FNG from Western New York

[poopster]

I live in North Tonawanda, NY. My truck is a 2015 F150 XLT 4x4 5.0 Flex Crewcab, 3" level, 33" Goodyear Duratracs, Are cap, Decked Toolboxes and Westin grill gaurd. This is my 4th Ford. I usually drive a Powerstroke but rolled the last one and cannot afford a new one so I now drive a gasser. I cannot get more then 14 mpg in town and maybe 20 mpg on the interstate. I attribute that to my driving style and the fact that the truck is a 4x4 with 33" tires.

I look forward to getting tips and info to make my truck better then it already is.

[Draigflag]

Hello and welcome to Fuelly. If you enjoy your truck and the way you drive it, that matters more than an mpg or two! Trucks are hard to drive efficiently anyway, poor aerodynamics and like you say, large tyres, not to mention the huge engine too. Just enjoy life.

[JockoT]

Originally Posted by poopster

I attribute that to my driving style

Welcome. You hit the nail on the head, right there. The single biggest thing you can do to improve your mpg is to change your driving style. And it is Gratis.

[poopster]

I've tried to improve my driving style but it's just not that easy. If I go the speed limit I feel like I'm crawling. I just can not obey the speed limit! In town here the limit is 30 mph and I set my cruise for 35 mph. On the interstate the limit is 65 mph and I set my cruise for 77 mph and the police don't bother me. I've been stopped twice for speeding but my brother was the chief of police at the time so they let me go. Trouble is he's retired now and luckily I haven't been stopped. That's the reason I use cruise control so much otherwise I'd probably going much faster without realizing it.
The police are more likely to pull someone over for using their cell phone and I think that's a great idea. I can always tell if someone is texting while driving, they linger at the stop light after it turns green or they will be going 10-15 mph under the limit. There have been some terrible accidents because some was texting or using their cell phone while driving.
So back on subject, I'll start keeping track of my fuel usage and mileage. But like Draigflag said "If you enjoy your truck and the way you drive it, that matters more than an mpg or two" and I agree 100%.

[Draigflag]

^^^^Life's too short not to enjoy it in my opinion.

[trollbait]

Slowing down some on the highway will help. The poor aerodynamics are made worse by the increased frontal area from the tires and lift. Since the higher you sit, the slower it feels like you going doesn't help there.

How feasible would it be to get a second set of wheels equipped with road tread tires for daily driving? The tires will have lower rolling resistance, and be quieter, than all terrains. Plus, the drop in height will improve aero. The cost of doing so could be reduced by not having to replace the 33 inchers as often.

[poopster]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

^^^^Life's too short not to enjoy it in my opinion.

Well I fueled up, at $2.83.9/US gal., that's about $50./gal increase since this time last year and I'm averaging 13.4 mpg. city driving. But I really don't mind because I have a heavy foot.

I used to drive an F350 Power Stroke w/35" tires, 3" lift and lots of mods (18 mpg in the city, 24 mpg highway). I had a diesel club and we would go to the local drag strip and race our trucks. Nothing very fast but the crowd loved the black smoke. In fact they gave out a trophy to the guy who made the most black smoke as well as one to the truck with the fastest time. Fun was had by all. Once while we were dynoing (is that a word?) our trucks we took of my 35" tires and put stock tires (32") and I gained a bunch of horsepower ( I was at 400 HP.) and even more with the smaller tires. So I am well aware that if I had stock tires and could keep my foot out of it I'd do much better mileage wise. Like the quote above, life is too damn short!

[LDB]

Originally Posted by poopster

I just can not obey the speed limit!

A very wise individual once told me about 99.83% of the time anyone says they can't do something you should interpret that to mean they won't do it. They can do it. They just choose not to do it. Using cruise control you could just as easily set it for 67 on the highway as 77.

Another factor, at 77 you have to be much more focused straight ahead because things can quickly go bad. At 67 you can enjoy the drive and the scenery more too.