SafeHarbor

Well, Diesel Dan, THIS tank is not going to be very good. I have 200 highway miles on this one and the rest creeping around town. Also, I was making 500-mile round trips empty twice a month from shortly after buying the truck to the end of April.

I'm going to retract the "average" part of the statement. Instead, I'll say that it gets 21.2 or pretty close to that whenever I bother to check it, which has always been on that round trip so far. I have 462 miles on this tank so far, and I'll be refueling this weekend.

hillfolker

my lil rabbit diesel runs the winning time on the ticket,and thats drivin it in off the street,and all i did was lower the tire pressure to 25 or so,and the centerforce clutch wasnt holding the torque in 4th and 5th gear.
now i got a 4 puck but i havent run with it yet

and i was having on the line (rt) i know

on trips from cleveland ,oh to poughkeepsie,ny;
i cruise at 75 mph,and ive gotten anywhere between 52 to 54 mpg
and usually i get hi 40s around town,i really dont care ,thats good enough,i am always steppin on it +it gets better mileage than the orig . engine i removed,and power?heh,see the ticket
you could do pretty much the same thing with a rabbit pickup too

this thread was something about 20+mpg? ok

SafeHarbor

Okay guys, time to come clean. On this one, I got 512 mi and took 30.1 gallons, for 17 mpg. This was 200 miles highway and 312 creeping around. I had to refuel at the big nozzles at Flying J because all the little pumps were tagged out of order. This was an ordeal, but I got it up to filler (after warning off two truckers that I was going to be there for a while).

Now I'm ready for the big cross-state trip, and I'm betting I'll be back at 21 mpg when I refuel on the way back.

JyRO

Gambino - Maybe my truck is just more efficient, I don't know. But personally I try to drive it just as smooth on the go pedal as I can.

I anticipate every slow down. Slowing down doesn't hurt fuel economy. Its the speeding back up to your previous speed that does. That and wind drag at higher speeds. So I let off WAY early when I KNOW that I'm going to have to slow or stop somewhere. Other than that all I do is ease the speed up slowly (wanna be drag racers always want by), and hold the throttle just as steady as I can.

Here's a link to my latest empty driving effort. 700 mile club

I took a pounding on letting the tank run so dry, but oh well. I got 20.58 mpg with no interstate cruising, and put 700.5 miles on the tank. My truck is a long bed, 4X4, quad cab, 6 speed. Mildly bombed - 275's, EZ, elbow, boost fooler, straight piped.

Normal around town driving I probably get about 18 mpg. But I tow frequently and usually never drive enough empty to take a decent reading around town.

Oh yeah, BTW. I just towed my 24 foot enclosed trailer to Chicago and back. I brought a 2,500 lb. J.D. show tractor back. Total towed weight about 7,000 lbs. (not too much). I averaged 13.9 mpg with 95% of that at 65 mph on the interstate with the cruise control, because I frickin hate paying for fuel at ~$3 a gallon.

- JyRO

crossy

me and a friend of mine just took long trips on interstate together. IDENTICALLY equipped 05's . We decided to fuel together and reset the console MPG meter and just use that this time. his is BONE stock, mine had EZ set on #1 and I swiss cheesed the airbox. they both have 3.73 and stock tires with appx. 15K on the odo. he got 19.2 and i got 17.6,

Diesel-Dan

Miles----Total$----Gallons----Price/Gal----MPG


149420----$20.00----6.9----$2.90----xxxx
149815----$60.00----21.66----$2.77----18.24
150275----$70.01----25.09319----$2.79----18.37
150720----$82.50----29.476----$2.79----15.07
151049----$75.00----26.998----$2.77----12.19
151469----$61.87----23.13----$2.69----18.16
151955----$75.00----26.605----$2.82----18.27
152045----$16.00----5.716----$2.80----15.75

This is my last 8 fill ups......12.19 MPG was half normal...and half towing our 48' enclosed bread box.......haha......

15.75 today was in hills and about 1 ton of Frame brackets in the bed of my truck.......

wcbcruzer

Well, I'm on the quest to make the most fuel efficient truck. I have to agree that 4wd makes a noticeable difference in economy. The truck is overall heavier, has more lift (wind resistance), and has more moving parts that cause friction. I'd think that running synthetic oil in the axles would contribute some to fuel economy. If you do all the "fuel efficient" mods, you should notice a good increase in numbers. Instead of having that "that's not going to make a difference" attitude.

