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Real World MPG

22287 Views 21 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  TooByFoor, 
Vloggingadventureswithrob
Had the truck for a couple of weeks now and I'm getting 16.8 mpg. The F150 (6.2L V8) got around 17.8 mpg given the same driving conditions. As the Rebel is not yet broken in, I think that's pretty good all things considered. I expect there will be an improvement after break in? Realizing this is a truck and not a Prius, I don't expect to get phenomenal gas mileage!!
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lmeavtitn
My MPG has gone down since mine is broken in. But I'm also pumping winter blended fuel through it. I'm hoping that once it warms up and winter blend goes bye bye, my MPGS go back to where they were before it got cold. Both are with the same driving conditions at about 90/10 hwy/city driving with no remote starts.

When I first got my truck (summer) - 22.1 hand calculated @ 3900 miles on the trip gauge
Current MPG (winter) - 14.2 hand calculated @ with 2600 miles on the trip gauge

Kind of let down...but I didn't buy the truck for the MPG.
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Vloggingadventureswithrob
Forgot about the winter blend...I may have to wait for the switch before I see an improvement!!
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M
Driving through the snow also takes more energy than driving on clean pavement. It makes sense that your MPG would go down in the winter.
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johnj
Correct tire pressure also improves mileage. The "average" drop is 1% mileage for 1% tire pressure. If you're running your Rebel at 45psi instead of 55psi, you are running at 82% of recommended tire pressure. That's a loss of 18% of your expected mileage, roughly. This does vary a bit from tire to tire. Still, if you're expecting to get 17mpg and you're running at 45 psi front tires, you're more likely to get < 14mpg. Because the tires flex more at lower pressure, increasing rolling friction.
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lmeavtitn
Maverick said:
Driving through the snow also takes more energy than driving on clean pavement. It makes sense that your MPG would go down in the winter.
Click to expand...
Yup juat like rain. But we haven't had much snow and the days it did snow I didn't drive so I wouldn't consider it to be a huge factor for me.
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S
Regarding tire pressure, I gained 1-1.5 mpg by running 60 psi front and 50 rear. I am not advocating everyone do what I am experimenting with as this is a trial run and you do what you want. My theory is that the door suggestion is a recondition based upon several factors. Type/brand of tire may come into play, the sticker recommendations are a compromise as it is to give decent wear, be safe and a decent ride. I have always found on just about every vehicle I have ever owned in my almost 40 years of driving that the sticker is on the low side. The last thing manufacturers want your impression to be is..... This thing rides like a tank. Of course higher pressures ( within reason) will ride rougher. You need to find out what your contact patch is and a good way to determine that is to use a wide chalk stick and run it across wash tire. Then drive a short distance and see where the chalk wears off. Only in the middle gives the indication of over inflated tires. As long as you are not running on the center of the tire and the patch across is being utilized, at least that is a good indicator that you throw into the equation. Never exceed the tire reconditions posted on the tire but they are normally much higher than your sticker numbers will be. Payload and useage varies which is another factor that needs to be considered. I am not running the stock tires so I do not know how they would react to my current pressures as I have Nitto 305/70/17's. Again, I am not telling everyone to run out there and run stupid pressures and that is not the point. I wanted to pass along my experience so far as I am also disappointed in the mileage. I had a 2014 Ram 2WD and got 23 on the highway with the same engine but it did have 3.21 gears. The Rebel is a lot heavier but I personally feel a lot of the issue is the tire pressure. i have not noticed an uncomfortable ride at 60 front and 50 rear and saw 16.9 yesterday combined driving for the first time compared to my average of 14.5 to 15.5 for the same driving. Here in Texas, the speeds are up to 75 which we all know kills mpg. as well. Just my 2 cents as to what I am trying.
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R
I am getting 22 L /100km as my reading. Real time driving shows me at 11-13L/100km. That being said, I have only driven to work yet...very short expressway jaunts, no highway stretches, winterblend fuel, and 87 octane, which I later read in the owners Manuel as a no no. Next fill up will be 89 octane. I only have 150 km on her yet so I can only image it will improve
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T
SRRebel said:
I have Nitto 305/70/17's.
Click to expand...
I have 2 gripes about this truck, and I think they are both related to these stock LT Toyos; mpgs and steering/handling (I've got a different thread about this).

SRRebel, any ride quality changes with the Nittos?

For what it's worth, my mpgs are around 15, after 4000 miles and after installing a CAI at 3200 miles which gave me an immediate +1mpg boost. Just got 15.3 after running 230 miles on the highway.
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johnj
TooByFoor said:
I have 2 gripes about this truck, and I think they are both related to these stock LT Toyos; mpgs and steering/handling (I've got a different thread about this).

SRRebel, any ride quality changes with the Nittos?

