As you know, the truck with the 4.30 gears should outpull the truck with 3.73's. If they are C&C 350's then the power output of the 6.2L is probably lower than a standard pickup body. Nevertheless, they both should be rated the same.

 

We let them check out the 2014 and they said everything was spot-on factory specs. They ain't touchin' the 2012! They wanted to check it to see how it was set up, but I didn't want them to change a thing! Poor mileage I can live with, lowering the HP would break my heart.

 

After reading some posts in this thread I am wondering what is going on with my 2011 6.2 CC, SWB 2wd with 3.73 gears.

I bought the truck last month and a couple of weeks ago I did not believe my dash lie-o-meter so I did a mpg loop test.

Topped off the tank, drove 83 miles on 55 mph roads and came back to the same pump.
I pumped in 4.8 gallons and it hand calculates to 17.2 mpg.
The dash said 18.4.

Of course mine is a 2wd with 106K miles, but I find it hard to believe that the extra miles ( mostly highway) can make an engine that much more fuel efficient.

Possible I suppose.

I think the 2wd weighs about 400 lbs. less than the 4wd

Anyway, my experience so far with the truck has been great.

 

Nope, I believe it. First off, it looks like (from your avatar pic) that you have a crew cab short bed. This is not a SWB (short wheel base) which would be a regular cab or an extended cab short bed. Anyway, not a big deal. As for the MPG, I would guess the 4x4 model weighs more than 400 lbs more. You have to account for the transfer case, the front drive shaft, the large steel cradle which supports the transfer case, either the 4x4 manual lever or electronic ****, but the biggest thing would be the front axle. The 2WD uses the twin I-beam design. The 4WD uses a Dana 60. The solid axle is massive, and requires heavy front radius arms to locate it longitudinally, as well as a panhard rod for laterally. Then there are the hub assemblies. So, I could be wrong, but 400lbs seems a bit light.

The 2WD model sits a bit lower as well, which absolutely aids in economy. Finally, 55mph is probably the ideal speed for economy with this truck, 2 or 4WD. Especially if the road is flat. Even in hilly New England, my 2012 truck (exact same spec as yours, except 4WD), I was able to get 16.4mpg on a 200 mile trip up to Maine because the roads were all around 50 mph.

Right now, with my new 2015 truck (again, same setup as yours except 4WD), for the life of my truck I am averaging 10.8mpg. But, all of the driving has been with studded snows and probably in 4WD 25% of the time, some lighter towing (3-4k lbs), and lots of idling in bitter cold weather.

By the way, great truck, looks nice. I like the color, it won't grow old on you. These things are tanks and should run a long, long time.

 

Thanks.

Yeah, I like that color. My 2004 dually is the same color.
I went looking for 2011 Super Duties last year and all I could find in my price range was "contractor's white" so when I saw this XLT with the chrome front grill I was excited.

That solid axle front axle and transfer case with driveshaft would be quite a bit more weight.
I based my approximate 400 lbs. off the max payload ratings between a 2wd and 4wd.

Thanks on the clarification between SWB and short bed. I thought it was a 6 1/2 ft. bed, but I found out it is a 6.75 ft. bed.
It will serve my purposes well as I drag race and I can sleep over night at the track in the back of the truck now with an air mattress and an indoor A/C.

 

I can't tell from your pic if your 2011 has fog lights or not. If not, you can order the factory Ford fog lamp kit for about $175; it includes the lights and mounting hardware, the new light switch (with fog light and automatic headlight position, and the auto daylight sensor). All of this installs as factory with no drilling / cutting; the fog lamps will work immediately; a dealer will have to program your truck to tell it that it now has the auto headlamps feature (with programmable off delay). My 2012 was a basic XLT model, no fog lamps, just the basic message center, no Sync system. I added the fog lamps and a ton of other factory stuff, it all just depends on how much money you want to put in. They are a great truck in any form, though. I think the 6.2L is a great motor. I really like the feature even the basic message center has that can tell you how many total hours are on the engine, as well as how many of those were idling hours.

I really like Ford's rear e-locker, which you have. Put significant weight in the bed, and with the locker that truck will go very well. Much better than the automatic GM version, which you can't turn on and off, and which is much weaker.

 

Good info on the fog light kit.
I was wondering how to do that if I wanted to upgrade.

The original owner said this truck still has the original spark plugs.
It runs good now @ 106K miles, but I am wondering if I should remove all the plugs and coat them with anti-sieze to prevent siezing up in the aluminum head ?


So Ford programs the Tire Pressure monitoring system on these trucks for 80 psi rears and 65 fronts.
Any less and the dash light stays on.

Is there supposed to be an audible alarm go off as well ? All mine does is the dash light and message about tire inflation.
Not that I am complaining, I was curious if maybe the previous owner turned off the warning.

