G Steezy

Hey guys, I've had my truck for two years now and love pretty much everything about it except the fuel mileage. It has got to be the most inefficient pickup on the road.


I have a 2004 (not heritage) F150 4 door Lariat
K&N intake
Aftermarket exhaust
Two inch leveling spacers in the front
.355 gears
Steel cowl hood
Soft bed cover
90,0000 miles on stock plugs
I can't think of anything else that would be useful information as far as fuel mileage would go.


When driving without hauling anything I get around 11.5 MPG and I would say that's 70 percent HWY and 30 percent city,


When Hauling my 8X12 enclosed trailer v nose with a couple of motorcycles in there I get 8MPG. The terrain doesn't seem to make a difference either way with towing. I also do keep OD off to keep from excessive shifting.


I love the truck, but I tow my motorcycles to the track often and the fuel cost is getting kind of crazy. I know the plugs are due, which I'll get to soon, but I was wondering about the K&N cold air intake. I've heard of the oil from the filter getting on the mass air flow sensor fooling the motor into running rich. I bought the truck with it on there so I can nothing to compare it to prior to it being installed.


So is this the norm of what others are getting around here, or do I have something out of the normal going on? Any input would be appreciated.

Blackpony

Sounds like you may need a tuneup. Plugs, fuel filter, make sure the air filter is clean, clean the maf, run some injector cleaner in the tank, etc. 90k on the stock plugs will definitely not help with mileage. Regardless what they recommend I change mine about every 40-50k.

Zrock

I would personally go back to the stock filter with the gotts mod if it will work on your truck and clean the mass air flow. I noticed significant increase with that mod. Then get yourself a gauge like this http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/ and watch your driving and adjust accordingly. With adjusting my driving style i increase my fuel econ enough to pay for the gauge within a few months. I went from 2 fill ups a month to 1. New plugs and make sure your air pressure is good.

G Steezy

I'll have to see if a salvage yard has the stock air cleaner assembly for a decent price. I new here and don't know mod you're referring to, but I'll look into it. I'm not too keen on the gauge, I don't want driving my truck to consist of constant worrying and viewing my gas mileage. Thanks for all the input guys. I'm open to any other idea's as well.

joe mcmillan

My 2004 Super Cab 4X4 4.6L gets 15.5 MPG city and just under 19 highway.
The only related mod is Edge Evo that has instant and average MPG display. I don't believe the Edge made any mileage improvement other than observing the instant MPG and driving more carefully.
Before this truck, I had a 2000 Super Cab 4X4 5.4L. It usually got 13.5 MPG city and ~16 highway - all stock.

MPETE

iTrader: (1)

What size and type of tires are you running

G Steezy

Michelin
275/70/18

ninerhb

Even if you don't keep the gauge on 24/7, having it on to "tune in" while you try different fixes will be faster testing than waiting for each fillup (even at 12mpg). It will also help you see where your driving habits may be pulling you down.

Keep in mind that generally any mods that produce more power, often do so at the expense of worse gas mileage. Wider tires also are generally higher rolling resistance, so more fuel loss.

Engine would also be useful for getting a base idea of where your mileage should be. I get about 20mpg highway, 16mpg-ish highway when towing max load - but I've got a short bed, short cab, and only the 4.2L V6 so "max load" isn't much.

Zrock

Ya don't want to have to constantly be worrying about your fuel econ but yet you posted on how to make it better.. hehe.. With the gauge you will probably only watch the gauge for a few weeks until your driving habits change and then not even look at it again. In my opinion these mods give the bast bang for the $ and the fastest return. My savings paid for both within tops 2 months. If you go with one of the programmers its going to take a long time before you recoup the cost of it.

Gene45

I had a 2005 Subaru that came with gauge like that . Instantaneous an average. I found it interesting to watch. the instantaneous reading varied from 0.2 to 50 liters /100 km, depending..............