1,000 Mile Trip MPG

[sarends]

Just drove about 1,000 miles to Grand Island, NE and back. Weather was very very windy. I drove 82 MPH essentially the entire way. Average MPG on trip was 15.3 MPG.

Today I drove 145 miles. Was windy again, but not as windy as the trip to NE. I drove 82MPH the whole way. Avg MPG was 16.9

I was hoping for a little better, but I guess this was not horrible.

[Strokin'Hokie]

You will see a huge difference if you set the cruise to 75 mph and even better if you set it to 70... Realize that at these speeds, we are creating SO MUCH drag with these bricks for trucks. Not aerodynamic at all and when the engine RPM creeps up, so does fuel usage and turbo RPM so we use significantly more fuel. I've noticed the best MPG when there is enough traffic to keep me around or under 70 MPH which yields 20 or better most of the time.

[ucpa111]

sarends - what are your truck specs? 250/350? Crew/super/regular? SRW / DRW? Long or short bed? Tire size? Gear ratio?

[sarends]

Sorry - should have furnished this already!

F250
Crew
6 1/2' Bed
Tonneau Cover (for what it's worth)
3.55 Gears
20" Wheels
275/65/20 Tires

Originally Posted by ucpa111

sarends - what are your truck specs? 250/350? Crew/super/regular? SRW / DRW? Long or short bed? Tire size? Gear ratio?

[sarends]

OK, I will try 75 MPH, although I like to go 82!

Originally Posted by Strokin'Hokie

You will see a huge difference if you set the cruise to 75 mph and even better if you set it to 70... Realize that at these speeds, we are creating SO MUCH drag with these bricks for trucks. Not aerodynamic at all and when the engine RPM creeps up, so does fuel usage and turbo RPM so we use significantly more fuel. I've noticed the best MPG when there is enough traffic to keep me around or under 70 MPH which yields 20 or better most of the time.

[mor4wd]

The best MPG is always going to be at the peak torque RPM which I think for our trucks is around 1600-1800. At 82 MPH you're probably at the 2000-2200 RPM range which is well out of the bracket.


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[sarends]

Took a 230 miles trip today - Fort Collins to Winter Park and back again. I (mostly) limited my speed to about 78MPH. This trip involves quite a climb along I70 west up to Empire, and then up and over Berthoud Pass (11,307 feet) to Winter Park. Avg. MPG for the trip was 18.1, which I think is exceptional.

Also, I was quite pleased with the way the descent system works. This made flying down steep sections of I70 going east a breeze. A little tap on the brake at high speeds, with your foot off the pedal, is all it took to get a downshift to 5th or 4th. I also noticed that you do NOT always have to tap the brake to get the tranny to shift into a lower gear when in descent mode. I make this trip frequently in the Winter months (season pass to Winter Park), either in my truck, our Acura MDX or one of our BMW sedans. In the 08 Duramax and the Acura, I always place the tranny into "M" manual mode and manually shift the tranny into lower gears to take a little load off the brakes on steep descents. With the descent system in the Ford, the manual effort is almost entirely unnecessary.

BTW, this Scorpion motor kicked *** going up and over Berthoud pass - I was the aggressor going up in both directions, negotiating around the twisties and gunning the big motor in 3th nd 4th gear, passing essentially every vehicle making the climb! I am not a crazy driver, the truck just has the power, and I was very impressed with the handling through the switchbacks. And, after all this, I averaged 18.1 MPG for the trip!

Final note - there was a "hot rodded" Black smoker Duramax (had a huge side exhaust pipe and she was making some noise) that flew around me when beginning one of the longest climbs on I70 eastbound - I know he saw me as I saw him coming after me in my rearview mirror. So, when he went around me (and several others) on this 4 lane section, I decided that I had no need to race him or anything stupid, but I thought, "I will just get right up behind him (4 or 5 lengths) and show him that this Ford is one vehicle he is not going to just walk away from!" I held right behind (fairly easily I might add) all the way up this long step section of I70. This truck can move!

["Stroker 8"]

You should have showed him who's the King lol, j/k, nice right up and info for us who like to travel. This Scorpion is beast and it only goes to show every time the other 2 have to prove something. I can't drive thru town without a showdown lol. I've never owned a truck like this before that makes me grin non stop. BTW, almost 10k miles with no hiccups and I do Hotrod her so...

[sarends]

I am a nice guy - I didn't blow by him, my exhaust bellering and spewing black crap - the Scorpion is clean,lean and mean! I just stayed on his rump end as he bellered louder and louder trying to get away, but he couldn't, I just hung there, even getting a little closer, just to show him he couldn't lose me! Don't get me wrong, some modded Duramax's would eat me alive, but this one couldn't do er!

Originally Posted by "Stroker 8"

You should have showed him who's the King lol, j/k, nice right up and info for us who like to travel. This Scorpion is beast and it only goes to show every time the other 2 have to prove something. I can't drive thru town without a showdown lol. I've never owned a truck like this before that makes me grin non stop. BTW, almost 10k miles with no hiccups and I do Hotrod her so...

[psdcasper]

I just completed a 1300 mile round trip from Northeastern Pa to South Carolina pulling my gooseneck trailer. Going down speeds were 75-78 pushing some wind and I averaged 12.8mpg. On the way back I had a chevy Tahoe on the trailer doing between 72-75mph and averaged 12.0mpg. The mileage coming back with some weight on the trailer seemed about right but the mileage towing just an empty trailer (about 5800lbs) seemed low to me. The entire trip was highway and I do understand wind plays a huge factor. I did notice that locking out 6th gear in the mountains of VA helped increase mpg according the instant readout. Seems like too much lugging the motor chews more fuel than kicking up the rpm a few hundred to let the motor relax a bit. Just thought I would share this info.