Last weekend I filled my V10 4.30 up after putting 350 mostly highway miles. My hand calculated mpg was 13.3. This is the best mpg to date in the 5,000 miles since I purchased the vehicle. The odd thing is, this is the fastest I have driven it. Most of 350 miles were were at 70-75 mph. For the first 2,000 miles, I rarely went over 62 mph and babied it on take offs. Best I ever got was 12.8 mpg. My total average over the 5,000 miles is 11 mpg. 2,100 of those miles have been towing the 6,000lb TT or 4,000 lb boat. If I can get over 13 mpg on the freeway, I will be very happy. My towing mpg has yet to hit 9 mpg. I am a little disappointing in that as my 94 suburban averaged 10 mpg on flat lands, however, that difference in power probably makes up for it. I was just hoping to get close to 10 mpg with this lite of a low profile TT.

No need for you diesel guys to rub it in with your 18-20 mpg averages.

 

Strange thing is, you always hear about how jackrabbit starts are bad. Now I don't nail the throttle to the floor, but I have found my MPG is better if I give it a little extra oomph starting out and go ahead and get her up into overdrive more quickly as opposed to babying the throttle and letting it take its time going through the gears. Seems strange, but the MPG figures support it. I guess it's all about momentum.

 

Another strange thing I have noticed: When I accelerate with my TT giving about half throttle, my scan gauge II shows that I am getting better mpg than accelerating empty at 1/4 throttle. I don't think I'm believing it.

 

Wow, that's crazy. I knew the diesels got better mileage than the v10's, but I didn't think it was that bad. Do you have anything decreasing your mpg other than 8000lbs of vehicle? Were you hauling a huge travel trailer or boat?

 

Only a 6,000 lb TT and 4,000lb boat. The MPG is not more than 1 mpg between them.

I may need to learn the tricks of this engine a little more. I have been trying to keep it in OD when ever it is not downshifting. I may turn the OD off and run it at 2,500-3,000 rpms.

 

did you recalibrate your spedo after you got the 4.30's?

 

Ya' just had to go and ruin his day, didn't ya'? (hee hee) Good catch. Best I ever got with a V10, 3.73s and OEM tires was 17MPG ... that's what the lie-o-meter was registering after a fill-up & reset while travelling at 45MPH for about 20 miles on I-40 passing road construction in AZ several years ago.

 

No, It came from the factory with the 4.30. I assumed it was calibrated???

 

Just not possible. Get a new lie-a-meter.

Best mileage I have ever achieved, V10 3.73 OEM tires, 99% city driving, is 8.4 mpg.

I have gotten 8.2 to 8.4 mpg consistently since buying it. While this may seem alarming to some, it's a good type of alarm. It means my Excursion is running as good and efficient as it was when brand new.

 

No need to recalibrate for gears.

A gas engine actually runs optimum when at WOT. The throttle plate isn't in the way to create a pumping loss. It's actually more efficient to go WOT for short bursts and then coast...from what I understand.

 

Honest officer, I ain't lying. I remember my wife said she would scream when the overhead display hit 17 MPG because that's all she got from her V6 2WD Explorer. BTW, that scream damaged my hearing.

And to top that, I regularly got 11.3 MPG (hand calculated) towing a 5,600# open car trailer to Carlisle, PA and back. Sheriff, you need to have yours checked out. Less than 9 is horrible MPG for any V10. Even after installing the OEM 20s on my '05, I'm still getting 9.5 MPG around town ... again, that's calculated & not lie-o-meter.

 

Agreed.

But it is important if you're going to compare against others to use GPS to actually see if the speedo and the tire size reflect actual ground speed/distance.

 

My 03 Excursion with the V10 and 4.30's averages 10-11 mpg in average driving. My average driving is 70% interstate running 75 mph and 30% backroads. My best so far has been 12.8 mpg and this was all interstate going to the beach this summer. All stock with 305 70 16's. I had a 99 V10 5 speed F250 awhile back and it got the same mileage. On my Excursion, If I can squeeze 400 miles out of a tank in my normal driving, it is good. I have original plugs and 108,000 miles. Will put in NGK Iridiums sometime soon.

 

Gotta jump in! Just filled up. Hand calculated 13.9 again! This the fourth time. Miles to empty shows 616 miles...that is 14 MPG. I have the V10 gas With 3.73s. This average covers all kinds of driving...fast , slow, fully loaded with kids, dogs, just the wife and me, etc. There may be one short 4000lbs tow in there , too. Under 100 miles. Exc has done 17.4 mpg at 65 mph. Still smiling!. Oh. I changed my Fram air filter just befor this better mpg. I picked up about 2-3 mpg. Better throttle response slight, but there.

 

At least you tell the truth about gas mileage!!
V-10's getting 17 mpg? t
Down hill with a tailwind in Neutral with the engine off maybe!

You guys and your "overhead displays" Jeez I can get 29mpg's on my overhead display with my 6.0 Ex, Then when you hand figure it it's usually 17.5-18.5!

We all play around with those overhead displays. You fill you truck and then get on the freeway and get up to 55 and reset the thing and it will say some ridiculous mpg's, but that aint accurate! Burn a full tank or even a half of tank and then fill it up and hand figure your mileage and that will be accurate! These kind of threads are so not full of much real world mpg truth!!!!