Welcome to the site and congrats on the new, first truck!

Please do contribute to this thread. There will be others who are looking for information on the base engine in the F150, and you have a different configuration than many of the people who have contributed so far.

I'm interested in what you will average for mpg, or km/l, in that truck. Im also interested to know if you feel that it has the power you think it should.

You could post a couple pictures too. Even though all of our trucks pretty much look the same, it's nice to see the different configurations.

 

So a couple weeks ago I used my truck (3.7L V-6 with 3.73 rear diff. and factory tow pkg.) to tow my '97 Accord (which was loaded down with all my college stuff) from Upstate South Carolina to Central Ohio. I averaged a little over 16 MPG using tow/haul mode and with speeds between 70 and 80MPH most of the time. The fastest I went while towing was a short burst up to 90MPH while I was headed downhill The truck handled quite well and didn't feel under-powered. The ride was very comfortable, smooth, and quiet. IIRC the engine was going @ approx. 3,000 RPM most the time.

 

Put a few miles on the truck over the past few days. Filled up after 323km of mixed highway/city driving. This was the first few days in the truck so there was a lot of stomping the gas pedal into the floor mat. Dash gauge said 12l/100km, by hand it was 12.25l/100km or 19.2mpg. Noted that the dash gauge in l/100km does not have decimals so it's not super precise.

After that we took a trip with the kids to see the grandparents, so 5 in the truck with some luggage. 520km round trip mostly at 110km/h (68mph) with the cruise set. Also included a fair amount of hard starts and heavy footed driving showing it off to the family. Dash read 11l/100km but by hand it was 11.88l/100km (there's that lack of decimal) so that's 19.79mpg. I usually do that trip at 120km/h so I did slow down a bit for sake of fuel economy.

Overall I really like the truck and the 3.7 is more than adequate for what I'm going to do. I would agree with earlier comments that it's more of a peppy v6 than a small v8. But where I live just out of the city and commute on the highway in to work, I don't exactly need the biggest most powerful 4x4 around. My 4x2 with the 3.7 will get me around, allow me to tow, make that weekend run to the dump, pick up lumber and drywall (which I did this weekend for a friend), all the things you need a truck for, all at a very reasonable price for a new truck. It has plenty of get up and go when I need/want it and I actually like that high revving sports car kind of sound.

I was hoping to see 21mpg with the 4x2 for my commute. We'll see if that happens as the newness wears off and I'm not smashing the pedal to floor so often and the engine breaks in. I'm not far off though so not too concerned. It's already only a hair off matching our mini van.

 

Time for me to check in again. Fueled up a couple times this weekend.

Headed up to the high peaks region of the Adirondacks (NY) this weekend for a hike. Fueld up at home before we left. The tank prior to the trip netted me a 19.5 onboard with a hand calculation of 20.5. Not bad at all.

We towed the little trailer up to the mountains to serve as our overnight accomodations. Had about a third of the miles without the trailer getting to the trailhead and such. Had to fuel up on the way home. We'd gone 427 miles from the fill up before we left. The trailer is little and doesn't weigh much of anything. I know that the downforce adds some weight. I was hoping to see a little better but there were a few "hills" that made the truck have to downshift a couple gears. I've also been driving without the tunes since Feb. Got a 17.4 onboard with a 17.57 by hand.

We did a similar trip to Vermont with the trailer last year and I did better. The difference is I had the tunes in. I'm thinking that I might be better off with the tunes for towing. I'm going to have to test that theory.

 

I don't own a ford but I am so intrigued by the comments on here that I can't wait to drive one. I realize its a 3.7 liter engine but its almost impossible to find anyone complain about it. Everyone is impressed after driving one. I am not ready to get rid of my Tundra (at least until I have $ to buy another truck) but I may have to go rent one for a day just to satisfy my curiosity.

Give me some reason its not that good. I don't tow more than 5,000 lbs or really need the power of the 381 horses I have now. It is nice when you get on it though.

 

My right hand man at work has a Tundra and loves it, but he is definitely envious of my 19-20 mpg and the fact that I can run right alongside him and not miss a beat.

I have been following this thread closely as my dad is seriously contemplating a 3.7, its great to see all the positive feedback. Ford has some definite winners in these new power trains (11+).

If you rent one be sure to post your feedback and experiences, I never drove the 3.7, as I wanted the most power with the best fuel economy combination.

 

Checking in again. Fueled up the truck yesterday. As a continuation from my last post, filled up in NY on the way home. About a quarter of this tank was with the little trailer. There was some around town arrend running and a little rural driving. With about 403 miles traveled, the lie-o-meter gave me a 19.3 with a 20.08 by hand calculation.

I loaded the tunes back in yesterday. We went for a hike up in New Hampshire, just over the line. I guess the truck is better than stock. I got on it a couple times on the highway. It went, but now my average mpg numbers are hurting. I'm going to have to baby it for the rest of the tank to get another 20mpg. Put about 150mi on the truck with the tunes. I'm thinking that maybe stock is better for everything but towing the little trailer. I'll test that theory for a little while.

I hope that the other 3.7 V6 F150 owners are happy with their choice. I'm happy with mine. Can't say that I wouldn't mind a little more get up and go, but at this point I'm more focused on decent mpg. I'm not sure you can have both with a full size 4X4 pick up.

 

You probably can with a properly equipped/geared 5.0 or EB that was built on a good day and if you drive it right.

