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Fuel mileage on a 2012 6.0

48K views 31 replies 19 participants last post by  Jcoppola33 
#1 ·
I'm thinking of buying a 2012 Chevrolet CC 2500 with a 6.0 liter. What kind of fuel mileage are you guys getting in this truck? Does it have V4 mode like the 5.3? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
#3 ·
$112 today from reserve notification, to full up, at $3.75/Gallon. That's an average of 8.2mpg. Um... that of course was towing #12,000... so in that regard, that isn't so bad!

Seriously though, I get about 14mpg on flat ground, with nothing in the truck. I average lower by me, because I am always up and down mountains (averages about 13).

Ran into another field trialer, bought the same truck as me (with extended cab not crew) but with 3:73 gears, he says he gets about 12mpg highway, so not sure that the 3:73 would be that underpowered.
 
#7 ·
May seem odd, but wind more than load affects mpgs for me. I'm at about 13mpg on the highway unloaded; as high as 14 with a tail breeze. 10mpg pulling a cargo trailer a littke more with a tail breeze. As low as about 8.5 into the wind. A solid 10.5 mpg around town stop and go, unloaded.

No 4 cyl baloney on these engines. GM didn't make them to save gas and they are outside of the CAFE requirements.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for all the reply's regarding the 6 litre Chevy truck engine. I am right in the ball park. Funny though as I towed my 5th wheel 15,000 miles with my 2004 5.3litre and averaged 11mpg. I bought the 2012 2500, 6litre and thought I would average about 13mpg towing the same 5th. Poorer milage with the 2500, but an easier tow. No big deal, as I we do love the 2012.
 
#9 ·
The city mileage is ugly . empty taking my truck 2 time a day doing short move is doing 6-7 mpg this is very bad. highway empty 15-16 mpg , with a trailer and a atv , 12-13 mpg. towing 8000 pound rv on highway is 8-9 mpg

I buy a 2500hd only because I want a 4 door and long box. I like my hd because the truck drive like empty when i drive with an atv in the box and full packed of stock .

if you considering not towing frequently over 5000 pound
and you not need a crew cab with a long box
and you not need the extra suspension toughness for towing
and you not need the look of an hd

you better with a 1500.
because empty the mileage difference is an easy 2-3 mpg
and the price difference.
 
#10 ·
I assume you are in the US and US gallons. I am in Canada and dealing with the imperial gallon. In the very near future I will know exactly what the truck will get as I intend on doing a 10'000 mile trip shortly and I am a milage watcher? So I will let the Chevy forum what I get towing a 8000lb 5th wheel when I get back.
 
#11 ·
I have the 3.73's and get 13mpg on flat land. I don't see why GM even offer 3.73 in their 2500HD if people with the 4.10 is getting 14 mpg. I think they actually stopped offering the 3.73 with the 6.0 starting in 2015, I guess they decided it didn't serve any purpose and actually hurt the vehicle since it drops the tow rating down 3k lbs. When I bought my truck it seemed as if all the trucks on the lot with any options came with the optional 3.73.
 
#12 ·
Have the 6.0 with 4.10 axle on a new 2014 2500HD. Have owned it less than two weeks, but first tank of mixed driving netted 14.6 MPG and second tank of mostly highway driving (60-65 MPH), netted 16.4 MPG. At 75 MPH with that axle the 6.0 is turning some serious RPM! Didn't keep it there for long!
 
#14 ·
Don't know about the 2012, except that the company I work for runs a lot of them and they hold up good. I started on a new one in 2007 with the 3.73 rear end, 2 wheel drive, running empty most of the time. I put almost 90K on it and to my knowledge I never broke 13 mpg, except just by hair on a trip or two, running interstate. On my usual mixed driving or town and open road driving, when I checked it, I always got around 12 mpg, however, a more conservative drive might have done better, as I enjoyed the power the truck had and used it often. I didn't baby it, and it held up great. However, it did pull down some with a load on it, so in some ways, the .410 would have been the better truck for when you really needed a truck, but for the occasional pull, and running empty most of the time, I would choose the .373 because it would cruise at 90 with low RPM, up hill and down hill all day long. I they ought to offer the 6.0 in a half ton.
 
