Well, after almost 3 months, my new truck just showed up and I reluctantly traded in my trusty '06 F350 KR dually for the '11 F450 KR dually. Both have the 4.3 axles. I'm still a little nauseous from having to part with my old black beauty...

After about 100 miles, the new truck's mileage stands at 16. This same route got me at least 17 mpg's with the 6L engine (modified; SCT tuned). We'll see what happens when it's more broken in.

I noticed several things during my maiden ride home. Turning radius is slightly better on the '11 model, as is handling.
Suspension also feels softer, and parked side by side, the new truck appears to sit slightly lower, maybe a half inch or so? Could be due to slight tire differences.

Not yet sure if I've had the new flash, but power seems way lower, with much more acceleration lag.
So I hope I haven't had the new factory tune, so I can look forward to improvement in this department. Dealer couldn't say if I had it, and didn't know there was one.

Turnsignal system requires a little getting used to, as the stalks are farther away from the steering wheel. Harder to trip accidentally, but also harder to reach without letting go of wheel. High beam engagement more old fashioned also. Headlights are almost on par with the '06, but seem to have a less even pattern. HID's may be in my future
Seats look great and are comfortable enough. I have the moonroof, but the headliner seems pretty close to my head (6' 6" tall), so looks like no cowboy hat while driving.
It's awfully quiet compared to my '06 with the cat/muffler delete. Hopefully, this problem can be remedied with a new MBRP dual exhaust if and when available. May do a cat/resonator/def delete to wake things up. Intake too.
Also refuses to smoke. Maybe it's broken? Ha-ha

I liked the old red gauge indicators better than the new blue ones.
Air control vents work and look much better on the new truck.
Bluetooth phone sync works well and has a lot of features.

Info display is still pretty overwhelming, but more seat time should get it. I like the backup camera's superimposition of my virtual tire tracks, but they aren't wider in back, indicating this system was designed for a non DRW model. Maybe a future program change will fix this oversight? Interesting feature.

Sirius radio is nice, but antenna is very plain and not mounted in a location that would favor symmetry on roof.
Sway control nice feature if it works well.
Tow/haul mode similar to '06 model in feel. Haven't tried the gear tweaker function in manual mode.

Not sure I like the painted front grill versus the chrome...

Haven't tried the heated/AC seats, but the interior looks nicer than my '06. Overall, I really like the new truck. It has a lot of potential once it gets heavily modified. Until then, I really miss my '06 (and somewhat even my '01 7.3 as far as the engine went). Also especially miss my 57 gallon Transfer Flow fuel tank (over 1000 mile range at 22 mpg)! But hey, only 72 more payments to go!
Well, that's it for now. Will do another 150 mi tomorrow, and may add to this post then, in case anyone cares about such trivia. Doing 5000 miles next month. DMV wants $4000 for license plates in Colorado. Insane!!

 

What is the date of manufacture on you door pillar? That will tell us if you have the latest tune or not.

 

4.30 axle is going to be tough to get mileage numbers like most of us post. Lots of folks here have 3.55's.

 

Or just check the gear display to see if it stays on after re-start. If it stays on, you have the 400/800 flash.

 

You're not going to get your new truck to smoke, unless you're talking about smokin' your tires.

 

$4,000 is crazy! Is Colorado one of those "No state income tax" states or something. The only place I have seen anything like those numbers for a license was Washington and they had no state income tax.

 

no state income tax here in TX... and we pay 6.25% sales tax on vehicles. Of course, any sales tax paid in state is deductible when paying federal income taxes.

 

Just got back from dealer (different one than where I bought my truck). They checked my VIN and said it was inconclusive whether or not I had the flash from the factory. They also charge more than $100 to do the flash, so I called my selling dealer and they laughed that these guys are charging for the flash. Turns out I have it, and this is confirmed visually by the gear display.
Too bad it's so sluggish, but intake/exhaust/tunes should eventually put me above th '06 levels I'm so used to. Maybe if I had the 4.88 gears, it would be peppier, but I though the 4.30's were a good compromise between acceleration off the line and fuel economy.

