im wanting to purchase a 2500hd chevy. id love to get a diesel, but dont have duramax money right now. but i do see alot of 6.0 for sale. compared to the 5.3, whats pros and cons with the 6.0? want 2500 so i have have crew cab with 6.5ft bed. dont like crew cabs on 1500. dont like short bed.

 

I have a 2005 and get about 14 mpg on a good day driving mostly on the freeways. Usually in the 13's around town.

 

yeah one thing i hear about the 6.0s. bad gas. i sure chipping it and cold air intake kit would help.

 

07 6.0L (4.10 gear) 9-10 MPG no matter what, towing or not.
05 5.3L (3.42 gear) avgerages 17.0 normally. ive had it average 20 with a very light foot and carefull driving style.
i think gear ratio will make the bigger difference, if my 07 had a 3.42 im sure it could do better, but it would be a dog.

 

man that sucks. just makes me wonder why chevy would build an engine that burns that much gas. have you tried chipping or cold air kit?

 

Yeah I can second that emotion. I had a 2001 2500 HD with the 6.0 and it was terrible on gas. I got around 11 City and 14 Hwy. I loved the truck but I had to let it go because of the MPG. I had it when gas was close to $5 a gallon here over a year or so ago.

 

Hey, gang, Happy New Year.

My 04 2500HD-6.0-4X4-CCLB- was getting @ 11-12 MPG straight from the dealership, prior to mods.

Added an aerodynamic fiberglass cap to the bed, got @3MPG back. Cost:1400$

Reduced from 410 gears to 342s. got @3MPG back.
Cost:1800$

Added a K&N-CAI. They're a solid unit, and easy to install yourself. While I've been very happy with it,
because IMO it helps compensate for the 410s somewhat on those rare occasions when extra power is needed, I haven't found the CAI to be saving much in gas economy. Cost:270$

Programmers don't tend to save you a lot of money in gas. I use my Diablo primarily to access codes and parameters on my truck, so it's useful, but not so much for the purpose for which I purchased it. Cost:350$

Chips seem to provide satisfaction, but I haven't gotten one myself. I've heard good things about Nelson Tune and Black Bear.

Bear in mind I drive VERY conservatively. Gas economy is more important to me than speed, power, or lane position.

There's two important things to consider here:
1. Given the cost of the improvements, you should plan on keeping your vehicle for a lo-onnng time,(many years) to get your money back in gas savings. If you're in the market for a new truck, maybe the 6-speed tranny with the 342 gears would be in order.
2. Do you really need the 6.0? Granted, in many instances its the smallest engine offered, in which case you have a some tough decisions to make.

 

i tow my open car trailer (1800lbs empty) with a 3200 lb car on it with my 05 1/2 ton. given it has the HO 5.3 but it does just fine with that. i can get 15mpg towing going easy. Only modifications is a dynomax muffler replacing the stock one, and a tru-flow floam air filter.
the 07 6.0L still gets 9mpg lol

 

I'd hold out your money for a Duramax... Settling is the worst thing to do. If you drive like a sane human being there is no way you can get less than 18mpg with the Dmax. By the time you spend the 4k in mods that therewolf did you're already bridging the gap and that whole 365hp/686lb/ft of tq. kinda helps too :P

 

Bear in mind I in NO WAY advise doing what I did, given the expense.
I travel a lot, kept the same truck, and made the upgrades gradually,over a period of years.

I was just addressing 6.0 fuel economy.For the money, the best bet, if MPG is an issue, is to consider the smaller engines (still with gobs of HP), and the new six-speed tranny, which generally comes with 342 gears at the outset.