Vortec max or Duramax?

I’m looking at getting a new chevy truck and would love to go diesel but with chevy only having 0% for 36 months …I’m leaning more towards the vortec max 6.0. Does anyone have one? Test drives can be decieving; without having my 30′ camper on the back it’s hard to tell the differece from my 5.3. I would imagine the 6.0 will be fine, but with the price of gas higher and the mileage a little less than the diesel, could I really make up the $7200 difference between vortec/duramax over the life of the vehicle? Any opinions will be appreciated….I’m looking at Chevy only….(for now). I’m know there are other brands that are as good or better but if it ain’t broke…I’m not goona’ fix it!

I am heading back to Deisel for a few reasons. 16 to 18mpg pulling. (Rather than 10.) I’m tired of burning up motors and transmision @ 100k with gas. I should be able to run Deisel 200k with proper maintance.

Gas alone will come close to making up the difference. Oil changes and maintanance are more expensive but worth the price if i’m not as worried about the transmission and or motor.

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I am heading back to Deisel for a few reasons. 16 to 18mpg pulling. (Rather than 10.)

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WHAT?????

I have a 2005 Duramax, that is a constant 13 mpg pulling! You must be running at 1800 rpms or less, or have it chipped?

why dont you have yours chipped and unhook your fuel sensor and that will add another 2-3 mpg

I have a 01 Duramax and get 15.5 to 16.5 pulling my Ranger. Yes Cal I have it chipped and when not pulling I get 18.5 – 20 mpg. The chip makes a big difference in mileage and power. I would never go back to a gas engine after having a diesel!! Having the power when you need it and the mileage is way better. Mileage versus maintanance about off set each other.

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I am heading back to Deisel for a few reasons. 16 to 18mpg pulling. (Rather than 10.)

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WHAT?????

I have a 2005 Duramax, that is a constant 13 mpg pulling! You must be running at 1800 rpms or less, or have it chipped?

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I am heading to the cummins. To be exact 2500 Megacab, 383 rear end with the cummins diesel and no chip. My brother in law owns the same vehicle. Pulling a 29 ft camper we averaged just under 16 heading to wisconsin dells. With my boat we averaged over 17 heading to ottertail. Thats pulling both a 60 to 65mph. I wasn’t watching the RPM’s.

This engine will be available in the summer of 2009 for 2010 model year trucks.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/15/gm-announces-clean-diesel-v8-for-pickups-and-the-hummer-h2/

The diesel upgrade might not be you only expense, depending on what transmission you opt for. If you consistently pulling the heavier loads, the Allison transmission may be a consideration – that will cost you more also.

As for the 6.0, my father has one in his 2WD truck and it pulls his enclosed trailer great. Fuel….. , yep it likes fuel, empty or pulling, gets about the same (4.10 rear) 11.5 is his best.

I have an 06 2500HD CC Duramax LBZ that I’m posting for sale shortly. Only way to go if you’re towing alot or anything like that camper. Just don’t use mine enough anymore.

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As for the 6.0, my father has one in his 2WD truck and it pulls his enclosed trailer great. Fuel….. , yep it likes fuel, empty or pulling, gets about the same (4.10 rear) 11.5 is his best.

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Yep…. My uncle has one. The trannies wound tight and she likes to drink. Having the deisel is going to make th ND,SD and Manitoba fowling trips alot less expensive this year.

I have a 05 6.0H.D…that has the the 4:10 rear end…I dont think you would have any problem pulling a 30 ft camper at 10 to 11 mpg..I have a 3800lb camper and it pulls it no problem with a strong head wind and loaded down..but im getting about 11 to 12mpg..when its empty im getting around 15 mpg and I have a light foot..I also put bigger BFGoodrich tires on it…If you have the extra $$$ go with the Duramax…otherwise I think youd be good with the 6.0 unless your pulling every weekend…good luck on what ever you do…Jay

This is why I am ADDICTED to this site…there is no other place with a group of people this large that are just like me and willing to put in their 2 cents. My wife tells me daily that soon she is going to put me on Intervention if I can’t just take one day away from IDA!

