Well, I was expecting less than 25 MPG ( combined) not more, but especially 30(?) Nice surprise. (Sounds bogus, doesn't it.)

I did a 48 mile trip on 87 octane and the electronic gauge was showing 29.6 when i pulled into my driveway today. About 20 miles of it were 65 miles per hour and the rest 45-50. A few stops here and there and slow downs for turns mostly in rural areas.

My old F150 would go through a set of brake pads every 80,000 miles traveling the same routes and the 4.6 Triton would get about 19.5 with summer blend fuel with 3.08 gearing. . Winter was always 17½.

I have a hunch the 12:1 motor will add in timing with winter blend fuel and and keep it the same ...... interesting to see.

 

You apparently live around relatively flat land. I have the 3.7 in a Supercrew. I have about 10 more HP and Torque than yours but thru a 6 speed auto and 3.78 rear axle. I get about 24.5 mpgs hiway around here and on a 3500 mile trip from Texas to N Carolina, I averaged 22.7 mpgs at 75-80 mph. The downside, when I got to the mountains, driving flat on the floor I couldn't stay with traffic. Gas mileage was almost nothing. While an able engine, it has to be in the right environment or it's a POS. I wouldn't expect much in the mountains out of yours. I was looking forward to a new truck with the 3.5 EB this Christmas but the 10 speed auto has not had a good introduction and as of now, is junk. I MIGHT be back in the market for a new one after they get the bugs out of it. Until then, best of luck with yours.

 

Note that the 3.3 still uses the 6 speed.

 

Thanks Labnerd, and i have always enjoyed reading your in-depth posts here.

Yeah to the flatlands around here, hailing from the land of the Indians.

Funny you are spot on about the torque, because in a substantial headwind it will knock off 3 miles a gallon. But I don't tow or rarely tow and the Ecoboost would be good for that or going through the hills to the mountains. I think I'd personally lean towards the 5.0 over the EB if i were to keep the truck long term. But I recently seen a 2011 EB on YouTube with 200k spread out over 5 years time and nothing out of the ordinary happened to truck. The timing chains were fine, too. The 40k a year sounds highway and maybe the cam phasers were not working hard here in this driving scenario. IDK.

Here's a snapshot of my road trip today:

 

29 mpg.....oh really. I was born at night but not last night.
My on board fuel economy calculator is way off. My truck is rated at 20 mpg combined and my fuel economy display reads 25 but after refilling the tank and doing the math it's only 20.5 which is dead on the EPA mark. Most owners get at or below EPA numbers. 29 mpg is just silly, my daughter's Toyota Camry gets 27 mpg.

 

Yesterday i filled up with 19.5 gallons on E85 and made a snapshot of the same trip, included in the spoiler. That' s today's run home or home run.

Seeing is believing and that is why i included the 30MPG photo in post #4.

I drove by an E85 plant today and the pumps there had it for 1.88 gallon. They also had E15 for 2.74. I spent 2.18 for it at regular gas station.

 

23.5 on E85 is quite impressive.

The picture in post #4 doesn't lie.

 

I have a new 2018 F150 with the new 3.3L in it and the gas mileage is slightly better than my old 2013 3.7L
It must be very flat where you are, here in NE Pa this engine is ok, but the gas mileage is not that great, nothing like you are getting

 

Hmmmmm ...... have you tried E85 or 50 or 30 or even 15? In hilly areas you might benefit from the 12:1 compression by way of having less engine vacuum under higher throttle/ load?

Somewhere i read that the ethanol blend is over 100 octane, so In a 12:1 motor that could translate in the engine adding in more ignition timing without the "ping" effect vs. 87 octane gas, or even 93.

I think the cost is a wash between gas and the blend, barring higher oil maintenance cost, but under towing or high load i have a hunch the high compression motor would benefit the wallet.

Thoughts?

I got 25 MPG on a 88 mile run on E85. But going there i had a high headwind and it knocked it down to 21 to 22.

Ive been filling up here: http://www.ibecethanol.com/ Funny the price jump quite a bit - i paid 1.84 this morning.

 

are you hand calculating at the pump or relying solely on the cluster's estimated MPG?

my previous 2010 Escape, 2014 F150 and my current 2018 F150 all seem to be a little optimistic on the cluster compared to hand calculations



I have been able to get my display on my 2018 all the way up to 28.6 on a 91 mile trip
[5.0 2wd 6.5 Supercrew 3.15 axle]

 

Ethanol has roughly 74,000 btus per gallon while gas has roughly 114,000. You'll get far better gas mileage with non-ethanol gas. If you have any new Murphy stations at a Walmart, check to see if they have any blue colored pumps. Give that a try. It's Isobutanol gasoline. Iso has slightly more btus than gasoline and it's for real in yielding better gas mileage and power. My 3.7 loves it and makes it think it's a performance engine. Jeez, I can lay down black rubber half way thru 2nd gear using it.

 

I've been going off the cluster mostly. I did one hand calculation and it showed 21.7 actual, where the trip display had exactly 1 more on the blend. That's around 4 percent difference.

It looks like the display is real-time and is always building up from a cold start, so the real average will always be a bit less.

Nice 5.0 numbers Patman. Somewhere in the back of mind i think i might have went for the 5.0 if it was available in the style truck that i liked and needed. With a 3.15 rear, i bet your cruise RPMs are under 1500 (?)

Thanks for the tip - will be looking for the pumps, Ln. ^

 

just want to note that I drove my son in laws truck the other day to pull a car home. 2018 f150 4x4 3000 lb trailer dropped mpg to 16. 22 at 75-80 prior to hooking on to the trailer. 13.5 pulling the trailer with a 3500 lb car for 150 miles. This was pulling out of very hilly ozark area into northeast MO and southeast Iowa. Not flat where we are. Dropped the trailer and topped it off. Drove 60 miles back home with the cruise set at 55 or 60 depending on the posted speed limit. Pulled back into son in laws drive at 24.9 mpg. All mileage done at fillup with a calculator. I drove that truck roughly 500 miles that day. I want one like it now. It cried a little on some of the hills but less than you'd expect.