Looking for 'Real facts' answer to mileage question.

USed to be the highest manifold vacuum you could hold at the least throttle setting would yield the highest mileage. Don't know if that's still true with today's injection and computers. Now, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and everyone had a carburetor....

transamz9 wrote:


X2.

For me every gallon of fuel I can save in my TV is a gallon I can put in my boat. I can fish all day long on 5 gallons.

Do you get better mileage in the boat with the fish in the front or in the back? :B

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
The best mileage will be achieved at:

The lowest RPM AND the least amount of throttle % at the speed you want to go.

Something like a scan gauge will let you see where these two intersect.



For those of you that don't worry about fuel mileage, you must have a lot of money. Even with my small vacation if I can save 1 MPG I can save $125.00. Or 4 nights free at a campground with a pool and full hookups. Or 3 really nice meals for my family. Or one day at an amusement park with my family. Or...........well, you get the point........:)

X2.

For me every gallon of fuel I can save in my TV is a gallon I can put in my boat. I can fish all day long on 5 gallons.

The best mileage will be achieved at:

The lowest RPM AND the least amount of throttle % at the speed you want to go.

Something like a scan gauge will let you see where these two intersect.



For those of you that don't worry about fuel mileage, you must have a lot of money. Even with my small vacation if I can save 1 MPG I can save $125.00. Or 4 nights free at a campground with a pool and full hookups. Or 3 really nice meals for my family. Or one day at an amusement park with my family. Or...........well, you get the point........:)

My truck is a manual transmission, And I have found that running it in a lower gear ( higher engine rpm ) it gets about the same fuel mileage, maybe 1 mpg worse ( 12 vs 11 ) but that water temp ( according to scangage2 ) runs somewhat cooler by letting it spin higher rpm. So my take from that is when running it in the higher gear, I was effectively "lugging" it. Mine is a gas engine that likes to rev anyway, so I choose the lower gear. I like seeing the water temp be a little lower.

Jim-Linda wrote:
I am always amazed at concerns over mileage. People, you are towing a barn door at severe wind conditions, traffic, up and down roads, speed, etc. Don't worry about mpg, it is what it is, enjoy.

Jim

:S

Yeah, I get a kick out folks trying to figure out how to save a few tenths of a mile to the gallon in fuel when they spend upwards of $50K on a vehicle and then $30K on a trailer..

Topping it off by driving 70 MPH too boot :h

I look at it like this.. If I was that concerned about mileage I would have traded in my truck and trailer for a Prius and a 5 star Hotel.. In the end it WOULD BE far cheaper than fretting over a few tenths of mile to the gallon..

Forget about worrying about mileage, this lifestyle is not about saving a few bucks but enjoying life and going places where there are no hotels..

I am always amazed at concerns over mileage. People, you are towing a barn door at severe wind conditions, traffic, up and down roads, speed, etc. Don't worry about mpg, it is what it is, enjoy.

Jim

Generally, the lowest RPMs should get the best fuel mileage unless the engine is beginning to "lug". The auto transmission should be able to tell when the engine begins lugging and needs to shift down. If the transmission begins "hunting" up and down, it's time to shift down. If it's not, your best mileage will probably be at the slowest engine speed.

Can't really answer the question of how your truck will do but the real world experience with my 09 F-250 with the V-10, 4.10 rear and 5 spd auto is that I get slightly better mileage with tow/haul off. The answer will vary depending on transmission and rear gear coupled with motor size. In my case the motor size and rear gear easily allow the truck to get to OD sooner and hold it comfortably without tow/haul on.

I've tried this test with several different vehicles and trailers. Without tow mode the TV would usually shift into O/D and bog down. With tow mode it stays out of O/D and runs at higher RPM but works the engine less. Fuel mileage was always better with tow mode and staying out of O/D even with the higher RPM. The only exception was with a strong tailwind, but when does that ever happen while towing?