I do agree that the 5.4 is built for torque at a lower Rpm than the hemi but at highway speed H/p is what keeps you going and creates better milage, not a engine built for low end torque
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and when your towing a load, torque is what keeps you going down the hiway at speed. The ford is a better tow rig. My first tank going down the hiway I got 17.4 mpg.... that was with less than 300 miles on the truck. and winter formula to boot. pretty respectable giving that my truck probly weighs more than your 3/4 ton.

 

So lets review, your hemi has the 6 speed, runs on midgrade, and does it have the MDS? ( or whatever it's called ) And you are stating that it gets better mileage than a 4 speed 5.4 with no MDS type technology?

Your point?

How many years has the Ram been the #1 selling truck in North America again?


offtopic

Also you could get the Hemi option free of charge because their sales have tanked.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/01/d...s-in-february/

 

You guys suck getting 18 miles to the gallon i have a 1997 F-150 4X4 with 4.6L i get horrible gas mileage i get like 10mph

 

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It's all in the foot buddy. I could get 11 mpg in my truck if I drove it like I drive my focus ST..... But I baby the heck out of my truck just to see what kind of milage I can get. Pretty soon that will get old though lol.

 

I just got 16.25 MPG over a 340+ mile trip. Ran 85+ mph for at least 280 of those miles. Went 90 for a bit. Nipped at 95-100 a bit. Also had a few miles (under 60 miles) where I was only doing 60 - 70. This was on 91 octane winter fuel too...

 

I have a 98 with 5.4 and a 20 gal tank. I get about 220-260miles per tank. But the only way besides driving style is small upgrades. Ones that will make it breath easier. Larger throttle body, or throttle body spacer. Cold air, and maintain clean filters. Oil changes, and injector/fuel system cleaners (not the cheap stuff)(ask your local dealer or auto parts store for the best) exhaust too can help with this. All these little things give you 1 to 3 mpg, but three or four upgrades per tank can mean big miles. Tuners too can add horespower, and give you better fuel mileage.

 

Throttle body space...ahahahahahahahaha...my side hurts from laughing now. A larger throttle body won't really do that much in the ways of MPG. A intake, tuner, and exhaust will do much. Also, gutting my cats gained me a solid 2 mpg. Oh, and your tank is 25 gallons.

 

Anyone notice that we all seem to get different fuel milage?Ive read from 170 a tank to over 500,seems very odd to me.I was a bit surprised that my newer f-150 didnt get better gas milage than my older one.My 98 5.4 stepside got a consistant 270-280 and now my 2001 supercrew 5.4 with many added components gets the same. I was hoping i could hit the 300-320 mark but i guess i will have to do some more mods and get a tunner for that to come close.Also i should lay off the lead foot.

 

my screw 5.4l gets about 330 avg on a tank going about 80 on highway and thats mixed with partial city driving when i went 75 i got 330 on 20 gals

 

I get 13 mpg at best.

 

your saying your ram 2500 hemi (It's actually barely a REAL hemi) gets better mileage becuase of a 6 speed manual AND in 6th gear your at 1800 rpm at 60 mph?!?

strange my f150 with a 4 speed auto is at 1700 rpm at 65mph

oh yeah thats right a 4 cylinder will get better mpg at 60mph!

I know a few guys with Hemi's and not one of them gets better than 15-17 mpg and that is with the wind behind them.

hopefully the new cylinder management system will be reliable.

 

I have an 04' 5.4 with the following: Flowmaster 40 series, Helix Throttle Body Spacer, AEM Brute Force CAI, and Edge Programmer. I have had the exhaust for about 2 years now, and the rest just a few weeks. Before I was getting maybe 14 MPG in town, and did good to get 16 on the highway. Now I get about the same in town, and about 18.5 on the highway. I normally average around 280-290 Miles Per Tank in town, and have reaced 340 on the highway.

 

Unless you keep accurate records of every fill-up you won't know exactly what you are getting fuel mileage wise. I developed a detailed Excel spreadsheet to track mpg among other things.

Here are a few of mine from my 1997 F150 XLT SuperCab, 5.4L, 4x4, 3.55LS, E40D, 25 gallon tank...

Averages/Maximums/Minimums since 2005:

13.89 average MPG
11.08 minimum MPG
17.69 maximum mpg
411 max miles/tank
290.56 average miles/fill

Last Fillup (2-21-07)

12.35 mpg
277 miles/tank
22.434 gallons to fill

 

Doodg'e (and Chebbie's) MDS systems may be reliable, but they are far from effective.

There are very few driving conditions in which the MDS will actually operate in vehicles of this type ( heavy, barn-door aero's, lossy drivetrains, high rolling resistance, etc). All these truck 'features' result in an almost constant demand on engine torque to accelerate and/or maintain speed - and hence MDS is forced to add cylinders an inordinate amount of time.

Result? Witness Truck Trend's recent Expedition EL vs Subbie test - the Subbie ( with a 6.0L & MDS), despite being lighter, slicker, and more powerful, got crappier mileage (in addition to poorer towing performance).

If you drive agressively at all, the MDS will be reliable by virtue of it never having a chance to engage in the first place

Redneck cylinder deactivation = don't ever change plugs... and coast downhill in neutral

Come to think of it Ford did engineer MDS of a sort into the 97-03's .. it was called something else, though - PEST. (Plug Ejection System Technology).


Cheers
Bubba

 

Had an 87 ranger 4x4 that got 16mpg after a rollbar and lights went on it

Had a 93 flareside 4.9L got 18 till dual exhaust dropped it to 15.

Had a 91 f250 w/ POS 351 windsor and got 10 to 14 depending on my foot.

My 99 drw350 powerstroke gets as high as 14 if I baby it.

My dad has had 5 f150s that all got 14 or 15

Every ford I have ever seen has done about the same. But they have all been work horses too ., . . except the flareside, that was just fun!!