I have a 2003 superduty with the 6.8 liter V-10: The gas milage is horrible. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to improve my fuel ecomomy. I love my truck and really want to keep it, but the gas money is killin me.

 

Never tow or haul. Keep the rpm's below 2K always and never drive any faster than 60. Other than that, there is nothing you can do.

What do you mean by horrible? I get 12-14 in 50/50 city/highway driving. If I drive hard I get 10. Drive like granpa I get 12-14.

 

I usually get about 10 maybe 11. I was wondering if a cold-air intake or a new exhaust or something along those lines would help.

 

How about a tune up ! plugs ,boots ,clean the maf ,change the fuel filter ,air cleaner,
Tire pressure and keep your foot out of it!Don't believe that 100k plug change.
Rich

 

Sell it and buy a Ranger.

One thing that effects MPG for the worse is O2 sensors. As they age, they read "lean" and the computer goes rich.

Air up your tires as far as you can stand it, and not so far as to wear out the tires too fast.

The trick is, where is the cutoff point for you? How much are you going to spend looking for better MPGs. That cash can buy lots of gas.

If you're talking 10-11MPG as all-around driving, that's about normal for a huge Superduty, no matter what gas motor you have. Basic physics and the limit of the efficiency of internal-combustion piston-based engines. If that's highway MPGs, something's wrong.

 

only reason your truck is a gas hog....because its a $3.00 gallon

 

save your cash those items don't do any thing . as mine are back off and piled in my garage. do as the rest have said. give it a tune up. use motorcraft or autolight plugs of the factory style. not those fancy worthless multipont fireing ones .one point is enough. apply never seize to the plugs before going in and use a torqe wrench to tighten them. use new coil/plug boots. change the oil to 5w20 blended syntec/dyno like the motorcraft blended or full syntc. new fuel filter. air up your tires. make sure your aligment is good and on. then drive it like a little old women.
12 to14 combo is and seems the av.mpgs the guys down in the v10 area get. and what i get with my 05.
as i said the hot rod items don't help. infact i with mine lost not gained.
as to why it's the weight of the truck. and how the gas is blended in some areas. most guys post when they changed brands it went up and down . most stayed with what worked the best.
good luck guy i don't blame any one with a suv right now for wanting to get every thing they can.

 

my excursion v10 4x4 gets about 11 mpg mostly highway and driving about 65...runs smooth and quiet. but it is a little heavier than the pickup..

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts!

…..See you on the boards.

 

Just don't get the 4.0. I averaged around 15 mpg. Strong motor though.

 

it's not only fords v10. my wifes jeep liberty with a 3.7 only gets 14 on the highway. same as her exploder 4.0 got and my lemon dodge 4.7 got . and my 347 cube f150 gets.
want big mpg's to commute to work with get one of the baby fords save the truck for hauling.

 

It doesn't matter what you do to it or how you drive it the v10 wasn't designed to get good gas mileage it was designed to haul/tow big load's and work.If you want good gas mileage buy a focus.

 

just funny to me that almost every v6, v8 and v10. 4x4 gets close to the same mpg's , just for sure this v10 can haul and pull the loads for a gas motor.

 

I agree most pickup's in general don't get very good mileage the problem is most people buy these fancy new 4 door truck's and do very little hauling or towing and use them primarly as grocery getters and everyday commuters and then complain about the gas mileage they're getting.I know alot of people that drive crew cab 1 ton's or 3/4 ton truck's around on a daily basis and the only time they actually tow anything is once or twice a year they pull their camper.

 

There are quite a few folks here at FTE with V10's from which we can all draw some insight & experience. And, from what you have described, it would seem your numbers are in line with norms for the fuel economy of a V10 Super Duty.

The Super Duty was bred as a work truck, and just about everything about it speaks of that heritage. It is 7,000+ pounds of rolling metal with the rough aerodynamics of a brick. Bottom line, there is a reason that the window sticker on every new Super Duty reads "FUEL ECONOMY RATINGS NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS VEHICLE".


As for modifications (be it exhaust, intake, chip, or whatever), they can be considered for a variety of reasons, but improved fuel economy should NOT be one of those reasons.

Think of it this way, most of these parts are built from a performance stand point. Given this, they are built to, in one way or another, aid in getting air into & out of the motor in the most efficient/least restrictive manner. Increased air flow means that more fuel is needed to avoid running lean. Needless to say, that already has us pointed in the exact opposite direction of increased fuel economy.

On the hypothetical side, let's say that there is some magical combination of modifications that can consistently provide a measurable increase in fuel economy. A.) it would take a lot of driven miles to offset the price of the parts, and B.) any potential savings would be further offset any time your right foot got a little heavy on an on-ramp to a highway/interstate or when passing someone.


As others have stated, your best bets are to do a tune-up, maintain the correct tire pressure, and drive like you have an egg between your foot & the accelerator pedal.