DIY: How to get great fuel economy

[Mjjust]

The best thing I have found to get better MPG is to manage your time better and back off on the right foot.

I have mostly employed this tip on trips for work between San Antonio and New Braunfels and have often gotten near 30mph in my 2011 F150 SCrew 4x4. I have found another huge benefit from employing these strategies. I am a lot more relaxed and calm and happy when I slow down. I may lose 2 minutes of time in the 25 mile trip but I probably gain 10 minutes of life expectancy due to lower blood pressure so I come out way ahead. I think I am a better person from driving slower or maybe I drive slower because I'm a better person. And before you say my slow driving is causing your blood pressure to go up I am very aware of traffic around me and drive appropriately.

Also the braking in in-town driving not only kills mileage but wears brakes out costing you more money. Have an uncle with same truck and he replaced his brakes at 40K and I have 83K and still plenty of pad left. His average for mix driving is about 13mpg and mine is 18mpg and he always seems grumpy after a drive. I save more than mileage by using many of the hypermile techniques. It does help me to stay awake on trips between San Antonio and San Angelo when using gravity to my advantage and seeing if I can break the mileage from the prior trip. Gives me something to concentrate on. Made the trip so many times now that I know every hill now. I may have to try the tow/haul mode to see if it makes any difference through the hills.

[91cavgt]

I have mostly employed this tip on trips for work between San Antonio and New Braunfels and have often gotten near 30mph in my 2011 F150 SCrew 4x4. I have found another huge benefit from employing these strategies. I am a lot more relaxed and calm and happy when I slow down. I may lose 2 minutes of time in the 25 mile trip but I probably gain 10 minutes of life expectancy due to lower blood pressure so I come out way ahead. I think I am a better person from driving slower or maybe I drive slower because I'm a better person. And before you say my slow driving is causing your blood pressure to go up I am very aware of traffic around me and drive appropriately.

Also the braking in in-town driving not only kills mileage but wears brakes out costing you more money. Have an uncle with same truck and he replaced his brakes at 40K and I have 83K and still plenty of pad left. His average for mix driving is about 13mpg and mine is 18mpg and he always seems grumpy after a drive. I save more than mileage by using many of the hypermile techniques. It does help me to stay awake on trips between San Antonio and San Angelo when using gravity to my advantage and seeing if I can break the mileage from the prior trip. Gives me something to concentrate on. Made the trip so many times now that I know every hill now. I may have to try the tow/haul mode to see if it makes any difference through the hills.

I am glad to see another hypermiler on here! Yes, once you get used to hypermiling, I too show up at my destination in a much more calm and relaxed state of mind.

[txpitdog]

I tried this over the past two days commuting in heavy traffic down 290 to the Heights area in Houston. Vehicle is a 2005 F-150 4WD 5.4L 3.55 with 195,000 miles. Tires are not topped off but they aren't low either. I've gotten right at 15mpg for the past several years just driving like everyone else without thinking about it. The last two days I've coasted most of the way uphill and to stop signs and stop lights trying to use momentum instead of the accelerator. I haven't gone over 65mph and I haven't run the engine over 2000rpm. My hand calculated mileage today when I topped her off was 17.0!

2.0mpg may not sound like a whole lot, but for driving around town and in heavy traffic in a 4WD V8 that's a pretty decent jump. Back-calculating on the gas cost I woulda spent at 15mpg, that's a saving of $11.50 per tank of gas, or about 50 bucks a month for me. If I keep at it I can essentially pay for a nice weekend vacation for my family just by easing off the throttle.

Now, back-calculating how much gas I essentially wasted over the past 9 years and near 200,000 miles...at an even $3/gal average that comes to around $4,600 in wasted gas....at city mpg! Can't wait to see what the ol' girl will do for highway mileage.

[91cavgt]

I tried this over the past two days commuting in heavy traffic down 290 to the Heights area in Houston. Vehicle is a 2005 F-150 4WD 5.4L 3.55 with 195,000 miles. Tires are not topped off but they aren't low either. I've gotten right at 15mpg for the past several years just driving like everyone else without thinking about it. The last two days I've coasted most of the way uphill and to stop signs and stop lights trying to use momentum instead of the accelerator. I haven't gone over 65mph and I haven't run the engine over 2000rpm. My hand calculated mileage today when I topped her off was 17.0!