For what it's worth, my mpgs are around 15, after 4000 miles and after installing a CAI at 3200 miles which gave me an immediate +1mpg boost. Just got 15.3 after running 230 miles on the highway.
Click to expand...
What speed were you driving? Makes a HUGE difference in mpg.
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T
5-7 over the speed limit.
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johnj
over what speed limit? 55? 65? 75?
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T
60-65 speed limits. It was a round trip, too.
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S
TooByFoor said:
I have 2 gripes about this truck, and I think they are both related to these stock LT Toyos; mpgs and steering/handling (I've got a different thread about this).

SRRebel, any ride quality changes with the Nittos?

For what it's worth, my mpgs are around 15, after 4000 miles and after installing a CAI at 3200 miles which gave me an immediate +1mpg boost. Just got 15.3 after running 230 miles on the highway.
Click to expand...

I noticed quicker steering input with the nitto tires but it does ride a little rougher at the 55 and 45 psi and oddly enough, when I upped it to 60 and 50, I did not notice an increase in harshness. I feel with this tire and wheel selection, 60 and 50 seem to be the sweet spot.
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lmeavtitn
SRRebel said:
Regarding tire pressure, I gained 1-1.5 mpg by running 60 psi front and 50 rear. I am not advocating everyone do what I am experimenting with as this is a trial run and you do what you want. My theory is that the door suggestion is a recondition based upon several factors. Type/brand of tire may come into play, the sticker recommendations are a compromise as it is to give decent wear, be safe and a decent ride. I have always found on just about every vehicle I have ever owned in my almost 40 years of driving that the sticker is on the low side. The last thing manufacturers want your impression to be is..... This thing rides like a tank. Of course higher pressures ( within reason) will ride rougher. You need to find out what your contact patch is and a good way to determine that is to use a wide chalk stick and run it across wash tire. Then drive a short distance and see where the chalk wears off. Only in the middle gives the indication of over inflated tires. As long as you are not running on the center of the tire and the patch across is being utilized, at least that is a good indicator that you throw into the equation. Never exceed the tire reconditions posted on the tire but they are normally much higher than your sticker numbers will be. Payload and useage varies which is another factor that needs to be considered. I am not running the stock tires so I do not know how they would react to my current pressures as I have Nitto 305/70/17's. Again, I am not telling everyone to run out there and run stupid pressures and that is not the point. I wanted to pass along my experience so far as I am also disappointed in the mileage. I had a 2014 Ram 2WD and got 23 on the highway with the same engine but it did have 3.21 gears. The Rebel is a lot heavier but I personally feel a lot of the issue is the tire pressure. i have not noticed an uncomfortable ride at 60 front and 50 rear and saw 16.9 yesterday combined driving for the first time compared to my average of 14.5 to 15.5 for the same driving. Here in Texas, the speeds are up to 75 which we all know kills mpg. as well. Just my 2 cents as to what I am trying.
Click to expand...
Anytime you change your tire size you'll have to change your PSI accordingly. Something to consider is by over inflating your tires by even a little, traction decreases because it changes the contact patch on the road. I work in the tire industry and over inflating your tires by 5 isn't that big of a deal but anything more than that, it will change traction properties of the vehicle to a point where you can even feel a difference.
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johnj
TooByFoor said:
For what it's worth, my mpgs are around 15, after 4000 miles and after installing a CAI at 3200 miles which gave me an immediate +1mpg boost. Just got 15.3 after running 230 miles on the highway.

5-7 over the speed limit.

60-65 speed limits. It was a round trip, too.
Click to expand...
So you're basically saying you were driving at speeds between 65 and 73. That puts you pretty much in line with what I'm seeing on my truck.

The tires could easily be detracting from performance (mileage). Bigger tires have greater rolling friction and much higher aerodynamic drag. Switching to other same-size tires with similar characteristics (on/off-road) may change mileage slightly. I wouldn't look for a huge difference.

From what we're sharing in the forums right now, we seem to be about 1-1.5mpg lower than other Ram models with the same engine, and that aren't raised up so high and running such large tires. That's the price we pay for the look and feel we get.
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Vloggingadventureswithrob
Ok...MPG update

After a few weeks of ownership and around 1400 miles, I'm getting 16.8 mpg. This is probably with 40% highway driving. I usually run between 65 and 70 on the highway (that is when rush hour isn't horrible). While I don't think that is too bad for this truck, I would like to see at least 17MPG!!
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T
Here's my MPG update.

I hit 5000 miles yesterday. 14.6 with an average speed of 34 mph. I've towed 209 miles, total. 90% of the time, it's just me in the cab, on pavement, in 2WD.
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C
TooByFoor said:
For what it's worth, my mpgs are around 15, after 4000 miles and after installing a CAI at 3200 miles which gave me an immediate +1mpg boost. Just got 15.3 after running 230 miles on the highway.
Click to expand...
Right a cold air intake can really give you a couple of extra MPG if you are looking to save money on a gas. There was a small research on fuel savings with CAI in this article: Can an Air Intake System also Increase My Fuel Economy?
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johnj said:
From what we're sharing in the forums right now, we seem to be about 1-1.5mpg lower than other Ram models with the same engine, and that aren't raised up so high and running such large tires. That's the price we pay for the look and feel we get.
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My window sticker says I paid for 15/21...
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