Is that about normal? What does that come out to in miles per gallon? 2000 f-150 4.6 4x4.I dont know how to do the calculation for MPG.Thanx.

 

The most inaccurate way to *estimate* your MPG is by calculating how many gallons your down (gas pump meter when you fill up) and divide that into the miles on your odometer. lets say you have driven 280 miles. and you've gone through 23.76 gallons of gas. Divide 280 by 23.76= 11.78 MPG.

At last fill up, I got 11 MPG

Miles driven/fill up capacity(in gallons)= MPG

 

That's about average. I run between 280 and 300. If I run in 4H in winter it will drop close to 200.

The math is simple. Type the number of miles driven into a calculator. Hit the divided by sign, then enter the gallons required to fill the truck up. Then hit the equals sign and your mpg will be the result Miles/gallons = miles per gallon.

Let's assume you filled up right at the of the E marker, when the low gas light comes on. That's about 22 gallons.

280 is divided by 22 to get mpg of 12.73. If you have your gas recipt you can replace 22 with the number of gallons from your actual fill.

From what I have noticed, the half tank marker is very close to just that, half a tank (12.5 gallons). You can get a good idea on how you are doing by setting your trip, and checking it at half a tank.

I tend to set the trip and see if I can get 50 miles in before the needle moves to full.

From what I have read on this board, it looks like there are 3 gallons left when the light goes on, but those who have driven to empty say there are actually 4 gallons left between the tank and all lines.

The gasoline does cool your fuel pump, so it is best to fill up again before the light comes on. When you see the low fuel light on you know your fuel pump is running warm.

This is from experience, as I ran the tank low in my last truck, and replaced the fule pump at about 13k.

 

greencrew-

you are much clearer that I.

 

Thanks mf. I had a lot of fun typing that one up. As you can see it took me a while because we were both replying at the same time.

 

I have a 1998 Ford F150 4x4 with the 4.6 and i thought my 350 miles to a tank was low, LOL and i am only 18, and you know how we drive. LOL

 

I just got 385 miles on 20.12 gallons of gas two weeks ago on my '00 4x4 5.4. Running all hiway speeds of 72-75. Caan't complain about that.

 

OK so my 96 doesn't drink has much as I thout I usually average 280-320 per fill up. My last tank I got around 351, which is pretty good, must of had a lot of tail winds. It will sink this summer when the AC gets cranked up. I have the long bed with the 30 gallon tank, but didn't run it to empty. I est. I had 5 gallons left so that means I got around 14.04 MPG. I want to be around 16 MPG, so I need to fing 49 more miles per fill up. Maybe a fresh cleaned filter, MAF, new O2's, and maybe plugs will do it this summer.

 

Last i checked i got 17.6 miles to the gallon. (it was also windy)
Do you think the 5 speed gets better mileage than an auto?. I have gotton 20.1 miles a couple times but the truck was newer then.

 

greencrew,

Thanks for the tip, I didn't know the fuel pump was cooled by the gas.

I normally keep my truck full, but a couple of times I have been down to fumes.

My tank holds 95 liters... one time, I actually pumped in 95.318 liters, I still can't figure that one out.


I sure won't let that happen again.

Regards
Habibi

 

I think that there will be differences in the different configurations.

When we calculate MPG by dividing miles driven by gallons of gas required to fill, we get an average MPG.

I fill up usually around 330mi.This will be at just under a quarter of a tank left. This is with varied driving. Some highway some around town. Some mellow and some under boost. I've found that with 9psi (as apposed to the stock 5psi on the Magna) I go through more gas.

I fill up before the light comes on, most of the time. I can't think of a time when I filled up with less than 300mi on the trip OD. When I go on a trip, like to Virgina for the rally, I will get as much as I can out of a tank. The light will come on at about 400mi but I figure that I'm good for 50 more before I'm completely out.

Drown021, you have a 4X4 so you have some addes weight. Are you a reg cab? I'd bet there are some things that can be done to improve that mileage.

 

"The importance of keeping your fuel level above empty"

I'm not chastizing anyone here, but since someone pointed out that the pump is cooled by the fuel, I'll point out a couple other things I've learned about fuel, fuel pumps and fuel tanks.

Not only does the fuel cool the pump, it also lubricates it. If you run your tank down to empty and let the truck sit for a few days, there is a risk that the pump will dry out and no longer flow fuel.

Another point:

Those fuel storage tanks at the gas station are full of all sorts of weird ****!!! I removed the fuel tank from my brother's Taurus a few weeks ago and it scared the hell out of me what I found in there. Not only was there sand.... I also found a 6" piece of red yarn and the entire bottom of the tank was coated with something that had the consistency of sugar at the bottom of the glass. The fuel pick-up screen rests on the bottom of the tank. If your tank has a couple mm(s) of fuel, the pump is going to be sucking up all that crap at the bottom of the tank.

 

Just have to add a couple comments. Miles per tank means nothing. If I only get 100 miles per tank, you may say that there is something wrong with my truck. But if I stop to get gas every day and put in 5 gallons, that would be pretty good. My point is that everyone has their own habits. Some fill at 1/4 full mark, some wait until the low fuel light has been on for a while.

To add to what Greencrew said...

Fill up the tank all the way. Don't just put in $20 worth of gas. Reset the trip meter or remember the mileage. Then drive it for that tank. Nnext time, fill it up again to the top and note the number of gallons you put in the truck. Take the number of miles on your trip meter and divide it by the gallon on the pump. That is as close as you'll get to actual MPG without some better measuring equipment.

How some people make it through high school math amazes me.

While I understand that fuel helps cool the pump, it should not be a design reqirement. Do manufacturers expect me to cut every vehicle's fuel capacity by 25%? 25% is significant for me because I put a lot of miles on my cars. 25% means one more day of commuting. If a fuel pump gets too hot to malfunction with the 4 remaining gallons of gas that are left in my truck when the light comes on, that is a poor design. I would expect while under warranty that is gets replaced. In fact, Ford did replace my Contour's fuel pump at 18k miles. 32k on my new car and no problems. 67k on my truck and no problems. 155k on my old car and no fuel problems, even ran out of gas once in it.

AjRango, you found yarn, sand, and sugar in a gas tank and think it came from a the gas station pump? Putting sand and sugar in someone's gas tank are common pranks. Don't know about the yarn, though.

 

To calculate your mileage, fill your tank all the way – partially or almost full will throw the calculation off. In other workds, you have to top off the tank completely. Divide mileage on that tank of gas by the gallons of gas you just put in the tank and you will get MILES PER GALLONS.

The manual tells you your tank is not full when the pump at the station kicks off. I can put another 5 gallons in my tank (and filler tube) after the pump kicks off. I typically get 400-415 miles on a full tank when the low fuel light comes on – but I have a 30 gallon tank. If I fill up right after the light comes on, I can put 29-30 gallons in the tank. I figure the other 3-4 gallons left in the system is due to the extra gas I put in the filler tube. 3-4 gallons seems like a lot in the filler tube, but I've yet to run out of gas.

 

I don't think that is a good idea. When the cut-off switch at the gas pump shuts off, anything more than two click will probibly put stress on your sender unit in the gas tank (I don't know if this is true with our F-150's). I went through two senders when I had my Nova (it could just be that it was a Chebby ).

I admit, it might be different with our trucks.

Good day, everyone!