Just bought an 08 SRW super cab long bed and wanted to know if my fuel economy was normal or if it indicates i might have a problem with the vehical's preformance. There is no tuner and the display indicates 11mpg around town, and 14mpg highway - no load. I towed a 5ooolbs trailer 2000miles and averaged 11mpg. I've validated the display by manually calculating the fuel usage during fillups and its seems acurate. Thanks for your observations!

 

You are in the ball park. Best thing to do is try to keep your rpms under 2K and stay off the boost.

Regens can also hurt and can possibly be an indicator of an issue. Normal regens can be different for everyone and the conditions they are driving in.

You can also look at your tailpipes for how clean they are to determine a possible issue.

Oil level can also assist in this issue as well. Growing oil levels could mean an overfueling problem.

 

Thanks. Regen...meaning when the DPF is being cleaned? If so, this occurs about once per tank of fuel or every 400 miles wheather towing or not.

 

Yes Regen is cleaning the exhaust filter. Ford considers 100-600 mile intervals to be normal.

400 is a good number. So I suspect you do not have an overfueling problem.

 

You don't say if it's a 250 or 350. if it's a 350 you may have a low rear axle. I don't know if they put 4.30s in SRW trucks or not but even a 4.10 will decrease your mileage a good bit over the 3.73. Either way your mileage doesn't sound much different than many others. Drive like an old lady and it will do a little better. Good luck.

 

Ha, Ha, I love this line, and its so true!

Don't floor it from a stop, let it roll when you can. I have noticed the sweet spot on rpms, is about that 1875 to 1950 range. I don't worry about the speed, I just find the rpm range that it seems to go effortlessly. It just happens to be right at 70 mph. When pulling, that rpm is right at 1700.

 

Yeah, that's the difference in rear axles, I tow at 1950 RPMs which with my 4.30 rear is just under 60 MPH.

 

Thanks guys. I've checked and it a 3.73 rear, no exhaust build up and I'll keep an eye out for oil building. I never expected the fuel economy to be great but it seemed a bit low - guest not. Everyone I know with simular trucks all run programers so I was not able to get fair feed back on what was normal. I guess I'll have to learn that "sweet spot" and drive like grandma...nahhhhh.

While i have your attention...a few other questions about this truck maybe you have more quality advice regarding:

1. is there an easy way to turn off the chime for a disconnected seat belt?
2. is there an easy way to turn off the auto matic locking door feature?
Both are sooo anonying.
3. Why does my Ford have manual locking front hubs, when i have shift on the fly 4x4? Its the only truck I've ever owned set up this way. The hubs only offer "on" and "automatic" but it would reason to me that they should have an "off" position - is there some reason or advantage?

 

Consult the owners manual for both the chime and auto locking doors. There is a procedure to do just that in the owners manual. One of the first things I did to mine.

The locking hubs is there as a backup system. Should you turn the switch and the hubs don't engage you can just lock them in yourself and still be able use the front wheels.

To ensure that your auto hubs work correctly and that those components stay lubricated it is a good idea to turn the hubs (not the switch) about once a month and drive the truck a few miles. It will mean your front end is turning but the transfer case is not engaged. This will lubricate the components.

 

Best mileage I've ever got was 16.44 hand claculated. That was never exceeding 65 mph, no load except wife, dogs, and kids, with the truck in my sig. With the load above I'm pretty close to 10,000 lbs rolling with full fuel.

Spartan 210 tow tune, down pipe back straight exhaust, AFE Stage II SI intake, and a bed cover, factory tire size, and 4.30 gears. And driving like a Nancy.

I figure that's pretty darn good for a 10,000 lb pig but have no illusions that it takes very little change in terrain, weight, or rpm, to send that number south in a hurry.

 

Driving in Eastern OR, Over passes and through small towns. (Ochoco and Blue Mtn Ranges) CC LB 6spd man. All stock

 

the dash gauge is useless if you are tuned. The computer assumes a certain amount of fuel based on the floor pedal angle. If tuned, the power is different, and the pedal angle will be changed for the same power. you MUST report hand calculated.

my Spartan tuned truck showed 22-28mpg on the dash, and got 9-14 hand calculated.

| update - see you said all stock.. but never seen anyone do this.. even for manual trans

Sam

 

I can make mine say over 30mpg on the gauge if I want. 11-14 is almost exactly what I get even drops to 9 pulling. 22mpg would mean I'd fill up every 800 miles and the smaller tank guys would do it in about 600 I doubt you are doing that.

 

Best distance I got this summer was 303 miles, 34.354 gallons to fill on a 38 gal tank. We were holding our breath the last 10 miles..

Sam

 

I can make mine show over 90mpg. Just coast downhill and reset the meter.

Best I've gotten is 14.5mpg around town and 18 on straight shot freeway going 65mph.
That's a tad better than my F150 5.4 gasser, if not almost the same

When does winterized fuel normally start?