poor fuel Mileage

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Jun 22, 2004 | 08:58 PM

#16

IB Tim

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Joined: Jan 2003

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From: 3rd Rock

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnsdiesel

Your mileage should improve. At 5K miles it is probably not even close to being broken in. My parents diesel improved on mileage up until about 35K and Tim told a story a while back about someone he knew that saw improvements up to something like 70K miles.

The guy is still driving it at 105k

Jun 22, 2004 | 09:14 PM

#17

FL450

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Joined: Apr 2004

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From: Lake Fork (WoodCo.) TX

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnsdiesel

I witnessed a very unusual observation on my way back up upper ND this last trip. Some where around 4500 miles I noticed a sizeable increase in MPG of some 3.0 MPG on the overhead. I didn't pay too much attention because the overhead was giving me erroneous numbers all along.

The distance to empty kept increasing and gas guage was giving the same indication. At one point the distance to empty was showing almost 600 miles. I sure didn't trust that. After 460 miles and the guage still showing a little over 1/4, I stopped for fuel. It took 22.3 gals. The fuel gage was as close as you can expect. And -so was the overhead.

It was almost as if the fuel computer reset or reprogramed itself for a higher mileage. If someone had told me this would happen, I would likely ignored the whole thing, and passed it off as another gin rummy story.

Jun 23, 2004 | 10:50 AM

#18

selracer

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Ok the fact is I am the only driver I drive easy I-96 I-275 are relatively flat. According to the overhead I am getting 12.9mpg, most of the posts suggest the overhead is generous well, not in my case. Through some quick calculation +/- 1 Gallon best is 13.2MPG. I do not idle enough to make a difference. Some times on cold starts it runs real rough and smokes, but this disappears after a mile or so.

Jun 23, 2004 | 04:26 PM

#19

IB Tim

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From: 3rd Rock

Well then back to the math/tank thing, you have done the complete top off and the math is correct so....

Have you taken it in

How did you find FTE

Jun 23, 2004 | 07:39 PM

#20

MichiganMarc

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Joined: May 2004

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From: Dearborn Hts Michigan

I noticed that my milage goes up considerably whe I drive at or below 70mph. at 80 mph I get about 15.5. at 70mph, I get 17.5. (on the overhead readout) just my observation

Jun 23, 2004 | 08:10 PM

#21

dbm04F250

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Has the overhead been reset after filling it up. With the overhead average being lower than hand calculated average it appears that it hasn't been reset. This would only clarify the reason as to why the overhead average would be lower than hand calculated. As said before, most report the overhead as being optimistic when reset between fillups.

The way you drive, the distance of continuous daily driving verses the frequency of stop/starts effect the avg. tremendously. Try reseting the overhead as you are driving down the road at a steady speed for 30 or so miles and watch the average change. Come to a stop or two and watch the average decrease and see how many steady miles it takes to bring the average up. A little playing with the overhead by resetting it at different times will teach you alot about the truck and fuel useage.

Jun 24, 2004 | 06:10 AM

#22

SBV45

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Joined: Aug 2003

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From: Central Texas

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichiganMarc

I noticed that my milage goes up considerably whe I drive at or below 70mph. at 80 mph I get about 15.5. at 70mph, I get 17.5. (on the overhead readout) just my observation

Considering you are driving a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a beveled brick, that observation is apparently accurate and makes sense.

Jun 24, 2004 | 07:03 AM

#23

Ghoffman

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Joined: Jan 2004

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From: Richmond

Driving habits make a huge difference on these trucks. My wife putts around town in it most of the time and gets decent mileage. I can't take off from a stop light without experiencing the stomp the pedal to the floor giggle factor. Makes as much at 3 mpg difference between a tank that I drive or the wife drives.