FUEL MILEAGE TIPS AND TRICKS FOR ALL

[itspaidfor]

Hello all! I just wanted to share a few things for anyone that is interested. A little background first my wife & I owned a three truck trucking business for 12 years and on and off drove tour bus for tri state tours on the weekend. I am in no way an expert I will just share what works for me. First off we converted our mci mc8 ourselves and have driven back & fourth from LeClaire,Ia to Yuma,az for the last 6 years. We have enjoyed every mile however when fuel goes up you start thinking. First thing we did was switch over to 20-50 synthetic engine oil & synthetic transmission oil made a BIG difference and yes the oil specs out great & tests come back great! The oil stays in the engine it runs SMOOOOOTHE! It runs cooler,starts easier and cleans up the rings! Transmission runs cooler & shifts GREAT! Also restored the radiator louvers with new air cylinders. If your 8Vdetroit is not running up to temp you are destroying it! Fuel dilution is your worst enemy,a cold running 2 stroke IS diluting diesel fuel. I also run power service grey cetane boost & 1 gallon used motor oil goes in the tank with every fill. This is what I do and am very pleased with the results. Have a great Halloween & Happy Bussin'

[muldoonman]

Don't have to worry about my 8V92TA running too cool the way i drive it . Plenty of heat summer or winter , unless I'm at idle. Do run a little fuel additive every other tank, even some say naw! Now fuel mileage, nada!

[itspaidfor]

LOL! sad thing is our diesel fuel is not what it used to be!

[digesterman]

All sounds good but you never did say what your improved MPG was, or was there any?  If this is a two stroke I don't think you are suppose to be running anything other that 40W, I might be off base because my two strokes are all off road and to be honest I have never changed the oil in them, someone else does that.

[HB of CJ]

Idle the engine as little as possible.  Not always possible.  Once air and oil pressure is established, drive off.  Let driving the Bus Conversion warm it up.  Heavy throttle under such cold conditions not always recommended.  Subjective.

If practical, reduced cruising RPM.  This was easy with our old Crown Supercoach Bus Conversion almost to be.  At 55 mph, we had a choice of three, (3) different gears; 8th, 9th or 10th.  At lower speeds and reduced power requirements ...

... We had even more of a choice.  The Cummins liked to run less RPM, as long as the engine power requirement was also reduced.  Loafing along at 40 mph at only 1000 rpm was doable; again it depend upon the particular power situation.

Minimum generator or APU, (auxiliary power unit) or diesel heater running time.  Do you really need to run that gen set?  Use less interior lighting, open the windows, put on a sweater, or let the house batteries completely cycle before recharging.

Do not go on that particular side trip with the Bus Conversion.  Plan ahead.  Can many things be done with one Bus trip?  Same thing with the toad.  Lots of ways we can reduce our fuel consumption with just for forethought and prior planning.

Shop ahead for the best fuel prices.  The Internet is great at this.  Sometimes a little prior research will provide the best fuel prices at the pump.  Pay cash or use plastic?  Sometimes makes a difference.  Sometimes shopping coupons help also?

HB of CJ (old coot)  How many additional ways?  Great topic.  I Love This Forum. Sorry about the hijack.

[itspaidfor]

Thanks all sor the great discussion! Yes I agree you should not run a 15-40 oil or the like however it comes down to oil shear & ash content. We have logged over 15,000 miles with great results & analysis. We get between 7.5 & 9 mpg which is good for an 8v71 in a mc8. There is a lot of friction going on in that big old v8. Also keeps the engine super clean! The only place I have a leak is the fan miter box. I will have to attack that someday. I started using synthetic a few years back after talking to a shrimp boat captain down in cuttoff,La who had been using 20-50 synthetic in his 8v71 for years. He said a lot of them old boys run it down there.

[Charles in SC]

Maybe you can report back on this when you get 100,000 miles with that oil.

[itspaidfor]

Will do

[RJ]

NAME?? -

Basically, you're running a 15wt oil in your engine, regardless of whether it's dino or synthetic, and contrary to Detroit's specs.

The debate will continue on these forums forever about oil, lots of info out there, everybody makes their own decision.

In the meantime, please take a couple minutes to update your forum profile to at least include a signature line similar to mine below.  First name, home/base city/state, coach make/model & powertrain will go a long way in helping us help you.  Not to mention, you might just find a fellow busnut nearby!  Simply click on the "Profile" tab in the above menu bar.  When the next screen opens, click on "Forum Profile Info" in the LH menu and follow the prompts.

Welcome aboard!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[itspaidfor]

Nope 20-50 is nothing like a 15-40 anywho thanks for the advice probably best for most folks to run straight 40 delo. Just sharing what I do. Have a great day.

[RJ]

Nope 20-50 is nothing like a 15-40. . .

Sorry, missed the 20-50 in the original post.  It's still a multi-weight, which DD doesn't recommend, but to each their own.

Still would be nice if you'd include a sig line. . .

FWIW & HTH. . .

[chessie4905]

   That is good fuel mileage if it is an automatic. About average if it is a manual.

[itspaidfor]

740 Auto. Now we have a signature line.

[TomC]

With normal maintenance (which is very exact on a 2 stroke) like I did with both my trucks (one with 8V-92TA and the other with 6V-92TA), both had right at 500k miles when they were in frame overhauled. By using 20/40 synthetic, I'll be surprised if they get 200,000 miles out of the engine before a ring job is necessary.

Good explanation http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/oil-fuel-lubricants/92360-exactly-how-does-multi-viscosity.html . In a 2 stroke these polymers are not given a chance to relax to reform back into their protecting range. When the engine is hot and your pulling a hill, the lowest number (like a 15W-40) 15 is the only protection the engine has. You get rapid engine wear and later down the road ring sticking. Detroit has always suggested (except for a very short period around 1980, that was a big mistake) using straight 40 weight. In their 149 series that is used in mining and off road dump trucks, Detroit suggests straight 50 weight.

What gives oil it's lubricating qualities-think of chemical ball bearings. Synthetic oils are still petroleum based but refined and altered so those chemical ball bearings are all uniform in size-making a more slippery oil.

If you want to run multi viscosity synthetic oil in your 2 stroke engine, have at it. But be ready for a premature (less than 500,000 miles) engine overhaul. Good Luck, TomC

[itspaidfor]

With all due respect you have it backwards  The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.  And I run 20-50 synthetic not 20-40. I also realize an 80 year old shrimper knows a heck of a lot more about this than any busnut so thats what I will stick with. Lots of Royal Purple & Amsoil running all over in the Gulf in 8v & 6v detroits look at oil shear thats what counts. These synthetics clean up & free rings not stick them. PAO oil is very different than dino. Also engine run remarkably smooth and cool indicating less stress & wear. It also stays in my engine a lot better than Delo 100 40 wt. which means less deposits in cylinders which means less wear. No white or blue smoke that I had before on start up. Very little black smoke climbing hills. I check my air boxes & everything looks GREAT & clean have my oil analyzed every 5,000 miles & change at 10,000 what more proof does a guy need? One of the most important thing is to run grey bottle power service to increase Cetane & lube injectors & top end. Guys Run cheap low grade diesel without additives but discredit guys that run synthetic oil. If I ever have indications that 20-50 is bad for my engine I will dump it. Until then I will enjoy trouble free service. Dan