how many miles per gallon do you get?

[BajaSportsmobile]

Just returned from a 752 mile trip - three days to Vegas and back.

1997 V10 E350 EB 4X4 SMB Penthouse
35" BFG A/T
4.10 Gears
75 to 80 Mph on I15
~100 miles around town
3 to 4 hours of idle time while working
752 GPS miles total
68.86 Gals of 87 octane
10.92 Mpg

The first 140 miles, all I15, got 13.6 Mpg.

[shenrie]

we did our first journey in our 7.3 eb 4x4 over thanksgiving. from augusta georgia to denver we got 10.8 mpg most every tank. never less than 10.5. that was basically all highway miles at whatever speedlimit each state had, anywhere from 65 to 75mph. van has spent 33's, no idea on gearing yet, lightbar, ladderrack, spotlight, loudspeaker, all on roof, and an huge deerkiller bumper. as unareodynamic as you could possibly imagine.



from evergreen co. to drake co. to idaho falls we got 2 tanks that were 12.6 mpg. these tanks were in the coldest weather and at the highest elevations. second tank included about a half hour of city driving total in idaho falls.

from idaho falls to boise and 100 miles of in town driving once home yeilded 13.5 mph somehow. this tank confused me the most

some of your results are inspiring. i know trying to milk mpg's out of this rig will be challanging, but im gonna try, lol. plan to ditch everything on roof (even though ive grown attached to that lighbar for some reason, lol) and get a stock bumper out front.

[TomsBeast]

I have a '95 SMB w/7.3 Diesel, 4x4 conversion, 4.10 gears, BFG ALL-Terrains 285-70 16's. It's an aerodynamic disaster, 4" suspension lift, fixed fiberglass highroof with full length roof rack on top of that, ladder permanently affixed to the side. Oh, and a full-size 33" diameter spare tire on the front

our first real trip taken while towing our Suzuki Samurai (also has BFG All-Terrains on it).

11.5 average for the 1200mile trip.

Side note: I semi-hyper mile my little 1 liter, 3cylinder Geo Metro commuter 140mile/day, netting about 48mpg in stop and go, daily SF Bay Area commuter hellish traffic burning low-FE California gasoline. Since it's sort of a hobby of mine, I might be qualified (you be the judge) to offer up some real world FE tips. If your vehicle is compatible, (my 1995 7.3 is not) buy a $150 ScanGauge, you'll be amazed. Anyone can easily improve their FE by 2-3 mpg by altering their driving style using the SG's driver feedback. As a side benefit, you can real-time monitor 10 or so engine functions without buying any additional gauges. In hyper-miler circles, it's pretty well documented that the biggest FE improvements come from airing up the tires to maximum manufacturers sidewall recommendation, slowing down, leaving a standing start gently, coasting between and timing stop lights. Beyond that, manual transmissions (a non-starter for our vans) street tread tires (non-starter for us 4x4 guys), and maybe taller gearing. According to a couple truck-tuner guys I know, the Diesels can get better FE by removing the muffler, using a less restrictive intake (confirmed by many VW TDI owners), and some have great success with after market tuners/custom flashed chips.

[TomsBeast]

MPG without towing this time, and slowing down a bit:
Van details: 1995 7.3 Diesel, fiberglass hightop, roof rack, spare tire on front, 4x4 conversion, 33" BFG A/T's set at 60psi, driving under 65mph. Odometer readings adjusted for larger tires using GPS, before calculating true mpgs.

I managed a not too shabby 16mpg average over the first 800 miles of a 1200 mile road trip. This included going up and over a snowy 6000ft pass at Pine Mountain, CA, and a little 4x4 driving through the sands at Pismo Beach.

[Viejo]

In November we did a 3000 mile tour of Nevada and Arizona.
We averaged 14.08mpg overall.
12.1mpg was the worst fill up and 16.04mpg was the best.
The 12.1mpg tank included 45miles of 4WD.
Our Hwy cruising speed is 60.
Not too bad for an aerodynamic brick that weighs in north of 10,000lbs.

[JoeyNick]

Originally Posted by rockbender

JoeyNick, that mileage is really impressive and likely goes to show how much those of us with 4x4's are giving up with all the turbulence and wind drag under the lifted vans.

I assume that you have GPS corrected miles, right?

Also, I'm curious as to what additive(s) you are using and if you have had better luck with one over another. I know all the diesel forums beat this topic to death - just curious on your personal experience.
cheers!

I'm not GPS corrected but I'm 2WD with stock size tires.

Note my signature, I run a tuner (SCT Live Wire with the Economy setting), have a low geared rear differential (3.55) and use synthetic oils everywhere. I recall posting some years back about my driving style, too. I watch my ScanGauge for instant fuel economy updates and have noticed that even a minor let up on the "go" pedal makes a big difference in fuel mileage without decreasing speed. I also tend to use downhill stretches to pick up a little extra speed to help "slingshot" the van over the next hill.

As for additive, it's usually silver bottle Power Service (I think that's what it's called, it comes in silver or white bottles) or Stanadyne.

I have 127,000 miles on her so far.

[Gooseberry]

Must have had a tailwind on the 10 heading back to LA.

[PatO]

I've messed up my scan gauge mpg calibration some how and it has only been reporting 5 - 6 AVE. I'm doing the recalibration procedure as specified in the user manual and will be doing step 2 on the next fill up. My manual calculation is about 11 mpg from all in town short work commutes so nothing to brag about. Diesel has plummeted to $3.96 per gallon!

[9pb9]

17.95avg from NM to Yosemite and back
2WD 2011 E350 gas 8cyl with penthouse and not built out to any great degree.
Tried to keep it under 65mph most of the time.

[mmocken]

Update, just finished 2500 mile road trip. 3 fill ups, 14, 16 and 17mpg

Typical speed was as fast as the semi-tractor trailer in front of me...60 to 70 depending on the state

Low of 14 occurred in NYC driving

Originally Posted by mmocken

I was able to get 14.5MPG on my old EB 4x2 w/ 5.9L gas

I generally find a semi going 70MPH and draft! Since I carry the whole family, I cannot go 80 in the left lane.