Quote:
Originally Posted by darcane
Looks nice.
Gonna start a fuel log? Any modifications planned?
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Yeah started a fuel log. This vehicle, with this engine, is going to be very sensitive to all things that normally effect fuel economy: weather, terrain, routes chosen, traffic, length of trip, speed, and driving style are all going to matter a bunch it seems. It's been reported that these particular Ford EB engines will really suck gas when you call on the turbos to really work. I'm no engineer but I guess, maybe, because gas turbo engines must maintain a fuel air mix (not like a diesel that can keep taking more and more air) when the turbos start sucking in more air, they also suck in more gas. Very different than my outgoing diesel car that couldn't get under 40 unless I really tried.
Going about as easily as I can without doing some extreme driving, my first two tanks came in @ 23.5 and 21.4, respectively. No confidence in the accuracy so far as it's been three different pumps and possibly three click-off points, but I've got a pretty good indication and am fairly satisfied.
The EPA rating is 19/26. I don't think 26 can be done going 70+ mph, but I usually drive 65 on the interstates, so I think it might be possible on a long trip with me driving. The first tank was all me and included a short trip of 230 miles round trip. The second tank had a test drive by my son, one trip to town and back by my wife and had more in-town driving. I think probably it's going to fall somewhere in the middle of these two numbers on summer time average. I'm still on the third tank and actually drove around 45 miles with a 55-gallon drum tied in the bed with the tonneau folded to the front third, and the mpg seemed to hold up well, but that could have been because I drove off the Cumberland Plateau down to the Higland Rim with the drum tied in.
Vehicle's mpg calculator has so far been way off, and I won't be able to use it unless the error in gas consumed turns out to be consistent. In my first two fillups after the dealer fillup, which I watched the salesman fill to the click-off point, the gallons consumed shown by the computer has been far, far less than what the pump shows. The computer showed exactly 2 mpg difference when rounded to the tenth of an mpg. I've driven only one other vehicle with a built-in mpg calculator, so it may be normal for there to be a big error, but in my wife's Saturn, it's pretty consistently off by around 1/2 mpg. The odometer part seems as accurate as I've seen in any vehicle on a couple of GPS comparisons; seems I'm having more problems getting consistent GPS readings as my GPS seems to add a little mileage at the beginning of the reset, but after that, they stay in-line pretty much. The speedometers match exactly: GPS to vehicle speedometer.
Modifications: I was scared of adding any external accessories to a truck that had been designed in a wind tunnel for aerodynamics, but I polled some folks, and out of necessity with a reg cab pickup, I added a light-weight, fold-able tonneau. I also added seat covers, because the dealer couldn't find a truck with vinyl seats, and I work at a fish hatchery (you'd have to work there to understand); and I added a spray-in liner, so we can use the bed without having a nervous breakdown. I think that's all we'll need.
Should have asked you guys about the tonneau: whether it would help or hurt. F150 folks polled basically said no noticeable difference, which was my hope. It seems I got lucky and they were right; at least for this truck configuration. It seems like it's achieving about the same in the same driving scenarios. Wife wants running boards. Of course I'm fighting that. We drive a 2010 at work and it's not as tall as the 2015 up to the seats. Not sure why Ford raised the seated position from ground level; not sure if it's the seats or the total height but the truck sits up high. I parked next to a 2015 FX4 (off road version) and they looked the same height to me to the roof line.