Ecoboost re gear.

[slurpie]

Truck is stock has 3.73 gear. It is a max tow package. Has anyone geared their truck to get better mileage. Driving around it has a hard time getting 12 took a cruise last week nothing over 65 mph got 16. I'm wondering if I went to the 3.33 or 3.11 how much better mileage could be.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

I miss my 3:73 rear end LOL!!! Sure it is a little harder on the gas but not much. I currently have the 3:42 rear end and you have to drive it with your foot because it keeps downshifting. Not so with the 3:73, just set the cruise.

[PurpleFloyd]

When they first came out guys were claiming mileage in the low 20s and mid teens pulling decent size boats. Did Ford change something or is yours an exception to the rule?

[Jeremy airjer W]

Have you considered the cost of changing gears Vs. the money you save in gas and how long it will take you to recoup the initial cost?

[Macgyver55]

When they first came out guys were claiming mileage in the low 20s and mid teens pulling decent size boats. Did Ford change something or is yours an exception to the rule?

I'm not sure they are any different but the real world numbers my cousin is experiencing are closer to what the OP is getting. He has two 2013 F150s 4x4s, one with an Ecoboost and one with a 5.0. Both see similar use and are driven by primarily the same few people. Both show a calculated 13.9 MPG after approximately 16000 miles each and have never been reset since new. (I asked him) I cannot say what gear they have but I was surprised they were both as low as they were.

[BartmanMN]

I average a little over 16 for my daily driving. 2013 Ecoboost Crewcab, 3.55 rear end. That includes a 28 mile commute each way 3 times a week with stop lights and highway along with many trips back and forth to the hockey rink. If I tow my boat once per tank of gas to a local lake, then my average dips between 14-15.

The more long stretches of highway I have on a tank of gas, the higher my mileage will go.

[slurpie]

Bart man I was told that's what I should get and its not close. I would be happy with 14-15 daily drive short trips. Pulling my 8x16 v front house it never reads double digit.

I have not checked on pricing to re gear just wondering if any has done it and if there is any negative conquences. To recoup the cost might not take long I get at least 20000 miles a year and I am thinking I might be putting more on this year.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

Dont do it.

If its 4x4 youre changing the front R&P too... then there is programing the pcm, then the next guy buys it and doesnt know that it has different gears..... tries towing something and does damage....

You bought max tow, not fuel ecomomy. Buy a slush box focus= fuel economy.

[slurpie]

If the truck got what it said it is supposed to I would be alright with that but it's far less. I don't drive a focus because it's hard to put fit big parts in there. Bought the truck to have for a few years but when my 1 tons with the 6.7 get better mileage. Not very happy.

[TR21HP]

I must be the odd man out. I've had a 2011 Ecoboost with the 3.73, and now have a 2013 ecoboost with the 3.73 and get 17 around town, 19-20 nontowing doing 65 mph freeway and 15-16 towing my 4,500 lb. bass boat highway. I've never got less than 15 city driving unless it was really cold.

[Scott K]

Do you let it warm up when it is cold?

[TR21HP]

Scott, Got spoiled with remote start and usually let the truck warm up for a few minutes but when the temp is below zero it seems the eco boost drops about 1-2 mpg in any driving situation. It does strike me odd because turbos are supposed to love cooler temps but this is what I've noticed.

[BartmanMN]

Is it getting less MPG or is it burning the fuel as it idles, thus having less fuel per mile?

[icehole10]

I must be the odd man out. I've had a 2011 Ecoboost with the 3.73, and now have a 2013 ecoboost with the 3.73 and get 17 around town, 19-20 nontowing doing 65 mph freeway and 15-16 towing my 4,500 lb. bass boat highway. I've never got less than 15 city driving unless it was really cold.

This is close to what I'm seeing with my 2014 ecoboost, if I'm pulling my boat at 65 between 14-16 mpg. right now if you went and looked at the avg on the dash it would probably be between 12-14, but I have been doing mostly in town and I love my astro start!! If I reset it and take it easy on the pedal at 60mph, 21-22 is possible.

[TR21HP]

Possibility, but I've done the remote start when its 30 degrees down to when its well below zero and calculating the mileage does result in the loss. Again, nothing to worry about, just thought it kind of strange.

[icehole10]

I sell Kenworth trucks for a living, and a lot of my over the road customers will buy groups of trucks, 4-5 at a time. These trucks are ordered with the exact same specs, transmissions, engines, rear ends, and they will never get the same mileage because of the one variable they really can't control, and that would be the driver. You will see anywhere from 1-1.5 mpg difference is the truck avg's. One company took it one step further and actually switched the drivers of the trucks with the highest and lowest avg, and after a couple of months they were right back to were they started. There are just to many real world variables when it comes to mileage, I have learned over the years to not even speak of it with my customers.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I must be the odd man out. I've had a 2011 Ecoboost with the 3.73, and now have a 2013 ecoboost with the 3.73 and get 17 around town, 19-20 nontowing doing 65 mph freeway and 15-16 towing my 4,500 lb. bass boat highway. I've never got less than 15 city driving unless it was really cold.

