Gas Mileage
#1
06-11-2012, 11:55 PM
Gas Mileage
I own a 2005 XLT 4 x 4 Crew cab and would like to improve my gas milage i have heard if you use the KN air intake kit and change the muffler you can get up to 22 mpg does anyone know if this is true?? Please email me at hennes85@msn.com
#3
06-12-2012, 02:57 PM
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I'm with jethat.
Most of the things that kill mileage are due to the truck. Rolling resistance, weight, atrocious aerodynamics. Even more often it's the driver or the driving cycle. Those are both free improvements and you might get more from them than anything you could pay thousands for.... spending hundreds to save pennies.
I've been doing some MPG tests for a story and driving as easy as I can, from 55-70, with several aids to economy (LRR tires, a MPG program on a programmer and tonneau), I was able to get a hair over 19mpg. That's with a winch bumper that I measured cost me 1 mpg. I measured the gain of the tonneau at 1.21 mpg on the course and, some time back, on the same course, the difference between an aggressive all terrain tires and all season tires (identical size) was up to 2.4 mpg (in everyday driving it's more like 1.5-2.0 at most... I run the off road tires for summer and the all seasons as winter). Driving style, driving environment and tires will give you the biggest gains or losses. If you add up lots of little things, they can add up but some of those little things (like exhausts and CAIs) cost a lot but don't add up to much in terms of MPG gains.
I am now using a programmer that makes a differnce, but exactly how much I can't tell yet and haven't tested exactly. It's the Superchips VIVID system (VIVID PAQ or VIVID LINQ. The XS Mileage program and a Mileage Mentor screen used with it really are useful. From what I discovered, the program plays with timing but more importantly changes the throttle slope and makes it less sensitive. That one of the few things I have never liked about my F150, or any "throttle by wire" engine. Way too sensitive on the foot feed. The Superchips program makes it easier to be light on the gas pedal.
I have attached a shot of the screen below. I find it's got a lot of little tools to help you be smoother and it has the best and most accurate MPG readouts I have yet found. Most mpg readouts are optimistic...in my experience showing 2-5 mpg more than actual. So did the VIVID at first. After all, all they can do is interpret engine readouts (MAP, MAF, etc) and go to a table to calculate a "should be" mpg. They don't do actual fuel flow measurements. What's different about the VIVID is that you can check your MPG the regular way (miles drive/gallons used) and enter that in as a correction factor. Do that a few times and you start getting VERY accurate readouts.
So maybe with the right readout devices you can get "22 mpg" but it probably won't really be 22 mpg. But you'll be able to brag about it and to some, that's more important than really knowing what you are getting.
Most of the things that kill mileage are due to the truck. Rolling resistance, weight, atrocious aerodynamics. Even more often it's the driver or the driving cycle. Those are both free improvements and you might get more from them than anything you could pay thousands for.... spending hundreds to save pennies.
I've been doing some MPG tests for a story and driving as easy as I can, from 55-70, with several aids to economy (LRR tires, a MPG program on a programmer and tonneau), I was able to get a hair over 19mpg. That's with a winch bumper that I measured cost me 1 mpg. I measured the gain of the tonneau at 1.21 mpg on the course and, some time back, on the same course, the difference between an aggressive all terrain tires and all season tires (identical size) was up to 2.4 mpg (in everyday driving it's more like 1.5-2.0 at most... I run the off road tires for summer and the all seasons as winter). Driving style, driving environment and tires will give you the biggest gains or losses. If you add up lots of little things, they can add up but some of those little things (like exhausts and CAIs) cost a lot but don't add up to much in terms of MPG gains.
I am now using a programmer that makes a differnce, but exactly how much I can't tell yet and haven't tested exactly. It's the Superchips VIVID system (VIVID PAQ or VIVID LINQ. The XS Mileage program and a Mileage Mentor screen used with it really are useful. From what I discovered, the program plays with timing but more importantly changes the throttle slope and makes it less sensitive. That one of the few things I have never liked about my F150, or any "throttle by wire" engine. Way too sensitive on the foot feed. The Superchips program makes it easier to be light on the gas pedal.
I have attached a shot of the screen below. I find it's got a lot of little tools to help you be smoother and it has the best and most accurate MPG readouts I have yet found. Most mpg readouts are optimistic...in my experience showing 2-5 mpg more than actual. So did the VIVID at first. After all, all they can do is interpret engine readouts (MAP, MAF, etc) and go to a table to calculate a "should be" mpg. They don't do actual fuel flow measurements. What's different about the VIVID is that you can check your MPG the regular way (miles drive/gallons used) and enter that in as a correction factor. Do that a few times and you start getting VERY accurate readouts.
So maybe with the right readout devices you can get "22 mpg" but it probably won't really be 22 mpg. But you'll be able to brag about it and to some, that's more important than really knowing what you are getting.