Chevy 2500 with 6.0 liter

Looking at a new 07 Chevy 2500 with 6.0 liter and 4 speed trans and am wondering how is the gas mileage for this motor? BTW, I don't want another diesel and I am very aware of there benefits but I am set on a gasser.

you should get a diesel.....




ok i am kidding...
looks like a sweet truck, but you should get a diesel... ok kidding again... sorry had to do it

i just got a used denali with the 6.0, not sure if its the same engine but the denali is great! i took a 5 hour road trip going over multiple mountain passes and averaged about 18mpg and i get about 15 daily. today was my first day pulling the boat and i could barely feel it back there! the 6.0 rocks!

I also have an 06 GMC with the 6.0. Entrust has it dailed, it gets about 15-18mpg. And by the way, I traded in a Diesel to get it
Board More/Work Less!
Wadd$

Are you getting the 07 classic? If so then that is a very reliable motor and gets stronger as it gets broken in.

My truck is a 2000 and it gets 13 mpg. I use it for work, and it is abused and driven hard on a daily basis. 120,000 miles and no problems yet. The gas mileage is not great, but it has plenty of power, it can handle being used like a truck, and the maintenance costs are low. I also have a 2006 truck with the 5.3 liter engine and it gets 15 -16 mpg., but there is a noticeable difference in power. I am sure the 07 engines are more powerful and more fuel efficient

(Message edited by crs on February 18, 2007)

6.0 engines are very strong. I had a 2003 SS Silverado with the 6.0/345hp and it pulled better than any other gas engine out there.
I am not ready for a diesel engine either, maybe when i get alittle older and cant hear the tractor like sound. .JK

I got a '03 2500HD w/ 6.0L with a Hypertech prgrammed computer and it has rediculous power, but I only get 12-13 MPG. I guess there is a price to pay for power on gassers.

I have an 04 2500 HD crewcab w/ 305's on factory wheels w/ 6.0. I have also put the leveling kit, torsion bar keys, on it as well. I get between 11-13 city and 14-15 hwy at the most. with bigger tires, the computer readout on MPH wont be correct.

I have a 2000 with a four inch lift with 305/70R16's. It also has the basic power goodies: Flowmaster dual exhaust, K&N Intake and the Hypertech. I see 11-13 in town and up to 15 on the freeway. And a lowly 8-9 towing. These numbers are probaly on the low side considering i am a kid and drive it kinda hard. babied it would probably do much better. I also have no complaints about the power, way better than th 5.7 or 5.3 but can't hod the D-max's jock.

Not trying to dis the 6.0, its a great engine, but i dont know how you can ignore the new diesels these days. They are so quiet. They are so effiecient. They are so powerful and FAST. Plus its not just the motor, the allison tranny is pure magic.

One of my VERY spoiled friends(read 15 years old) parents just bought him a 2005 2500hd ext cab with every option except the diesel. It has the 6.0. In october he put a 6 inch fabtech AWSOME coilover lift on it and 36 inch TSl boggers. After that he was getting 8 mpg and hes a very chill driver. Its way more of a pig than it was before. He just sold it to get a powerstroke. Hes never content with anything-pisses me off. I just think that with the hd frame and giant rear axle and all the heavy components its not the best choice imo.

The 6.0 in the 2500 is the LQ4 motor the old denalis and the SS used the LQ9. The cam and the tune are a little different between the two. They are both awesome motors. The best thing you can do for either is to get a tune in there and remove torque management. It will really wake them up off the line.

Pete-
I met a guy yesterday that has an 07 2500 suburban with the 6.0 and he was saying that the power is decent with mpg in the 14-18 range. Does the 07 2500 truck have the same 6.0 motor as the 07 2500 suburban ?

I have a buddy that has an 07 GMC version of the Suburban with the 6.0, and he does not get 14-18 mpg even on the highway.

Have a 2004 2500HD extended cab with the 6.0L. Plenty of power as mentioned above. I also pull a 6500 fifth wheel and it does well for my needs. I get around 15 mpg on average, empty that is. I did the math on the Diesels and it didn't pay for me to get a diesel, that may not be true for everyone. The slightly better gas mileage for a diesel would make it many years before I ever re-couped the extra 5 grand or so up front. Not to mention the additional maintenance cost of diesels.

bob i agree about the diesel thing, im not sold on them yet, not for me anyway, i don't need to tow 20,000lbs! and diesel cost more at the pump and for the purchase price i honestly don't think the average person could justify the cost. also you can't get diesel everywhere which would be a big concern for me

JTW, yep same motor, I would think the Suburban 2500 is probably heavier than the truck though.

14-18 sounds about right, it will drop off pretty sharply once you start towing though. That's where the diesel really shines.

The gas mileage will all depend on how its geared and the way its driven. I have the all new sierra crew cab with the 6.0 geared 3.73. The 4.10 gear was offered but I elected to go with the 3.73 for mileage since my pulling needs are only about 5000#.

What about the 1500 4X4 with the 6.0 Vortec MAX? I am looking into a half-ton with it and was wondering if it would be enough to get me by with an X-45. our local hole is drying up so it's time to move down the road.

I've got about 20,000 on my 06 2500 Crew with the 6.0 liter. I have averaged about 14 mpg, calculated every time I fill up. I have driven about half the miles on the freeway and half around town. The best I did on a straight freeway trip was about 18.2 mpg. I have a sanger v215 that I tow behind it. It does pretty darn good, and I only use tow mode during acceleration and braking when towing, as it changes the shift points. Once I am up to speed on the freeway, I leave it in the regular mode. I have found the power band is at 2600 rpms and above. I think the best I have done towing the boat is about 10.5, with the average being about 9. All in all, I have been very impressed by it.
Our mechanic at work just bought the same truck to tow his 8,000 lbs 5th wheel, and he has been very impressed by the 6 liter as well.

