I guess 18.4 mpg is to be expected?

[donjetman]

Last Saturday (7/9/22) I drove our 2007 6.2L Denali 967 miles pretty much non-stop from our TX home near San Antonio at 1000' asl to our CO home near Leadville, CO at 10,000' asl. It required 2 fuel stops and 2 quik pee stops. We do this trip several times/yr since purchasing the vehicle 3.6 yrs ago w/130k on it. It now has 176k miles. It is stock, except for increased oil capacity, 10.5 qts of 0w20.

This time was different because there was ZERO wind the entire 967-mile trip. WEIRD! With ZERO wind we got accurate MPG data. The southern 2/3 of this trip is in TX where the speed limits are 75 & 80 mph. The NM and CO portion speed limits are from 55 t0 75 mpg. There is one minor mtn pass (Raton Pass) enroute and 9000' elevation gain from start to finish. So it'll get even better MPG going the back to TX under the same conditions.

I do not speed. I drive whatever the speed limit is.
Door to door time enroute was 15 hrs & 27 mins.
Averaged 18.4 mpg.
Consumed 52.8 gal of premium unleaded.
Avg speed including stops was 62.7 mph.
Total moving time enroute was 14 hrs and 42 mins.
Avg moving speed was 65.8 mph.
Total stopped time was 45 mins.

Is 18.4 mpg to be expected?

 

[Geotrash]

Last Saturday (7/9/22) I drove our 2007 6.2L Denali 967 miles pretty much non-stop from our TX home near San Antonio at 1000' asl to our CO home near Leadville, CO at 10,000' asl. It required 2 fuel stops and 2 quik pee stops. We do this trip several times/yr since purchasing the vehicle 3.6 yrs ago w/130k on it. It now has 176k miles. It is stock, except for increased oil capacity, 10.5 qts of 0w20.

This time was different because there was ZERO wind the entire 967-mile trip. WEIRD! With ZERO wind we got accurate MPG data. The southern 2/3 of this trip is in TX where the speed limits are 75 & 80 mph. The NM and CO portion speed limits are from 55 t0 75 mpg. There is one minor mtn pass (Raton Pass) enroute and 9000' elevation gain from start to finish. So it'll get even better MPG going the back to TX under the same conditions.

I do not speed. I drive whatever the speed limit is.
Door to door time enroute was 15 hrs & 27 mins.
Averaged 18.4 mpg.
Consumed 52.8 gal of premium unleaded.
Avg speed including stops was 62.7 mph.
Total moving time enroute was 14 hrs and 42 mins.
Avg moving speed was 65.8 mph.
Total stopped time was 45 mins.

Is 18.4 mpg to be expected?

Love Leadville!

That's more than I usually get on the highway. I normally see around 16.5-17 but usually did a little better than that at higher elevation.

 

[avalonandl]

18 mpg is not out of line for highway for the 6.2.

 

[swathdiver]

Last Saturday (7/9/22) I drove our 2007 6.2L Denali 967 miles pretty much non-stop from our TX home near San Antonio at 1000' asl to our CO home near Leadville, CO at 10,000' asl. It required 2 fuel stops and 2 quik pee stops. We do this trip several times/yr since purchasing the vehicle 3.6 yrs ago w/130k on it. It now has 176k miles. It is stock, except for increased oil capacity, 10.5 qts of 0w20.

This time was different because there was ZERO wind the entire 967-mile trip. WEIRD! With ZERO wind we got accurate MPG data. The southern 2/3 of this trip is in TX where the speed limits are 75 & 80 mph. The NM and CO portion speed limits are from 55 t0 75 mpg. There is one minor mtn pass (Raton Pass) enroute and 9000' elevation gain from start to finish. So it'll get even better MPG going the back to TX under the same conditions.

I do not speed. I drive whatever the speed limit is.
Door to door time enroute was 15 hrs & 27 mins.
Averaged 18.4 mpg.
Consumed 52.8 gal of premium unleaded.
Avg speed including stops was 62.7 mph.
Total moving time enroute was 14 hrs and 42 mins.
Avg moving speed was 65.8 mph.
Total stopped time was 45 mins.

Is 18.4 mpg to be expected?

That's awesome Don for a 15 year old all wheel drive truck. I've never seen that with my 5.3! LOL

She was originally rated for 19 mpg and the feds lowered that to 18 mpg so you are right there. Do you think the light weight oil has something to do with it? Have you had her on BlackBear Pass yet?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Last Saturday (7/9/22) I drove our 2007 6.2L Denali 967 miles pretty much non-stop from our TX home near San Antonio at 1000' asl to our CO home near Leadville, CO at 10,000' asl. It required 2 fuel stops and 2 quik pee stops. We do this trip several times/yr since purchasing the vehicle 3.6 yrs ago w/130k on it. It now has 176k miles. It is stock, except for increased oil capacity, 10.5 qts of 0w20.

