Torque Converter?

[Longshot270]

That is a good explination of the torque converter dave. Also search "torque converter" on YouTube. There are some very good videos on there.

For the mileage where do you fill up? I got a bad batch of gas this last time I went to HEB and the truck is barely making it down the roadright now. I usually run shell but I figured it would be worth saving 5 cents/gal because HEB usually has pretty good stuff. You would be suprised at how sensitive these trucks can be to fuel quality. You can try raising or lowering your most used gear (usually 4th). I have found that lowering the 4th gear can somtimes get better mileage but lowering the torque converter lock/unlock point to the extreme (-10 mph) can kill mileage because you have to give more throttle when it locks. The main thing to weigh is rpm vs load. Having high rpms are not the best for mileage (*past about 2100) but having high engine load (ex. result of making the truck shift ASAP) requires more throttle and more gas.
Here is a thread I started a while back based on compiled datalogs.
http://forum.gopowerhungry.com/conve...t-mileage.html
Also some tips that me and Jack have fount to be usefull for city driving that when you accelerate, go a little aggressive until you get up to speed. Then pull back on the pedal. I even installed a vacuum guage on my truck and so when I'm cruising I can balance speed with manifold vacuum (more vacuum means less throttle which means better mileage). I'd say that by adding that I can get at least 1 or 2 mpg by adjusting my driving.

[Jackpine]

One thing you can do, is monitor the Inst Econ (or Inst MPG). This tells you exactly what is happening at the moment, rather than looking at a "history" of what went on before. Now, I have no idea if the Inst MPG value is accurate, but it really doesn't matter, because all you really care about is "relative" behavior. If the numbers are "large" you know you're getting more miles per gallon than if the numbers are "small". In time, you can develop a "feel" for the engine sound, throttle position, and so on that matches the bigger numbers and, you should be driving economically.

Of course you still need to keep your eyes on the road, so don't "stare" at the Inst MPG gauge, which is going to be moving all over the place anyway. As pilots do, you have to develop a "cross-check".

Finally though, and I've said this before, wind is going to effect your fuel economy drastically at highway speeds. At 70mph, if you're driving into a 30mph headwind, the load on the engine will be ALMOST as bad as if you were driving 100mph on a calm day. You will see a drastic drop in economy driving into a headwind.

I don't even pay too much attention anymore to my mpg at each fillup. Instead, I'm more interested in the long term average over the last 1500 - 2000 miles. By taking that "long" view, you average out the headwinds/tailwinds, uphill/downhill, and city/highway driving effect. I've gotten about 14.8mpg averaged over the last 2600 miles (not towing).

And, to calculate your economy correctly, you need to make sure your odometer is accurate.

- Jack

[ticopowell]

Thanks for the Advice! I have the inst mpg up on my gryphon and the average mpg up as well, and I usually try and keep an eye on them (havent hit anyone or anything yet lol ) and I am getting a better feel of my truck after having it a little more than a month so far. For filling it up, there are so many gas stations around here I usually go for the cheapest. last time I filled up on base but who knows what kind of quality that gas has... but there are a few shell stations, and a couple conoco stations, but mostly I go to the random stations that are around. Even though my truck only has about 52000 miles should I worry about adding a fuel injector cleaner to the gas every once in a while? would/should/could that make a difference? or would it do more harm than good? Ive never had a vehicle with so low mileage so Im not sure what to expect
I also assume that my altitude has something to do with the mileage, i live at 7258 feet, and the springs is about 6000-6500 feet, so i guess i drop and gain a thousand feet every time I go to the movies...

[Jackpine]

Altitude DOES have an effect, and it actually should improve your gas mileage. The air is less dense so the PCM is going to meter in less fuel to keep the A/F ratio correct. Of course this also give you less power, but once you reach cruise speed, you don't really need much power.

