F150

[Barony]

I posted about a month ago about the 4.6 v. 5.4 F150. I ended up getting a 2005 5.4 that to date, gets about 14 mpg. I realize that running the AC doesn't help, but it's been mostly highway miles and a little driving in town. I had the boat out yesterday and got 13 on that tank. My question is can the dealership modify the computer so I can squeeze a few more miles out of a gallon or is it just the nature of the beast?

[jltimm]

I'd say it is about what your gonna get with a full size and a V-8. Although I'm sure some will get a "little" better.

[trackerbrent]

14 mpg seems a little low with mostly highway driving. My 2004 with the 5.4 gets a little under 17 mpg with highway driving. Towing boat gets around 13 mpg and towing my camper around 10 mpg. Not that good compared to what my buddies with diesels are getting. You can get many aftermarket tuners, such as an Edge Evolution, but from what I heard they maybe increase your MPG by 1. It could also be a plecebo effect of thinking you are going to get better millage with it and easing off the throttle. Keep your foot out of it and slowing down is the best thing you can do. As far as the dealer doing something to help, I highly doubt it.

It was a good choice to get the 5.4 though. The 5.4 has alot more power and gets about the same mpg as the 4.6, because you would have to give the 4.6 more throttle to get your 6000 lb brick moving down the road.

[ChuckN]

My '97 5.4L I've owned for 6 years....14 mpg is standard mileage I get on the highway empty. Best was 19mpg, so it can get better, and some days it will be better. The mileage is better with a tail wind and no AC. Be easy on the foot pedal, and it will make a difference.

Mix city driving..stop and go...mileage hurts.

I don't think there's much to do to increase mileage, engine wise.

[Scott K]

Did you buy a f150, or a f350?

14 mpg, is on the low side, but is average, 14-17 is what you should see.

The dealer doesnt have a magic screw to turn up fuel milage or power, a clean fuel filter, air filter, proper tire inflation, and no modifications, such as larger tires, running boards, toppers, visors, them can suck milage from you.

As for power chips, they can change a diesels engine alot, gas engines they arent worth the $$.

Some things that can lower fuel economy are, heavy accelerations, stop and go traffic, idle time, a/c on, speed, keep it between 55-65 (when its legal to), dirty air filter, dirty fuel filter, dirty mass air flow sensor, slow o2 sensors, low tires.

Check all these things and you may just get back into the 17mpg range.

[Barony]

What about the intake air filter attachments that claim to increase horsepower and mileage. Do they work or are they just gimmicks? I looked at some of them on Ebay and I can use a lot of gas for the upfront cost you have to spend to just buy one.

My in town driving is killing me I think. We live 2 miles out of town and have 2 kids that are in a lot of activities that require drop off at 1 and pick up at 3.

[upnorth]

The best thing you can do for mileage is to use a light foot while accelerating.

[Scott K]

If you are refering to aftermarket air filters such as k&n, they have positive and negatives, they are reusable, they do allow more air to pass, but they also allow dirt to pass, so if you arent concerned with dirt in your engine, go for it.

[blakjack23]

I average about 14.5 drivign mixed city/highway with my 04' F150 with the 5.4. I will get 16-17 with 100% highway driving. And I am definitely not light on the pedal.

[boatfixer]

The guys getting 17 more than likely have 3.55 gears. My 07 has 3.73 gears and I get 14-14 1/2. I got 11 pulling my 30ft travel trailer to and from Lake Vermillion. It has a lot to do with gearing. Good luck on getting the dealer to reprogram to anything different than factory specs, I have had shifting issues, and the are still hesitant about changing any thing.

[eskomo]

Take the nozzle off the end of your air intake, you will notice that it is tappered down to restrict air flow. reduct with a 16oz pop bottle cut on both ends, funny its the same size as the air duct, through the hole on the left fender side, this will pull in cold air. Buy a K&N filter and keep it maintained, 3-5 miles per gal.

