GAS MILEAGE ?

[jjtwister]

Ok:

I have a new 2011 E-250 2WD 4" lift 5.4 gas. Just hit 5,000 miles. I am a bit disappointed with the gas mileage. I took an 600 mile trip, mostly interstate, and my mileage was around 12mpg.

Keeping in mind that I have not finished the interior build and the kayak and Thule box were not on the roof , all adding more weight and drag, I am a bit surprised that I did not get at least 15mpg as other forum members have stated in previous posts.

I would welcome any suggestions on how to increase gas mileage. I am planning a 2 month trip out west this summer and have estimated that it will be 6,000 miles X 15 mpg X $4.00 gal = $1,600 for fuel. I thought this was generous but now am thinking I will have to recalculate.

jjtwister

[twogone]

The 15 mpg you describe is usually from a diesel, and usually all-interstate; flat, straight, Great West non-stop interstate, not up-and-down, small town New England highways. Most V-10 (gas) owners seem to get what you are getting, or less. You'll need to double your fuel cost estimates to take into account those stoplight-to-stoplight, headwind, steep climb runs that get under 8 mpg... all day long.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you can forget 15mpg's on a 4"lift with a lot of stuff on the roof. Unless one of the forum geniuses helps you get retuned....

[86Scotty]

A tune will help a little, but it will take a while to recoup the costs. Best I've ever gotten with my tuned 2wd 5.4 was 16, usually more like 14. That's if you don't get over 70 much. The van still drives great loaded at 75+, but mileage drops to 12 or so.
Logic doesn't apply much to these vans, as twogone said. Sometimes you might get less than 10.
5.4 works hard in a van, mileage suffers.
V10 doesn't work hard in a van, but is a huge motor, mileage suffers.
Diesels do a little better, don't work hard, but cost more and fuel is more. Pocketbook suffers.
I see no good way.
Sad thing is you could buy a big class A motorhome or pull a big trailer and get just 1-2 mpg less than we do a lot of days with the vans.

[LenS]

I have always found MPG to be all over the map. Even when I think I am driving in a consistent manner. Head winds, tail winds, side winds, +- grades, YOUR DRIVING SPEED (these things are just big boxes on wheels. On x-ways we drive 65-70ish. I have a 2000 Chev Epress Extended van w a 5.7L and over 100k miles have averaged 14.7mpg. Sometimes for no apparent reason I can get 10-12mpg (I always avg. over at least 1000 miles of driving...not individual tanks) and sometimes I can get 17-18mpg.

I wouldn't think a 2011 would need any tune. If you drive in lots of dust though should chk air filter.

[Gnarvan]

How fast do you drive? Aerodynamic drag is the big factor in fuel economy. The harder you push into the air the more energy your engine needs to overcome the drag. Your best bet in improving fuel economy is slowing your speed. Setting your cruise control 5 mph slower than normal is a lot cheaper than some fancy tune.

Trust me when I tell you I know about the boredom of driving slow in an effort to save fuel. Right Eric????

[jage]

Originally Posted by Gnarvan

How fast do you drive? Aerodynamic drag is the big factor in fuel economy.

Plus you just created another whole effective surface with that 4" lift.

I'd run two tanks of premium through to see if the extra hp gets you some mpg. That's been my solution to two 4x4 vehicles with larger tires.

Next is gears and tire size, and what's your RPM at 65. In fact, are you sure your odo and speedo are correct?

Third is; was 600 miles one way into the wind, or was it round trip?

Last is go on the internet and claim you get 21 mpg. Don't discuss how.

[carringb]

How fast were you going?

4WD adds about a 1.5 MPG hit. But bigger or softer tires can be even more than that.

The last 5.4L I rented was a 2012 and with a full load, and many short (<10 miles) of freeway trips usually at 75+ but flat terrain, our overall average was 15.5 MPG.

When I take vans on longer rafting trips, with a modest 65 MPH and rolling grades through southern Oregon, the newer 5.4L vans will average 18+ and the older 5.4L get about 17.

Nice pretty Mud Terrain tires can easily eat up a couple highway MPGs compared to the stock small-diamter highway tires. So if you have tires like that, your already at a 3-4 MPG hit with your 4x4. Basic roof bars also are a 1-2 hit, and any equipment on a full rack, especially with an air dam, can eat up even more. My old roof rack with an airdam was an automatic 3 MPG penalty, which is why I switched to a lower profile rack and removed the fairing.

[dhally]

We have a fairly new 5.4L with a 24" high top and highway tread all season tires. On our recent trip I drove 75mph in windy conditions for a ways and we got 13.5 mpg. On the way home we took secondary roads, went about 60mph, and got 14.5 mpg.

12 mpg seems low but I've never had a lift or AT tires.

[rionapo]

Originally Posted by carringb

Basic roof bars also are a 1-2 hit, and any equipment on a full rack, especially with an air dam, can eat up even more. My old roof rack with an airdam was an automatic 3 MPG penalty, which is why I switched to a lower profile rack and removed the fairing.

To confirm, our Thule box cost an mpg or two. I guess it's cheaper to buy gas than take the thing down and store it when we're not travelling.

[Miykl]

Originally Posted by LenS

Sometimes for no apparent reason I can get 10-12mpg (I always avg. over at least 1000 miles of driving...not individual tanks) and sometimes I can get 17-18mpg.

Quality of the fuel at the station you filled up makes a difference. Filling up with cold fuel on a old day vs warm fuel on a hot day makes a difference in the engery per gallon. There's a always a reason. It's just not always starrring you in the face. ...and when it is we often miss it.

btw...my 2004 Express 3500 2wd with 60.L and a high top gets 12 at 70mph on mostly flat land (usually).