alright, over the past 3 months or so, i've noticed that my gas mileage (sp?) has gotten worse.. im not sure what we're supposed to get on a full tank (my trucks info is in sig), but, now im getting just over 200 miles to the tank.. whereas, i remember at some point i was getting something like 280.. maybe better.. maybe a little worse, dont remember!

anyway... what should i start to check out... as far as the truck running, it seems to run completely normal.. doesnt smell like its running rich or anythin, just completely normal. has anyone had any luck with those gas additives you can buy at auto stores??? if not, anyone know what i should be looking at?? thanks guys

 

It your right foot...

My MPG sucks I never get over 200 miles to a tank...

But I know why my MPG is low because with the 32's and always racein the s##t out of it...

 

well have you changed any of the fluids lately such as the tranny... it may need it... also it could be spark plugs or possibly the fuel filter... i dont know why but when i changed mine my mpg got a LOT better

 

For one its winter, its gonna get worse, you have a 4.0, not that great to begin with. Check/change your fluids(tranny, diffs, oil), change your plugs, your fuel filter, check your air filter. 32's aren't helping much either.

 

Make sure your tires are properly inflated. I understand that's the A#1 problem w/ mileage. Although 280 miles/tank ain't bad. I feel fortunate to get to 250..

 

i'm gonna take a look at fluids, etc. tomorrow. i got the truck last april, and havent looked at anything yet besides spark plugs and wires.. they were all checked and were in fine condition as of november. 280 might have been a high number for me to use.. like i mentioned, its been a while since i remember getting a good number out of a full tank, i just thought i was getting somewhere around 280 before.. it might very well have been only 250 or so, even so, i've still recently lost nearly 50 miles to a tank..

as for the suggestions tho, im gonna give them all a look over.. only thing i can rule out is the heavy foot.. if anything, i dont drive agressive enough, lol. i didnt even think about the tire difference tho.. i didnt konw they'd make that much of a difference. thanks guys for the info so far!

 

how many miles have you got so far? cause if you got it used and you have over 40,000 its not likely that the previous owner did any of the "other" fluids like the tranny... and yeah tires really do make a huge difference

 

i got the truck in april with 65k.. it now has 78k.. only thing i did was oil every 3000.. and tire rotation.. also, air filter is perfect.. just getting that out of the way too

 

winter gas sucks

thats what i get in winter is about 200-210 summer i get around 250-290

 

i hear ya.. if anything tho, im kinda glad to hear that im not the only one with the difference happening.. it lets me know that its a normal occurance i guess.

 

go ahead and drain that radiator. helped me a bit and go fill up with some middle grade fuel at the 76 for a tank. i do this every now and then cuz it cleans out your system. and it works.

so spark plugs can help you out on mileage? ive got a little over 33000 on my truck.

 

Spark plugs don't usually need to be changed until around 50k, I changed mine at 40k cause I offroaded alot.

 

i've always used 89 instead of 87.. does that mean i should bump up to 93 for a tank to see if it improves??

 

^^no just use middle grade fuel. the high octane stuff does more harm then good. im glad to see someone other then me doesnt put the cheap stuff in.

 

ive had the truck for like 4 months now, only an 04 4.0 manual. atfirst granny driving i did about 280 as well. Seems like lately the best im getting is 260. and thats trying soo hard to squeeze out every mile. since i bought it new i put 91 octane. and the only mod's that could have affected it that ive done were flowmaster 40 dual exhaust (3 days after i bought it) and the "airbox mod" that didn't seem to do crap like a week after i bought it. so i can rule both of those out because they never hurt it before and if anything should help. My exhaust piping is 2.25 after the muffler and 2.5 before. eh what to do what to do. and i live in san diego, 50 bucks a week on gas is hurting. thats minimum too sometimes i think im like spending 100 bucks a week. ah and the tailgate down thing is lame doesn't work thaaat much.


oh by the way does anyone know about that motor you can get for your tailgate that turns it into a spoiler at certain speeds and has a remote. i cant find it, how much do u think it costs?

 

Might want to check your manual, but alot of cars really dont need higher octane. it can evan cause knocking and pinging in some. Most everyday drivers operate best off of 87 octane. I also know your wallet operates best off of 87 octane =)


http://www.awtrucks.com/tailgateup.htm

Thats why when you have leaves or light trash in the back, it gets pushed up by the tailgate and then thrown back toward the cab of the truck and then back toward the tailgate.

 

yeah ther was a thread a while back about having the tailgate down and it actually doing worse. leaving it down, or getting those nets and all are pointless.. i think they said if you wanted to keep it most areodynamic, buy a tonneau cover (which makes sense)

 

..And if you read the report, it said that the impact of the tonneau was MINIMAL! Basically the conclusion of the report (at least as I read it) was that there is very little you can do to improve the aerodynamics of these pickups. .. Sadly bad fuel economy is par for the course w/ pickup trucks. I just wish I had the money to go w/ a fullsize instead of a compact. If you aren't going to get any improvement in fuel economy, you might as well have the size and power of a full-size..

 

Agreed the 4.6L in the new F-150 gets better MPG than our trucks and the 5.4L gets barely worse.


I want a 4.6L!

 

colin thats basically what i meant.. i wasn't meaning to suggest that the tonneau covers do a world of difference or anything... but i see how i posted it that i might of been talking it up or so.. all i really meant was that in the report, the said the tonneau covers (as compared to anything else people use or suggest) were the only thing that showed improvement (though not that big) for the aerodynamics of our trucks.

 

wut i did to try and protect my engine from water and such (go through a lot of water) was to turn the silencer around. the loner portion of the tube actually pulls more air from behind the headlight and less from the engine bay so youre getting colder air and ive experienced an increase in mileage and you can hear your intake a little bit more if youre into that kinda thing.

 

My bad, that's exactly what I thought you were saying. I find too many people buy tonneau covers thinking they will improve their mileage. I know I did! If you're getting a tonneau just for the MPG improvments, don't! Your wasting your money in my opinion. .. That said tonneau covers can't be beat for keeping the groceries dry. And they don't look too shabby in my opinion either.

 

91 Octance is wasting money and will cause more harm than good. Whoever is doing that needs to cease that habit quick before you go broke and your engine gets full of crap. Unless you have a performance chip requiring higher octance, you do not need anything that high. 87 will do just fine.

 

i put 87 in my truck once and wasnt happy with the output so i go middle grade and do just fine. its really high octane that you have to worry about.