Terrible Gas Mileage - Any mods that will help?

[torboschen]

Originally Posted by CDACamper

How are you calculating mpg? If you changed tire size to a significantly larger tire, your odometer will show less total miles than you have actually traveled. This will make your mpg calculate lower than what you are really getting.

Older Ford vans can have the speedo calibrated to accommodate larger tires and different gear ratios than stock. My local mechanic recalibrated mine. It's quite accurate based on my gps and scan gauge.

I think that all ended later in the mid 2000's when the speedometers started relying on the ABS system for speed vs a sender in the driveline. I might be way off base on that though.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by chrisflies

Well, I know I'm gonna take "heat" for this but my 2 cents.
Any how, I am hoping to pick-up a 500 mile range Tesla Cyber Truck in 2021 which I will tow a camper trailer. There, I said it....if you want good gas mileage...get a vehicle that does not use gas! We haven't paid a dime for gas, oil, electricity (powers our house) and maintenance is basically zilch (so far) etc. in 2.5 years and now there is an option for off-road, campers etc.. would love to see SM adapt a camper vehicle to electricity and
OK....fire when ready.

Sorry to burst you bubble, but the physics simply don't support a reasonable range when towing, at least not until battery tech improves by an order of magnitude. Might be worthy of a different thread, but if you know what kind of trailer you are thinking about, we can calculate an expected range when towing vs available battery sizes. Plus.... until they actually start shipping trucks, I'm a little skeptical of the claimed 500 mile range.

https://youtu.be/yjklex38lkQ

That said.... The F150 hybrid is out soon, with a plug-in hybrid version expected next year. Hopefully they'll migrate that to the Transit. Ford has confirmed the Transit full-EV for 2022 but we haven't seen any specs yet.

[Vanzila]

Originally Posted by tedujam

I've got a 2009 E350 with a UJOR 4x4 conversion and 6" lift. Running 285/170/R17 BFG KO2's. No engine mods that I'm aware of. I can't average above 10mpg to save my life, driving with no a/c on flat highways.


I've read many reports from others with similar builds who are getting better mpgs. I had the shop I use in Austin take a look at it and they basically said "It's because of the 4x4 conversion, just learn to live with it".



Hoping there are other options.

Lighter Shoes..

Mine is a 1996 5.8L 4x4 I am the Original Owner. When it was new it got about 18 on the Highway (as a 4x4 built by Salem Kroger).

Today now that shes 25 (and Ujointed) she gets between 12 and 10 MPG on the Highway. But its a bit heaver now with the newer Axles that U joint used. IT gained about 1000 pounds after I had Chris Update her.

[Vanzila]

Originally Posted by torboschen

Older Ford vans can have the speedo calibrated to accommodate larger tires and different gear ratios than stock. My local mechanic recalibrated mine. It's quite accurate based on my gps and scan gauge.

I think that all ended later in the mid 2000's when the speedometers started relying on the ABS system for speed vs a sender in the driveline. I might be way off base on that though.

You are off base a bit. The Early ones like mine 93 to 96 have a PSOM that can be reset 6 times. Once you know your numbers.

After 1996 They are all able to have the Tire size set But you have to do it with the Ford Scan Tool Computer. IF you have older one like mine its a bit different but does not require the Gauge.. Anyone with 93-96 that needs the info hit me up.

97 -2014 are all adjustable with Ford Scan Gauge.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by chrisflies

Well, I know I'm gonna take "heat" for this but my 2 cents.


OK....fire when ready.

OK, 2 thoughts. And keep in mind I'm smiling as I write this. I don't mean to sound like an a** in any way. Have you SEEN a Cybertruck? Perhaps your vision is awful and therefore it might be the best thing ever. I simply cannot stand to glance at that atrocity for more than a second or two. It causes me nightmares. My 17 year old boy loves it though. He thinks it's great. He is the future, it is the future (I hope not but it probably is). I guess it will work out.

