What a difference

[ExpeditionAndy]

Yea I’m happy with the way mine is sitting now it’s achieving 17-18 MPG in 4A with mixed driving. I don’t have that many stop lights. The 5.4 is plenty powerful for me it’s faster than any old Malibu or standard sedan and the thing weighs 6,000 pounds. In 4A I’m pretty sure the hubs are locked to the front CV Axles so when power is needed it can be sent in the fly quickly. This means you have more drag since your cv axles have to spin with the wheels.

Best I ever did in the 05 on a trip was about 16 MPG right after I got it when it had 119K on the clock and then it went down hill from there.

 

[bsevans5]

You guys must have magic fuel. I drive fairly conservatively and average 13-16 depending on how much highway travel is in there.

 

[Boose]

gotta love the ecoboost!

 

[fuzzmanmatt]

My 2007 5.4 I can milk just over 21 out of it on a 100 mile drive, but in the city I get between 12-14, depending on how many times I get angry on my commute. The Lucas in the fuel sure makes a difference in my head, but not really a lot in the real world.

 

[dmm5157]

Wow! In city driving, I get around 13mpg and I drive very gently in my 2007 5.4L. Highway and trips I get up to 21 mpg.

I'll need to remember to change my air filter when I get back from my work trip.

 

[Boose]

My 05 wouldn't see 20 unless it was down hill with a tailwind... I can't wait to take a 17 on a ride. I rented a 17 over the summer on vacation as a loge term test drive. I saw 24 on the highway as an average. The ecoboost is the difference. I do miss the V8 sound though...

 

[Axle Folly]

Resurrecting this old thread as I catch up after a long hiatus.

In 4A no power is sent forward until rear slippage is detected. It’s rear wheel drive until the system detects a problem. I believe the only way in which it’s armed in auto is the Hubs are pulled in and locked.

The newer rigs (like my 2017) function a bit different than this. I used to have the same perspective as Jeff:

Yes, running in 4A uses more fuel than not but I didn't buy a 4WD truck to drive around in 2wd so I leave it in 4A. How it uses more fuel, I don't know.

until I scrolled to the off-road screen to watch the power distribution between axles and see what Ford's computer magic was doing under my feet. My bubble was quickly burst.

What I saw when traveling straight on dry pavement was power distribution of about 2/3 RWD and 1/3 FWD. The increased fuel consumption could be attributed to the increased losses/efficiency involved in driving both axles. Granted, if I am traveling straight on a roadway with patchy slick spots, that could be worth the trade-off of traction vs. fuel economy.

Unfortunately, when turning a corner in 4A, the computer sends ZERO power to the front axle and you are back to driving a RWD vehicle.

Until I did that little experiment with my off-road screen while on bare pavement, I was under the misconception that driving in 4A was as good or better than 4H. Now I know how wrong I was. As a result, I rarely use 4A - certainly never if I know I'm in slippery conditions!

If you would generally power through a corner in 4A thinking all your wheels are driving - danger - think again! In 4A, it is not until AFTER you begin slip that the front axle would kick in - and not gently! Until then, find a safe patch to drive on, scroll over to your off-road screen that shows power distribution and check out how your rig is programmed to handle before the season changes.

I think 4A offers a false sense of security. Proceed with caution: 4A is NOT 4x4!

 

[jeff kushner]

That's a good point AF....it's not 4WD however I know in the two older Expy's I had, 50mph was the max for 4hi and it was not recommended for dry pavement so that might be the reason most of us run in 4A? Dunno......but JE is getting some KA mileage out of the Beast 5.4...!!

jeff

 

[coolzzy]

I just did 1400 miles of highway driving in my 17 EL, with the cruise set at 80mph and an occasional run to 90 for passing rows of semis (don't panic, posted speed limit out west is 80mph). I returned a hand calculated mileage of 21mpg even though the computer was saying 19.8 most of the time. I was loaded with 5 people and gear piled nearly to the ceiling with half my third row folded down and temps ranged from 85-104. I ran premium for half those miles and 87 for the other half I saw no difference in mpg between the two octanes.

It's amazing that a 7k+ pound (it weighs 6500 with just my wife and I and a half tank of gas) vehicle hurtling down the highway uphill and down at 80mph can still achieve over 20mpg!

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

It's amazing that a 7k+ pound (it weighs 6500 with just my wife and I and a half tank of gas) vehicle hurtling down the highway uphill and down at 80mph can still achieve over 20mpg!

I had to read this twice. The first time I misread it as "7k+ pound (it weighs 6500 plus my wife and a half tank of gas)." I was thinking "Wow, that's a large woman!"

 

[jeff kushner]

That's pretty funny ....I don't care who you are.....

 

[nightfly]

On my third trip back and forth from NJ to AZ. If I keep my foot off the pedal and let the cruise control do the work, I can eke out about 20 to 21 mpg by staying out of traffic (drive at night and off peak hours, eat and rest during rush hours around cities), at between 75 and 85 mph. My Garmin GPS also helps by rerouting me around traffic and construction; best purchase I ever made. It talks to me, I talk to it. I rarely touch it. Yell voice command and then DETOUR a couple of times, and it gives you one. I had a 660 for nearly 10 years, and that one was pretty good before it died, but it didn't have voice command. The new one is light years better.

Don't trust the dashboard MPG thingy. It's wrong. I calculate my mileage by miles and how many gallons I put in. That's the only accurate way. My dash tells me I'm getting between 15 and 16. Real world calculations are several integers higher.

 

[chuck s]

This is always a guess and inexact science. Miles and refill gallons isn't any better than the computer since it's impossible for we mere mortals to fill the tank to the same point every time, hence we're only guessing how much fuel was burned. And the volume of the tank changes with temperature and pressure.

Heck, look at the gas can you use with your lawn mower. Unless you can see the level mark thru the plastic you can't fill that the same way twice.

Anyone believe the tank holds exactly 28.0 gallons?

-- Chuck

 

[Plati]

....Anyone believe the tank holds exactly 28.0 gallons?

-- Chuck

I've put 31 gallons in my EL before.
I believe the specification for the EL is 33.5 gallons

 

[chuck s]

The LB (Lane Bryant) version (AKA EL) claims to hold 33.5. Exactly 33.5 gallons, of course.

-- Chuck