2.0mpg may not sound like a whole lot, but for driving around town and in heavy traffic in a 4WD V8 that's a pretty decent jump. Back-calculating on the gas cost I woulda spent at 15mpg, that's a saving of $11.50 per tank of gas, or about 50 bucks a month for me. If I keep at it I can essentially pay for a nice weekend vacation for my family just by easing off the throttle.

Now, back-calculating how much gas I essentially wasted over the past 9 years and near 200,000 miles...at an even $3/gal average that comes to around $4,600 in wasted gas....at city mpg! Can't wait to see what the ol' girl will do for highway mileage.

Awesome results!!

[mwinter501]

When I first got my f150 with the ecoboost engine, I was having to travel across the DFW metroplex for work. Just about all of the driving was on multi-lane highways and I was fixated on trying to get the best mpg I could. I found the instant mpg meter to help me get better efficiency because I could use it to gauge how much I was mashing the accelerator while cruising. I noticed the difference between 22mpg and 16mpg (calculated instantly on the computer) felt like a fraction of an inch in pedal travel.

After awhile I began to get the feel for it and I was able to get 22+mpg hand calculated. I also used many of the techniques 91cavgt mentioned in this thread. My buddy got the same truck a few years later and always complained that he wasn't getting the economy that was advertised. I always point out that he also added a tune for more power, off-road tires, and pulled a trailer often, but he still complained and eventually sold it.

Anyways, I actually found it fun to try to get the best mpg possible. It made the commute more enjoyable and I never had to do anything that would be considered unsafe like traveling more that 5mph beneath speed limit or drafting other vehicles.

[91cavgt]

When I first got my f150 with the ecoboost engine, I was having to travel across the DFW metroplex for work. Just about all of the driving was on multi-lane highways and I was fixated on trying to get the best mpg I could. I found the instant mpg meter to help me get better efficiency because I could use it to gauge how much I was mashing the accelerator while cruising. I noticed the difference between 22mpg and 16mpg (calculated instantly on the computer) felt like a fraction of an inch in pedal travel.

After awhile I began to get the feel for it and I was able to get 22+mpg hand calculated. I also used many of the techniques 91cavgt mentioned in this thread. My buddy got the same truck a few years later and always complained that he wasn't getting the economy that was advertised. I always point out that he also added a tune for more power, off-road tires, and pulled a trailer often, but he still complained and eventually sold it.

Anyways, I actually found it fun to try to get the best mpg possible. It made the commute more enjoyable and I never had to do anything that would be considered unsafe like traveling more that 5mph beneath speed limit or drafting other vehicles.

It is rather interesting when you have a vehicle with instant MPG readout on how such a small change in throttle causes such a huge change in gas mileage!

[PSD Ryan]

I managed to average a calculated 28 mpg in my 6.4 f350 driving to Dallas and back. I tried to turn the ac off, but that wasn't happening. It was late at night so no traffic.

I wouldn't do it again though lol

[91cavgt]

I managed to average a calculated 28 mpg in my 6.4 f350 driving to Dallas and back. I tried to turn the ac off, but that wasn't happening. It was late at night so no traffic.

I wouldn't do it again though lol

WOW!!! That's amazing!!


If you really get into it and focus on every little throttle input, then yes, it is exhausting. But, you can get real world amazing fuel economy out of any vehicle.


The only time I can drive with the A/C off is for very short trips, and late at night. Otherwise, that A/C is cranking and my wife is complaining that it is cold!

[PSD Ryan]

I've got a tuner and that helps a lot. Stock I could never get over 20

I also had an empty truck and there was no more than 2 miles of city driving

[unclefish]

I have a new 2014 f150 ecoboost and I have found the cruise control does a much better job of finding the throttle's sweet spot rather than me trying to find it with my foot. The only downside is going uphill the cruise does not let off the throttle.

This may be a captain obvious moment for most but I get better mileage depending if I'm traveling uphill vs downhill. I get better mileage going from Dallas to Houston rather than Houston to Dallas....with the wind being equal. I drive that route alot and I average 1.5 mpg better from Dallas to Houston if the wind is calm or light.