain!

Sounds like the engine oil pump is designed for maybe 150,000 + - ? miles, after which the oil pan and transmission will have to be removed.


Looks like a fine engine but sorry not for me!


This is the back of the engine:

 

[Hay Dude]

Probably best to ask a shop that has done a few to give you an estimated cost. It may not happen until 200,000 miles. Also have to subtract cost for oil pump replacement on other engines. I replaced oil pump and timing chain on my gas Tahoe at 180K.
If Tahoe diesel pays off at 75K or less, then another 75K it is money ahead. Even if it goes the minimum 150K and needs belt, thats a lot of gas money saved, but the belt may go 200K?
If Tahoe diesel goes 200K on OEM belt, then 100-125K ahead of gas On fuel savings?

 

[MinnesotaEric]

frankly, i'm not responsible enough for an electric vehicle. what do you do when you get up in the morning and realize you didn't plug it in the night before? i've forgot to fuel up before and had to grab 5 gallons from the shed before I left for work, or maybe i had just enough to make it to work or a fuel station, but not enough for the round trip? wish i didn't forget stuff, but occasionally i do. also, how to do you take it on a trip? i've done 800-1k miles in a day in a truck. not sure what you can get on a charge, but i'm thinking that a full size truck won't do anywhere near half that.

I can still use my gasser truck that is worthless to trade in because it has over 100K and over ten years on it. Or the AWD car if it isn't too deep of snow. its not like I'm running out of parking space. No, no, my problem has always been a lack of a shop.

Imagine same scenario and you need your EV to rush someone to a hospital, help a neighbor, etc.

The EVs are faster than gassers. In fact, I'm really impressed with the EV heavy equipment but wish their prices were lower. Here is a blog that gives and overview of our potential future.

Electric Dreams: Will Heavy Construction Equipment Go All-Electric?

Electric Dreams: Will Heavy Construction Equipment Go All-Electric?

www.constructconnect.com

 

[mikester]

My 7.3 f350 dually gets about the same. But I rarely drive it for in town trips, most of it's mileage is with towing a trailer between Alexandria, Va and Fulton, Ms. I got the big truck to do work, not carry groceries.

Most guys drive the big trucks with one person in the cab and nothing in the box.

Maybe thats why they also buy pickups with 4 foot beds aka 4WD minivan with an outdoor cargo area.