Chevrolet Suburban 3500 Questions

[Bigburb3500]

Off on a tangent... curious from those of you who have gone from a 08-13 2500 (6 Speed) to a 3500, is your towing mileage any different? The 3500 has 4.10s vs 3.73s on the 2500, but with the 2500 towing close to 10K it doesn't spend much time in 6th except going down hills.

So I will not be able to comment much on this in terms of comparison but based on GeoTrash’s experience it’s not mileage you gain but stability and confidence. These trucks are pretty stout, but generally similar/identical frame wise to the GMT900 2500 Subs.
I think you are mainly getting newer tech, bigger brakes, and a fleet designed truck vs a consumer biased vehicle.

 

[TripleFJeff]

So I will not be able to comment much on this in terms of comparison but based on GeoTrash’s experience it’s not mileage you gain but stability and confidence. These trucks are pretty stout, but generally similar/identical frame wise to the GMT900 2500 Subs.
I think you are mainly getting newer tech, bigger brakes, and a fleet designed truck vs a consumer biased vehicle.

I was curious because I've seen lots of different numbers out there for them and they seemed higher than I'd expect, like 16/23 which can't be right. Since it's a 3500 and the EPA doesn't require fuel economy testing on the 3500s you can't look it up on fueleconomy.gov. I wouldn't expect it to be any better than my current one, as the only real difference is 4.10 vs 3.73.

Chassis-wise, I'd expect it to be very similar to my 2500 which is already great. The only reason I'm considering switching is it's getting old (210K) and while it's been great, it's starting to get some small leaks and rust and I'd like to get out of it before anything big happens.

 

[Bigburb3500]

I was curious because I've seen lots of different numbers out there for them and they seemed higher than I'd expect, like 16/23 which can't be right. Since it's a 3500 and the EPA doesn't require fuel economy testing on the 3500s you can't look it up on fueleconomy.gov. I wouldn't expect it to be any better than my current one, as the only real difference is 4.10 vs 3.73.

Chassis-wise, I'd expect it to be very similar to my 2500 which is already great. The only reason I'm considering switching is it's getting old (210K) and while it's been great, it's starting to get some small leaks and rust and I'd like to get out of it before anything big happens.

Around town driving I can attest that my mpg is about 13.5-14.5. Highway cruising at 65MPH you can get into the 16MPG but it will hover around 14.5-15.5 if going above 70MPH.
Towing I have little I can offer as I don’t do much at this point. This is a HD family hauler for me.

 

[Geotrash]

I was curious because I've seen lots of different numbers out there for them and they seemed higher than I'd expect, like 16/23 which can't be right. Since it's a 3500 and the EPA doesn't require fuel economy testing on the 3500s you can't look it up on fueleconomy.gov. I wouldn't expect it to be any better than my current one, as the only real difference is 4.10 vs 3.73.

Chassis-wise, I'd expect it to be very similar to my 2500 which is already great. The only reason I'm considering switching is it's getting old (210K) and while it's been great, it's starting to get some small leaks and rust and I'd like to get out of it before anything big happens.

Like you, I think 16/23 is fantasy. I've seen 20 on a 150 mile highway trip with just me on board.

 

[Marky Dissod]

16 (City MpG) /23 (Highway MpG) is fantasy.

CAFE MpG test scores are not 'normally' achievable by 'normal' people driving 'normally' on flat terrain,
if only because vehicles are tested individually in controlled conditions,
NOT in traffic, which nearly always costs nearly every driver at least 2MpG.
Only way to achieve CAFE MpG test scores is to accelerate mildly, coast more and more often,
and driving slow enough to slow other drivers as well.

To oversimplify / jump ahead, hypermilers often exceed CAFE MpG scores by at least 10%.
They do so by making DRASTIC sacrifices in time-to-destination, chiefly by
coasting as much as physically possible, accelerating glacially,
and planning for avoiding braking as much as possible (think about it).
All too often, they slow traffic aft of them, making others waste their MpGs thru impatience.

 

[Bigburb3500]

CAFE MpG test scores are not 'normally' achievable by 'normal' people driving 'normally' on flat terrain,
if only because vehicles are tested individually in controlled conditions,
NOT in traffic, which nearly always costs nearly every driver at least 2MpG.
Only way to achieve CAFE MpG test scores is to accelerate mildly, coast more and more often,
and driving slow enough to slow other drivers as well.

To oversimplify / jump ahead, hypermilers often exceed CAFE MpG scores by at least 10%.
They do so by making DRASTIC sacrifices in time-to-destination, chiefly by
coasting as much as physically possible, accelerating glacially,
and planning for avoiding braking as much as possible (think about it).
All too often, they slow traffic aft of them, making others waste their MpGs thru impatience.

We use every bit of their 10%… especially when they hyper mile in the passing lane…

 

[Marky Dissod]

We use every bit of their 10% … especially when they hypermile in the passing lane …

My point exactly.
They usually have nearly the same effect on the rest of us as a blocked lane,
meaning that as they seek and achieve diminishing fuel economy returns
(Miles per Gallon is far dumber than Gallons per Mile),
everyone behind them wastes time and gas trying to circumvent them.

Hypermilers are actually one of the reasons why I've little complaint against
6L80, 8L90, and 10L80 developments - they improve city MpG for EVERYONE,
and make hypermilers a bit less of a problem for the rest of us.