This time was different because there was ZERO wind the entire 967-mile trip. WEIRD! With ZERO wind we got accurate MPG data. The southern 2/3 of this trip is in TX where the speed limits are 75 & 80 mph. The NM and CO portion speed limits are from 55 t0 75 mpg. There is one minor mtn pass (Raton Pass) enroute and 9000' elevation gain from start to finish. So it'll get even better MPG going the back to TX under the same conditions.

I do not speed. I drive whatever the speed limit is.
Door to door time enroute was 15 hrs & 27 mins.
Averaged 18.4 mpg.
Consumed 52.8 gal of premium unleaded.
Avg speed including stops was 62.7 mph.
Total moving time enroute was 14 hrs and 42 mins.
Avg moving speed was 65.8 mph.
Total stopped time was 45 mins.

Is 18.4 mpg to be expected?

I get close to 18 mpg on my 07 Yukon XL Denali when I take a longer trip with my wife in the truck with me. My wife forces me to drive like you drive.

 

[donjetman]

That's awesome Don for a 15 year old all wheel drive truck. I've never seen that with my 5.3! LOL

She was originally rated for 19 mpg and the feds lowered that to 18 mpg so you are right there. Do you think the light weight oil has something to do with it? Have you had her on BlackBear Pass yet?

The oil helps maybe .4 mpg? maybe
Black Bear Pass? No we/Leadville are nowhere near there and we don't treat the Yukon like a Jeep. Its our Highway Wonderland We had a Polaris Razor 800 for many yrs that we did jeep trails etc with.

 

[donjetman]

Reversed course yesterday, (7/18/22) and drove almost non stop from Leadville, CO (10,000' asl) to Bulverde, TX (1000' asl), 967 miles, and got even better mpg *19.3 mpg* vs 18.4 mpg 10 days before (see post #1). Again, NO WIND the entire way. Again, that's WEIRD. The "no wind" situation in TX is bad because TX relies heavily on wind for electrical power generation. But, this allows me to get some accurate mpg data.

I think the improvement in mpg, from 18.4 to 19.3 (see post #1), was due to the decrease in altitude.

Door to door miles again = 967
Average MPG = 19.3, vs 18.4 mpg on 7/9/22
Consumed 50.0 gal of premium unleaded, vs 52.8 on 7/9/22
Avg overall speed (including stops) = 63.7 mph, vs 62.7 on 7/9/22
Total avg moving speed = 65.9 mph, vs 65.8 mph on 7/9/22

Not too Shabby!

 

[swathdiver]

Reversed course yesterday, (7/18/22) and drove almost non stop from Leadville, CO (10,000' asl) to Bulverde, TX (1000' asl), 967 miles, and got even better mpg *19.3 mpg* vs 18.4 mpg 10 days before (see post #1). Again, NO WIND the entire way. Again, that's WEIRD. The "no wind" situation in TX is bad because TX relies heavily on wind for electrical power generation. But, this allows me to get some accurate mpg data.

I think the improvement in mpg, from 18.4 to 19.3 (see post #1), was due to the decrease in altitude.

Door to door miles again = 967
Average MPG = 19.3, vs 18.4 mpg on 7/9/22
Consumed 50.0 gal of premium unleaded, vs 52.8 on 7/9/22
Avg overall speed (including stops) = 63.7 mph, vs 62.7 on 7/9/22
Total avg moving speed = 65.9 mph, vs 65.8 mph on 7/9/22

Not too Shabby!

The wind only blows about 10% of the day in any given place on average.

Mine got 18.4 mpg on a two-way trip the other day within Florida!

 

[Sparksalot]

You almost sound disappointed.

I get about 13 in thecopcar while road tripping.

 

[gooffeyguy]

Reversed course yesterday, (7/18/22) and drove almost non stop from Leadville, CO (10,000' asl) to Bulverde, TX (1000' asl), 967 miles, and got even better mpg *19.3 mpg* vs 18.4 mpg 10 days before (see post #1). Again, NO WIND the entire way. Again, that's WEIRD. The "no wind" situation in TX is bad because TX relies heavily on wind for electrical power generation. But, this allows me to get some accurate mpg data.

I think the improvement in mpg, from 18.4 to 19.3 (see post #1), was due to the decrease in altitude.

Door to door miles again = 967
Average MPG = 19.3, vs 18.4 mpg on 7/9/22
Consumed 50.0 gal of premium unleaded, vs 52.8 on 7/9/22
Avg overall speed (including stops) = 63.7 mph, vs 62.7 on 7/9/22
Total avg moving speed = 65.9 mph, vs 65.8 mph on 7/9/22

Not too Shabby!

The higher mpg was because most of the trip was downhill, however gradual