I have a 2002 F-150 4X4 5.4L with just over 2000 miles on it. Only mod so far is a flowmaster 40 SI/DO. I do more city driving than highway driving. I don't stomp on it too much and I'm only getting 13 mpg

Is it going to get better??. Is the engine broken in yet??. I use mid grade fuel. Should I go back to 87 octane??

I will be installing a FIPK in the very near future so will that improve it also??

Any input appriciated, sincerely,

 

honestly, i dont think in the city you are going to get much better, when i have driven on road trips(my truck has about 9k right now), ive gotten as good as 18.25 . . I wouldnt expect to see the city numbers much higher than what you are expereincing though.

 

dont worry too much about it, its most likely that youre engine is not fully broken-in yet. btw, yes the FIPK should help.

 

Your mileage for city driving is right inline with what you should expect. It might improve a little bit as the engine gets broken in. The FIPK may help somewhat, but I wouldn't expect much over .5 mpg if that. Don't get caught up in people on here claiming to get outrageous fuel mileage. I learned a long time ago, that some people tend to overexagerate their mpg. For what reason, I don't know. I think it can be related to SPS.

 

Mine's an 02' Reg. Cab/SB FX4, 5.4L with an ARE Cap and I'm only geting 11.5 mpg/city, and thats with 7K miles.....so far it's not burning any oil and the engine sounds quiet, I'll live with that.

 

So far milage on my 2002 Supercab 5.4 are as follows

10.36mpg 695 miles odometer
15.17mpg 880 miles
13.70mpg 1187 miles
13.90mpg 1483 miles
13.27mpg 1761 miles
16.49mpg 2104 miles
13.54mpg 2405 miles
14.00mpg 2709 miles
15.87mpg 3058 miles
13.91mpg 3371 miles
14.70mpg 3700 miles
14.75mpg 4110 miles
14.59mpg 4418 miles

I don't take it easy on the truck one bit...it sees WOT daily since I bought it with 20 miles on it...running Castrol GTX 10W-30, A/C has been on pretty much everymile of this truck so far (damn hot summer here in midwest). It's had one HW trip..and that was the 16.49....the rest is pretty much all city with an occasionaly jump on the interstate to get accross town (one-few times a week or so..no more than 20miles ever). Bone stock and running 87 octane (anything higher is a waste of money unless you need higher octane). I didn't buy the truck to get good gas milage...I would have bought a focus if I wanted that. My Vortech Supercharged 4.6L T-Bird gets better gas milage unless I get into boost often. Highway the Bird gets 24-26mpg.

Seabass

 

My 2002 Supercab 5.4L 4x4 has 900 miles. I checked my mileage on the last tank and it was 14.897 mpg. This is all to/from work driving with A/C on. I'm happy so far. I was expecting 12-13.

 

Navi Man I couldn't agree more. I get about 16 MPG in mixed driving, with little regard for mileage (5.4l 2wd). I apparenly posted the wrong thing a few mounths back and got a few people offended. They didn't really like to hear me mock the one time only 20mpg+ tank with special conditions.

The intgesting thing is that I am within 1mpg of my last Ford truck (4.2l 2wd).


Anyway the milage sounds pretty normal to me. So far the best gas savings "modification" I have heard of is altering your driving habits. My Dad really does get 19MPG in his 2002 4.6l 2wd (15 tank average and counting, except when he tows). But he drives like a Grandpa, almost never goes over 65 mpg, and acclerates painfully slowly. I almost always drive when we are together, and if I drive his truck the mileage drops.

 

My truck has averaged 14.8 since new..I have kept a detailed mpg record. I don't think 13mpg is too bad, remember our trucks weight close to 6000 lbs. It isn't going to deliver mileage that you can brag about. Also since it is a 4WD you are have a little more rolling resistance then the 2WD guys.

 

News Flash! Anyone who has bought an F150 who expects even decent gas mileage is in for a big suprise. They are big trucks with V8s that weigh around 5700# (depending on model). Everyone, please save yourselves a lot of depression....don't even check the gas mileage! When I got my 98 F150 Ext cab 4x4 offroad w/5.4L V8, I checked my mileage the first few tanks....then, I just gave up. I'd rather have the truck I have and get only 8mpg than get 40mpg in any other vehicle.

 

I guess 'good gas milage' is all pretty relative... I average out slightly over 15 miles per gallon in a regular cab 4.6 and consider it to be pretty good gas milage. (Used to get 12-13 in a TransAm before getting my truck.) I guess if I came from a Camry or something I wouldn't be so impressed..

I recently got 19.98 mpg on a road trip from Dallas to Lubbock... Personally, I thought that was excellent gas milage.. (Then got 12 mpg on the way back towing a trailer.)

 

Check my log for mileage.


Click here!

2001 Supercab Flareside w/ 5.4 & towing pkg. Flowmaster 40, MAC Performance FIPK, leadfoot.

 

I've got the 4.6 4X2 and I have about 74000 miles on it and that's about what i get in the city! If you ask me you should be glad to get 13 in the city, you do have the 5.4 with the 4X4. I do get about 19 on the freeway if i let the cruise do all the driving(very hard to do!). Honestly, with mixed driving I get roughly 15.8mpg and I'm somewhat of a lead-foot!

 

My mileage has been averaging 13 to 13.5 on a combo of city and highway. I run QS Synthetic 20W40 with a K&N filter and Gibson Super Truck exhaust. I just had my alltime best mileage last fillup at 15.7 I don't think I've had more that 2 or 3 time getting in the 14s.

But it looks real good moving up and down the road. My ole ladys Corolla gets nearly 40MPG but I would trade rides with her for nothing.

My previous truck was an 85 F150 Custom 4.9 4speed 4x4. It never got better than 10 or 11 MPG. Still looked real good while moving up and down the road.

My son has a 4-banger S-10 that gets 30+ but heck, its not a real truck, its a lowrider.

 

Mine's in the 10-12 range, I think. Just a "guesstimate" though. I do keep a log, but I haven't done the math for a while.
Just not important, and like STX/98 said, it's a relative thing anyway.
My previous truck, which I fed for 13.5 yrs, was an 87 Supercab, 5.8 C6 2wd. Mileage was very consistant, regardless of usage. City, hiway, towing, or empty - SEVEN.

Was a great trouble indicator, though. If it varied, either way, there was a problem brewing!