 

I'm not sure what you're used to... but I came from a 400hp 1/2 ton (plus I have a Cobra in the garage) and I'm more than pleased with the "pep" in this truck. and I only have 3.55 gears...

 

Call Big Ford up and ask for your money back...the upgraded flash is free and they should not have done that too you with a new truck. Just wrong way of doing business. All they had to do was an OASIS and verify your build date. Its called customer service.

 

Did you have some tunes on your 2006? This truck blows the pants off my 04 6.0L, especially after the update. As far as mpg, I'm learning maybe I'm just driving too fast cause the best I've gotten is 11.3, down to 11.2 now, and as low as 10.5 on the highway (2011 450 4.30 empty).

 

I am up to 16.8 mpg over the last 250 miles. Still on the complimentary tank of fuel. My 6L only got 14.7 mpg the first few months. After a Volant intake, MBRP Cool Duals exhaust, power elbow, and SCT drag tune, it got a best of 22 mpg over 350 miles. But usually it was 17 or 18 mpg average.
The potential is there for this truck to really shine. So far I like it very much, in spite of a few details taking a step backwards.

The local license fees are ostensibly to punish those who still cling to the old notions of driving automobiles. Most of the local population holds great disdain for this country, and seeing large SUV's and smoking diesels makes them want to run for political office to end that insanity. Once the deck is thus stacked, they start making policy. License fees are one example of this agenda. In fact, if you decide to park your car for a few years and not drive it, you are punished by a 100% license fee. So you have to get plates AND insurance, EVEN if you have no immediate driving plans for your vehicle over the next few years. This is meant to encourage sale of extra vehicles, that then get taxed again once bought by someone else, or hopefully they leave the state.
This area of the country is wall to wall Subarus and Priuses. Pickups are penalized based on weight and price. But after 10 years the fees slowly drop to a few hundred dollars a year. Many of us in Colorado go to neighboring states for our license plates, which is very illegal.
The locals encourage us to walk or bike, and abandon our evil petroleum ways.
Can you tell I don't relate to aggressive politicians sticking their noses in everything I do? But the agenda only begins with this, here they tell us what light bulbs we can use, and a remodel permit for say a small adddition, like a bathroom/bedroom, costs $10,000! A whole house permit is over $100K! I am new to Colorado, but the politics are definitely anti American citizen! Anyhoo, I'm just learning all this myself.
Hey, I think I just hijacked my own thread!

 

Well I'm on my second tank of fuel. Went with a different brand, just to see if mileage changed. We had some Biodiesel station in the neighborhood last year, but they do not seem to sell the stuff anymore, so I put in regular diesel - no additive.

Fuel econ seems to have stabilized at 17.2 mpg (80/20 highway/city). Next tank, I will add fuel additive/cetane boost and see if the mileage changes. I'm not really complaining about the fuel economy considering the 4.30 gearing, but I'm not used to only going 600 to 650 miles on one tank of fuel. It seems I'm filling up twice a week. My '06 had 57 gallons on tap, and on rare occasion I saw 1200 miles per tankful, though 900 was more typical.
I still think the low end power is disappointing compared to my chipped '06, but the top end seems a little better.

I'll try a cold air kit next week to see if that helps the truck breathe better. It noticeably helped the old truck, as did all the exhaust mods. Stay tuned for more updates if anything changes!

 

heck, i think 17.2 is awesome mileage for a brand new dually!!! thats not a small commuter truck by any stretch. I'm subscribed for uppdates...

 

I'm in Douglas county in Colarado; my plates were considerably less than $4k!!! I did get a small rebate for reusing my old plates from the Y2K.

jammer

?? Maybe you had to pay your county sales tax on top of the license fee??? Did you buy the truck in the county where you live??

Regardless, enjoy! BTW, my worst tank as far as mileage was the first. That one turned out to be 15.3, but the right foot got real heavy just after I went around the first corner! Whata beast!

jammer