What should my mpg be?
#16
07-11-2011, 11:48 AM
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#18
07-11-2011, 12:56 PM
My wife's truck gets about 15.5 mpg, also CC 4x4 slightly larger tires (285s) with stop and go driving. She rarely gets on the freeway and it's about 4-5 miles to her work, stop light to stop light the whole way. I have seen her driving style and she is very kind to the skinny pedal...
Another good reason to keep accurate records is that it can give a clue when your engine needs maintenance or repair. For instance, leaking intake boots or up-pipes will really hurt your fuel mileage but you might not see any other symptoms (unless you have a boost gauge...)
Good luck!
#19
07-11-2011, 01:19 PM
Tuned
boots
Im still learning a lot from the experts on here. But leaky intercooler boots were causing a 2 or more mpg drop in my truck. I have only checked it once since i had the boot problem solved, but my mpg seems to be back up to its old good self. My signature truck is stock. Mine usually gets about 15 around town, 18-18.5 on a mix of mostly highway and some around town driving, and can just squeak 20-20.5 on a long freway trip under perfect conditons with not much load.
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07-11-2011, 01:33 PM
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#22
07-11-2011, 03:57 PM
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#24
07-11-2011, 04:10 PM
.
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07-11-2011, 04:13 PM
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#26
07-11-2011, 04:20 PM
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Not much on fuel mileage, maybe a little...it is the lack of aerodynamics, truck weight, tire size (width and effective gearing) that is killing you most BUT...you will have a much better running truck. Correct tire pressure will do more to optimize mileage than any other change (short of putting stock tires back on the truck).
The #1 factor in getting better fuel mileage is to REDUCE HORSEPOWER DEMAND. This is a combination of vehicle configuration, condition, load and DRIVER OPERATION. Your truck has a poor configuration (larger tires and poor aeros), don't know about your maintenance, condition, or loads, and the last factor (driver operation) is up to you. A recent study in trucks (Class 8 trucks) showed that the single largest variable in fuel mileage was the driver. The best drivers could average 30% greater fuel mileage than the worst drivers.
Do you anticipate traffic lights (to try to avoid actually coming to a complete halt), do you leave a lot of room between you and the vehicle in front of you, do you accelerate slowly and get into high gear as early as possible and stay in high gear as much as possible? On the highway, for maximum fuel economy you want to be driving at (or below) the rpm where your maximum torque is produced (1600-2000 rpm)...not realistic for you with your 35's and probable not realistic for most on this board, but it is true (I wish I had a 20% auxillary overdrive unit
) nonetheless...I could then drive at 60 mph with rpm at 1600 and I bet I could get 18 mpg easy over long hauls. The aerodynamic drag on your vehicle (which is positively correlated to horsepower demand) goes up as a function of the cube of your speed increase. Slow down, reduce stress, avoid tickets AND save fuel.
Check your engine:
1) Check air and fuel filters.
2) Inspect air intake and exhaust systems. Look for leaks in the IC piping, boots, etc.
If you are interested, here is a white paper by Cummins "Secrets of Better Fuel Economy"...this is heavy truck oriented, but the principals (the physics) are still the same in our PSD. Look at the Rock Solid Rule at the bottom of page 6...it is your truck to a T!
The #1 factor in getting better fuel mileage is to REDUCE HORSEPOWER DEMAND. This is a combination of vehicle configuration, condition, load and DRIVER OPERATION. Your truck has a poor configuration (larger tires and poor aeros), don't know about your maintenance, condition, or loads, and the last factor (driver operation) is up to you. A recent study in trucks (Class 8 trucks) showed that the single largest variable in fuel mileage was the driver. The best drivers could average 30% greater fuel mileage than the worst drivers.
Do you anticipate traffic lights (to try to avoid actually coming to a complete halt), do you leave a lot of room between you and the vehicle in front of you, do you accelerate slowly and get into high gear as early as possible and stay in high gear as much as possible? On the highway, for maximum fuel economy you want to be driving at (or below) the rpm where your maximum torque is produced (1600-2000 rpm)...not realistic for you with your 35's and probable not realistic for most on this board, but it is true (I wish I had a 20% auxillary overdrive unit
) nonetheless...I could then drive at 60 mph with rpm at 1600 and I bet I could get 18 mpg easy over long hauls. The aerodynamic drag on your vehicle (which is positively correlated to horsepower demand) goes up as a function of the cube of your speed increase. Slow down, reduce stress, avoid tickets AND save fuel.Check your engine:
1) Check air and fuel filters.
2) Inspect air intake and exhaust systems. Look for leaks in the IC piping, boots, etc.
If you are interested, here is a white paper by Cummins "Secrets of Better Fuel Economy"...this is heavy truck oriented, but the principals (the physics) are still the same in our PSD. Look at the Rock Solid Rule at the bottom of page 6...it is your truck to a T!
i beat the hell out my highboy- that what she's for
kurt
73 f250 highboy
fe 390
np435 divorced np 205
36x14.50x16.5
best mpg to date: 11mpgs!!! avg: bout 3mpg's
#27
07-11-2011, 04:21 PM
It if were me, I'd spend the money on a fuel pressure gauge before looking for problems in the tank. Exception being if your truck hasn't been used on a regular basis and has been known to sit for extended periods of time between uses. If so, then dropping the tank to check the screens is probably a good idea.
#28
07-11-2011, 04:33 PM
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#29
07-11-2011, 04:40 PM
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#30
07-11-2011, 04:48 PM
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