Ideas to increase F350 MPG (DIY Cyl Deact?)

[pete c]

Or maybe this. Already has a door and windows. And 134K is almost broken in for the 7.3

[ChillyBear]

I think with the right ecu (from say a dump truck or something emissions exempt, or better yet custom) 460's, 4.9l, and 1.9l fords they all have a habit of doing a weird high NOx thing while pumping egr.
Very sooty, very little mpg loss under load. Crazy timing, and flame speeds going on in those high swirl heads.... But that's waay over my head.
HONDA AND FORD ARE FINED MILLIONS - NYTimes.com
If people feel so inclined, there's a few articles between 1993-1994 where independent researchers were testing a lead substitute for a test blend of fuel (I forget the additive and I lost my links) but the escort was clogging the egr system very quick, and the escort was using "inappropriate enleanment strategies", which blew the lid off of the 91-95 escort ECU's, mainly egr equipped models, but then the 4.9 was found to do the same, and the 460 was usually exempt. But the point is that the torquey fords pre 96 and the 97 Econoline, were pulling a Volkswagen on the EPA. Savage.

A base map shows nothing over 15:1 on these engines, but they cruise at 17+:1..... Fishy.... But I'm not complaining

If the O.P. wants cylinder deactivation, they should hope for an egr valve, clean the dpfe, and clean the valve itself. Just my .02

[rmay635703]

No offense but this guy has a MANUAL TRANSMISSION.

If he can ensure that his 4WD stays unlocked and in 2WD mode he should be able to P&G without damage to his drivetrain.

That is likely the only way he will move his FE, coupled of coarse with a kill switch.

[elhigh]

One thought:

If you're using this rig's hauling capacity mostly for schlepping in your drinking water, consider adding a rainwater harvesting system to supply your laundry and toilet flushing needs, and create a separate water circuit for those.

NOTE: hot water concerns. I don't have them since I never use hot water in the laundry, but you do you.

Eliminating some of those loaded runs couldn't be a bad thing.

And finally, consider getting a little ecobeater for when you aren't towing thousands of pounds of water. Getting decent mileage in a big bruiser is nice, but you can get decent mileage in a little scootabout too, and that's before you make any mods to make it even thriftier.

[Poodwaddle]

I second the vote for a water catchment system. Check out earthships. In the deserts of Arizona they are able to gather enough water just from the roof. It is like hypermiling for a house. The water is first used for washing then is held in a grey water tank for secondary usage in toilets and garden. Not everything earthships do is genius, but the idea of catching rainwater could save you a lot of trips to get water. Heck, done right you might just have to haul a few 5 gallon tanks for drinking water.

[MobilOne]

Getting back to the 460 mileage. May everyone who argues that empty mileage has to be better than loaded mileage, scientifically, be awarded an old Ford 350 crewcab, 4 wheel drive, 460, with a grabby clutch and weak syncro as their daily driver in city traffic. And then they can check it out themselves.

[rmay635703]

I dunno, my Dodge Ram auto crew cab can get the same mpg as the op, but even with an auto, I can move the mpgs from 8-15 up to 16-22 by eoc and occasional p&g with slow driving in overdrive.

Other option would be to remove 460 and put in a kubota diesel, 300%improvement in the mpg metric.

[mwilliamshs]

Originally Posted by MobilOne

Getting back to the 460 mileage. May everyone who argues that empty mileage has to be better than loaded mileage, scientifically, be awarded an old Ford 350 crewcab, 4 wheel drive, 460, with a grabby clutch and weak syncro as their daily driver in city traffic. And then they can check it out themselves.

Meh. 1993 F350 CC DRW 7.3 IDI and ZF5 mileage actually increase from empty to lightly loaded, or empty with the AC on vs AC off because the big diesel just wasn't being worked hard enough empty to burn all the fuel the mechanical injection was using. Beyond that point though, mileage was flat until either the hay trailer was loaded (weight + drag) or the 5th wheel was hooked up (mostly drag). I get that a big engine not working real hard isn't going to see major MPG drops at moderate loads, and especially not DD'ing, but I assure you, from considerable experience, if you get enough of a load behind that truck it'll start burning more fuel.


With regard to getting it to burn less, you can advance the cam timing with a "straight-up" or adjustable timing set, to offset the retard built-in by Ford as mentioned previously.

[Malrens]

I also suggest to be water independent will save a lot more. Here are some suggestions beside googling Water Harvesting.
Before Permaculture: Keyline Planning and Cultivation

Here is a man that produced a food forest in the deserts of Jordan in salty land and after 7 years of being abandonment he came back to look at it and it was thriving without irrigation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reCemnJmkzI

Since 1920's it was discovered a source of very deep water planet wide that is fresh and endlessly flowing once tapped and many times under 200 ft. It is tapped into rock fissures where it travels up. Called primary water
http://primarywater.org/

good luck

[csnyder]

My Dad's old 350 cu in Chevy Cubevan got the same mileage, +/- 2mpg whether running empty or loaded with 2 tons of electrical supplies, if driven at the same speed. He drove it empty with a cabin trailer behind it from Toronto Ontario area to Bakersfield Ca, then back with the truck loaded, as well as more weight in the trailer. He may have driven a LITTLE bit slower with the load, but knowing my old man "swervin' Mervin" I doubt it. He used within $10 of the same amount of gas coming as going.

I also had a 1976 Dodge Ramcharger that gave better fuel consumption with the plow on and pushing snow in the cold than it did cruising around town in the summer. The harder that 318 worked, the happier it was.

My 4 liter Ranger can squeeze about 30 MPG (imperial) out of regular unleaded, or it can slurp it through at the rate of about 9 or 10 MPG - both without a load - so I imagine hauling a load would not make it any better.

My old mini did an average of 49.6MPG over the roughly 20000 miles I drove it - and I used the throttle like a switch. Don't think I ever got over 50, or less than 48. The only car I ever drove that went faster in 3rd than 4th - all 850CCs were going at full gallop all the time.