MPG, again
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 63
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From: Lexington USA
MPG, again
Hey, just went through some threads on mpg on the 5.4's in the F250's and now I'm getting concerned that mine may be "suffering". No, I didn't buy the truck for gas mileage by any means however, I do want to make sure I'm getting as much out of it as I can. I didn't need the diesel as I only tow about 6000 lbs and that's for a short distance. As well, don't put a lot of miles on it either, another reason for not getting the diesel. Anyway, I'm getting just shy of 10mpg in town and about 13-14 on the road, non towing. Towing on the road I get between 10-11. I am seeing others state that they are getting 14-15 mpg. Something's not right here. I absolutely love the truck but now worried something may be wrong?
Thanks in advance.
2003 F250 CC 5.4 3.73 285's and K&N air filter Just turned 20,000 miles today
http://www.teamcrownline.com/albums/...13eb3158152d81
Thanks in advance.
2003 F250 CC 5.4 3.73 285's and K&N air filter Just turned 20,000 miles today
http://www.teamcrownline.com/albums/...13eb3158152d81
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 1,264
Likes: 0
I dunno, your mpg seems right in line with what they should be 
You do the exact same thing I do though I bet, check every tank, try to make this tank better than the last, try to find trends in brands of gas 
I have never watched fuel mileage as carefully with anything I have owned like I do this truck. I might go a year without checking it on my car. I never checked it when I had my last truck. Well, maybe occasionally. This truck, heck, I can tell you what brand of fuel did what and when it did it 
When I first got my new truck it did really well (for a V10 anyway) on the trip back from NY. With the trailer hooked to it I saw a downword trend, hitting a low of 7mpg towing around town. I wished for it to go back to 8, it did. Then I wished I could get 8.5 out of it, it did. It's around 9, 9.5 now. It isn't a whole lot better without the trailer around town actually. I did see a mixed towing/non-towing number of 10.4mpg last week. Yet I thought I needed to see 11 on that tank to be happy
I have found mine does better when driving it like a normal person than trying to baby the heck out of it. Not flooring it from a stop, but not taking 30 seconds to get to 50mph either
You do the exact same thing I do though I bet, check every tank, try to make this tank better than the last, try to find trends in brands of gas I have never watched fuel mileage as carefully with anything I have owned like I do this truck. I might go a year without checking it on my car. I never checked it when I had my last truck. Well, maybe occasionally. This truck, heck, I can tell you what brand of fuel did what and when it did it When I first got my new truck it did really well (for a V10 anyway) on the trip back from NY. With the trailer hooked to it I saw a downword trend, hitting a low of 7mpg towing around town. I wished for it to go back to 8, it did. Then I wished I could get 8.5 out of it, it did. It's around 9, 9.5 now. It isn't a whole lot better without the trailer around town actually. I did see a mixed towing/non-towing number of 10.4mpg last week. Yet I thought I needed to see 11 on that tank to be happy
I have found mine does better when driving it like a normal person than trying to baby the heck out of it. Not flooring it from a stop, but not taking 30 seconds to get to 50mph either
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,110
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From: Iberia, USA
i dont know how many miles are on your truck but once ya get over 25-30K they seem to get better. on a very recent trip tp florida(1203 miles) that i made i see a total average of 15.31mpg. the best i got was 16.97mpg and the worst i got was 14.4mpg. none of that really makes sense to me cause the tank i got the best mileage with i drove 80-85mph the whole tank! ive come to the conclusion that fuel mileage depends all on how heavily your foot is. not to mention though, if you have larger then stock tires, it may not get any better. good luck.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 234
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From: Moriches USA
Same old by me. Both my 99 and 02 5.4 4.10 gears 6 speed got just under 15mpg with a daily constant load of 1500lbs on my daily commute of 100 miles. Half in stop and go and half at highway speed. Funny thing is with those gears my personal best empty was 17mpg on the open road (95) with both trucks. Mileage didn't change at all with breakin? I'm running BFG 285 now and though the speedo might be off abit I think the 4.10 gears like them even better? trimman
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 62
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From: Indiana
Mileage
I have a 04 F250 5.4 with 285's and I'm showing 12.9 (when I'm not towing) on my computer. This is mixed highway and city. I do reset the computer after towing. Hope this helps!
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: Kenna,wv
2003 F250 SC 4X4 5.4 automatic 3.73's. Had 235 85's stock. Then went to 285 75's, and now 305 70's. Mpg averages 11-11.5 in mixed interstate / city driving. Tire size changed mileage slightly (1mpg or less). On a steady highway trip I have seen almost 15 mpg. Normal driving has my low fuel light on between 275 and 300 miles. Take into account I live in WV and my truck downshifts alot on the hills and I have a very heavy foot. My 99 V10 got the same all around mileage, but the 5.4 seems better on long trips by 2 mpg. The V10 was a 5 speed with 4.30 gears and 305 70's.
New User
Joined: Aug 2004
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With only 9000 miles on my 2004 F350 CC 4x4 V10 I get 12.5 in town and 13.5 on the highway. I put in a air raid intake and mobil 1 oil 0w-20. But I think I'm switching back to motorcraft 5w-20 so that I don't loose oil between oil changes. Oh yeah, my gears are 3.73.
Last edited by LongHorse; Oct 14, 2004 at 02:35 PM.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 621
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From: S.W. Oregon
One thing you will see on these threads is a LARGE percentage difference in mpg between identical trucks. For example, I have the same truck as quoted below, except that it is a 2001. I have a very light foot on the gas. I have never done better that 9 or 10 around town and 11 or 12 on the highway. Only exception has been a couple of times on cruise control at 75 to 85 mph for an entire fill up and then got about 13mpg. I used to think folks like the guy below were fudging their numbers. But now i have seen enough post to know that there is a 20 to 30 percent difference in mpg with identical trucks.
Originally Posted by LongHorse
With only 9000 miles on my 2004 F350 CC 4x4 V10 I get 12.5 in town and 13.5 on the highway. I put in a air raid intake and mobil 1 oil 0w-20. But I think I'm switching back to motorcraft 5w-20 so that I don't loose oil between oil changes. Oh yeah, my gears are 3.73.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 1,264
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Forgot to mention, my truck got the best mileage at something other than sea level. Coming back from NY, it pulled down 13.77mpg with only about 500 miles on it. Not great altitude mind you, 500-2000ft, but something other than flat ground. I think someone tried it before, but maybe I will start another thread asking for truck, which gas engine and your location's average elevation 
See if there is any kind of trend there.
See if there is any kind of trend there.