Ok, I know a lot of you...or all of you will not beleive me on this, but this is the absolute truth! I have no reason to BS on this one. Didn't beleive it myself!
Trip coming back from Gatlinburg, TN. Stopped in Hickory,NC. Filled up tank and decided to take it easy coming back. Family of 4 fully loaded with luggage and we just were having a good time returning home from a nice time in Gatlinburg for Thanksgiving.
I set cruise at 65mph. Later, my son-in-law looked up and said wow, you are getting the 17mpg you said this thing did one time! I looked up at the overhead and was amazed! So, I began to wonder if I could beat the 17.4 from when I tried an easy trip once before. When I got to about 120 miles, it broke 17.5 and over the next 50 miles, it gradually got up to 18!.
Now, is this accurate? Well, I can tell you that my fuel guage lines up with this where it was quite a bit over the half mark. Fule Gauge has always been accurate and predictable. The overhead has always been .4mpg optomistic. I have still yet needed to go to the gas station since this trip and am very impressed. Now that I am back in town driving to work every day, it has dropped to 15.8. Usually, this is around 13 when I do nothing but drive to/from work and back. That of course is taking it easy which is very hard for me to do for a straight week or more. Love to push that gas down every now and then to pin my back to the seat!
Oh well, thought this was an amazing accomplishment since I have never seen a V-10 Excursion do this!
Likely, had I filled up as soon as I got to Raleigh, I would bet that I was actually getting 17.5-17.6 actual mpg in comparison with the overhead!
Ya gotta love it!
Gotta take good care of her now and keep it forever!

P.S. Check the overhead photo my wife took in my gallery.

 

Well, congrats! how many miles did you get out of the tank? You know, as compared to the normal?

 

Thanks! Still going on the same tank. Might fill up next week sometime.

 

Yes, i have done the same.. cruise controlled from sacramento calif to riverside calif. 65 to 70 mph, we made in the 17's also, we have never matched that again. it seems if you go over 2000 rpm while cruising, you mileage drops big time.Even going 75 drops it to the 15's.

 

Hi,

I have a 2004 V-10 excursion and the best I can do is around 15.0 actual (15.4 on overhead). Did you do any modifications to increase your mileage ?

Please let me know.

Thanks.

 

my X has 75000 miles, could be that. Also i have a K&N filter and a vortex device installed. I know they probably do nothing and i plan to try just the paper filter soon to see if it matters. Some say the k&n lets in too much dirt..?

 

if you clean it often and recharge/oil the filter, it works extremely well.

 

No mod's. Also have switched back and forth between paper and K&N and notice absolutely no difference.
Also, K&N's let in too much dirt when they are clean. They become more efficient as they build up dirt as far as filtering, but then become much like a paper filter at that point.
I really think their purpose in life is only for higher end rpm's when stepping on it, not for normal daily driving.
I am using it because I bought it, but put in the paper when it is time to clean it, then the next oil change, I put the K&N back in.
Lot's of debate on the K&N type filters.
Bottom line is to fill up at an exit ramp, drive a long distance on the interstate and gradually speed up or down. No hard pedal pushing. Let 'er cruise at 65ish and you should see something in the 16-17mpg range. Also, make sure the air pressure in the tires is on the higher end. Mine are running 65psi which is the max. for the Load Range D BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO's.
Conditions must be good also. Remember this is cooler weather now. No air condition running. Was not a windy day on this trip either.
My normal trips are driving around 70 - 80 depending upon the traffic flow. At that, I usually get in the upper 15's on a long trip, and lower 16's if I stay around 68-72mph.

Never got this good with my GMC 350 Pickup! I never got better than 15mpg with that truck and it is weak compared to this V-10, not to mention a much lighter vehicle.

 

I heard of more issues w/ K&n using the stock replacement filter. Found more dirt getting in due to sealing issues rather than passing through the filter its self. Dont have one myself but have herd guys talk good about the FIPK full intake kit K&N offers.

 

yea, thats probably true. I have seen the FIPK on ebay and such but i do not want to spen that much money. My wife has a heavy foot and i have to save my pennies for fuel. ( i do not mind though) , Oh, i am a truck driver and i saw two wrecks with X's involved this week.. Final score X's almost no damage and one corolla totaled and another small car with much the same damage.

 

Are you also hand calculating the mielage after fill up? The over head read out isn't the most accurate..

 

actually, i am quite amazed at how accurate the overhead computer system is... if you reset the computer at the start of your trip.

 

everyone else calls it the lie-o-meter, but myself as well, i think it's been amazingly accurate. i am surprised.

 

My overhead "Thirst-O-Meter" has been pretty accurate too.

Yesterday, I was rolling down hill, at over 70, in neutral....when I reset the average fuel economy. It read 87.5 MPG for a minute...then I had to go back to reality.

The K&N debate was a big one on the Viper CLub of America boards awhile back. I do use K&N in my Viper, as well as a FIPK on the Cobra. On the Cobra it was worth nearly 40HP! I know in trucks the increase is slight. On the Cobra, eliminating the airbox was a big part. Anyhow, the same debate about K&Ns not filtering as well as paper was brought up and I contacted K&N. I had read a report that said a fresh K&N filters as well as paper, but that they actually filter better as they get dirty. Even dirty..they flowed better than paper. K&N tech support confirmed this.

I also discussed this with my SVT tech, who saw no problem at all with running a K&N. Dodge used to make a Viper model called the ACR, which was basically a GTS with adjustable shocks, harnesses, a set of smooth intake hoses, and K&N filters. Same exact engine but the filters-hoses netted a 10HP increase. (Starting with 450, 10 is no big deal.) This also put me more at ease in using K&Ns as Dodge would not take a chance on warranty engine problems due to a bad filter.

 

That's all fine for a race-ready car but really: stock paper filters flow more air than our engines can inhale at WOT & 5200rpm.

So what exactly is the point to changing it?

Someone really needs to put a vacuum guage on the intake to see if there actually is any restriction...oh wait...I was gonna do that... Okay, off to find a vacuum gauge.