MPG for E150 while towing
New User
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Denver area
I have a 96 E150 with the 5.8l (351) and I just towed my camper (#4500 or so) up the continental divide then over to winter park over the pass and got about 9mpg. I was thinking of putting the accel ignition pack in it to try and improve things a bit. anyone had any luck with the accel ignition or a power programer?
New User
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
What gears would you recommend for towing? I'm running 3:55 with a C6.
I can run around town. get out into traffic without a prob. It's the hills on the highway that kill me. I flat run out of throttle. Wouldn't bigger gears make it run out of throttle sooner? ie more RPM @ lower MPH.
I can run around town. get out into traffic without a prob. It's the hills on the highway that kill me. I flat run out of throttle. Wouldn't bigger gears make it run out of throttle sooner? ie more RPM @ lower MPH.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,040
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
I'll say again, you are not aerodynamic, you will still gear down on hills to retain speed, likely not getting any increase in MPG. A friend has a 95 E-150 300 I-6 and 3 speed C-6 transmission, on a trip, he and his friend who had a 97 E-150 5.4 with overdrive back in 97 got the same mileage running the same speed. The 6 didn't have an overdrive because they lacked the power to retain overdrive, the 5 speed auto Ford uses has the same high range as the 4 speed, it just has a lower first to allow a higher rear end. I find the 5 speed only available in the V-10 and they have a 3:55 rear axle ratio, because loaded vans with that high of a gear struggle to take off, I know this very well as city loaded is in the single digits.
A semi is not a comparable to the vans, they a diesels, those engines have the power band at lower RPM's, they don't like revving up, why do you think gas engines don't have 10 speed gear boxes, they don't have the torque for it.
A semi is not a comparable to the vans, they a diesels, those engines have the power band at lower RPM's, they don't like revving up, why do you think gas engines don't have 10 speed gear boxes, they don't have the torque for it.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2007
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Gee, I drove an E-150 with a 300 I-6 & electronic 4-speed overdrive just last week.
The '92 & '96 sales brochures show "4.9L EFI-I6 with electronic 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission" was "standard" for Club Wagons & optional on vans.
The '92 & '96 sales brochures show "4.9L EFI-I6 with electronic 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission" was "standard" for Club Wagons & optional on vans.
Junior User
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 56
Likes: 1
How important is gearing? Gearing nearly makes torque obsolete. Yes, it's that important. In a perfect environment with no limiting factors such as size and weight, the actual peak torque output of an engine would be totally meaningless because of gearing.How's that possible? It's simple. Gearing multiplies peak torque to the wheels to any amount desired. Increasing the ratio increases torque.
The limiting factors are the biggest problem with this ideal setup. Torque is multiplied through gear ratios, but the higher the gear ratio, the larger the gear and the more space it takes up. Unfortunately, in the real world, there's only so much space for a gear to occupy. It's this space limit that contributes to the "torque = towing capacity" philosophy. If space were unlimited and we could make the ratios anything we wanted, then towing capacity would be limitless since we could easily just utilize a higher ratio gear.
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 7,573
Likes: 250
From: Laquey, MO
Well said about gearing and available space, but you also forgot another limiting factor - RPM. As gear ratios go up for greater mechanical advantage, the RPM of the engine (or motor) also increases accordingly. Although we can safely rev a modern engine several times higher than we could just 25 years ago, there is still a limit to how far we can go. Gear down a small horsepower engine to gain mechanical advantage and you'll likely rev it past its power band and likely overheat it regardless of how superb a cooling system it has.
If we were not addicted to speed & economy, then we could use gearing to get the job done. Remember, the transporter used by NASA to move shuttles to the launch pad moves only at 1mph loaded and 2mph empty and consumes 150 gallons per mile.
If we were not addicted to speed & economy, then we could use gearing to get the job done. Remember, the transporter used by NASA to move shuttles to the launch pad moves only at 1mph loaded and 2mph empty and consumes 150 gallons per mile.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,040
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
As I said, if with 4 gears, my 99 E-350 at times drops into second on steep hills cruise set at 70 MPH with my 3.55 gears in the rear axle, keeping it in 4th/OD is a small miracle, how would more gears be the answer? Torque is important, if you don't have your engine at the right RPM, where the torque curve is, the engine does not have power and speed will decrease. Put your van in 2 and attempt to drive up a hill from a stop and see how effective it is, as you say, increasing gear size increases torque, guess offroaders got it all wrong, rather than gearing down their trail rigs, they need to gear them up.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6,127
Likes: 6
Gearing to properly match torque and power and engine rpm to load and speed is important.
But if the issue is towing and fuel economy,the limiting factor is the amount of energy in each gallon of gasoline / diesel, and the efficiency of the drivetrain in converting it to motion.
By that reasoning, if someone promise a E-350 (any engine/gear) towing 7,000 lbs to be able to deliver 50mpg...
You know to send that fella to the Department of the Treasury to deal with giving away bailout money.
But if the issue is towing and fuel economy,the limiting factor is the amount of energy in each gallon of gasoline / diesel, and the efficiency of the drivetrain in converting it to motion.
By that reasoning, if someone promise a E-350 (any engine/gear) towing 7,000 lbs to be able to deliver 50mpg...
You know to send that fella to the Department of the Treasury to deal with giving away bailout money.