#17 ·
I live in the middle of Wyoming and just returned from a trip east to LaCrosse, WI. My 2500HD crewcab shortbox did really well pulling my 30' fifth wheel. I got an average of 8.3mpg. Empty running around the state I can see up to 16.5mpg on a good day. In town I average 13. I changed to a K&N filter and saw in incresae in mpg and power.
 
#20 ·
If you don't mind me asking how much weight were you pulling? I don't haul around a heavy load but have kinda had buyers remorse a bit for getting the 3.73 instead of 4.10. I was afraid if I needed to haul a big load the 3.73 would hinder me. I'm glad to hear it served you well.
 
#21 ·
adam86107 said:
I have the 3.73's and get 13mpg on flat land. I don't see why GM even offer 3.73 in their 2500HD if people with the 4.10 is getting 14 mpg. I think they actually stopped offering the 3.73 with the 6.0 starting in 2015, I guess they decided it didn't serve any purpose and actually hurt the vehicle since it drops the tow rating down 3k lbs. When I bought my truck it seemed as if all the trucks on the lot with any options came with the optional 3.73.
I noticed they had gone to more commonly 4.10:1 for 2015, not sure why. 4.10:1 on 245 tires is way too high cruising RPMs on the highway for that engine. I'm pretty sure the 6L90 remained the same, unless they changed the gear ratios in 5th and/or 6th (both being OD).

Personally, with factory 265 tires and the 6L90, the 3.73:1 is a good match. 1st in 2-hi is low enough to do work, cruising at highway speed with ~3000 lbs of stone in the truck is fine. 4.10:1 would be a good option (and it was an OPTION in 2013) for a dedicated work truck that needs to maximize torque all day. But a gasser tow rig doing lots of highway time might want to keep the RPMs down for flat land...

I'll have to drive a 2015 to see what its like in 6th with what size tires. The RPM difference would be slight, but I'm just curious now.
 
#22 ·
The 4.10 is standard equipment for my 2014 (I'm assuming it was the same for the years prior) and then the 3.73 was a $100 available option. I remember reading somewhere that for 2015 they were going to start using the Allison tranny with the gasser also. Don't know if there is any truth to that.
 
#23 ·
Approximately 6500 loaded. My 5th wheel is rated for a half ton so it is lighter but not light enough for my RAM 1500 with a 5.7 Hemi. I love Dodge as well as Chevy but the Dodge had 3.55 gears with a 5 speed. It was huffin and puffin to pull against a slight head wind. That's how I ended up with my 2500HD. Looking around my fair town for a new truck to pull my fifth wheel didn't turn up many options but what I found was that all Vortec 2500HD's had a 3.73 geears and only some of the Duramax trucks had 4.10's. Okay let's say affordable trucks. The RMT's were built to the hilt but at a cost of $80,000 to $107,000. Who in the heck can afford a hundred grand truck?!?!?!?!? I'm happy with my truck and how it pulls and I defeinitely did NOT pay anywhere near one-hundred grand.
 
#24 ·
I have a 2012 CC 2500 wth 3.73. Driving around town I get 13-13.5 on 89 Octane gas. I just got back from driving to south Missouri to see my dad. I was getting 17.5 while on relatively flat ground. After going through the hills of Kentucky, my final MPG for the trip was 16.9. That was running 70-75 MPH and with 89 Octane gas.
 
#25 ·
Well I am pleased with my mpgs. My trucks an old 99, when i first got it I was getting 9 maybe 10 mpgs tops on the highway. Now that I have fixed a bunch of issues I am getting 14.5 with a diablew tune, k&n filter, Airaid mit, 33" tires and 4.10 gearing. This was with the horrible exhaust the previous own had on which was edelbrock shortie headers and terrible diy piping with plenty of restrictions. Curious what it will be with my long tubes and dual pipes to a cross over with no cats.
 
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