04 mpg

[04lariatscab]

ok so i bought my first diesel 04 s/c lariat 4x4 fx4 4in lift with 35s now i know my tires arent helping but im hand calculating a best of 12.7mpg now ive read and talked to guys getting around 17-18 with similiar setups now i baby this truck never over 2k rpm usually keep it coasting when i get up to speed around 1250 rpm im running a superchips economy tune other than that all stock it has 162k on it. Is this the best im going to get? im new to diesel and dont know a whole lot ive read about the strategies n ficm but not really sure how to know what im running or how it can be changed any info would be a huge help in detail please i know you guys will know some good tips and tricks thanks so much

[MountainStangs]

Originally Posted by 04lariatscab

ok so i bought my first diesel 04 s/c lariat 4x4 fx4 4in lift with 35s now i know my tires arent helping but im hand calculating a best of 12.7mpg now ive read and talked to guys getting around 17-18 with similiar setups now i baby this truck never over 2k rpm usually keep it coasting when i get up to speed around 1250 rpm im running a superchips economy tune other than that all stock it has 162k on it. Is this the best im going to get? im new to diesel and dont know a whole lot ive read about the strategies n ficm but not really sure how to know what im running or how it can be changed any info would be a huge help in detail please i know you guys will know some good tips and tricks thanks so much

I've got an '04 Lariat myself, it had a 7" lift on 35" mud terrains with a very aggressive tread when I bought it and hand calculated I was averaging 14.2-14.5mpg driving at 55mph on the freeway. Basically less than 1/4 of my commute was city driving so mostly freeway, keeping the rpms 1750 on the freeway. These numbers come from running the mileage tune on the Edge Platinum tuner and cold air intake. I got slightly better mileage after putting a 4" straight exhaust it, maybe .2mpg. I have just put new 38's on my truck and now with exactly the same set up otherwise I am seeing 13.2mpg after 3 tanks of fuel hand calculated

Subscribing... Tips would be excellent !

[Super Diesel]

Originally Posted by 04lariatscab

ok so i bought my first diesel 04 s/c lariat 4x4 fx4 4in lift with 35s now i know my tires arent helping but im hand calculating a best of 12.7mpg now ive read and talked to guys getting around 17-18 with similiar setups now i baby this truck never over 2k rpm usually keep it coasting when i get up to speed around 1250 rpm im running a superchips economy tune other than that all stock it has 162k on it. Is this the best im going to get? im new to diesel and dont know a whole lot ive read about the strategies n ficm but not really sure how to know what im running or how it can be changed any info would be a huge help in detail please i know you guys will know some good tips and tricks thanks so much

What other engine mods do you have? When you say "similar setups" what all else are you saying you've got? Because... I don't know man... if you're running the Superchips Economy Tune---you should be getting awesome MPG (well... definitely better than what you're getting right now for sure). And if you're babying it and its STILL getting crappy MPG... there might be something seriously wrong.

[04lariatscab]

thanks mountainstangs and superdiesel thats it running the mileage xs tune 4 inch lift and 35s that arent even aggressive motors clean checked for fuel leaks maybe i need to go have the injectors tested? i have no idea maybe thats just the best we are gonna see

[AKDREDGER]

I have an 06 F350 40K miles, its getting 9-10 city 12-13 highway. 4" lift 37" Toyos, I drive it as easy as possible. Mileage just sucks. For the cost of diesel .20-0.30 more per gallon, 6K for the motor, I should have stuck with a gas motor.

[Irish4]

What type of gears do you have in the rear end, 3.73ish, 4.10?

I'm not a Ford guy, at least on the diesel side, but I think some Fords have the fully auto hubs while some you can lock/unlock the front hubs. I only saw 1 of you,asking questions, with sigs indicating a 4x4 truck.

While this would not take you from the 18 down to the 12-14 MPG range, it will have some impact.

[dereku]

You need to calibrate the speedo to the tire size otherwise your actual speed is faster than your speedo says. Then you will get better MPGs.

Not to mention when your speedo isnt calibrated properly you have a poorly performing truck and it throws off all your shift points. Something most people dont think about ever.

Thats the whole reason I dont have a lifted SD any more. I had 10.5''s of lift with 46s and slowly downsized trying to see if it would help. Now with stock tires it is so much better.

[stroken04]

Something else that you need to look into is location
For example, someone that lives in West Texas is going to get better mileage than someone in denver.

How much do you idle your truck?
Do you drive in stop and go traffic?
Fuel filters?

In town my 04 got around 14mpgs and 17-19 on the Interstate

Just to rub it in, my last tank of diesel in my tdi got me 46mpg's

[LHMissions]

When I had 33's - I got way better mileage then now with 35's. Best mileage on 33's was a tad over 22 hand calculated - roughly 212 miles, around 65mph, shell on the bed. Last tank now with 35's gave me 16mpg - but it was a mix of driving.

This weekend I'm on mission to southern West Virginia, towing a 22' x 8' enclosed trailer, weighing around 8K and a few washer/driers in the bed wiht stake sides. All highway through the mountains - northern MD 270 to 70 to whatever that takes me into Morgantown then 2.5 hours south towards Flatwoods. Night in Strange Creek then on to Webster Springs to the mission house. Heading home on Monday empty.

Will be interested to see what my mileage will be. I'll report in next week.

[mavisky]

Anyone with bigger than factory tires, don't forget that the odometer has no way of knowing that your tires are any larger. For instance my truck has 315/75-16's on it meaning that i've got a rolling diameter of 601 revolutions per mile as compared to the stock 265/75-16's that would have 657 revolutions per mile. That means that 109 miles on my odometer is actually 100 miles traveled.

So when you go to do your fuel calculation you're dividing your gallons by a larger number, thereby reducing your total fuel mileage. In other words I could take my hand calculated mileage and multiply it by 1.09 to get my actual mpg. So for instance if my nearly stock truck on 315/75-16's is pulling 11.9 mpg around town and some highway driving I'm actually getting 12.97 mpg out of it.