In land like that, MPG can't much be helped by a truck, period.

 

Just hit 500 miles on my new Lariat so I'm starting to research junk yards.




So I've been really trying to see how good I can get the mileage to and so far I can't
seem to do better than 16 city/hiway (mostly city). The little freeway driving I've
done I can't drive slower than 65 here in SoCal or I'll **** off the grandmas in their
Priuses. At 65 it still seems to average 16. Hope it improves.

 

Awesome idea on the thread as I'm making an Austria'n Uoot from a 2012 F-150 3.7 L natural aspirated 6 speed auto in 2 wheel drive.


Need to get it home to check tire size and gear set before going threw 10 to 15.000 gas mileage test, then change tire size only for next test in range after that.

Truck will not ever pull a trailer, but will see 600 lb quad in the truck box on the odd outing. 98% of the drives in this unit will be in car mode on mostly low grade hwys in the 3000 to 4500 ft elevation in Alberta Canada

Need to write down the rpm too 100 kpr/ 62 mpr,,, my recall thought was 2200 to 2400 rpm at 100 kpr, but I need to have it spot on with gps reading to have a closer reading.

Thanks for making this thread since its the plan I was on when I bought the truck a few days ago.

Pal Alberta Canada Don.

 

Not really the test, but the new to me 2012 F-150 2 wheel drive is seeing 11 L to 100 kms, or gallon at 2.41 at 60 miles that works out to 24.89 Cnd mpg that isn't bad out of the dealer ship.

Wrong motor and diff oil, wrong tire size and air pressure, and who knows when the last time the charging system and 4 wheel alignment has been check,,, u-joints too.

Can see at this point that I will be able to pull a few more mpg easy when the time comes less messing around with the gear set.

Factory tire recommendations are P225/65R 17 as the unit is sporting 265/70R 17's that are soft winter tires no good for summer driving, they will go to storage bin for now.

The 265/70 is really at 30 3/4" or OD of 100 1/2" that is 8 1/2 feet,,, 255 centimeters OD.

One rev of the tire makes the drive shaft turn 3:25 turns to 1, that means it's not in synchronization with the gear set as it should be 3:55 to 1 factory,,, tires too tall, wide and heavy for any kind of fuel mileage savings since I'm building a Aussy Uoot Mobile, Ha.
Tranny needs to shift on low grade hills as this won't work for fuel mileage.

Motor runs very strong for a 3.7 L naturally aspirated. Tranny shifts super smooth to.

Lots of drives over the next few months as I stretch fuel mileage farther then what's going down at this point in time.

Frugal car/truck idea as planned since the unit will be packing a 600 lb quad in the truck box. Hitch will be removed since it ain't going to pull no trailers.

Alberta pal Don

 

The absolute best thing for better MPG.

Keep speed 55-65 mph or lower

Don't use air conditioner

Both of these will get you 6-7+ more MPG. Not much else is worth the money other than proper maintenance.

 

You can do even better at 45mph...but yeah, hoping for the magic mod or engine additive is fun but pushing that big blocky vehicle thru the air is your biggest problem and with air resistance increasing with the cube of speed (or whatever it is)....slower is better for mpg.

"lowest speed in your highest gear"

 

Totally disagree on the AC. The huge side windows open puts more drag on the truck that it takes to turn the A/C.


Speed of course plays into it. The best I have turned in my typical week (94 miles a day) 70/30 mix was keeping it at 65 on the interstate.


I typically pull 18.8-19.3 depending on how much I stay out of the throttle.
I swear the instant mileage calc moves in direct opposite of the boost lol.

 

You're right about the drag. Theoretically no A/C makes a good difference yet it's not usually practical, unless the temp outside was perfect.

I didn't think about comfort and having to roll down the windows. I will sacrificing MPG's all day long for comfort here in Texas.

 

cycling your ac on and off is an option and turning if off a few minutes before your arrival can help a little bit too.

 

I had a 2011 EB for over 4 years, so I have experience with what to expect for gas consumption. The '11 would normally get 21mpg on the highway at 70mph, although it could drop to 17mpg if the road was hilly. I got about 15.5 to 16mpg around the city. The truck had 3.73 axle.

My new 2015 EB is strange. Around the city I am getting 17 - 18mpg (sometimes better), but on the highway, it drops to 16 - 17mpg or worse. How can this be? My '15 has a 3.55 axle.

For example (very usual), last Sunday I drove 12 miles across the city in traffic after filling the tank, and the mpg was 21mpg on that portion of my drive. Then I drove 18 miles on the highway, and watched my mpg drop from 21 to 16mpg in just those 18 miles.

I now have almost 5,000 miles on the truck, and the average for the entire 5,000 miles is over 16mpg. This truck has rarely been on a highway drive, so all those miles (and that mpg is city driving).

This is not a disaster for me, since 95% of my driving is city, but it puzzles me.

2011 EB = 21 HWY / 16 CITY
2015 EB = 16 HWY / 18 CITY