Hey everyone. Long-time reader....first time poster. I've currently got an '06 ford f150 screw fx4, with the 5.4 V8. I've made some appearance upgrades (tonneau cover, running boards, mud flaps, cold front), but I want to improve my gas mileage. I've looked at a K&N high air flow kit, borla dual exhaust for better breathing, and the tonneau cover I put on a few weeks ago is going to help, but I'm wondering if anyone out there has found a better way to get better gas mileage, considering we're all paying an arm and a leg for gas.

Thanks for any input you guys can provide.

 

Hypermiling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMsbI6ir4aM

 

Thanks for the info...a lot of people are doing the hypermiling up here in Canada, but it doesn't work well with someone with a lead foot..lol..

 

CAI and exhaust will increase the MPG's slightly but as long as you keep that lead foot there is actually nothing that will help you very much. Custom tunes for your truck will also add milage and power but again it is only a small amount. The best way to increase the milage is to keep it below 2000 rpm's and you should see an improvement. You have to pay to play

 

Thanks for the tip.

I'm averaging 1800 rpm at 120 km/ph. I used to get 1600 rpm at the same speed, but I was running 17" tires on my old truck. I've got 18" tires on my fx4. Does this sound right?

 

Oh yeah...I almost forgot...I'm running the same gear ratio 3.73 on my fx4 as I was on my XLT.

 

Drive the speed limit, use your cruise control, make sure your tire pressures and alignment are good to go. You can gain more in regards to fuel economy by adjusting your driving habits than you can by bolting more stuff on to your truck.

 

For mods look at custom tunes and electric fans.

 

I'd say that you already made the best gas mileage improvement already by adding a tonneau cover. I'm getting ~2.5-3.0 MPG better since I installed my Extang. I am still quite shocked over the improvement. When I had my fiberglass topper on my last truck I wasn't getting anywhere near the fuel economy I'm getting now with just the tonneau. For anyone who doubts this claim I can back it up with data from my Edge module for proof.

 

I hear you. I've owned four trucks (two rangers, and two f150's), and I've had hard tonneau covers installed, and noticed a 1-2 mpg improvement.

 

I would suggest getting a Scanuage II. Once you learn to drive for optimum milage, you'll find its not as hard as you previously thought. I have gone from getting 16-17 highway to AVERAGING 19.5-20 on my highway commute.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna do some more research. Thanks again for all your advise, guys!

 

A raw egg under the gas pedal!

No, just kidding. Just a piece of input though, the reason you get no better mileage with a camper shell than you do without one, I would guess, is because of the weight. Any mileage benefits are negated by the weight of the camper shell.

I need to look into a tonneau for my truck, although $1000 buys a lot of gas.

 

FWIW, I saw zero mileage improvements from a tonneau cover, performance exhaust and the CAI actually caused the mileage to drop. (no it wasn't from hammering the go pedal more). For the last year, I had a 140 mile per day commute and each modification was added and mileage data was collected.

Some find improvements from adding these items, but I question if it's the item or if it's more of the normal tank to tank mileage fluctations. Which, from my data (I record every tank for all my vehicles) averages about 2 mpg over 47000 miles.

Things you can try are highway tread (lower rolling resistance and lower traction) tires, proper inflation and the biggie that works for me, is drive conservatively and slow down your highway speeds. You'll see an improvement in the 55 - 60 range vs 70.

 

Me neither, I think these claims of 2-3 mpg is complete BS.

Same here.