[backlash 1]

FYI, on my 05 F150 with 5.4 I had a slight hesitation in it at lower speeds. The dealer told me the factory had come out with a new program to correct that. They put in the new program and it solved the problem, plus gave me a little more mileage. 17 empty on the highway is very doable now ( with 3.73 gears ) if I pay attention to how I drive.

[jquittum]

My 07 F150 with the 5.4 gets about 13 in town and 16-17 on the highway. If I really pay attention to my foot and always, always, keep the engine speed under 2000 rpm, I can get 15 in town. Pulling the boat on the highway gets me only 13.

[fishing tech]

It comes down to gears, accessories, load and speed. Highway speeds 55-65 is best if you are looking for mpg. Take your time getting there and save a few bucks on gas. Bug deflector, mud flaps, toppers all add weight and air drag.

[Shack]

PCM updates are mostly federal regulated. Most times when they put out a new one, it is calling out for less hydro-carbons verses better fuel mileage. The government would like to see less emission’s out, than better fuel economy. All the guys with the 6.0 should know about this. It seemed a new program would come out every week or month and people would come in and get it done. A couple of weeks later, the same people would call up and state their fuel economy dropped 3-5 gallons. In the end, we would have to explain that the government mandated reprogram was for emissions, not better fuel econ.

We mostly ruled out adaptive learning strategy, because people would still be expressing concerns 15,000-20,000 miles later.

[BobT]

I don't know why you guys average such low highway mileage. I have a 2001 F150 with 5.4L. Since new it typically gave me about 17.5mpg on the highway. The last three tankfulls I monitored, I have been given 19.1, 19.0, and 19.3mpg respectively. After the first one I figured it was a fluke but when I got the same results from three different tests on three different days over the course of a couple months, I know it is no fluke.

My first test included driving from Osakis to St. Cloud via I-94, 23 to Hinkley, and then I-35 to Cloquet. The second test was a week later on my return trip. The third was just last weekend when I drove to Hibbing without using interstate highways so my speed was held down to 55mph most of the time. I occasionally would push it to 60 however.

You sure you are staying within the speed limits? A friend tested his while driving I-94 and discovered that if he set his cruise at 70mph he can obtain a consistent 17+mpg but if he set his cruise at 75mph it dropped to about 14mpg.

Bob

edit: Incidentally, my trip last weekend included my ATV in box, two kids, luggage, and using the AC and I still obtained 19.3mpg.

[HuntFishDude]

Do you have 3.55 gears or the 3.73 gears in it?

[Papa Woodie]

04 F150 W 5.4

315/75/17 tires (Hummer Takeoffs)

Bull Bar

Dual Exhaust (Magnaflow)

Airaid intake

Side Step Bars

Driving from Duluth -> North Dakota or anywhere, i get 9-10 MPG. City or highway don't matter. Coincidently, pulling a 5x8 trailer W ATV or a 17' tracker boat don't lose me any milage.

Anyone want this beast? The truck sucks!

(on my 4th transmission, 4th rim they had to replace(due to chrome falling off alum rim), O2 sensors replace, rear axles repacked due to locking up, Heater blower motor replaced, side step bars replaced, 4x4 stickers replaced (peeled right off), Butyl pad removed, Torque Converter repalced, both driver and passenger electric window motors replaced, and many more. Ford says "i can't help you!"... Thank god for the extended warranty i purchased...2500 bucks for the warranty, and 50 deducatable. Still gets pretty spendy!

[Scott K]

I think if you get rid of them tires put them back to factory, and drive in the speed limit, you should bring your milage to a repecable #. The milage thing is self induced. Return it to factory condition !

04 is a new model year, there is going to be recalls, I dont think you can hold that against them. As for the other stuff I feel for you.

[hanson]

315 is a pretty large tire and I would almost be willing to bet that your mileage, transmission, torque converter, axle problems are all a result of those tires.

They are putting a lot of stress on your drive train and the engine/tranny/driveline all have to work harder to get the kind of performance you expect.