A big consideration, and one that is probably effecting you is the altitude change. Going uphill takes a lot of energy, more than driving on flatland, and you don't get it all back when you come back downhill. That would imply 100% efficiency. So, climbing and descending hurt you more than just cruising on level ground.

Winding roads will keep you in lower gears too, which also hurts mileage. Mountain roads tend to be "twisty".

- Jack

[ticopowell]

Wow, I didnt think altitude would help mileage at all, and yeah hills suck... but the roads arent too twisty, but the speed limit is 45, and on base i dont dare go faster. What I still dont understand is why after cruising back and forth to denver(again 1000ish feet lower than colorado springs) I still get 13mpgs... I would think it would jump to at least 14-15 range, but it was about 13.1 every time i checked... and with the odometer I dont know how accurate it is, but the speedo is about 3 mph fast at 75, so 4%, so should I add 4% to my mileage to get an accurate reading to test mpg's?

[JWBFX4]

Originally Posted by ticopowell

Wow, I didnt think altitude would help mileage at all, and yeah hills suck... but the roads arent too twisty, but the speed limit is 45, and on base i dont dare go faster. What I still dont understand is why after cruising back and forth to denver(again 1000ish feet lower than colorado springs) I still get 13mpgs... I would think it would jump to at least 14-15 range, but it was about 13.1 every time i checked... and with the odometer I dont know how accurate it is, but the speedo is about 3 mph fast at 75, so 4%, so should I add 4% to my mileage to get an accurate reading to test mpg's?

The speedo comes from the factory, about 2 mph fast on these trucks. So I would say its probably correct.

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by JWBFX4

The speedo comes from the factory, about 2 mph fast on these trucks. So I would say its probably correct.

Right, your speedo is probably reading only about 1% higher than it should be reading, so your miles driven is about 1% off too (it's a linear relationship). Unfortunately, if the speedo is faster than actual, the odometer reading is higher than actual too, so, you're showing 101 miles for every 100 miles driven. This is hardly an earthshaking error, but it means your actual mileage is 1% less.

You go downhill TO Denver, overall, but I recall there's a pretty good climb around Monument I think? In Denver, and at the AF Academy, you're doing city driving. I don't see your mileage as being horribly bad, just not great.

However, some trucks are going to get better mileage than others, due to tire size, tread pattern, inflation pressure, gearing, overall weight and production "differences". You really can't expect to set economy records with a full sized pickup truck. And, I'm suspicious of ANY "high" mileage claims I read about for f150s.

- Jack

[BlackSTX]

Yeah, Jack said it! Don't be obsessed with the readout, check mileage off of the odometer at fill-ups. Keep in mind that you'll have some variation in filling up the tank, it never stops at exactly the same volume every time.

I can average about 13 mpg all week, and then take a short 30 mile run (with a lot of hard acceleration and cruising above 65 mph) and see mileage readout jump to over 17 mpg. Then if I check off of the odometer at fill up, I can see mileage drop to as little as 11 mpg.
From that I'd conclude that readout is a good indicator of driving style or type (city/highway).

[ticopowell]

From what I have seen so far I get about 13 mpg's no matter what kind of driving I do, I do assume I idle a little more than most people, so I know that can have an effect, but the average mpg's according to the gryphon fluctuate so much that i just use it as a guesstimate of how im doing, and usually it is 2-3 mpg's higher than what I am getting. Again its been only 2 months since I have had the truck so ill see what happens over summer before I do anything about it.

[88Racing]

Originally Posted by ticopowell

From what I have seen so far I get about 13 mpg's no matter what kind of driving I do, I do assume I idle a little more than most people, so I know that can have an effect, but the average mpg's according to the gryphon fluctuate so much that i just use it as a guesstimate of how im doing, and usually it is 2-3 mpg's higher than what I am getting. Again its been only 2 months since I have had the truck so ill see what happens over summer before I do anything about it.

The canned tow tune runs a little richer.
Bill has tweeked it this way for some good reasons.
So that may or might be part of your loss in mpg's.