Well, I purchased another Ford! I hope I did not make a mistake. My last 3 trucks were a 2008 Chevy Duramax, 2009 Ford F350 Powerstroke, and 2011 Ram Cummings. They all had pros and cons BUT only the Ford had reliability issues and not with the engine. It was kind of a lemon tree. Over the last 20 years I have owned 8 trucks and while I only owned the 09' F350 for 46K miles it spent more time in the shop then the previous 6 combined.

So here I am needing a new tow machine needing to pull as much as possible. Chevy didn't even make it to the ball. Thus enter Dodge and Ford. The 350 wasn't even close and the 450 has been a joke from 11'-14'. BUT in 15' Ford really wanted to showcase the NEW improved 6.7 and they did so with the 2015 F450 Platinum and a 40,000 GCVW!

I came close to buying a Ram 3500. Honestly if Ram had the 2015's out I might not be writing this as we speak. To save on depreciation I always buy a vehicle when it comes out. I also have no brand loyalty. After emissions hit and vehicles began to get huge technology packages the big 3 have all had their issues.

Enter my 2015 F450 Platinum. It has every available option except the spray in bed liner. I picked it up on Saturday and I managed to put 206 highway miles on it. This post is about those 206 miles. My Cummings was not a high output engine, Ram managed to put the HO out on the market mid year so I didn't have 800 ft lbs of torque I only had 650 and a 3:73 rear end. This yielded 17 mile per gallon on the trip to pick up the truck. One of the things I wondered about with the F450 was gas mileage, a 9000 lb truck , and 4:30 gearing. So on both vehicles I reset the "lie o' meter" just as I merged onto the expressway. I didn't double check the Ram by topping it off when I arrived and hand calculating it against the "lie o' meter" as it was about what I expected to get. Empty she always ran 16-17 on the highway.

The F450 on the other hand again has 4:30 gearing, weighs in at over 1000 lbs more, and has 860 ft lbs of torque vs the Ram's 650. PLUS that Ram was a 2500 and not a dually. My 09' might pull 15.5 on an empty highway run. Not the case with this NEW 6.7. The "lie o' meter read" 18-18.1 mpg. Upon returning I topped here off and hand calculated 17.87 mpg. Mind you this is just highway running. I expect less if I were loaded or had any stops. However 18 was a bit more than expected. Some will be quick to mention I will get better after break in. I honestly have never seen mpg calculations change to more than the margin of error after break in.

Now after playing around Sunday I have noticed that at 65 mph the RPM's sit right at 2,000 RPM. By 70 you are at 2,250 RPM. Then you fall off the cliff. Around 80 you easily drop to 15 mpg and after being heavy footed I managed to drop her to the mid 13's she quickly came up after leveling off my foot though. The data from this is coming off the dash with no hand calculations on Sunday and on the highway. Obviously once you hit 80 you do not have much room to go. As the 19 ply 19.5" tires have a max rating of 87mph. And with 860 ft lbs of torque she jumps to 80 mph in a heart beat.

Only time will tell if these numbers will stay the same and how reliable the F450 is. With that said I am very very happy at the moment and running the Newest Version of My-Ford has made those miles even more of a blast.

These are very early observations which can change as the miles roll by.

 

Congrats. The lie o meter is pretty accurate now.

 

That is sure one awesome truck and I like the color too.

 

Ruby Red with a black interior! If I could do it again I would go ruby red and the pecan seats but it was a toss up. Color was hard to pick. Ford shows 4 colors on it's website but it also comes in bronze. I debated pearl white, bronze, and ruby red. The white is great for maintenance but it and black seem to hide the lines of the 450. The bronze and red seem to high light the lines. The problem with the bronze is that I both liked and disliked it....and then liked it again....and then....

 

I drive about 60 the whole time and have only gotten 15.5mpg. I have a 3.70 rear end for towing. Thinkin about buying a tuner for it ...what am I doing wrong. Soft footed on the gas also. Any one know of a good tuner that will work great with this beast?

