MPG

[ezzrider]

I know this subject has been beat to death but here goes again. I have been getting 13 to 14 mpg around town with my 08 6.4 Crew Cab 4x4. I have 3,600 miles on my truck. I took a short trip yesterday at interstate speeds. I held my truck at 70 mph steady for about 50 miles (I said it was a short trip). Much to my surprise I did not get any better MPG at a steady 70 mph than my around town mileage. I live in Florida so the roads are relatively flat. I used the cruise control some and my foot some but I held a steady 70 mph speed. Frankly I am a bit shocked that I did not get any better MPG at a steady 70 mph over around town mileage. I was hoping to get 17 to 20 mpg at interstate speeds. Guess not!! By the way the truck was empty and not towing anything. Of course I am going by my console readings for the mpg and I reset it numerous times. Has anyone else experienced the same thing? When I take my truck into the dealer at 5,000 miles I will ask if there is anything they can do. I have a 373 ratio rear end and 18" tires. That should be the best combination for better mileage. I did not buy the truck to be a fuel mizer but I am a bit surprised.

[spburns]

In all honesty, we generally don't buy these beasts for economy - like owning an ocean boat, it's a case of knowing you need pretty deep pockets before you make the purchase. All the same, and it's true that this issue has always been flogged pretty hard, the 08's do seem to be all over the map as far as mpg's go. The newest info we've heard from our dealer, who's actually a pretty good dude, is that it's true that these new ones are a little tougher on fuel than anything previous, but again, you generate horses by burning fuel, not air. He tells me that they DO get better after some breaking in, One of the things I've noticed with my new '08 is that it's really sensitive to foot pressure, as you've probably read in other areas of these forums. Just like the first Ford truck I ever jazzed up (a 1992 7.3 aspirated, fixed with a Banks blower and exhaust and still have the old girl) it's hard to drive these easy - the 6.4 seems to be reluctant to be driven "average". It kind of likes a heavy foot or your grandma at the helm, and not much in between. One thing I've noticed over the years is that mileage claims you'll read about here need to be taken with a bit of salt - some of the claims are really outrageous on the higher end sometimes, and we're converting what we read to our gallon here in the North, Inperial gallon which means that high mileage numbers from south of the 49th need to increased by 25% or so to equate to our calculations. You can tell me that you get 22 mpUSg with an '08 at 70 mph, but I just won't believe you - sorry!

[thunderinms]

Per Marc on the radio show he was featured on a few days ago, the new 08's have to sacrifice economy to get the fuel efficiency and HP gains required by the government and the customer base respectively. I own a 6.0 and plan on keepng it going as long as possible. I thought I wanted an 08!

Garrett

[Rob]

i have a 6.0, and my mileage sucks too, but i think my lift, big tires, and heavy foot contribute to that. i did try different tunes from my sct to see if i would get better mileage and it was a no go on that. it got worse. oh well, i guess i have to make sacrifices to get that power!!

[bleedsblue]

Having owned both a 6.0 and the 6.4 I can honestly say the 6.4 is defintely more sensitive to heavy throttle driving as far as MPG goes. I drive about 70 miles daily round trip to work and my MPG has been going up about .1 a day that's about 40/60 highway/city. All it takes is me having to get on it hard once to pass someone and my MPG won't improve for a day or two. Currently I'm right at 14.4 MPG, which is right around what I got with my 6.0 when it was stock. Should be interesting to see what happens next week after the lift.

Bill

[ezzrider]

Thanks for everyones input. Bottom line as stated we do not purchase these for fuel economy. That would be a nice plus but not realistic. I am completely satisfied with my trucks looks, ride and performance. I just thought it was interesting that the MPG were the same for around town driving and interstate speeds. I did the math before I purchased my truck on the extra amount I may have to pay for fuel over a years time. That additional cost was not sufficient enough for me not to purchase the truck. I guess I have been reading about some of the reported 18 to 22 MPG in this forum for the 08. Maybe those MPGs are exaggerated, mistaken or just great for the person who gets them.

Thanks.

[blazeone]

I believe the single biggest mileage killer is the "re-gen process". I have rest the mgp counter during a re-gen while traveling on the freeway at 60mph and it indicated 5-6mpg consistanly. My adverage mileage is pretty good but when you throw in two to three re-gens per tank it knocks the adverage down 2-3 mpg.

[alfajay]

I got the ancient 7.3 here, and I got it for the mileage. 10-12mpg with 10k on a trailer, compared to the 6 I got out of a Chev/Ford/Dodge gasser, its pretty good. I havn't driven a gasser for a few years. I hear guys with those Nissans get 12-14 highway, 7-10 pulling their loads. Anyone know what kind of MPG current gassers are getting in a 250/350 set up?