What would the MPG difference be in your opinion (or experience) between a F-150 and F-250 with the 5.4 engine, tranny and similar axle gears?

 

Ive only had oil burning 250's. Lots of F-150 5.4 2 and 3 valve. I would think the 250 would get at least 2 MPG less due to its added weight and barn door aerodynamics. I would guess 11 to 13 town and 13 to 15 hwy for a F-250 best case scenario.

 

Yeah, my 5.4 250 get just a little less MPG than my buddies 5.4 150. It is not too bad of a difference, but it is noticeble nonetheless. Consistently 1-2 mpg less, usually closer to 1. Like 442 said, the wieght difference, and aerodynmaics make the difference. You would not think so, but the 150 seems to cut through the wind better, while my 250 is thrown all over the road from the wind.

 

2006 F250 4x2 Crew Cab short box 5.4 auto 3.73 with tonneau cover
14 mpg combined


2008 F150 4x4 Crew Cab 6.5 box 4.6 auto 3.73 with Leer cap
16 mpg combined

My F250 was almost 7k empty I think weight had alot to do with the mpg difference.

 

mpg will be roughly the same while towing, mainly due to the tranny difference. The F250 will probably get a bit better mpg with one of the higher gears too, less work for the engine to move that extra weight.

 

I have a few buddies of mine with 250s and they are getting a little less mpgs than I am. Around 1-2 less. Hey Fosters, do you inheirently disagree with everyone on the site?

 

Apparently he does disagree with everyone and NOT make any sense doing it!

How does "an F250 get a bit better mileage with one of the higher gears, less work for the engine to move that extra weight" ????????? UNBELIEVABLE!

 

Because the engine will have to work less. And the 250's tranny will perform better especially towing. I will have to agree with Fosters on this one. Many even report the V10 gets them better MPG with a heavier load, the 5.4L just struggles too much. So lets say a load around the max the 150 can haul, its possible for a 250 even with a V10 and some higher gears like 4.30 to get the same or actually 1-2mpg better than a 150.

 

1. transmission: F-250 has auto w/5 speed. just has 1 extra o/d gear vs the F-150. they both have 3 "true" gears. the F-250 is more solidly built and 1,2,3 gears are slightly deeper to handle heavier loads

2. weight: at least 1,000 lbs difference

3. aerodynamics: they're both bricks. negligible difference between the two

F-150 gets 12-15 mpg city and upwards of 20 mpg highway with 5.4...add 1k of weight, and hopefully the F-250 can see something similar. I wouldn't be surprised if a F-250 can pull upwards of 19-20 mpg highway though unloaded due to the 5th gear...city...not so much. I've heard lots of complaints from guys getting 10-12 mpg in 99% of driving.

You can't even compare the V-10 to the 5.4. Power is significantly different, and the V-10 is a thirsty beast. I can theoretically believe similar MPG towing (v-10 works less), but I'd have to see the proof firsthand. I remember the mpg differences between the 460 and 351...I can only imagine that still holds true today.
if you're actually towing with either truck, O/D is most likely turned off. since the F-250 transmission has deeper gearing, math says the engine RPM will be higher to maintain speed while in 3rd.

The F-250 is going to barely notice stuff that the F-150 would be struggling with. But, to be able to do that, it gains alot of weight and mechanical advantage (in transmission/axle ratio). These advantages just don't equate the good MPG. I would say to get a F-150 if you tow a handfull of times a year. Tow more often?, then get the F-250.

 

yep..MPG is much more affected by how hard the engine has to work and much less (than people think) by rpm and in some cases weight.

there are plenty of people on this site that report better MPG around town on gear swapped trucks; and I've even noticed it on my mustang, in the city, mpg was higher - at the time I didn't calculate it but I could go a few days extra on one tank...

I've only got to play with the tow haul mode on the SD tranny once, and I have no idea what it does, but it makes it feel like the load isn't even back there...

The V10 is just a beast... more like the lochness monster now that I'm looking to buy one though... Here 'nessy 'nessy...