Tom

 

Tom,

I am a flatlander. Drive was from Ohio to Illinois.....very very flat. Also remember that I calculated highway speed. Meaning literally from on ramp to off ramp with no traffic stops. From here I expect things to drop. i just didn't expect 18.

I also do not understand why there is such a large variation in MPG's. There are many variables such as elevation, terrain, driving style, and traffic but it always seems like there is someone touting 20 or 22 highway and 16 around town. I will post more as I drive more.

 

I also expected more MPG. I take it easy on the starts and I drive about 12 mile hwy about 5 lights to work. I drove this weedend at about 65 to 70 and the mpg went up to 15.8. I have 700 miles on the truck now....thanks for the reply.

 

thats a beautiful truck...cudo's to you

 

Awesome looking truck...Good luck with it!!

 

WOW! That is a fine looking ride. I am waiting for a f450 to show at a dealership near me so I can take it for a spin. I am pretty positive that I am going to pull the trigger on one pretty quick. I would appreciate additional info on yours. I am curious about the ride and fuel mileage with every day driving. Currently haul oversize oilfied gas compressors, and have been for 34 years. I am getting a little long in the tooth now and it time to downsize. I am going to sell my Peterbilt and trailers move down a notch. Thanks for sharing.

 

Well an update for everyone. I have started driving at 55mph to see if I can bring in better MPG. Has anyone out there put a tunner on there system? I found this company and I have read all of there stuff. Here is the link....good reading....spoofing Ford...
Spartan Diesel Technologies

If anyone out there know of a better tunner for a F350 2015 please let me know. I would liek to get maybe 18 or 20MPG if possible.

Tom

 

54Barn,

Again the 18 is the top I can achieve empty as a flat lander on the highway. Not bad for a 9000 lb truck with 4:30 gearing and dual wheels.

Around town 11.5-12.5 mph but remember we are in a heavy traffic area. Average speed here is 20-25 mph by the time you average all the tragic lights and congestion. I'm lucky if I can hit 45 or 55 mph for 2 or 3 minutes here. For the most part you accelerate just to stop. Then do it all over again.

There are a few things I hate like the 12" square they call a drivers floor mat! Heck I don't even think the back seat floor mats are that big. To me they scream temporary mat till you buy the real deal. I mean they give you a virtually flat floor in the back and then give you these little itty bitty mats that are smaller that the cheapest mats you can find at Walmart. I mean does anyone even make mats this small? Did I mention the sticker was near $74,000 and I can't get a decent set of mats stock. BAM another $200 for custom embroidered LLoyd Mats.

Too much plastic in the interior and not enough soft touch material. The center council is horrible. First off there is this nice stitching......and it is right where you put your elbow. OUCH! Then there are the cup holders for the rear seat toward the rear of the center council. Again ummmm your elbow goes there....and if people put actual cups yet alone say a large cup you almost can't use the center council for an arm rest. Of course then someone puts a cup there and you slam your elbow back only to almost knock the cup over. Then you open it up and there is a cheesy little tray that would be cool if it slid but you have to lift it off and it's really cheesy and cheap. I can't believe this was there final production design. Did they even drive the truck or look at the competitions center councils?

However I love literally everything on the outside. It's just the interior and some of the poor choices and finishes. I could list more like the glove box that literally fits either a pair of gloves or the manual. The compartment above the Nav has a door that is flimsy and doesn't sit flat. Actually one corner flairs up a bit. The one I look at every day.

I love the vents. Always have! I saw the NEW F150 interior and it seems they want to make the Supers look like the 150 and carry over the design. I would miss the round vents. They are pure quality and fun to us.

I love the glossy top section of the steering wheel. Mine always gets dirty but the heated steering wheel is barely warm. I miss my Ram's "hot wheel". I never thought I would care but heat on a tired pair of hands is soothing. Sure it's nice in the winter but if you work with your hands a heated wheel is a true luxury you wouldn't expect.