I hav an 01 D-max and it pulls like a dream. I get an average of 18.5 mpg. No i am not chipped. I hauled Chappy’s truck from Cloquet a couple weeks ago when he decided to blow the motor outta his truck. I put the tow/haul mode on and hit the cruise at 75 all the way home. Yeah she sucked the fuel down ( I never figuered my mileage but I figure some where around 11 or 12 mpg),but it pulled that truck with out breakin a sweat. I would love to get an 06 just for the fuel mileage they get with that 6 speed Tranny. I have test drivin a few and they are sweet. The 07 are suppose to be better.

I have a 24′ pontoon that I was pulling (trying to) with an Avalanche 5.3 with tow pkg. It was a struggle with hills & if there was any head wind, forget it!

I just got a Duramax 2007.5 & I can’t believe how it tows the “toon”, it’s actually fun to pull it. MPG depends how fast you want to go, 60 – 16.5, 65/70 – 12.5, 75/80 – 10.0. I’ve only got 2000 mi on it so it should get better.

This thing has more power than I would have guessed. I would have gotten one a long time ago if I had known how it tows.

Terry

I will tell you straight up I hate chevy’s but hands down I would buy the duramax before I wasted my time with the vortex max. Duramax will get you better gas mileage, pulling power, and will last longer.

I had a 2004 duramax and now have a 2006 duramax. I get 17 to 19 not pulling and not watching the RPM’s. Pulling a 1900 Pro V IFS(full windschield) and I get 13 to 15 pulling the boat. Which is a lot better than 15 not pulling and 8-10 pulling with the 2002 gas.

I have a 03′ Dodge 2500 4×4 (4 door) with the Cummins. I also have 35″ BFG AT tires on it. I avg around 17mpg city and 19-20 mpg on the freeway. My recent trip to Canada towing a 16′ boat and loaded with gear I got 18 mpg doing 65-75mph. A recent trip to Grand Marais with 5 guys and a loaded bed (keg and cases of beer, gear, etc) I got 18 mpg at an avg speed of 75 mph (right around 2000 rpm’s). All hand calculated mileage and no programmer at this point.

My dad’s 98′ Dodge 2500 2wd Cummins (12 valve) has 250,000 trouble free miles and still runs great. He gets better mileage than I do.

Good morning.
In 2012 I bought a 6.0 2012 GMC Ext Cab 2WD. My usage is in the oil patch. I kept getting stuck in mud so I replaced it in 2013 with an crew cab GMC 4×4 also 6.0 engine.
The first truck would get as high as 15MPG, the second 11 – 14MPG.
In 2014 I upgraded to the 6.6 Duramax. It is also a crew cab with 4×4. The fuel mileage is 17.9 average and the power seems like it is double. I will never go back. You forget your towing something it is so strong.
That’s my experience. Good luck to you with the new ride.

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I think a lot has to do with the 6-speed tranny. My 2006 6.0 vmax was a strong motor with a 4-speed tranny. My 2013 6.2 seems a little stronger but most of the perceived power gain is from the transmission. I remember thinking my brothers 5.3 was just as quick as my 6.0 when he got the newer 6-speed tranns. However there’s no doubt the diesel pulls better.

To satisfy my own curiosity, I crunched a few numbers. If you run it 100,000 miles:

Say you average 17 mpg with the diesel. You’ll use 5882 gallons of diesel over that 100,000 miles, and at $3.00/gallon, that will run you around $17,600 in fuel costs.

Say you average 11 mpg with the gasser. You’ll use 9091 gallons of gas over that 100,000 miles , and at $2.25/gallon, that will run you around $20,500 in fuel costs.

Now, I’ve never run a diesel, and I’m making some cost and mileage assumptions, but I was truly just curious in actual fuel cost savings. While $2,900 is a chunk of change to save with the diesel, you also have the upfront price increase (though, maybe this is offset, somewhat, by increased value retention).

I had a diesel in 04 and loved it. Got 21-22 highway empty and 15 pulling my ranger. Got rid of it in 07 when the price of diesel skyrocketed over the price of gas. I just bought a new truck and didn’t even consider buying a new diesel. If I pulled a heavy trailer all the time, I could see getting another one. Because of the new emission regulations, the diesels don’t run the mileage they once ran. They still pull great, but for me there is no way to justify that $8000+ charge for the cummins. You would have to drive it 250,000 miles just to come close to paying the difference, but the resale is very good for a diesel.

