Well, my experience has been that on the drive from AZ to CO in fall I averaged 21.x MPG going at 70 MPH. That was before the larger tires and leveling kit. My fuel mileage for city driving went from the 10-12 mpg (measured by miles/gas used, not relying on the readout in the gauge cluster) to 14-16 MPG (same method) after the mods. Highway on average went from 14-16 MPG to 18-20 (depending on speed, hills, load, etc) Winter gas is here and it, coupled with the larger and heavier tires, has dropped my mileage into the 14's mentioned above. By city driving I mean just that, surface streets and stop and go traffic.

These are with 3.73 gears, 4x2, 5.4L and the stock rolling gear. I now average a little under 1800 RPM at 70MPH.

While some of the noticed increase in MPG comes from the mod's, I know some also just comes from the truck starting to finally break in a little now that she has 16.5K miles on her. I love the mods, feel they make my truck more of my own, but the increase in MPG won't truly pay for them. Maybe if you are driving from Mesa to Globe and back during free flowing traffic times when the increased highway mileage really shines...IDK.

Best of luck.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking. I don't think there is any way those mods will pay for them selves in fuel savings, but they are nice mods for other reasons. I think the best mod for fuel savings will be a 2x4 block under the gas pedal. I get better mileage with the Edge, but I offset it by having a heavier foot. It zeros out. I get 16 to 17 running around town, to work and back(50 miles round trip) and get 19.3 on the highway, driving 75 to 80. I have the 5.4, 3.55 gears, 4x2. At 2000 rpms, I am doing 75.

 

My past two trucks had bedcovers.

I do notice a difference in braking, when I have the tailgate up, or down. The gate is a real air brake IMHO. When the gate is down, I have to push the pedal harder to stop.

Seems like a small detail, but add 'em up.

I guess what I'm really trying to get at is that once you arrive at that sweetspot (let's say 1800rpm at 70mph) you should still have power to do what you need to, but you get it by reducing overall load on the power unit.

I know that Edge most likely increases the midrange intake (which is usually stifled by the factory for emissions reasons).

But if you have more midrange, than that means you are in that RPM range less, because you get to speed faster, and the transmission slips clutches less, because the power is definitive.

More power=Faster result. Less Power = longer result.

 

We use 'blend gas' and all year, with the winter blend getting 2-3 mpg worse mileage that the summer blend. And we pay 250-260 a gallon for the privilege of wasting more gas... Gotta love PC politics.
If they got rid of blend gas-corn squeezings gas etc. the price of gas would drop nationwide by 50 cents to a dollar. Actual government figures you can find posted in the small print on sites.


As to the gas savings on these mods
No.

The diamond plate weighs too much. That hurts mileage. My fold -a -cover is light enough for one (big) man to carry, and that is the goal on a tonneau. You add 100 lbs to the truck and it's gonna take away most the return for the better aerodynamics.
As to black, I wouldn't worry about it. Never noticed a problem with my black cover, and I live where it gets hot, the Mojave Desert where 113-119 these last two years was cooler than average but still pretty toasty.
In fact, the shiny deck will make in HOTTER in the cab. Reflected glare from the rear deck comes in the rear window heating up the living quarters...
Why lots of desert runners paint their beds and hoods black. They don't care if the metal gets hot, they don't want the reflected heat and light.



Under drive pulleys are counter indicated in hot climates. Leave them for the racecars.


E-fans get the big ones. Probably help but be sure the maker supports 110 degree humid days in heavy traffic with the A/C keeping the interior cool. I haven't found a vendor yet that will even claim that in my area.
Of course where I live it gets hotter than Phoenix, and we have 4000 foot hills to climb...

20 inch rims/tires will COST you gas mileage.

The heavier the rim, the worse the gas mileage.
You want to increase the diameter of the tire, not the rim.
The stock 20 inch rims usually sport 32-33 inch tires, or the same as FX4 18 inch rims, but are way heavier.
You can use 33 inch tires on 17 inch rims for the best gearing over weight usage.
Or you can go to higher diameters, keeping in mind that the 3.55 geared trucks get great freeway mileage are hard to get rolling around town without using a tad too much throttle.
I would shoot for about 3.73 final effective gears so you probably want about 33-34 inch tires.

Edge on number 2, or any tuner set for regular gas.
ScanGauge or Edge to help you watch your throttle.
Vacuum gauge also works, just not as fun to look at.

Drive 5-15 miles per hour slower. My truck gets its best gas mileage at about 62mph with 18 inch rims 3.55 gears. At 80 I'm down about 2 mpg.

Don't carry extra weight.
Keep your tires slightly over inflated, watch for wear signs and rotate often.
Use the heck out of the cruise control.
As has been posted, don't lead foot it, and do learn to take your foot off the gas earlier. These trucks freewheel nicely in third and fourth gears.
Slow down for grades.

If you are getting tons of brake dust you are not slowing down early enough. With these trucks you can take you foot of the gas way a LONG way from the stops and the truck will just roll along with little drag.

An instant mileage indicator, any of the ones mentioned, will show you that with the electronic throttle setup you can hold a steady speed with these vehicles at different gas usages. That is, to go say 50 you can get 15-16-18 etc. miles per gallon at the same speed, depending on how ‘deep’ your foot is in the throttle. You have to experience this using instant feedback to understand what I mean.


Best of luck.
Chris

 

Florida is at 2.30 in south florida, 2.19 in north florida..

2.38 is pretty close to average, especially for the west side of the country.

 

There have been wind studies and tests that prove the tailgate down actually hurts mileage. As I recall, the truck is designed so that the air flows above the bedand over the tailgate. If the gate is down, it allows the air to push down on the bed. At least that is what my aging memory recalls.

