OK guys,

Today I filled up. I let the gas go down. Light did NOT come on yet, 23.5 gal. 274.1 miles driven. This is a combo of city and highway. I drove this tank like I would my car:

80 miles city - warm up for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times per week
- 1 mile to work with 2 stop signs and 4 lights
- never hit 4th gear and average rpm about 2k in city


194 miles highway (today) - windgusts 25-30 mph all the way
- cruise was NOT set
- drove between 80-90 mph most of the way passing gear quite a few times due to hills.
- stop and go traffic in city (rushhour) for about 15-20 minutes.

Overall, pretty unconcerned, drive by the seat of my pants (I get 500 mpg in my mind) careless about the fuel economy driving. I ended up about...

11.61 mpg.

I would have to say because of the way I drove this tank, that's probably not to bad considering all of the parts to this equation and with a temp of around 19-20 degrees.

OPINIONS?

 

Sounds normal, especially with those long warm-ups in there. They can really destroy your MPG. You should see a big improvement when the warmer weather returns in a couple of months.

 

That is not bad.I am driving about the same accept for the warm up. I get in and go. I average about 12.8 now.City traffic sucks.

Mike

 

warmups will kill your gas mileage and your engine life

start it clear the windshield and go

 

I did a rough calculation last week, with a combination of city/ highway( stop & go) plus 10 minute warmup in the frigid AM,
I guessed about 12 mpg or so ..........Not great but considering the weather and traffic conditions plus the breakin ( not quite 1000 mi yet) I guess its not too bad........

 

I agree with the previous posts. But just getting in and driving on those frigid mornings/evenings is tough, So I let mine warm for a minute or two - just enough time for the seat heater to kick in. Cold Butt = Cold Clem!

My last fill up was just before a 100 mile highway trip during which my computer had me to almost 16 mpg. After that mostly a mix of city and some highway dropped me to 13.6 mpg.

My take....... Highway mileage = good. City mileage = not good.

It requires a lot of energy to get these heavy beasts rolling, but once you're rolling the mileage isn't bad at all.

 

I understand that warm ups will kill your fuel exconomy; but how, exactly, does it hurt your engine life? You are NOT beating on it your not running cold or anything like that? What is it? I have always thought that you NEVER want to just jump in and go --- It doesn't hurt the motor when it's cold like that?

If it doesn't hurt it, I will not warm it up. I have but warmers, also but considering I only have a mile to get home, if it doesn't hurt the truck to turn it on and go, I will do that.

 

I'm not convinced that prolonged idling (15 minutes) will send your motor to an early grave, but most manufacturers recommend a very short warm up - 15 seconds or so. Must be OK to get in and go, but I still let her run for a minute or so. Just long enough to tune in the proper song on the XM.....

 

warming up a cold engine does not help it . you don't jump in start it then mash it .but to drive normal right after a cold start is no different then letting it idle for 10/15 minutes

if you warm up your truck to put a baby inside the truck then baby comes before any machine .

however i do believe in letting a hot engine cool down that could be just driving the speed limit for the last mile before u get home

also short trips are hard on exhaust because the winter moisture won't be out in the 1 or 2 mile drive but hey thats how far it is to your work nothing can be done .

i also am one that believes once a engine has passed the breakin 300 miles or so it is excellent to drive it like its stolen once in a while
engine need to truely hit operating temps ever once in a while

 

I also live in Minnesota. I now have 1500 miles on my FX4. last tank came out to 15.3mpg (thats 50/50 hiway-city) I`m more then happy. I was getting around 12mpg on the first few tanks but its improving now. I start it on cold mornings and drive away within 10-15 seconds. The heater seems to work within 5 minutes, blowing warm air.

 

Here is what I learned about long warm up/ideling times in my Diesel, maybe some of it applies to gas engines too...

The problem with long low speed idle is lubrication. Oil pumps run off the engine, so engine speed affects the volume of oil being pumped out to lube the moving innards. Cold oil also does not flow as well as warm oil. So, sitting with cold oil in the crankcase, and low volume oil flow could be an issue. I know that (at least) the Ford Powerstroke (International T444E) engine needs to be idled high if sitting for long periods. In fact there is an auxillary idle control option available that either by button press or automatically, will ramp up the idle speed. Most ambulances have this, in addition to the lubrication needs, it also gets the alternator spinning faster to keep up with the electrical loads. Anyway, if the engine is cold, there conceivibly could be some damage from oil starvation if idled for long times. I belive that getting in and getting the rev's up would be a good thing.

 

I've never heard anybody say that warming up a car is bad for it. I agree with the post above, you need to let your car idle long enough to get oil out of the pan and into the engine. If you live in very cold places, this may take a little longer. There is no question that running a vehicle at high RPM's with inadequate librication will lower your compression over time. I cringe everytime I hear somebody start up a car and rev it first thing in the morning.......

 

Sounds average for a cold climate. I filled mine today since there is snow in the forecast. Traveled 183.6 mi. 98% of them city miles plus warming it up on cold mornings. Pumped 15.392 gal which gave me 11.928 mpg.

 

I normally fuel up on my way to or from work at a CITGO service station and with mostly city driving I have been averaging 13.8-14.1 mpg.Last week I filled up at a HESS service and used the same grade fuel and with the same driving I averaged 15.1 mpg.


04 SCREW 4X4
LARIAT 5.4

 

The main goal with warmup's are to get the oil circulating before putting a load on the motor.

Now, you need to remember that oil technology has changed alot since the days when our Fathers cold oil would be like molasses in January.

I let mine warm up for about 1 minute on really cold days (say < 20F) and about 30 seconds at temps above that. Then I take it nice and easy on her until I start to see the temp gauge start to register, which is usually just a mile or two.

I'd recommend scrapping the 15 minute warmups. You are just wasting fuel (and your money) by doing that.

Just my .02 worth...