Wow. I just looked at the dates on most of the posts in this thread!

With a 30′ camper,… I’d go with a diesel. My wife and daughter have a Chevy dually which really handles their big horse trailer well. It rides ok empty but its a lumber wagon when partially loaded with a ice fish house or boat. The new 6.0 makes inroads on the diesel but the torque figures still don’t compare. Everything about the diesel is more heavy duty. If you don’t keep your trucks very long or don’t pull the camper all that often (or long distances),…the 6.0 may be an more cost effective way to go. I’ve heard rumors that Ford is working on a v-8 turbo. If its anything like the v-6 turbo,…it take a big bite out of the diesel recreational markert.

Other than every day work vehicles towing large trailers there really isnt any reason to run a deisel now a days.

The biggest problem our company had with diesels is they burned through tires faster and we had to replace the tyrod ends and ball joints quite frequently. ( we work in the woods) This was because of the extra 4-500 pounds of the diesel motor bouncing down rough forest roads. We also figured out we would have to keep a diesel for 300,000 miles to break out even on the extra cost off the lot and fuel compared to a gas truck because we try to trade them in at 100,000 miles

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Wow. I just looked at the dates on most of the posts in this thread!

I have to keep checking the date on these threads. It seems like there are a bunch of new members and these old threads are getting pulled up. They are fun to reread but throw me off.
DT

I’ve got a 2012 duramax 6.6 and I love it I had a mild EFI live tune and def elimination done for $1300 and my truck cruises 75 to duluth twice a week at 22mpg I tow a 20 ft skeeter and get 16mpg and I drive rather fast. If you have any questions or wanna take mine for a ride with the tune in it I’d be happy to meet ya and let ya see what you think. I stay very conservative with my tune so I won’t have tranny issues in 60-100k miles.

Haha wow I just realized this post is from 2007 I guess I’ll retract the free test drive haha

bowtecmike wrote:

I’ve got a 2012 duramax 6.6 and I love it I had a mild EFI live tune and def elimination done for $1300 and my truck cruises 75 to duluth twice a week at 22mpg I tow a 20 ft skeeter and get 16mpg and I drive rather fast. If you have any questions or wanna take mine for a ride with the tune in it I’d be happy to meet ya and let ya see what you think. I stay very conservative with my tune so I won’t have tranny issues in 60-100k miles.

I too have a 2012 Duramax 6.6 Club Cab, 4×4 NON CHIPED, very factory stock.

I can too run to the North, South and West States boarders from Iowa pulling my boat (not small) or an enclosed 16ft w/ stand-up room trailer, @ 16 mph. I run 21 to 24 mph hwy. 13 to 16 grocery shopping.

I would love to find what it would take to make this truck breath hard for a bit.

Quite, no smell and clean. I have run my trucks for at least 175,000. miles before trade. This one may go longer as long as the body holds up without starting to rust. I trade before this ever happens.

You are getting way better mileage than anyone I know running a diesel made after 2011. I would hold onto that one because you have a good thing going.

Denny O wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bowtecmike wrote:</div>
I’ve got a 2012 duramax 6.6 and I love it I had a mild EFI live tune and def elimination done for $1300 and my truck cruises 75 to duluth twice a week at 22mpg I tow a 20 ft skeeter and get 16mpg and I drive rather fast. If you have any questions or wanna take mine for a ride with the tune in it I’d be happy to meet ya and let ya see what you think. I stay very conservative with my tune so I won’t have tranny issues in 60-100k miles.

I too have a 2012 Duramax 6.6 Club Cab, 4×4 NON CHIPED, very factory stock.

I can too run to the North, South and West States boarders from Iowa pulling my boat (not small) or an enclosed 16ft w/ stand-up room trailer, @ 16 mph. I run 21 to 24 mph hwy. 13 to 16 grocery shopping.

I would love to find what it would take to make this truck breath hard for a bit.

Quite, no smell and clean. I have run my trucks for at least 175,000. miles before trade. This one may go longer as long as the body holds up without starting to rust. I trade before this ever happens.

I have 55,000 on this one now and what I stated is truth. 12 an/change mpg in town playing jockie is my worst with this truck.