90% of my driving is in an 10 mile radius (work,golf,store) sometimes I get up to 50-55, but for the most part many stop lights & heavy traffic. I'm registering @ 11.5 mpg - does this seem correct? Went on a long trip a while back and was getting 18 on the hwy with the ac on. Around town I rarely use my ac.
BTW, 06 5.4 triton laredo, 40k miles

 

do you go above 2000/3000 rpm when you leave the stop lights/signs? I notice a hit when I hammer my throttle alot which I do alot. 4X4? 3.73 gear? 4.10 gear? Which engine? Changed fuel/air filter? Properly inflated your tires? What year is the truck and how many miles do you have? Might have gotten some crappy gas. Could hood rats be siphoning gas?

I know I can get 16-18 if I behave but I don't. I am guessing I should pick up some economy when I change my fuel filter...at just under 18k and on the original filter from the factory in my 06.

 

That around town mileage seems awfully low to me unless you put your foot into it, or you have some mod that's also affecting it. I have a 07 SCab LB Heavy Half with 4.10's, no mods to it other than alloy rims. I get around 15 mpg around town and I've gotten up to 19.36 highway. Around town is alot of stop and go with short stretch of 55 mph.

Paul

 

Actually I drive pretty mellow. Don't know the rear gears but it's a 2wd. Only mod I know of is a 2:1:2 exhaust with a different muffler. Extended cab but not a king cab.

 

Last time your filters got changed out?

 

Couldn't say, bought it used 3 months ago w/ 36K on it. I'm 100 below 40K right now.

 

Regular schedule for fuel filter is 30k...I am doing mine before 20k hits. Air filter is easy enough to check for filth. I actually collapsed the air filter on my 98 4.6L I should have the picture around here somewhere.

FOUND IT!

 

Yes, that sounds correct, at least for a 4x4 crew cab. I can baby my truck in town and only pull 12. Depending on the day I can get anywhere between 14-22 on the highway.

 

Mine also is a 2wd SuperCab with the 8' box. I really find it hard to believe that I can do that much better around town than you can. I drive on average 40 miles a day and a majority of that's stop and go. I am a conservative driver so it's probably as good as it's going to get.

I'd say you need to start with the basics: inflate the tires to near max pressure listed, make sure that all maintenance is current, air and fuel filter are clean, brakes aren't hanging up or parking brake isn't dragging, insure you aren't riding the brake pedal while driving around town, etc. Then check things like the MAF and whether that needs to be cleaned, maybe run some injector cleaner through a tank of gas. If you're carrying around any dead weight items, get them out. One thing I do know on my other truck (97 F150 Scab SB 4x2 4.6L), different brands of gasoline will produce different mileage. I found the ones that give me the best and that's the ones I use.

I just got the 07 a few months ago, but my other truck definitely loses mileage over winter. Between the winter treads and steel rims I run during winter along with the winter blend fuel, I can easily expect to lose at least one mpg.

May need to start thinking like a detective: what might be causing the difference then start eliminating them one at a time

That's about all I can think of for now

Paul

PS one last thought. With your exhaust change, was all the emissions stuff (like 02 sensors etc) connected back up? If any of that was eliminated, then it might have an effect on the operating mode the computer has the engine running in.

 

wifes 07 4x4 Screw with 33s on her gets around 13 in town. Only gets about 16 on highway. But then again i think she has size 18 shoes. Now my 07 Lariet 2wd gets about 16 around town and 18.5 on mixed driving. I dont get it on open highway too much. But the fews times i did it got about 22. Disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes to reset the computer. Then drive it like you normally would to see if that will give you a different reading.Person that owned it before might of thought it said Shelby Cobra on the side and drove it hard. 36k worth of driving isnt going to allow mpg to change much in the next 4k.

 

I just bought a 2006 Super crew 4x2 6' box, it has 47,000km on it and I get 20.2mpg highway and 16mpg city driving. I run 1900 rpm on the highway, drive mellow even on take off. The guy before me hauled a horse trailer so don't know if that makes a difference on the break in and effect the fuel mileage but thats what I get. No mods have been done at all to it. 18" rims and bone stock.