MoparMarv

I get about 450 miles before the low fuel light comes on light comes. I fill my tank up the same each time one click and then another burst til a drop or 2 splashes out. I have owned the truck since april and have about 10000 miles on it. Lowest tank was 18.91mpg best tank was 22.42mpg. The truck is a 4x4 with 3.07 gear. I have been so pleased with the MPG on this truck I have been thinking about getting a 2wd and putting 3.07 gears in it and seeing what it can do with out all the extra weight and sitting lower to the ground. I give the truck a good mash down once and while. typical cruise for me is about 72-75 on the hwy. My daily commute is 56 miles round trip is some traffic and some 70 mph bursts.

JyRO

I agree. But your best fuel efficiency mod is to turn the gain down on the "Brain to Foot" setting. On my 700 mile tank (20.54 mpg), I used the cruise control as much as possible. I think my foot is even more fuel efficient than the C.C., but my foot starts hurting having to hold it in one place for so long. Out of 700 miles, I'd say I used the C.C. for 600 of it. A LARGE portion of that was set at 55 mph on my backroad commute to work.

- JyRO

Diesel-Dan

You must live in a very flat place!!! haha....my crusie is "Floor Happy" in hills.........

JyRO

Yep, Montgomery area is pretty flat. But with an EZ, and RV275's, I don't think my truck would ever go to the floor empty. Towing, yes it would. I've ran Jellico mountain empty a few times, and honestly, I doubt it saw 20% throttle in 6th gear ... there was MUCH pedal left.

- JyRO

wcbcruzer

That's true. I like to drive according to pedal location (egt and boost) instead of c.c. I was actually going to find out if there was a mod we could do to the c.c. so it just keeps the pedal stationary regardless of speed.

JyRO

Other guys have rigged up a "constant throttle," cable. It works good for fuel economy, but its bad for traffic. Like, they's set it up to run 65 mph on the interstate, but the first big hill and they're down to like 40 mph at the top, and then hit like 90 mph on the way down the hill.

What would really be the ticket is a gain control tied in with the C.C. buttons. Running minimum gain would minimize the up/down of the boost (throttle input) while on C.C.

- JyRO

supr

Back to basics, Physics.
1. 4WD = More weight, more rolling resistance, less milieage
2. 3.55 do better than 4.10's unless towing heavy & drop a gear
3. More speed, more air resistance, less mileage. If you drive any of these beasts 55 they will get 20mpg, even 4.10's. I have gotten over 20 at 40-50 around town.
4. Air up the tires to near the label, less rolling resistance
5. fuel Additive-suppose to help milage, etc.
6. 5th wheel tail gate may help, have heard diffrrent opinions here. It will definetly make your life easier if you own a 5er, may save a tail gate.
7. If all this does not work, clean mAP/IAT sensors
20 mpg for a 7,000 beast is pretty good. Gaser trucks especially 8 liter, do good to get 12-15.
I get 13 pulling a BIG 5ver, 12' at 55. 17-18 around 65. 15-16 at 70.
I think that is average or a little better, for Gen2 4.10's.
Again, speed is the biggest mileage factor. Speed = $$$

newriverSpecon

I track every tank. My 99 2wd has given me 20-23 consistantly. On freeways I drove 60 MPH when I had 4.10's (OEM). Most of my tanks are fair splits 60/40 leaning either way(highway/city). The first two mods where done one at a time. BHAF & straight pipe which made no change. I did injectors, 3.55's, -8 lines, & remote filter (removed factory). Then I got 20-22. I installed the VA and gained power and lost EGT, but the mpg was stable. I built an aluminum air box (raised egt) and had a 1-2 mpg drop. I have insulated it now and gained .5 to .75 back. I need to duct the cowl air in still and build a new box with different materials.

I track it all in a "DOME" book and have put it into an excel sheet along with the rest of my maintenance. I can pretty much tell what it cost per mile to the penny. I drive fairly easy. In third gear I use 7-8 PSI. Fourth 7-12. Fifth 6-10. I run 70 on the freeways and sit at 2100(ish). Occasionally I make excursions into the 32-34 psi range. Probably 6-12 times per tank. I see 600 miles at the E line and put in about a little under 30 gal. I normally fill to about 36 total (don't ask how I know total capacity).

I just put 235/85's on yesterday. I'm making a trip to Yellowstone next this weekend and then on to Caldwell, ID. Then back to Reno for the race then home. It should be about 2500 miles overall and will be the frst long road trip I've taken since the gear/injector change and new tires.

The 97 4wd pulls 18 on the highway at 75. And progressivly worse in town. It made no difference when we changed from 285/75 BFG A/T to the 315/75 Mudders.

Randy