Improving gas mileage?
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,730
Likes: 42
From: Concord, NC
Mods are a waste. High MPGs are all about driving style.
The only "mods" I have are a soft tonneau cover which I bought to store stuff more than for gas mileage. I also run Motorcraft semi synthetic if you can call that a mod.
I have always gotten at least 17mpg. I can get 18-18.5 driving around downtown New Orleans if I use a light foot. Now I get 20-21 by driving rural roads.
Accelerate sslow, keep the rpms under 1,500 when accelrating and try to keep the speed under 70.
BTW, my truck is an 06 S-Crew 5.4, auto, 3.73s, and 18" chrome pahage wheels with stock BFG long trail T/As
The only "mods" I have are a soft tonneau cover which I bought to store stuff more than for gas mileage. I also run Motorcraft semi synthetic if you can call that a mod.
I have always gotten at least 17mpg. I can get 18-18.5 driving around downtown New Orleans if I use a light foot. Now I get 20-21 by driving rural roads.
Accelerate sslow, keep the rpms under 1,500 when accelrating and try to keep the speed under 70.
BTW, my truck is an 06 S-Crew 5.4, auto, 3.73s, and 18" chrome pahage wheels with stock BFG long trail T/As
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,778
Likes: 10
From: Douglasville GA
From my experiences, trying to keep your RPM's below 2000 while accelerating is a pain in the *** and in my case, actually decreased my fuel mileage. The reasoning behind this is that you are spending a longer amount of time in 3rd and 4th trying to get up to a high enough speed to engage overdrive. So while your just crawling up to that 45-50 MPH, your mileage is actually quite low.
After several weeks of doing this, I decided to just screw it all and drive my truck the way I want to, not like an old person. I accelerate as hard as I want, 2000-2500 RPM's, and no longer worry about MPG's. This way you spend less time out of overdrive and quickly get up to cruising speed into the 65 MPH range, best mileage with 3.55's. My mileage has gone up very slightly, maybe a .25 MPG's.
I'm not saying go out and drive your truck like a madman, just drive it to keep up with traffic for a full tank and see if you notice any difference. Your experiences might be different from mine.
After several weeks of doing this, I decided to just screw it all and drive my truck the way I want to, not like an old person. I accelerate as hard as I want, 2000-2500 RPM's, and no longer worry about MPG's. This way you spend less time out of overdrive and quickly get up to cruising speed into the 65 MPH range, best mileage with 3.55's. My mileage has gone up very slightly, maybe a .25 MPG's.
I'm not saying go out and drive your truck like a madman, just drive it to keep up with traffic for a full tank and see if you notice any difference. Your experiences might be different from mine.
Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
i put in a cold air intake in mine by K & N and also a custom tuner in i can see a max of maybe 2-3 mpg. Not much but like you said every little bit helps. However, with the increase in horses, idk if its really worth the money i put into it just to get those few extra mpg
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
If you are goin down a hill, throw it in neutral so your engine revs at a lower RPM.
__________________
isn't that hard on the tranny? i used to do it quite often on my other vehicles years ago, and guy's told me i was crazy since that was hard on the tranny. used to put it in nuetral and coast to a stop sign or traffis light.
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isn't that hard on the tranny? i used to do it quite often on my other vehicles years ago, and guy's told me i was crazy since that was hard on the tranny. used to put it in nuetral and coast to a stop sign or traffis light.
If you think about it, in neutral, you need to burn fuel to keep the engine cranking & push your alt. But rolling, the computer cuts the fuel flow & the momentum drives the engine. Granted the gain/loss is pretty insignificant, but there is no gain to shifting to neutral, and if you shift into neutral at high rpms you can cause damage.
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 2,804
Likes: 9
From: Wisconsin
I have noticed when I run into construction where I'm driving 45-50 mph I get great gas mileage.