[Scott K]

Quote:

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315 is a pretty large tire and I would almost be willing to bet that your mileage, transmission, torque converter, axle problems are all a result of those tires.

They are putting a lot of stress on your drive train and the engine/tranny/driveline all have to work harder to get the kind of performance you expect.

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What he said!!

[ChuckN]

Good question, Bob. I think you have a lucky truck with mileage like that. Don't sell it.

I have reached 19mpg...about twice in 6 years that I can recall. I drive slow, easy on the pedal. But, I don't drive my truck empty for commuting much, but when I do it's in the mid-teens for the most part.

My '97 has a 3/4 ton powertrain (tranny and rear end). I don't know the gear ratio. Some of the '97s had different drivetrain parts. I've ran into a whole bunch of issues when I needed a tranny gasket and rear end seals. Nothing matched according to the part lists for my model F150 5.4L. Turn the page to the F250 and bingo. It pulls loads well, is reliable and tough...that's what I expect in a truck.

[BobT]

Quote:

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Do you have 3.55 gears or the 3.73 gears in it?

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It has 3.55 standard gears with 17" wheels. Using my GPS I have validated that the speedometer is pretty much dead on, at least as accurately as I can read the analog speedometer.

With my setup I will say that when I pull a large boat loaded with gear my mileage will drop to about 14mpg highway. I also know that making my everyday run to work and back (17 miles) results in about a 16mpg average summer or winter.

I have suspected that carrying the ATV doesn't have much affect on mileage because it possibly does something to the air flow over the box which may counteract the added weight. Just my theory though.

Bob

[Shack]

315 is equal to a 35" tire!

Looks cool, but sucks gas. Also does wear and tear drive train a little more. Ford had issues that year. Some trucks did, others did not. A little from factory and some from the owners. It is a crap shoot when buying the first model change year of any thing.

[Dances with Walleye]

My 2001 F-150, 5.4L, gets 18-19 Hwy, and 13-14 City... I get 10-11 towing my 2000 pound boat.

[Scott K]

My 02 f150 gets 17-19 hwy, 15 city ( combo), pulling my 17.5 ft boat I get 13-15, pulling my 27ft encloses 8ft ceiling trailer I get 6-7, it doesnt like my trailer.

[Milkdud]

You guys need to get a clue and get a chevy!

[Scott K]

I had a friend of mine pull my trailer with his chevy, we made about 70 miles, I had to call the wife to bring my truck to us to pull it the rest of the way

[Dances with Walleye]

Quote:

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I had a friend of mine pull my trailer with his chevy, we made about 70 miles, I had to call the wife to bring my truck to us to pull it the rest of the way

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I used to never care about the Ford vs Chevy thing... But Chevy guys started picking tiffs... And it all came to a head.

When we had the back to back blizzards last march... I had to pull 1 Silvarado out of a snow drift when he tried to enter our office parking lot after the road plow went through.

Then another silvarado came during the next blizzard and got hung up in his own windrow when he was plowing... So I drove my F-150 through this windrow, and offered to pull him out...

He made a huge spazzout scene about "I would never let some POS Ford pull me out." So I drove back, parked... Sat on my tailgate drinking coffee, and waved to him while he spent a half hour shoveling himself free.

[BobT]

Personally, I think too often the make of the vehicle is blamed or credited with its ability to drive through deep snow or mud or whatever. It really has little to do with it. The drive systems all work pretty much the same. Type of tires, vehicle weight, and mostly the operator have more to do with it. No matter the vehicle, if it bottoms out in deep snow and loses traction, it's not going anywhere. If it dosn't have the right tires for the conditions, it's worthless.

You put the right guy behind the wheel and just about any vehicle will work fine.

Bob

[upnorth]

Bob some things you missed on traversing mud and snow are ground to frame clearance, ground to axle clearance, limited slip/locking axles, suspenion and ability to put the power to the ground. Not all trucks are created equal in those aspects.