Ok guys newbie here just bought my 1st truck 06 150 5.4 supercab. I upgraded from an 02 acura TL with great gas mileage. Needless to say I bought the truck with the big 20's and 35.7 gal tank. Im not used to paying over a $100 a fill up and getting less than 15 miles per gal. Looking for some cheap ways to increase gas mileage. Any suggestions

 

Congratulations on the new truck.

Keep in mind that your truck is in the 6000 lb range and not a 2500 pound honda.

the first peice of advice, slow down. Cruising @ 65-70, rather than 75-80 should help you gain a few mpg's.

Second, use a good quality fuel. the cheapo gas station may not turn out to be that cheap if your gas mileage drops with the fuel quality.

Add-ons or changes that actually increase your HP (or reduce parasidic HP loss) can result in fuel savings, but you still need to follow the first two suggestions to maintain those gains. Although, most of these are not cheap.

 

Also, keep your truck properly maintained. Fuel filter, air filter, etc. Keep tires properly inflated and lose any extra junk you keep in your truck (golf clubs, tool boxes, etc) Most importantly, like mentioned above, go easy on the long skinny pedal.

 

I agreem travelled from AZ to IN, and kept running at 65-70, 19 mpg

now, with the lift and 35"...in town 13 mpg maybe 13.5

 

Did you find an increase in mileage with the exhaust. I have read that it increases gas milage or that just a bunch of BS. Thanks for the tips

 

Nice truck and its going to drink!! Very little you can do other than drive soft. Who's gas won't effect much, I have a 1997 with 140k and have used the cheapest to the highest priced and it still returns 13 mpg. Stick with 87 octane unless you do some engine work. The only way to get the best of what you have is to dyno and tune your truck.

 

I just got rid of my 04 GT PT 'cause of 19 mpg, drove me nuts from day one, felt like I was always putting gas in her and 91+. Funny how 13 mpg from my truck does'nt bother me so much!

 

The best modifications that you can do to add a few MPGs to your truck will focus on two general areas. Intake and exhaust. Try a K&N drop in filter or a FIPK to make the intake breathe easier. The next thing would be exhaust upgrades. Larger pipes and free flowing mufflers not only make the truck sound better, they make it breathe easier too.

The other thing you can do, and somebody's allready mentioned this is cut down on parasitic loss--things that use power, and don't put it to the road. E-fans are a good start in this direction.

Other easy things would be like tonneau cover (improves your aerodynamics), and I know this sounds cliche' but make sure your tires are inflated propperly, it really does help.

Good luck with this. --DIYM

 

No bolt-on will make a significant difference. You have big tires - did they regear the truck to match? If not, then you will never get mileage that is anywhere near what a stock truck will get. You can do the intake, exhaust, change all fluids to synthetic, blah, blah, and you MIGHT get 1mpg. Slowing down is the best way to keep your mileage up.

 

DON'T DRIVE A TRUCK! Or get used to it!

 

Modifications rarely pay out in the long run. Do the math and you'll see that it is very unlikely. Most mods are hundreds of dollars. They'll never pay out.

Here are the keys:
1) accelerate moderately, approximately 2,000 rpm
2) 65 to 70 mph on the highway
3) in town, try to keep rolling. coast when you see a red light. try not to stop any more than necessary. getting that beast rolling again costs fuel.

Enjoy your new truck! I love mine. Mileage is the only negative.

 

get some 3.27 gears and drop ur rim weight down. u will get better milage

 

There is ONE sure-fire way to improve your mileage- put a tonneau cover or canopy on (although the weight of a canopy might negate the savings somewhat)

That big open box on the back creates a terrible amount of drag. If you want to increase performance, try covering it too. I would imagine a tonneau cover that flaps too much will not give you a great amount of savings...

Mythbusters did a thing - they tried two identical trucks, one with tailgate on and closed, and one with tailgate removed (the popular theory being that allows better airflow) but to their surprise, discovered that the tailgate on and closed gave better mpg than no tailgate...

So buy a tonneau cover. I saw some stats in a Dodge dealer that claims you will recover the cost of a cheap cover in one year, from fuel savings.

 

Meh. I got MAYBE 1/2mpg savings with my tonneau, and that is only on the highway. Definitely not enough to recover the cost in a year.

 

David 622

At the end of the day, you didn't buy your truck with fuel economy in mind. I agree with all that is said on this thread, especially, the comments made by "acadianabob" everything in moderation. Good advice on the bed cover. I had a 98 and now a 2000 and have used a cover on both. I have read the results of a study that stated the bed cover will increase your fuel mileage by 11%.

DaWG
2000 Lariat 5.4L