When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
One vital bit of information missing from most of these replies is speeds and routes driven- makes a lot of difference. If you do a lot of starting and stopping, and have big,, heavy tires, your mileage will be a lot different from someone who does mainly steady speed driving with factory tires, even in an otherwise identical truck. A lot of short trips (say, under 3 or 4 miles ) will absolutely kill your mileage.
I drive about 45 miles a day, about 1/3 is at about 45 mph on surface streets, 2/3 is on the interstate at 65-70 mph. My driving is very consistent, both in distance and route, so any changes that affect mileage are easy to see.
I bought my 2012 F-150 screw, 5.0, 3.55 gears, XTR 4x4 in June. It had 57K on the clock, and the factory tires were just about down to the wear bars, so I replaced them right away with 275/70-18 Courser AXT's. Other than the tires, it's otherwise stock. In this condition, I was getting 15.3 mpg, consistently.After about 2 months, I checked the tire pressure- it was 24 rear, 26 front. I raised it to 34 rear, 36 front. ( note: if you live in an area with cold winters and hot summers, you should check tire pressure a couple times a year, since it can vary quite a bit with the temperature.) After driving for a couple weeks with the higher pressure, the mileage settled at 15.7- an improvement of 4/10 mpg. A couple weeks ago, I put new spark plugs in, gapped at .045. The factory plugs that I took out, were gapped at .060. With the old plugs, the idle was rough, and there was a stumble on take off. Both conditions were gone after changing the plugs. After a couple weeks of driving, the mileage has settled at 16.8 mpg. That's a 1.5 mpg improvement for about 2hrs work, and $45 for a set of plugs. One of the reasons I decided to post this, is that I saw a post suggesting that the original plugs be cleaned and re-installed, since the factory claims a 100K mile life for them. If I did the math right, ( I now have 61K on the odometer) by the time I hit 100K miles, the new plugs will save about 166 gallons of gas. At today's prices (about 2.20/gal ) that's $365. This is what the original plugs looked like when I took them out- would you want to put these back in your truck?
I check my tires several times a year, to account for temperature extremes. That was the first time I checked the tires after having them installed, and they were likely low to begin with. I mentioned checking the pressure after seasonal weather changes, because a lot of people don't realize it can significantly change tire pressure. I usually adjust my wife's tire pressure in spring and winter, and a 10 pound or more drop between summer and winter is not unusual.
I was on a 500 mile trip here in Central Pa. all interstate lots of hills. The pedal max helped some 40 psi in tires and then on ethanol gas did it. And using cruise a lot , went down to pick new travel trailer on that tank.speeds were between 60-65 mph . I also use MMO in every tank. Everything seems to help especially using light throttle that's where the pedal max helps with the very quick throttle . I'm sure if once I got out of the Pa mountains and say went to Florida on a long trip I would get even better mileage. Towing the travel trailer I'm getting 12-14 (6500) Lb. winninago Minnie 2351 DKS.
Last edited by timtoolman; 11-05-2016 at 08:53 AM.
I check my tires several times a year, to account for temperature extremes. That was the first time I checked the tires after having them installed, and they were likely low to begin with. I mentioned checking the pressure after seasonal weather changes, because a lot of people don't realize it can significantly change tire pressure. I usually adjust my wife's tire pressure in spring and winter, and a 10 pound or more drop between summer and winter is not unusual.
Tom
And what I'm saying is that this is bad practice. Tires can drop 3-4 pounds a month in normal usage without a temperature change. Finding a 10 pound drop is a big deal. Checking tires monthly, as well as checking fluid levels monthly, should be a standard practice.
Driving on 24 pound tires will result in both excessive wear and lower MPG.
Ford recommends you not use fuel additives. Using Top Tier gas is all that is necessary, and you may in fact harm your engine / fuel system by using a fuel additive.
Hey guys I've been getting a combined 12mpg (based off the instrument display) while driving it conservatively. Meanwhile I've seen videos of people with 4.56 gears, lift and 35s getting like 18mpg combined. I've got a 2" level, 33x12.5 r20s on 20x10s with 3.55 gears and a 5.0. Is this worth taking in to the dealership to get checked or anything I can do to improve this aside from stock wheels and tires?
I've never heard ANYONE say they get 18mpg with 35's and any gear ratio. I have 6.5" lift and 35's with the same 3.55 gears, and I get 12 city, 14 highway- at 75mph. But I drive like I'm 80 years old. The biggest factor is how heavy your throttle foot is. There's nothing wrong with your truck. My truck showed 11.8mpg for a while, when I ran Supreme (93) fuel, and one day I switched to regular (87), and its stayed solid on 13.8-14.0. Literally all of my driving is highway- 75mph. I still don't know why my truck loves 87 over 93 octane, but I'm cool with that!
I mentioned my highway speeds, because people like to say "highway", but they don't say whether they're doing 55 or 85. If I do 55, I'll get almost 17mpg with my lifted truck on 35's. If I do 80, I'll get 13mpg. Makes a big difference.
I've also checked the actual mileage and fuel consumption vs what the truck's indicator says, and I only saw about a 0.2mpg difference.
Last edited by Hollie J. McCaleb; 11-05-2016 at 10:01 AM.
Ford recommends you not use fuel additives. Using Top Tier gas is all that is necessary, and you may in fact harm your engine / fuel system by using a fuel additive.
Agree, take Chevron for instance with Techron. they are producing a product that will destroy our engines? I dont think so! Just a ploy on Fords part to scare you and make you come to them for service. Laughable!
11-04-2016, 07:02 PM