 

I guess I proably could get decent mpg with a 5.0 or EB, but it would be hard to not use the additional power.

I like my 3.7 but I've got to say, after driving around in my wifes 2010 Mazda 3 hatch with a little 2.5 I4, six speed manual, weilding 167hp and 168 lb. ft. torque, my truck feels slow. In addition, I put the tunes back in last weekend and the truck feels even more doggedly.

The truth is, I'm pining for more speed. That's not where I was when I bought the truck. The truck does it's intended duties well, which is the reason I got it. What I've concluded is I need to get another vehicle, a toy, if I'm going to have something quicker and that corners a bit. That doesn't fit in the budget at this time so I guess we'll have to take the wifes car more often.

 

I hear ya - but if Ford were to offer a manual trans in the 3.7 I'd probably buy one. I don't need speed or cornering, those days are long behind me!

 

Fueld up yesterday ahead of a quick trip up to NH tomorrow. About 249mi., 18.8 by hand with 18.4 onboard. Took a hit with the tunes. It may be more because the computer has to "relearn" my driving style. So far I'm not happy with the way the tunes feel. There seems to be too much throttle pedal trave with no, or little, response. I'll see what I think after towing the little trailer this weekend, but I may end up going back to the stock tune untill I talk to Mike @ 5Star about a different tune.

 

Boy have I taken a hit from the tune. There's something wrong with it at the moment.

Took the truck with the little trailer up to NH for a hike. Took the highway to start, the truck felt a little sluggish, but it's hot as hell here, like everywhere else, and I had the AC on, windows shut, so that I could hear the tunes. I noticed that my mpg's were looking pretty bad but I thought it was because of the AC.

Got off the highway and the rest of the drive was rural routes where the speed limit is mostly 55mph. Turned off the AC and opened the windows. This is when I could tell there was a problem. The truck wasn't just sluggish, it was a slug. Every time I reached even the slightest incline the truck would slow way down. It felt like the 1k lb trailer that I was towing was more like 8k. It seemed the more I pressed on the accelerator the slower it went untill I pushed the pedal to the floor and forced it to drop to third. There is definitely something wrong. I'm thinking that the dealership must have done something with the PCM the last time I was in for an oil change. The throttle response was horrible.

I went back to the stock tune as soon as I got back home.

My onboard mpg was reading in the low 16's for most of the weekend. Way lower than usual. When I got home, after trying to baby it, it was reading 17.4. We'll have to see how it pans out when I fuel up, as well as see if the mpg will be better on the stock tune.

I really need to get a hold of 5Star.

 

Got some more data for this thread. Hope this is helping someone.

Well, as the last thread states, the truck ran like..., not good on the last trip. We headed up to Maine this past weekend for a family thing on the wifes side. Fueled up before leaving and got a dismal 17.6 with a 17.4 on board. Granted, I was towing our little trailer. The truck was just not right with the tune. I was at the dealership on Friday and asked them if they did anything the last time I was in for service. They said that there was no record of software upgrades.

We did this same trip to Maine last year around this time. You could find the post about it if it were helpful. I remember that we were running late on the return trip last year and picking up the pace didn't have the adverse effects that I thought it would.

This year were were running a bit late getting up there. Once I got on the highway I set the cruise at 75. Traffic was busy and I had to kick the cruise off several times, but there was a good amount of steady driving too. There are always some forced downshifts and full throttle bursts, which Im sure hurt my mpg. The trip back home was punctuated by a few traffic jams. Nothing major and we actually managed to be moving, if ever so slowely, in thoes jams. Set the cruise at 70 on the way home when it was possible.

There is a stetch of "rural" road to get to and from our destination, so it's not all highway, but mostly.

Fueled up when we got back to home turff. Had gone over 430mi on 3/4 tank of fuel. Had a 21.64 with a 21.0 on board. Needless to say, I'm pretty pleased with the mileage and performance on this trip. I was thinking that I was going to have to trade this truck for a V8 based on the last, not so pleasant trip, but I'm feeling better now after the Maine trip.

 

Look up performance dyno in louden NH. They might be able to tune that motor on the rollers.

 

Now that I have put a few miles on the new truck I thought I would post an update. I've had the truck for 2 months now and have put over 2800 miles on it. Most of that is commuting with a mix of highway and city. Until I started watching my mileage so closely I didn't realize just how much stop and go city driving I end up doing, it's a lot more than I thought. I've kept every receipt and odometer reading over the last 2 months. For regular commuting I am averaging 19.25mpg (calculated by hand). Not bad considering a fair amount of that has been with the AC on with a lot of stop and go. I also stopped babying it and just drove the speed of traffic, so usually 5-10 over the limit.

This past week I had a nice long drive and put on 550 miles round trip. It was almost all highway and pretty much flat so I wanted to see what I could get. I had cruise pinned to the speed limit the whole drive and was gentle on the few start/stops I had to do. The AC was on the whole time as it was 88 degrees outside. I also had 2 adults and 3 kids plus baggage in the truck. I reset the computer before I started and when I arrived at my destination the dash gauge read 24.1mpg. After making it home it read 22.4mpg. After doing the math by hand I got 22.59mpg for the whole trip. I am pretty happy with that number. I'd be interested to know how my 2wd SC compares to a 4wd SC on a similar run. Hard to find a real apples to apples comparison.

So far I'm still pretty happy with my purchase.