Here's another shot of the truck:

 

I really dig the color - nice! Thanks for posting the pic.

Regarding plugs: I believe the interval is 100k - 120k miles. These plugs should definitely not have the problem which the previous generation of "Triton" V8 / V10 engines had. However, replacing them in the near future is probably a good idea. Of course, you will have to buy and change 16 plugs! Some look relatively difficult to access; the lower plug bank appears to be done through the fender.

One other basic maintenance item - the air filter. Ford wants it changed every 15k miles. Surprisingly, mine was very dirty when I did it at 17k miles. You might want to check that...just be cautious not to break off the plug for the air mass sensor when you lift the lid of the airbox.

Regarding the TPMS: Yes, that is the correct inflation. Some folks run less when they are not fully loaded to improve ride quality. There is no warning tone...only the light, and a message on the screen. In my experience, the TPMS does not warn you when the pressures are "any less" than 65/80 psi...it may allow pressure to drop as much as 7-10 pounds before the warning illuminates. I also believe the dealer can program the warning to come on at even lower pressures.

 

Thanks for the tip on the air filter.

I inquired about getting a flash tuner and one of the questions I had was could the thing re-program my TPMS to trigger an alarm at a lower pre-set number.
The first response was yes, but a couple of hours later I get another e-mail saying their device could not do that.

I would imagine that even if their tuner could change the numbers, they do not want the customer doing it for fear of liability in case of an accident.

On my 2004 Dually I run 55 psi in all 6 tires and that is with 2000 lbs in the bed and an 8K lb. trailer attached.

I'm just going to lower the tires on my 2011 to 60 psi ( except when towing) and just deal with the dash warning.

I like this shot of the truck.
It kind of reminds me of the looks of an Excursion from this angle. ( albeit an extended wheelbase version)

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the Excursion-look: you've got the matching topper with dark glass. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the truck caps, but back when I used to live in the midwest (northern MN, actually), almost everyone seemed to have one. They definitely do offer great added utility - a large, locking, covered space. As toppers go, you've definitely got a nice one. Up here in New England, you see a lot less. But because that cap follows the roof lines and side lines of the truck very well, I bet it, too, may also improve your mpg.

I don't think running the lower pressures will hurt too much - but, keep in mind, lower pressure means a little more tire wear and a little more rolling resistance (aka a little less fuel economy) but your truck is already getting excellent economy. 55-60PSI is still an awful lot of air pressure in a 10-ply tire, so its not like you're going to have a blowout. I would fill back up if loading your truck to near max payload capacity, or with a very heavy trailer tongue weight.

 

ALMACK, I have never had my pressure too low to hear an alarm, but it has been too high and I got an alarm with the message. We were pulling our camper when the temps were in the high 90s. When we pulled over to check, the air gauge was showing over 90 psi in the front tires.


Your mileage does sound about right. I have also done some test loops similar to what you did and I regularly can get 17+ while at 55. At 60 it drops to 15.1-15.6 and at 70 it goes to around 14.2-14.6. Around town I can't ever get more than 11. Usually it reads 10.6. Too many stop signs and traffic lights.

 

On my 2013 even on highway I never break 14.0 MPG... city anywhere from 10.3 to 11.4 but the computer lies... it's normally .5 to 1.0 lower than that.

 

Well, I got my first ( somewhat extended) road trip over the weekend.

I had to pick up an engine and trans 120 miles away so I hitched up my 16 ft open car trailer.

I topped off the truck and reset everything to start the mpg test.
After I returned home I went back to the same pump and topped off the truck exactly the same way.

I drove 240 miles and when I filled back up I had a hard time squeezing 14.3 gallons into it, so it calculates to 16.7 mpg pulling that trailer.

The most puzzling part is that the dash display showed 16.6 avg when I re-filled.
On the last mpg test I did with the truck by itself, the dash was over 1 mpg higher than actual.

I was thinking if I got 15 mpg pulling that trailer I would be ok with that.
I never dreamed it would actually get over 16.

This was the highest I ever saw while driving:

 

Great to hear but I think this doesn't apply to the majority of us. Buying a 2wd truck in New England is like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

 

That's awesome mpg. Towing, I couldn't get anywhere near that. What engine is that on your trailer?

As for 2WD and New England, I know a few people who do it. One thing that surprised me was how well my truck went in 2WD mode with a load in the bed. Unloaded, the thing can barely get around in snow, and forget hills. But with 2,000lbs of wood pellets in the bed, I was able to drive around through my yard with 1.5' of packed, crusty snow with ease. If you were willing to put the weight in the bed, I think you could get around quite nicely. I still personally wouldn't buy a 2WD model though, living where I do.