Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - 11 mpg to 15 mpg is it possible mostly on driving style and small mods?

strider3700 · 10-15-2009, 06:06 PM

My rapidly growing family forced me to get a new vehicle and since I can/do use a pick up truck my hunt was on for a crewcab truck that I could afford. Jump ahead 3 months and I got a great deal on my new truck. A 1997 F-350 crew cab long box 4x4 5.8L with the automatic with overdrive. I didn't really want the long box or the 1 ton but the price was right and older crewcabs that aren't rat beat are not common around here.

Here's what it looked like when I first got it.

Anyways I filled both tanks up before driving home the first time (19 gallons/72 liters front, 18.2 gallons/69 liters rear)
Since getting it home I removed that spare from the front and put it in the bed. I also threw the original under inflated bald mud tires away and got 4 new good year wrangler Silent armor tires. They are a semi aggressive All terrain which should be good in the snow and occasional offroad that the truck will see. I know they are not a good choice for mileage but at least they aren't swampers.

Anyways
I decided to drain the front tank before switching to the rear and had gone 220 miles/355 km when I switched tanks which gives me about 11 mpg.

I'm aware that the truck is a beast but I'm not hoping for miracles so I'd like to get to 13 mpg. 15 would be awesome.

I figure that driving style can get me part of the way so I've ordered a scangauge that should be here next week. My old truck had a 1.6 L engine and as a stick so driving it efficiently could be very different then the new truck.

I'm slowly doing the basic maintenance to make sure the engine is running well

I'm going to put a canopy on the truck and I'm aware that it will probably make the mileage worse. I was reading bondo's thread about his aero cap but he's not going to be making one for my truck anytime soon and based on the prices I saw in the thread it would cost almost what I paid for the truck so it's out of the question.

So I'm wondering what everyone recommends? I see someone on here has slammed and re geared a F-350 to get close to 30 mpg but I think he has a diesel?

10-15-2009, 06:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
strider3700 EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 12 The Beast - '97 Ford F-350 XL 90 day: 12.49 mpg (US) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	11 mpg to 15 mpg is it possible mostly on driving style and small mods? My rapidly growing family forced me to get a new vehicle and since I can/do use a pick up truck my hunt was on for a crewcab truck that I could afford. Jump ahead 3 months and I got a great deal on my new truck. A 1997 F-350 crew cab long box 4x4 5.8L with the automatic with overdrive. I didn't really want the long box or the 1 ton but the price was right and older crewcabs that aren't rat beat are not common around here. Here's what it looked like when I first got it. Anyways I filled both tanks up before driving home the first time (19 gallons/72 liters front, 18.2 gallons/69 liters rear) Since getting it home I removed that spare from the front and put it in the bed. I also threw the original under inflated bald mud tires away and got 4 new good year wrangler Silent armor tires. They are a semi aggressive All terrain which should be good in the snow and occasional offroad that the truck will see. I know they are not a good choice for mileage but at least they aren't swampers. Anyways I decided to drain the front tank before switching to the rear and had gone 220 miles/355 km when I switched tanks which gives me about 11 mpg. I'm aware that the truck is a beast but I'm not hoping for miracles so I'd like to get to 13 mpg. 15 would be awesome. I figure that driving style can get me part of the way so I've ordered a scangauge that should be here next week. My old truck had a 1.6 L engine and as a stick so driving it efficiently could be very different then the new truck. I'm slowly doing the basic maintenance to make sure the engine is running well I'm going to put a canopy on the truck and I'm aware that it will probably make the mileage worse. I was reading bondo's thread about his aero cap but he's not going to be making one for my truck anytime soon and based on the prices I saw in the thread it would cost almost what I paid for the truck so it's out of the question. So I'm wondering what everyone recommends? I see someone on here has slammed and re geared a F-350 to get close to 30 mpg but I think he has a diesel?