Second, something has to burn to make that electricity. It doesn't have to be this way but that's the way it is in this country for the foreseeable future.

[malcolmzilla]

I have a 06 e250 with the Clydesdale TTB 4x4 conversion, only About 2” over stock height. I run 265/75-16s with the 5.4 and 3.73s and 10 around town 13 highway is the norm. I’d say your in the range of what can be expected for mileage. Regearing may help with Performance and drivability, but don’t expect to see much mpg improvement, IMO.

[BroncoHauler]

Hey I have over 9KW of solar on my home and I love it, my brother has a Tesla and I love it, but I'm not naïve to believe neither of those has a footprint.

The raw materials and chemicals necessary to manufacture solar panels and lithium batteries have a huge environmental consequence (especially if they are extracted in countries with little environmental regulation), the raw or manufactured materials then likely get shipped across the ocean, then they get used here for 20-25 years, and frankly we have very little in the way of recycling available for either solar panels or lithium batteries. These have their own environmental issues, we just get to pass those consequences down to our children to address.

Herb

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by chrisflies

Well, I know I'm gonna take "heat" for this but my 2 cents...

Being in Idaho I’m not really sure about what happens in California on the day to day basis, but I’ve heard that rolling blackouts are a thing. What’s going to happen when the masses convert to ev’s and everyone has theirs plugged in all night, every night? Won’t that add to the problem? Or are the blackouts just something I see in the movies? Sorry if that’s an ignorant question, but idaho does rank 50th in educational quality, so I have an excuse

Oh, and as far as the original question, I see lots of plugs for mikes 5 star tuning from veteran members here. Does no one gain any MPG’s from his tunes??

[86Scotty]

@Shenrie, no sir I did not gain a bit of mpg from a tune, I just gained lots of smiles. With my perpetually overloaded 5.4 I got about 12-13 IIRC and that was with 2wd.

@Herb, I think we're on the same page. I love Teslas, just not the truck. It's way too edgy IMO. I have reached the age where just about everything new is hideous. It generally takes me 5-10 years to accept a new vehicle model. As for solar, I'm jealous! I think the world should be covered with it. It's a lot easier to think about the wonder of covering every flat surface with free power than it is to imagine what goes in to manufacturing the stuff. Nothing is all positives. Heh heh, see what I did there?
I'm a big fan of wind power too but I don't know how much of a contribution it makes. All I do know, which is really very little, is that it seems like a bad idea to burn coal and other fossil fuels to make electricity to make vehicles go instead of burning essentially the same fossil fuels in them.

[kcshoots]

Fun conversation here and I appreciate reading the responses to a very good question. My experience regarding fuel economy with my 2016 Sprinter 4x4 with larger than stock tires, not re-geared and heavy build, is that the greatest reduction to fuel economy came from adding a roof rack with large lights in front. That aerodynamic hit cost about 1 to 1.5 MPG. Second is to second the lower speeds. I notice fuel economy rapidly reduce above about 67 mph, and even more above 75, so slow down a little and enjoy the journey; with a camper van, it's often more about the journey than the destination.

As for solar panels to produce electricity, the entire US's electricity demand can be met with solar panels covering the city of San Jose, CA or a small portion of Nevada desert, so it doesn't take much. And a recent large contract for solar energy I was involved in cost less per kWh than natural gas fueled electricity; across much of the US solar and wind power is currently at parity or even less than fossil fueled, so it's cheaper, far safer, and creates way more jobs than the fossil fueled generation.

While making batteries does have an environmental impact, it's far less over time than making gasoline or diesel. I say this from developing large electricity plants, fossil and renewable fueled, as well as large grid battery systems, and from running factory engineering and battery production for Tesla as well as touring the tar sands of Alberta and working with a lot of oil and gas engineers as well as many other experiences. It almost always costs way less to use less fuel than to make more.

Finally, if you don't like the Cybertruck or want to wait, check out Rivian; it's here, well tested off-road, and very capable and built for exploring and overland travels.