Just the people that little concept of physics. like the ones that want 25mpg from a 6000lb brick and argue that the fact we got all that gigantic (bottom of the class) hp/tq is the reason we don't get that mpg...

 

I believe it is possible for the 250 to get better mpgs, but from what I have seen(so far) they just don't. Of course, that's just a few cases that I have seen and that's not enough to base anything on.The op was asking about the 150 and 250 w/ 5.4's and simular set ups. Not the V10 and different tranny's and gear ratios. Besdes all that, mpgs depend on driving conditions, what a persons driving habits are and so on, kinda hard to get a definative answer with this one.

 

the 5.4 F250 still has a diff tranny than the 5.4 F150. and I guess it goes whatever way you wanna think of it... yeah you can get an f150 with 4.10s from the factory but then you're adding in 1500 dollars worth of payload package.. or you can get the 3.73s for 50 bucks, but those are standard in the 250. considering the trucks cost about the same, adding that same money into the 250 will simply get you a better performing truck - either extra gears, or the v10 or whatnot...

my old 04' 2wd 5.4 w/ 3.73s was hurting pulling the mustang on a uhaul trailer through the hills in arizona... maybe 6k lbs tops. pulled a similar weight load with an 05 5.4 250 4x4 (so considerably heavier) but with 4.10s and the thing had no problem, no gear hunting, and was even able to hold on to o/d w/o problem.

 

depends on the o/d. as long as it's not hunting for gears, i usually leave o/d on. as soon as it shifts out of it, it's off until i hit flat land again... basically comes down to this: while getting up to hwy speed, the F250 will have a definite advantage in 1 extra gear and deeper gearing... once at speed, the RPMs will be higher in the f250 likely (due to higher rear end gears and very slightly higher o/d if used) however, the load on the engine will be smaller. That is usually what kills MPG more than RPM.

I get better mpg on the hwy in the mustang than I did stock with 3.55s. with 4.30s and less weight.. so RPM's went up, load on the engine went considerably down - via gears and ~300 lbs shaved. If RPM were as evil as people warned me before my gear change, I'd be getting sub-20mpg hwy

there are a few posts in the V10 forum where people get better MPG towing with V10s than they did with previous 5.4s. around town though, you're right, they're thirstier, no doubt about it.

 

I was just trying to come up with a situation where the 250 has the advantage. Yeah all options equal and not heavy towing it seems like a 2mpg difference for both city/hwy seems to be common from what I have read (which I have been reading a lot since deciding between a new 150 and 250 myself). The problem is most of the 250 owners do often haul stuff or at least drive their truck like they stole it... not so good for mileage. And when you ask em about how good of mileage they get when not hauling and taking it easy its like they get offended that I'm concerned about mpg yet asking about a super duty. So its hard to get realistic numbers. Even in the 150 crowd... there are those who have never seen higher than 15 even hwy, 13 typical. Then there are the [rare] few who get near 20. fueleconomy.gov has the 150 4x4 at 13/17 as I recall, just going by that I'd say 1-2 less with SD. IMO thats not much difference if the only reason your looking at a 150 is to save gas... at least for folks like me who actually still want things like manual transmissions and manual lock outs. Disclaimer: I am trying to talk myself into a SD so probably all my comments are biased, lol.

 

I do agree w/ some of what you say fosters, and you know what I have from past postings between each other. Mine has the 4.10 because of the H.D. payload package so my 150 is closer to a 250 than most others and so far I have yet to come across a 250 that gets better mileage than mine, but I would figure there are some out there. Most of the 250s I've come across are actually SMALLER than my 150 yet I'm still getting better mileage than those, go figure. Just as side note, I got a hell of deal on my truck when I puchased, the truck was used (only 1900 miles on it and 7 months old) and I only paid $19,995 for a truck that was originally $28,195 on the window sticker. Kinda made my choice easy. Plus I like the styling and interior better than the 250 or 350, though that really shouldn't be a factor in choosing a work truck, depending on who you are.