32+ MPG Ford Excursion 4x4 Limited

[GRU]

It's hard to believe even though it's a diesel. I just read up on your excursion and people with the same diesel are reporting 16-17mpg at 70mph so your truck gets 100% over that

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Sipper

I call bs. An excursion won't get 32mpg if you drive it off a cliff. Not with a tuner,injectors or hypermileing. Just because you post a picture of the lying trip computer is not proof.
Maybe if you had a video of a scan gauge while driving I would believe it but your claims are so far above anything I've gotten and everything I've ever even heard of leads me to say...BS!

While the claims may stretch the limits of credibility, maybe YOU should look at Diesel Daves Mileage in a similar size-weight truck. Close to 50 MPG. I'm not saying it is true or false just that we should see what has been done and the driving technique used before calling someone a liar.

regards
Mech

[mcrews]

My buddy has a f350 2010(i think) w/ a diesiel and 4x4. also a hug bumber guard and a tool box.
Hed has a aftermarket af and tail pipe mod.
I worked w/ him for a month at his ranch and he got 20-22mpg on a tank w/ 70% freeway driving (very little ranch driving)
I'm just having a hard time w/ the 70mph.........and the 32mpg in the same sentence....

[3n3rgystar]

Originally Posted by mcrews

My buddy has a f350 2010(i think) w/ a diesiel and 4x4. also a hug bumber guard and a tool box.
Hed has a aftermarket af and tail pipe mod.
I worked w/ him for a month at his ranch and he got 20-22mpg on a tank w/ 70% freeway driving (very little ranch driving)
I'm just having a hard time w/ the 70mph.........and the 32mpg in the same sentence....

The way I read it was 26mpg @70 not 32mpg at 70. I believe it's possible. I used to have a mercedes diesel and would get 48mpg pulling a 4000lbs trailer at 65mph.

[mcrews]

my bad..stand corrected.

[Sipper]

You guys are forgetting that it is an 8000 lb truck. I have a tuner, intake and a 4" turbo back exhaust. While drafting behind a semi trailer (very close) on a patch of interstate at 65mph, I was able to get a hand calculated 20.5 mpg. Now you are going to try and tell me that he is getting another 12 mpg better than that???
Also the fact that it's a 7.3l, not the more efficient 6.0l.
Not even with a rocket strapped to the back of it.

[ksa8907]

I believe it, lots of torque and probably more than normal boost, tuned.

[3n3rgystar]

Originally Posted by Sipper

You guys are forgetting that it is an 8000 lb truck. I have a tuner, intake and a 4" turbo back exhaust. While drafting behind a semi trailer (very close) on a patch of interstate at 65mph, I was able to get a hand calculated 20.5 mpg. Now you are going to try and tell me that he is getting another 12 mpg better than that???
Also the fact that it's a 7.3l, not the more efficient 6.0l.
Not even with a rocket strapped to the back of it.

Using the same logic I had a Geo Metro that only got 35mpg, there are people reporting twice as much as that here, well over 12 mpg better, so because my particular Geo Metro did not get it, then it is not possible they are getting what they claim either. Despite all the mods that they made. I have a 1.6l engine that gets better efficiency than the 1.0L engine that I had, yet again not possible because of the larger displacement? Is it also possible that his mods where installed in a more perfect manor and your mods where installed and created an error of some type. For instance I have taken a car to two different mechanics and one screws it up then take to another he fixes the mistakes of the first mechanic and the original mechanical problems as well. Yet the first mechanic has certifications to show he is a high level mechanic, but is incompetent in reality. The second mechanic has no paperwork stating his abilities, but obviously has more talent than the first.

Also might want to take into account what type of terrain and roads we are talking about. I could get much better fuel economy on certain highways that where flat going to the beach vs. say going to the mountains.

[Diesel_Dave]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

While the claims may stretch the limits of credibility, maybe YOU should look at Diesel Daves Mileage in a similar size-weight truck. Close to 50 MPG. I'm not saying it is true or false just that we should see what has been done and the driving technique used before calling someone a liar.

regards
Mech

Just to set things straight, I've done over 50 on the overhead before, but this last tank has been the first time I've done over 40 mpg hand-calculated. Also, the Excusion comes in at 7,700 lbs curb weight, which is ~1,400 lbs heavier than my truck. That being said, we're talking about highway fuel economy, so weight isn't as big of a deal.

With regards to whether it's possible to do what the OP has claimed, I definitely say it's possible (based on my own experiences). That being said, I need to add a few things.
1) There's a huge difference in getting 32 mpg on one trip and consistantly getting 32 mpg. Note that the OP didn't claim he was getting 32 consistantly.
2) Related to the one trip thing, it's important to keep fill variations in mind. If we were looking at a long term fuel log that accounted for evey mile driven that would be one thing, however, on a large vehicle like this you can easily get 2-3 gallons of fill variation if you're not careful. That can easily add +/- 10% to/from the mpg numbers. So maybe 32 mpg is actually 29 mpg.
3) This was a one-way trip, so factors such as wind speed, etc. may have biased the results.
4) Has the OP verified the odometer. If he's changed tire size that can affect the numbers as well (both hand-calculated and from the overhead).
5) The OP says that he's "verified" the overhead display. It's sounds as though this was based on a one-time check. In my experience those things have a lot a variation built into them. I'd have to see some consistant comparisons over many tanks to trust the numbers (in terms of the absolute values).
6) Some one suggested that they'd like to see a video of a Scangauge. A SG is calibratable, so that wouldn't prove anything.

So, in summary, I think the OP's claims are believeable, but I'd like to see some more evidence. Assuming he is telling the truth, I'd like to offer him congrats!

[DaGuru]

Sorry for ignoring my post for so long, but I've been busy with other things. Yes, I can understand why there are some naysayers out there and I've since learned that not all Excursions are seeing the same results, even after they've performed similar modifications. I can honestly say this in no BS...

To help address some of the feedback. This was a one-way trip from Florida to Texas along I-10. The Ex runs on Michelin LTX in 265/75-16. In my opinion, one of the biggest advantages we had on the trip the stock springs were pretty well trashed. So, the whole vehicle was sitting nice and low.

Shortly after getting back from that trip, I rebuilt the suspension (raising the truck ~2" over factory stock) and have never seen anything over 28mpg since. Because this vehicle is seldom used for anything outside of city driving, it's very hard to come up with decent highway numbers other than it does get a solid 18+mpg in town when my wife drives it. Or, around 16mpg when I drive it, which goes a long way in saying that driving habits can make a significant difference.

On the trip we took to NM from SE Texas last year, we saw a round trip average of 25mpg with a fair portion of the hwy driving at 70-80MPH and a rusted out front hub.

By the way, I've never trusted the overhead and didn't believe what it was displaying when I took the original picture; I validated it's output over a period of several months of constant record keeping and didn't post the pictures until I felt the accuracy was plausible. When taking trips where I want to track the economy, I always hand verify. My current daily driver is a "tweaked" F450 that gets a sold 12+change wherever it goes and it's overhead display is only worth using for checking the outside temp and compass!