GAS MILEAGE ?

[Angel]

I would love to get 12 mpg. I get avg of 10mpg. I have a scan gauge that helps me decide how fast to go to save MPG'S

Angel

[BrianW]

We have a 98 2WD E250 SMB with the 5.4. On our 1700 mile road trip last summer up to Maine, through the White Mtns of NH and home we got an average of around 16. Probably 50% interstates and 50% local roads, with ups and downs (but not western-style passes).

The OP is from Vermont, so you know the types of roads I'm talking about.

On a 700 mile trip to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia we got a bit over 17mpg, mostly all highway, not too many grades, except for small roads and up and downs when we got to Skyline Drive.

I'm pretty happy with that for a van.

[TwoVans]

I just figured out how to get 25mpg using Jage's technique...

Thanks Jage! You're the BEST!

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by TwoVans

I just figured out how to get 25mpg using Jage's technique...

Thanks Jage! You're the BEST!

I dug that technique too!



And John, yes, it's maddening.

[daveb]

I've found terrain and speed has been a huge variable for me. A short steep climb with a long mild down hill run gives me better mileage than a longer medium grade climb followed by a shorter downhill run. It helps to drive easy at 45MPH on the back roads rather than highballing it down the freeway. On long trips I do try to plan it out to what I think will be less on fuel, but generally I choose scenery over fuel.

[rionapo]

Originally Posted by TwoVans

I just figured out how to get 25mpg using Jage's technique...

Thanks Jage! You're the BEST!

Another approach from an earlier thread on this topic: get 17 mp2g.

[Silver350]

2008, 12 passenger front end leveled about 2", 2WD, 5.4L, 3.73 on 265/75 16 Nitto Terra Grapplers. Regular 87 octane. I've tracked every tankful since I bought it. Im kinda CDO that way.

Interstate cruising 60-65: 17 -18 MPG
City/ mixed: 12-12.5 tankful to tankful.

Pulling a 6500# travel trailer @ 60: 9.5 mpg (same as my tractor- trailer running empty at twice the weight)

I'm sure some nice Michelin LTX M/S2's would bump it up 1 mpg or more. But I'd loose the look.

At about 50,000 miles a COP failed so I asked them to change the plugs at the same time. This yielded a solid 1 mpg improvement.

Easy on the throttle, easy on the brakes, ease off the gas as you crest a hill and let momentum and gravity carry you as often as possible. It's a rheostat not an on/off switch.

Edit: have you changed tire size with that lift and are you compensating for that?

A 33" tire is about 8% larger than a 245/75 16 and about 12% larger than a 225/75 16 so it will have less revolutions per mile and register less miles.

[Chance]

I consistently get 15 +/- .5 MPG in my 2001 E-350 with V-10 and 3.73 gears when driving at 70 MPH on mostly flat interstates on long trips from Texas to Florida or Texas to Maryland; either round trip over 2000 miles in length. And I’ve checked every single tank over the last 50,000 miles. Tires are Michelin in stock size 245/75R16 inflated to 55 front and 60 rear. Because the van only weighs just under 7,000 pounds loaded I feel 80 PSI rear rides too harsh.

My home conversion included a drop floor to provide standing room which lead to the outside being completely clean without any roof protrusions of any kind to add frontal area. My goal was to avoid hassles with home owner’s association, but improved fuel economy was a nice side benefit. Even so speed makes a big difference in wind drag and MPG. My best tank ever while driving interstates was well over 16 MPG at 60 to 62 MPH (as a one-time test) and lowest tank was 13 MPG when driving at 80 MPH. I have never even come close to burning an entire tank in city driving but can easily see 10 MPG or less.

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by 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.

This might seem like a dumb question but what is an air dam? Any large object on the roof like a roof box?

I had sort of presumed, perhaps erroneously, that the large block shape of the van combined with a large windshield might force the air up and over the roof quite a bit. So something like a solar panel might not make that much of a difference.

[daveb]

Some of them are supposed to keep the resonance (air noise) down. My Yakima load warrior came with a little one but really didn't do much except made more air drag. My light bar probably does the same thing.