The Ford also has more comfortable seats then the Ram. They cup you and fit my frame better. The Ram's feel more like a couch but the Rams are finished nicer in the Limited and Longhorn then Ford's.

The headliner also reminds me of the headliners in my Isuzu Ftr's. Plus the sunroof sunshade doesn't close 100% and leaves this 1/4" space for the sun to beam through. In my history of owning vehicles I have never seen a shade not close 100%. It's only obvious on a sunny day of course.........

Again the fit and finish on the exterior is excellent in my opinion. I always thought my Ram's rear bed skins were poorly stamped and it had ripples near the wheel wells if you looked at the reflections. The Fords body is tight and well fit.

There is a point where you could say someone prefers something over something else. The problem is the interior....which I see every day and has a lot of poor quality choices. I mean Ford has this room where they take a very bright light and shine it into the vehicle from every angle to make sure the chrome interior pieces don't blind you in the sun.....and they did a good job as the Ram's chrome door handles and THAT HORRIBLE CHROME RING AROUND THE CENTER COUNCIL BLINDS YOU SO BAD YOU HAVE TO PUT YOUR HAND OVER IT AT TIMES AND SO DO YOUR PASSENGERS.....but Ford has rolled the chrome in to avoid this......only to put cup holders where your elbow goes. Did they not put the vehicle in a room and put the seat back and put a cup in the rear center council and realize that it was bad placement? All the Ford sponsored RAM Ford shootouts clearly show the driver and passenger's elbows over the cup holders. Why am I complaining? Ever drive 10 hours straight?

HOWEVER all is not lost. The interior is more spacious! It's a great truck and I would make the same decision again. Now we will have to see what Ford does for 2017 and what Ram does for 2016. I personally think Ram is do for full new skins since it has been around since 09' and I don't think Ford will change the Superduties until they see how the aluminum F150 plays out. A lot at stake here but competition is what gives us better products. As you can tell I have had a lot of trucks and don't bow down to any of the big 3.

 

I would have to agree with you about Ford's interior. I think it is dated, actually I think my '08 Lariat interior is better than my '14 Lariat. I also agree with you about having too much plastic, how about some leather on the dash and on the door panels.

 

I honestly don't get the interior. What were they thinking?

For instance everyone uses plastic wood. Some even have textured hi-def wood while Ford uses something that looks like it is out the 90's. Gloss brown with muted black swirling through it.

My door panels are really a joke. Basically one piece of plastic except for the leather armrest and plas-wood end cap. AND no it's not like the leather and plas-wood look great. Mind you I have a Platinum!

Again I like the use of space, the seats are more comfy, and the view is great, but the interior while not horrible lacks period. Seriously a Ram Laramie beats my Platinum. On a Laramie (mind you there is a Longhorn then a Limited) just the sides and lower half are the cheap plastic. They also usually use two colors to set it off. Then the top 30% has soft touch material that even rolls over the window ledge. Add wood inserts......sorry leather and wood....wait leather, wood, and chrome....wait leather, wood, chrome, and stitching into the soft touch area and BAM you have a nice looking door panel.

I can't wait for my floor mats to come either. Seriously a 12" floor mat on the drivers side?!?!? What were they thinking! I am sure glad it's summer. I feel like my feet are on a tiny island.

The interior boggles my mind. I really like my-Ford touch. I love love love the comfy seats. On the other hand cheap plastic abounds.

All they have to do is make it a little more luxurious. Make the top of the dash soft touch. Add some leather, chrome, and soft touch to the doors. Add a decent set of mats. Add a sliding tray to the center council, better headliner, and it would make a huge difference. What kind of difference? I almost didn't buy the Ford just because of the interior alone! Really!

 

Do you mine me asking what type of floor mats did you order?