 

Hmmm, one needs to SERIOUSLY consider their individual driving habits IF they get insignificant gains after installing a bed cover! I installed a ReTrax and IMMEDIATELY noticed over 2MPG increase!!!! This was driving in to Chicago too! I normally managed 17MPG and it was a very high 19MPG !!!

As far as underdrive pulleys go, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! They make practically ZERO improvement. Now, if they were 10 dollars for the simple steel pulleys AND easy as changing the airfilter to install, then why not. But you will never see any sort of “return” due to their installation over the life of a typical loan.

I know from experience with my 10second Mustang. Underdrive pulleys made no noticeable gain in either ET or MPH.

Your bed cover will be the single greatest investment in terms of MPG. I considered the Edge solely for the MPG it might have gained me. I called them directly and spoke to a sales rep, then to their technical support dept and they both agreed that the edge will only net you a single MPG at most. If you put it on level 3, you MAY gain a bit more, but come on, it’s a total wash when you factor in the added price of the premium fuel necessary to run it on Level 3. SO I decide that the Edge was not for me. I could really care less that it would give UP TO 30hp more by using premium fuel. 30HP extra in an over 5500lb truck is analogous to throwing a chair off the Titanic in an effort to save weight!

Show me some hard numbers (time slips) and I’ll believe the jokers claiming how much “faster” their truck is now with the Edge alone. But then again, anyone bragging how much a 30hp gain makes a 5500lb truck faster is just immature IMHO. Now, bragging about how much a full tilt blower install makes is got a very serious "coolness" factor. Keep in mind that I'm used to a 10 second street car too, so as previously stated, bragging how much 30HP extra makes on 5500+lbs is moot to me, I guess it's all relative to ones expectaions and definition of "fast".

0-60mph in 7 seconds is not "fast" to me.
0-60mph in less than 2 seconds, now that's fast

 

Chris,

Noted on the Fold-A-Cover. My past two trucks had them. I just thought I wouldn't be able to touch the cover in the middle of a summer day. I previously lived where it snows, and loved my Fold-A-Covers. Reds Beds do fold up that last 2 feet though, allowing use of the full 8 foot bed. That's kinda cool, you dont have to take it off.

I dont know so much about wheel size though. Yes, it takes more power to spin them, but less power to keep them spinning, due to inertia.

I am less concerned with stop and go. I start work before traffic, and come home after it. Its a long day-but much better on me psychologically-less road rage.

Seems to me that efans running at full-speed all the time, would be better than one idle-controlled belt fan, for overall heat protection.


I'm getting lots of advice here on how to drive-but most are assuming I'm lead-footed, ham-fisted, and partially blind in one eye.

This is my Third 150 S/C 8-ft bed. The last two were the older body style, and this one is definitely different, in a bad way-so I'm trying to get it back to what they once were.

 

I'd have to back that statement about the Edge on 3. Premium used to be only a few cents more, but its like .$30 now, so that tip is moot.


...bedcovers are gaining momentum...

 

Yeah but withthe higher tune, my mpg increased another 1 mpg so it kind of pays for the extra gas cost. Ive seen about a 2 mpg increase JUST from the tuner. Only other mod is a soft tonneaua cover. I added that months before I got the tuner. Maybe helped .5 mpg on the hwy....????

Again- I have zero other mods. Have a 05 5.4 4x4 screw wiht 3.73 and 17" stock wheels/tires.

I get 13 mpg towing or in 4x4. 13 (If I am heavy on the gas) -15 (more normal) mpg in mixed driving and 16-18 on the hwy going 70-75 depending on wind and load.

I think its very good for a rig this size.

 

See my post 4 above this one...FLAT bed cover all the way for MPG increases!!!!

 

I have a Truxedo Lo-Pro cover on my truck and didn't see any real mpg increase, maybe .5 at the most, so nothing to write home about. As for tires and wheels, if you want better mileage from them, stick with your 17's and get taller narrow tires with a "car tread" as I call it.

Here is a brake down of my mileage figures. When running my summer wheel tire combo (325/60/18 on 18X9 Helos) I average 14mpg mixed city/hwy and average 16.5 when running all hwy. When I put my stock wheels/tires (275/65/18 AT/S's on factory FX4 wheels) back on I have been getting 15.5 mixed city/hwy and 17.5 on all hwy. I had an all time best of 18.7mpg just before christmas. Granted my summer setup is taller, which in theory should help mileage, but they are also wider and heavier shich really hurts.

And honestly the only mod that I have done to the truck that has actually helped the mileage was the Edge on lvl3.

 

Very odd how a flat bed cover (no turbulence vs a cover with “bows”) can make over 2mpg in one vehicle, yet be hardly noticed in another. Given the OBVIOUS proven fact that the cover decreases aerodynamic drag (I started school off as an Aeronautical Engineer at Ebry Riddle in FL, didn’t complete the AE though), one can only surmise that the difference between two vehicles MPG can only be due to driving habits. Plain and simple. Keep in mind that my truck weights more than your’s too since it is a screw and I have the “heavier 20” rims.

 

Sorry,
but the whole point of trying to attain that ever elusive MPG increase in a truck is so one can shell out less each time they visit the pump. Edge on Level 3 is counter productive to this cause given the fact that the Premium fuel needed to run Level 3 is, on average, 20 cents more per gallon. It’s a wash at best.

 

Mythbusters just did a show on the tailgate up versus tailgate down. It was shown over a full tank of gas that the tailgate up actually provides the best fuel efficiency. I believe that they got roughly 30 more miles out of a tank of gas in identical vehicles and idential conditions. That was the empirical test. They later did a test on the theory utilizing a "wind tunnel" of sorts. They were able to show the difference in vortices with the tailgate up versus down. I also have a Truxedo bed cover and noticed absolutely zero gas mileage improvement.