Today was the Apple Festival in North Georgia. There was not much traffic, so I set the cruise control on the legal limit (good bit slower than I usually drive) but the result was pretty surprising, 23.2 miles per gallon average for nearly 200 miles. That includes getting parked and getting back out of there.

Given that this truck is just getting broken in at 1,700 miles and there is no tonneau cover on it yet, that is impressive mileage. Heck, my tiny MR2 only gets about 25 to 28 MPG and it almost fits in the bed of the F150.

By the way, anyone tried to fit a Mini in a F150? It looks like it would go.

Happy Motoring,

~~~^~~~

04 Lariat Supercab 4X2 3.55 axle ratio
https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=3054

 

I would like to see that.

 

i only get that kind of mileage when i first reset the MPG reading. it steadily goes down. the best i've gotten so far is 18 MPG on a 200 mile trip the first weekend I had it using the cruise control. i hope and pray for that kind of mileage on my F-150 when i get it broken in. it only has 700 miles on it, so there is plenty of time for improvement. and in the LA area, you don't get to use your cruide control for too long before you have to hit the brakes.

 

That is very impressive..My wife and I are heading up to Reno in a couple of weeks and I am sure as we go up hill I am going to take it easy so we can enjoy the scenery... We go up from 0 to about 9000 feet...I cannot wait to take that cruise of 2.5 hrs to really enjoy the company, the stereo and the truck of course..I have noticed, that as I drive around and back and forth to work that I keep looking at MPG to see if it is going up..it is averaging 13.6 after 400 miles..

 

How was it this year? Thinking of going next weekend.

FYI.. The Sorghum Festival in Blairsville has a pretty cool car show next Saturday. My uncle is in the club that hosts it.

 

The car show in Elijay was bigger than ever. It also attracts an odd mix of cars. Everything from tricked out Celicas to Bentleys, a real AC Cobra and a nice collection of vintage muscle cars and street rods.

The craft show does not attract the talent that the Yellow Daisy, or Piedmont, shows attract. Anything the girlfriend buys will be in the basement, or the attic, before Thanksgiving.

Thanks for the heads up on Blairsville.

~~~^~~~

 

first of all, those digital readouts on your trucks for mpg is NOT accurate at all! I know, what you gotta do is fill up your truck to the gills reset the trip and drive, drive till its almost empty, the emptier the more accurate, then fill er up again to the gills, look at how many gallons it took, then how many miles you went, then you got your MPG (miles per gallon)

My Cougar says i get like 30MPG but when i do it up from calculations its more like 34-35. But i don't get that often, 100mph will kill your effeciency

 

I have been calculating mine by hand as mentioned and comparing it to the readout. I reset the readout when I get gas and don't mess with it until the tank is empty and it has been extremely accurate (to the tenth of a gallon). Now, I am currently getting 15.5 mpg. It started at 14 mpg and has been increasing. It is all mixed driving with about 75% highway. The highest I have gotten was 17.5 mpg and that was by putting the tailgate down.

This is on a 4x4 supercab lariat with 3.73 limited slip diff.

 

will putting the tailgate down really give me that much of an improvement? 2-3mpg or more? I am going to have to try that on my next tank of gas. how 'bout a tonneau cover?

 

I read somewhere that putting the tailgate down can *hurt* your mpg. Has something to do with air being captured in the bed and letting the high speed air ride over the top.

Remember, Ford designed and wind tunneled the truck with the tailgate up.

Any comments on that?

Doesn't matter to me a whole lot, I'll be getting a cab high shell

 

I never thought it made a difference but according to my dash readout, it gave me 2 mpg's and I feel like my readout has been very accurate. Lets hear what experience you guys have.

 

When figuring MPG by hand, running the tank near empty is not necessary. You can even figure it very accurately on just half a tank as long as you fill it very full each time. If its filled to the same amount then the gallons it takes to fill will be the gallons used.

The reason I say this is that you can actually do harm to your truck by running the tank near dry. As a general rule I never let my truck get below a quarter tank. Doing so keeps the in-tank fuel pump immersed in gasoline keeping it cool. As the tank empties the pump will start to run hotter which will drop its life expectancy.

If you plan on keeping your truck for a considerable amount of time (as in out of the warranty period) then I would definitely suggest keeping the tank above the 1/4 mark whenever possible. A few times here or there is no big deal but dont make it a regular practice. In-tank fuel pumps are expensive to replace, you are looking at $600 minimum.

 

i don't mean to dispute you, but i will speak from experience. my 1989 Volvo got run to empty all the time. that was standard practice for me. with 204,000 miles on it, never a problem with the fuel system. now I've heard what you have said and I do agree with it, but keeping it above 1/4 tank is a bit conservative. i mean, in my 35.7 gallon fuel tank, that's almost 9 gallons left in the tank. that's plenty to keep the fuel pump submerged and then some. i would avoid letting the fuel light come on, but otherwise i wouldn't stress.

 

My experiences (courtesy of the ex) would tend to confirm what MN4x4 is stating about running the tank too low (as a practice), and the deleterious effect it has on in-tank fuel pump life. You have also not considered here, that when you are driving around with really low fuel levels, your fuel is sloshing around, and depending on the activities at the time, making MN4x4's point all the more important to consider.

Bigger point still (to me), is all the crap that settles to the bottom of the gas tank when you run it to a near dry state. I make it a point, not to let my fuel level go below a quarter tank, so as to avoid having my fuel pump suck up the smegma. I was in the Phoenix area during the pipeline break that created their gas shortage, and recall filling my tank and how the gas station then stopped its pumps, because, as the station owner noted, he doesn't like to pickup all the crap at the bottom of his tanks!

 

My friend's bro's frien has a 69 mini and we measured it and it would fit in my bed with the tail gate down. and that guy is gonna drop a s2000 motor in it and run 10's. Coolest ride i have ever seen on 10 inch rims. i wonder if my RM250 has more displacement?