Eric, do you have the 3.73 rear or the 4.10?

I have the 4.10's.

Diesel. 9 MPG towing is bad. The resale is much higher and you will be better off even if it is more to start.

Eric-
How is the 4 speed trans? Does it hunt between 3rd and 4th when loaded out and cruising 60-65 MPH ?

I have a 05 with the 6.0, great truck. I use it hard towing daily for 5 months of the year anyware between 2500 to 4K#. Tranny has held up great and it runs stronger now with 30K miles on it.

The 4L80E is a great trans...It does search in that speed range when in tow mode, but does less in regular...or so it seems. I usually bump up a little bit to just above 65 or drop down to 55 and you're good to go. I wonder what difference a 5 speed automatic would make, or better yet, the allison coupled with that motor. It's a shame they don't offer a six speed allison with the 6 liter.

I wouldn't be all that suprised to see the 6.0 with the 6 speed allison next to keep up with toyota. I'm not sure if it would work with that motor or not but if it will they should definatly get on it.

I wish I knew how you guys are getting such good gas mileage. I have an 06 2500 crew cab chevy with the 6 liter. I get 10.5 mpg no matter what I do, whither I am towing or driving nothing but highway and I don’t have a heavy foot at all.

Ryan, I'm in the same boat as you, except I have gotten up to 14.5 on the hwy not towing. If you have bigger tires, a 4.10 rear end, and 4 wd, like me, then I want to know how you are getting better milage as well. 6.0 chevrolet's are popular here in the Redneck Riveria, and I dont know any one getting 14 mpg average. The only thing I can think of is some states are better at teaching math, lol...JK, guys

im not going to say theres no way you get this good of mileage...but theres no way you get that this good of gas mileage. I have a 1999 z71 4x4 with the 5.3 and I get 13 around town. With the 2500hd 6.0 you have the 4l80e transfer case to spin(towing trannys suck up power and result in worse mpg,not that much, but you would be surprised), and if equipped with 4wd, a transfor case to spin, and spin the huge 11.5 inch 14 bolt rear end in these beasts. And the Allison is a huge tranny and absorbs a good bit of power. Mated to the 6.0 wouldnt be the greatest setup. I think if you tow as much as to need the Allison then you probably need the diesel. These trucks are much heavier than my truck. Axles, frame, crew cab, motor, tranny, etc. So you trow in more cubic inches, a much heavier truck and a drive train thats harder to spin, you have to get worse fuel economy.
Also i was looking to get a used 2500hd and the gas versions were as cheap as 1500s of the same year, mileage, etc. And not because of more/less options. Now with the very impressive diesel technology, most people want 2500hd not to tow with, but becuase they are very roomy, big, but most of all for the diesel. I barely see any 2500hds out there without the duramax emblem. So while you say its not worth the extra money, it will definitly have a much higher resale.

I would think the 4.10's along with the bigger tires would be a huge MPG killer. My plan is to go with the 3.73's and stock tires.

Love mine

4.10s and 35s wpoulb be almost exactly the same as 3.73 on a 30-31 inch tire. This is how us 4 wheelers do it. Take your stock tire size-31 inch about- and divide by the axle gears. 31 divided by 3.73 = 8.31. Say you wanted to run 35s with that ratio. You waould want to order your truck with 4.10. 35 divided by 4.10 = 8.53 which is very close. I have a friend who owns an f250 that has 3.73 gears and runs 37s and does great with the powerstroke. Gets better highway mpg bc of the higher ratio, and slightly worse city.

4.10 around the city helps a bunch-gets things moving more efiiciently
3.73 helps on the highway bc less rpms
The new allison 6 speed has a double overdrive with .61 6th gear so 4.10s wouldnt be a problem

These days you cant really go wrong becuase you can run higher gears with the diesel torque and get stellar mpg highway, or if you want to keep ALL the power, you can re-gear to make it lower than stock and still get excellent mpg because of the awsome doble od allison tranny.

Also, the 1st gear of the allison is 3.10
the 1st gear of the 4l80e is 2.48

the torque of duramax is 660 ft lb
the toque of the 6.0 is 360

if we have 2 identical trucks, one with dmax, one with 6.0, both with 4.10 gears, this would be the final torque number at the rear wheels(not including drivetrain absorbtion)
6.0 2500hd 360 x 2.48 x 4.10 = 3,660 torque
dmax 2500 hd 660 x 3.10 x 4.10 = 8,389 torque
WOW
and the dmax will produce the power way down low and it has the 6th gear for highway

Impressive figures.

Elliot.... Not bad for a 17 year old. LOL!!! Makes the diesel look pretty stout.

thanks...i come from a long line of gearheads haha
but for the most part people on this forum see im 17 and dont listen to anything i say so its nice to hear!

wow. the mileage must be a lot better for the newer ones. I have a crew cab 4x4 regular bed 2002 HD w/ 305's and no lift and I only get about 11 mpg in the city. Maybe 12 or so on the highway. Dosn't really matter how you drive it, a/c no a/c, even with a light fot it still loves the gas. Stock 410's, tons of power, just loves gas.

I have a had an 03 powerstroke and I have no desire to get another diesel at this point. I could see owning another diesel if I had a 5th wheel or something like that but for my use at this point and with the maintanance cost plus the price of diesel it does not make sense. I am sticking with a gasser for a while.

then i guess the 6.0 is the best for you because the ford gas arent that great. The dodge 5.7 hemi is a good but you want chevy. And the 8.1 is way to costly in fuel.