Found out my grandpa's 1978 rig got better fuel mileage than my 2015, and I can't let it go
Was digging through some of my grandpa's old logbooks from his runs out of Amarillo and he was pulling down 7.2 mpg on a 1978 Kenworth, while my 2015 with all the emissions stuff averages 6.4 on the same route. I always figured the old mechanical motors were just simpler, not that they actually sipped less, but there it is in his own handwriting from 40 years back. Any of you older guys notice the same thing, or is this just a case of him driving smarter than me?
Honestly the old mechanical motors were simpler but that doesnt mean they burned less, grandpa was probably just better at reading the road and keeping his foot out of it. My dad ran a 79 Freightliner and swore he got 6 to 7, but he also drove 62 mph everywhere and never touched the AC. Feel like a lot of that mpg gap is just how you drive, not what year the truck was built.