[tracer]

I fueled up yesterday at Flying J in Saskatoon, SK Canada and drove at 60 mph to Flying J in Winnipeg Manitoba. I fueled up again tonight before parking and the tanks took 295.07 liters or 77 gallons. I idled a couple of hours yesterday, so let's say the truck used up 75 gallons on the highway. I started my GPS and it showed the distance from one Flying J to the other was 820 miles. 820 divided by 75 is ... 10.9 mpg! I stared at the number for like 5 minutes ... Okay, I drove at 60 mph all the time, my load was only 7,000 lbs and the terrain was mostly flat ... But 10.9 mpg? Then I looked closer at the screen of GPS and noticed the letters "km" next to the number "820". Jeez ... It's kilometers!!! I switched the Settings to "imperial" and found I had driven 510 miles not 820. 510 divided by 75 is ... 6.8 mpg! Still pretty good.

2004 CAT C15 ACERT 475 hp 1,650 lb-ft torque (tuned by CAT ($900) to produce 500 hp at 1,600 rpm)
13 speed tranny 0.73
3.73 axles
Low pro tires 295s they do 512 revs per mile
Truck: International 9400 mid-roof with a wind deflector ("whale tail") on the roof
The engine turns at 1,325 rpm when I do 60 mph.

[solo379]

Originally Posted by tracer

The engine turns at 1,325 rpm when I do 60 mph.

That's a "sweet spot" for Acert. You would probably get 7.5 mpg in a summer time. Your rears is way too low for Acert. Can you turn it 1850?

[allan5oh]

Usually there's a pretty strong wind along the yellowhead, so I can believe it.


You'd probably get less then 5.5 going the other way. Maybe even below 5.

We better close this topic or you'll end up getting 3.2MPG before we're done with you! lol

[BigDiesel]

A Cat getting 10.9 mpg is like SteveBooth knowing how to run a business... Both are full of :dung: ...

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by BigDiesel

A Cat getting 10.9 mpg is like SteveBooth knowing how to run a business... Both are full of :dung: ...

arty: arty: :nervous: :mrgreen:

Good one!!

I was thinking though...that after having driven a C-15 ACERT w/13 spd for a couple of years....that his entire trip was "bobtail with a strong tailwind" and downhill all the way. 8)

[allan5oh]

No, pretty flat prairies but quite the decent drop in elevation.

The winds are the big thing. Very consistent west or north west winds in the Canadian prairies in winter.

There's been times going to Calgary I got 5-5.5 MPG. Turned around to come home, 8+ mpg.

[rank]

Is this 6.8 miles per CDN gallon Tracer? If so, with only 7,000 on and traveling at only 60 mph on the praries, I would have expected better. Unless it was windy of course.

[tracer]

Originally Posted by solo379

That's a "sweet spot" for Acert. You would probably get 7.5 mpg in a summer time. Your rears is way too low for Acert. Can you turn it 1850?

no, my tranny has a 1650 torque rating. cat told me i'd have to replace the tranny and clutch if i want to rerate the engine to 1,850 torque.

[solo379]

Originally Posted by tracer

no, my tranny has a 1650 torque rating. cat told me i'd have to replace the tranny and clutch if i want to rerate the engine to 1,850 torque.

In theory-yes! But I've done just that with my previous truck, and didn't have any problems. After i sold it with 962,000 miles and original clutch and tranny, last time I've heard it still had no problems at that department, with well over a million miles. They replace the clutch tho, but it's still not a bad run... 8)