I have the 3.2x or 3.55, can't remember. That's pretty close to where I'm at, except I'm more like 20-22 for mostly highway, as high as 24 for all highway under 65.

My truck idles a ton, as in an hour or more per day. My average since 12/1 is 15.5, and includes a lot of fish house towing at 8mpg.

Idling/remote starting absolutely kills mileage. As does winter fuel. I wouldn't get too worked up about mileage right now. It'll get way better once we get above 50 degrees.

[Scott K]

Idle time kills mpg. So does the cold, and winter fuel. Parking it in a garage can make a huge difference as well.

For instance

Driver A parks outside, wakes up in the morning, hits remote start, lets it warm up for 15 minutes, jumps in his truck, drives 10 miles to work. During this 10 miles, only the engine was warm, all differential fluids, transmission fluid, bearings, most electrical loads on high, fan, headlights, seat heaters, etc.. He then shuts off his truck when he gets to work. He then wants to go out for lunch, he then either hits the remote start and lets it warm up again, or just jumps in and drives a cold stiff truck a couple miles, either way not very efficient. Parks the truck until after work, hits the remote start, lets it warm up 15 minutes, then drives the stiff truck home 10 miles barely enough time to warm the fluids, and get the truck into closed loop, for fuel monitoring. Average MPG, 11.

Driver B has his truck parked in the heated garage, he wakes up in the morning, backs out in his warm truck, all fluids are warm, and everything rotates freely, unlike the truck that was sitting outside in sub temps. He drives 30 miles to work and back, warm truck to work, and is in closed loop, within a couple miles. Average MPG, 20.

That also doesnt take into account, driving habits, speed, stop and go, etc..

So driver A lets his truck idle a minimum of 30 minutes per day burning fuel, without moving. This adds up quickly, when you average out a tank of fuel. Most engine burn a gallon or more per hour of idle time. Then jumps into a stiff, cold truck, and tries to make it go down the road with cold stiff fluids.

Driver B, has no idle time, and has a longer drive in closed loop, and has a warm truck, with no stiff fluids in the morning.

One can easily see how driver A is getting worse economy, without realizing it.

[Gus]

Scott K has a pretty good example. I almost laughed out loud when reading driver A example, as that is me almost to a T.

13 miles to work, 4 miles for lunch, 13 miles home. I try to keep remote start idling to 5-10 minutes tops, but sometimes its longer. Idles while I drop kids off at daycare, etc. Forced to park outside as my garage is too small for the ecoboost. '13 crew cab 6.6' box with 3.55 rear end.

Around town in the winter, I'm at about 13.5-14mpg.

[slurpie]

Maybe there is nothing to worry about. But when I get out set the cruise at under 65 mph and reset the instant mileage, I thought I would still get better than 15 after 2 or 3 hours of driving. I don't really buy into the winter fuel gives less mpg either. I think the drop in mileage is due to warm up or extended idle running into a store. Also my truck lets me pick the amount of time my truck can warm up and that is set at five minutes.

I am very jealous of some of the numbers you guys are claiming. I could almost care less on the mileage I get on short runs but 20 would be nice just cruising.

[CaptainMusky]

I wouldnt trust that mileage reading on the gauge cluster. Actually calculate your mileage at each fuel up. They will be all over the place. Sometimes high, sometimes low sometimes right on.

I had one vehicle that we coukd drive 3/4 tank on highway and the last in town. The vehicle mpg would say 15. It was avg 21prior to town. I calculated the mileage for the complete tank and it was 18.4. Huge difference.

[Powerstroke]

Slurpie, you haven't said, but I'm going to assume your truck is brand new.

I've got a 2012 ecoboost, crewcab, 6.5' bed with max tow. I have most likely the worst mpg package possible with the ecoboost. My first winter I was distressed that I never saw greater than 15mpg. SUmmer came and the mileage quickly improved to the upper teens. The next winter came and my mileage was better because the engine had more miles on it and the motor was getting broken in.

Last summer I routinely got 18-20 average for my road mileage. Towing my 5K pound camper I see 11-12mpg. Also, I see 1-2mpg increase in mileage when using premium vs regular. I have 2 years of data to back it up.

Now this winter, Im' driving short trips to work every day and no remote start. I'm getting 12-14mpg and no difference in mpg with premium. If I let the truck warm up and have a decent trip planned, I will see the 16-18mpg on the highway once the motor and all its lubricated parts are running well. Its just a downside of winter. I currently have 36,000 miles on the motor.

I say stay the course. You'll recoup all the winter mileage and more in the summer. HIgher gears will not pay off in the end.

[DIESELDAN]

Buy a Chevy

[icehole10]

Pulled my buddies 8x16 ice castle this past weekend from Moorhead to Devils lake and back and averaged 7.8 according to the dash. I was even a little surprised at first, I was hoping to see a little better, but when I thought about it a little more, its all 70-75mph roads and I was probably averaging 68-70mph.

[SkunkedAgain]

My 2003 v8 gets around 15mpg when I drive it around town. The time I let my wife drive it for a week, she got just over 10mpg. Why? I rode with her on the last trip and she drove it like a foreign cab driver. I drive like an old man.