hweb30

i seem to have the same problem, im averaging 45mph for most of my city commute and i still cant seem to average even 12mpg. All stock, so what gives?

gone postal

OP- Given the roads you're driving (I'm familiar with the area) if you're running a short commute on those roads, you're not going to get much better on gas mileage. You're constantly in and out of the throttle, the tranny is going to be working hard, and your MPG is going to suck. Too bad the concentration of methane from the dump isn't higher, might improve combustion!

eej711

I'm not bashing you at all, I'm just curious. when you got 24mpg was that when you were going 62 as well? The best i got was 22 on my 2wd going 70 most of the way and going 60 towards the end... just curious if there is that much of a drop in the mpgs from 60-70mph.

Edit: I'd like to know your set up too... tire size, gears, intake, and other mods

tomb1269

Bucko, as I had started out saying, I know its been a beaten horse as I have been reading and searching threads not just here but other sites as well. As a usual I do not just jump in to a post, I do my research.
To the rest, thanks for confirming my suspisions (can fix my trcuk, just can't spell worth a dam). I had thought I would get a little better, but I will take what I got and be happy I can go when and where I want, weather, road, or trail conditions be damned, cause I got a Ford F150 4x4 and its a real truck not a pretty boy toy.........

sargeek1975

Anything having to do with drivetrain is stock........down to the factory tires. I have a truxedo tonnuea cover.


I've made the trip to Springfield MA from Virginia Beach VA numerous times........I take 13 all the way to the Jersey Turnpike.

I keep the cruise control set to 7 over the legal limit in a 55 zone (so I'm doing 62/63 on my GPS, 63 on my Edge and 65 on the dash speedo). In a 65 I do 72. In a 45 I do 47-52 (depends where I'm at) and in a 35 I do 35!!!!! Trust me on this on rt 13!

I normally leave around 9pm.......this means I hardly hit traffic (except in NY); meaning less red lights and less slowing down/speeding up.

The BEST I've seen for average is 26; again before hitting hills.

I believe the trip where I took that pic when I got up there was one where I didn't stop at all.....again obviously helping with the overall trips gas mileage. Made the trip in under 9 hours, following the speeds I listed.

Where I see the BEST mileage is from va beach up to Jersey. The hills once I get up there just destroy it. Also the fact that I'm doing 72 once on the trunpike destroys it as well.



As for other specific questions........yes; in my truck there's a HUGE difference in gas mileage between 70 and 62mph. 62/63 seems to be the BEST speed for gas mileage (again, in my truck). And to offset that (so you guys know I'm not a kook or anything) I average 11-12 in town and 14-16 on the highway driving my normal lead footed way.


I'm weird in that around town (TONS of highway traveling 'in town' here in va beach) I bury the gas pedal every chance I get, flooring it from lights and doing 70-90 on the highway. But when I make long trips I prefer to travel at night, alone....put the cruise control on and take it easy. It's like if I know I'm not getting there anytime soon I just don't care for speeding all that much.

I have noticed that putting the tire pressure to it's max of 45psi makes a difference; but not so much that I didn't go back down to 35 later..........when you're spending a butt-ton of money on gas anyway I figured saving my tires was the smarter option.


I still say the best way to get good gas mileage is to have a way to see it on the fly and have it in your face; and pay attention to it. The second is to use your cruise control once on the highway. My driving at night is obviously a plus.


EDIT
I forgot to add that I have an Edge Evo....duh! Sorry about that. I used to run it on Level 2 all the time; using 87 octane. No load other than my bag of clothes and toiletries(sp?).

(I've since gone back to running it on Level 1 about a month and a half ago; right after I got my plugs changed, but I haven't made any long road trips since, I have to drive out CA on the 20th.........so I'll be trying it on both Level 1 and 2 during different parts of the trip to see which actually gives better gas mileage, and I can't WAIT to see the mileage I get going over some really flat land for 100's and 100's of miles!)

18_F-150_XLT_Screw

iTrader: (1)

This is exactly what I get too... mine has 52k on it.....

tomb1269

Sargeek- If you look into the way radials act when under / over inflated you may find that the max cold PIS as listed on the tire will provide you the best tire life, and performance (on Road; Off-Road you are more likely to cut a tire in rock areas). Radials when under infalted actually make less contact with the center of the tire and the road. This is the reason you see a lot of high mileage tires are worn more on the edge then the center. If you live in an area with smooth roads you can get away with running full pressure and not loose any ride comfort. The PSI on the door is the vehical manufactures spec for best ride comfort. Just look back at the Explore / Firestone issue, Fords 1st response was to increase the tire spec by 2 or 4 psi (can't remember which). This would decrease the heat generated in the tire due to running a low tire pressure. Heat seem to be an under lying factor for the Firestone problem.
PS: I have driven 50K life tires to 55K+ by maintaining the Tire manufacture PSI as listed on the tire and regular rotation. The same tire only lasted 40 to 45K when I had to drop the air pressure (south west Va, then moved to Northern NJ roads where just to rough)

encasedmetal

I have an 04' fx4 with a leveling kit, 275/65/18 tires and get 13.8 mpg hardly ever going over 2k rpm. all my driving is in a city in the mountains. wish I could get better but where I live and only driving 8 miles at a stretch is a killer.