New diesel owner with questions...

[Dobie07]

Hey guys. Im relatively new to the diesel owenership experience. I bought my 06 f-250 about 3 months or so ago. i have a couple of questions regarding it. First, I seem to be getting around 11.5- 12 mpg in the city. Now my drive consists of the following. I live about 5 miles or so away from work, and its all surface streets, so a fair amount of stopping and going occurs. Also my truck obviously gets turned on and off quite a bit during a tank of fuel. So i am wondering if this is normal, as several others that i know seeming to be getting closer to 14-15 mpg in city driving. Unfortunately I haven't really taken any long highway trips yet, so i am not sure about my mileage on that.
And then the other thing I noticed is I get a pretty decent smell of diesel when I pull up to a stoplight and my windows are down. Now again i am new to diesels so i am not sure if this is normal, or if I have some sort of an exhaust leak or something... my parents have pretty much the exact same truck as i do, and i dont ever seem to notice the smell when i drive their rig.

My truck is still completely stock with no mods as of yet.
I appreciate and look forward to any advice and opinions you guys can give me. thx. -Matt

[Austin G]

1. I am getting about 14mpg on the 7.3L in city.

2. Every diesel I have been in smells like diesel. (Maybe it was a windy day?)

[Hivolts]

I get about 17mpg. Is your truck running a lot while sitting...like in traffic or letting it warm up for long periods?

[Dobie07]

Originally Posted by Hivolts

I get about 17mpg. Is your truck running a lot while sitting...like in traffic or letting it warm up for long periods?

no, not really. I let it warm up for a minute or two before I leave in the am, but thats about it... and no real traffic to speak of, just occassional stop lights.

I asked the dealership to take a look at it, to see if there could be anything causing lower fuel mileage, and they said they dont look at that, since there are no established numbers for our trucks, becuase they are classified as work trucks.

[Manatee]

Greetings!

Around town (45 mph or less with lots of stops) my truck will get 12-14. On the highway it gets 16-18.

I get a little diesel smell doing city driving with my windows down. Smells like fine perfume to me, but if it it is overwhelming then you may have an exhaust leak. I'd sure check it out, or have it checked out. If you have a leak it could be potentially dangerous.

Hope you enjoy that new truck

[Austin G]

Originally Posted by Manatee

Smells like fine perfume to me

I totally agree!

[Dobie07]

yeah, the smell is not overwhelming, and i certainly do not mind it, I just wanted to make sure it was not and indicator of an issue of some sort.

[Dobie07]

Ok so it seems like my mileage is a little low, is there anything i can do, or what sort of things should i look at to improve what Im getting. I drive fairly conservatively, my tires are inflated properly, and my air filter is clean... what else impacts it?

[Dobie07]

anyone have any tips on what to check or how to increase my fuel mileage?

[BigKid]

Originally Posted by Dobie07

Ok so it seems like my mileage is a little low, is there anything i can do, or what sort of things should i look at to improve what Im getting. I drive fairly conservatively, my tires are inflated properly, and my air filter is clean... what else impacts it?

Well intake, programmer, and exhaust will help with fuel mileage(as long as you can keep your foot out of the skinny petal). But if you are wanting to leave it bone stock.......IDK, you pretty much have the basics covered.

Could be lacking in mileage due to the stop and go stuff. Run it out on the highway when you get a chance to see what she does on the highway. Keep in mind, the lower the boost, the better the mileage.