Some crossed info here. On the better miles per gallon, many report better after adding the K&N air filter element. It's an approved filter, and flows more air. Do a search on K&N if you want to hear the many opinions on it.

The 'cold air' intakes are another story. There is at least ten different ones on the market. They are not intended to get better mileage. Some report that they do. Mine does not, but it doesn't get any worse than the stock filter, not quite as good a when I just ran the K&N filter. I do get a bit more punch, so I am willing to give up a part of a mile to the gallon for the power.

The check light that you see reported is primarily on the Air Force One, the possibly best horsepower producer of the bunch. The AirRaid had some problems but seems to be all worked out. It's very close in power to the AF1. The Volant seems to be very Non-user friendly.

The AF1 sets off some of the PCM warnings on running too lean. It's not supposed to be a problem, but no one wants to see that light...


These are again, horsepower increasers. Any gas mileage increase is incidental.

Chris

 

Thanks Chris for the Info.. How about K&N model #.... the flat or cone type filter.. whitch Is better..?? You added air filter elements and "cold" air intakes..? Whats the differance..??
Doug

 

You actually don't have choice on shape.
If you have the 5.4 and want to keep the stock 'air box' you use a flat or panel shape as that is what fits.
If you have a 4.6, it comes from the factory with a cone shaped air filter.
I have a 4.6. The 4.6 doesn't benefit from a fresh air or cold air tube setup as much as the 5.4.
The system on the 4.6 has a long developed factory system.
The 5.4 is still developing.

So with a 4.6 and the stock air filter, say you get an average of 15.0 and 19.0 (straight off my sticker), with the K&N filter change alone, you can hope to get 15.2 and 19.4-5.

With a fresh air intake which will always use a 'cone' shaped filter you get 14.9-19.0 perhaps.

Again that is on the 4.6 which is already pretty good.

With a 5.4 many report a .5 mpg increase overall with just the K&N. Some don't see it.
The AF1 and it's brethren are again, for power, not mileage.
My setup on my 4.6 is an AEM Brute Force.
Nobody who buys an aftermarket intake is ever going to get a positive pay off in saved gas.
You can get that from a K&N filter, or a light tonneau, but never from a fresh air intake. Any increase would be miniscule.

On getting better mileage with a tuner, yeah, under certain conditions I am sure you could get more MPG. Don't bet on it, though. They are for improving driving feel, performance, etc. For someone that wants to enjoy driving the truck, they are a sure fire winner.
On exhaust, the most likely payoff would be just put a Magnaflow muffler with the stock pipe.
That’s if gas mileage that will eventually pay for the costs is what you want.
Electric fans, underdrive pulleys, none are going to ‘get your bait back’ in less than 60-80k miles.
As has been said repeatedly, learning the way these trucks drive, with their freewheeling transmissions and high factory gearing is the secret to improved mileage.
Chris

 

I just got back from this truck's first outing. I averaged 17.36 mpg while running in the engine with the tailgate up and carrying bikes. I've now got over 1,000 miles on the clock so I'll drop the oil Monday and call it run in.

The truck is good for cruising but needs a lower gear for passing. Oh, and the thing doesn't play mp3s. I thought all these '05s played mp3 CDs, no?

 

there are 2 different companies making the radios for the Ford if you take it back to your dealer and copmp[lain that you were told it had mp3 capabality you might be able to get it swapped out for one of the units that does have that ability

 

I'm on it!

 

buy a camry

 

I could walk as well but that doesn't answer how to get the best economy in my F-150.

Thank you for sharing.

 

yes, an intake and exhaust system will help, and maybe the programer will do it, but if you are looking for something better here is the answer..

 

Absolutely right on! Drive smooth and calm and you will see a big improvement. I use my cruise on the highway at 65 and easily and consistantly get 20 mpg and if I drive like most everyone else here in the DFW area - aggressive, out of my way, must be first, 80+ crazy driving - then I get 15 mpg. I am careful to stay out of their way and I arrive at my destination relaxed. As much as I dislike the higher fuel prices, they have forced me to be a better driver.

 

Eric, the art of getting good gas mileage is making as little horsepower as possible to get the truck moving and maintaining speed. Putting on an exhaust system will relieve back pressure. Back pressure is required to make low end torque. An exhaust system will move the torque range to a higher rpm band. Higher rpm= eats more gas. A cold air intake- your Ford will come with a filter box that will handle 7 times the air that engine can use at WOT. Obviously, you aren't going to get MPGs at WOT. Skip the air crapper. If you want better fuel mileage- learn to drive. Most folks think that as long as they aren't in a wreck and can keep it out of the ditches, they are a fab driver. Not so. When you get your new baby, look on the side of the tires for the max cold air pressure. Make sure that your tires are kept at max cold air pressure. They will ride a little rougher but rolling resistance is reduced dramatically. Push the gas down enough that the tranny will going thru the gears and the tach never goes over 1800 RPMs except in OD. Yep, you won't win any races and most likely the fools that think they can drive will be passing you by but you will be farther down the road at the end of a tank of gas. These trucks will coast. Don't drive it all the way to a red light or stop sign. Let up off of the gas and let it coast. It's free fuel mileage.

My 04 SCrew, 4.6- 19-20 town, 22.4 average hiway. It works, might want to try it. And yes, your new truck will require some break in before it gets decent fuel mileage. Mine came on at about 8,000 miles.

 

How about getting out and pushing it? or putting up some sails in the back of the bed? LOL! ;-)

On a more serious note, wouldn't getting the truck in high gear as soon as possible cost less gas then slowly accelerating so long that it's in low gear most of the time? Of course, that doesn't mean jack-rabbit starts...

 

its a really big, really heavy truck. none of those words are usually found in the same sentence as "good gas mileage"

there are ways to increase itr , JUST A BIT, but usually its how you drive the beast that makes the biggest impact.

the better the breathing that your engine can make, both intake and exhaust, the more efficient you beast will be at moving down the street.

i have a 2005 f150 4x4 supercab with 4.6L

we average about 15 miles a gallon around town. havent measuered yet on highway.

put your tailgate down, infl;ate your tires to 50 psi, remove any dead weight, get a k&n, get a less restrictive exhaust, mount a GE 3000 turbofan to the roof, etc etc etc

 

My motto is: "If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay." Oh yeah, baby, I'm having some fun and loving it! "Oh, what a feeling!" ...whoops! nope, scratch that last one!... wrong forum... ;-) ;-)

For my FX4 screw, I've gotten 15mpg mixed, 17.5mpg tops on the freeway going 70-75mph with no tonneau cover in the past 5K miles so far. A friend of mine just bought a little SUV that gets 19mpg and couldn't imagine driving anything that got anything less...So I asked him, so what's the difference between 17 and 19mpg?? Both are equally bad in the grand scheme of things! I'll take the truck in a heartbeat! Choose your evil!

Oh.. don't blindly inflate yer tires to 50psi. Go by the max listed on the sidewalls...

 

Anyone have any numbers on how much mileage they are losing when running the A/C vs. not? And by "not" I mean windows rolled up, when it was cool enough not to need the A/C. I'm looking for a general idea on what the A/C costs in MPG, all other things being equal. [Not that I'm going to be turning off the A/C any time soon with these temps!]