FORD V10 MPG

[1Hurrican]

Thanks for all your input. For a starter I am going to do a cold air system, upgrade the exhaust to a performance type, get a tuner, and look into the Airtabs, semi truckers reviews are saying they reduce drag increasing there MPG. I have seen a couple on coaches, but not able to talk to the owners. Any other suggestions.....

 

[BGMAC]

All I can say is do your research. I haven’t heard about airtabs till now. If they do so well we’d see them everywhere I would think. I did a little search on the exhaust and found the original exhaust works pretty well. Not much gain on the hp version. Too pricey as well. I figured, the money spent on the exhaust could go towards the 1 or 2 miles per gallon savings. Now the reprogramming was worth it for the better shift point making things much more comfortable along with a little fuel savings. I have not done it with my 2016 yet because it has a newer transition with an additional gear and it shifts pretty well. Cold air intake may bring noise levels up. I know it did in my pickup if I put any throttle in it. You could hear the air getting sucked in.

Just things to watch out for.

 

[sanda]

All the testing I've seen on Google shows no advantage with CAI but they do make more noise if your into that.

 

[Rich W.]

All the testing I've seen on Google shows no advantage with CAI but they do make more noise if your into that.

A lot more noise. On my 2010 E450 it was so loud under full throttle you could barely talk over it.

 

[1Hurrican]

I opened up my air intake. The one thing I noticed when on the highway is the transmission held it's high gear longer with out shifting down. Not long enough to record MPG.

 

[Rich W.]

I opened up my air intake. The one thing I noticed when on the highway is the transmission held it's high gear longer with out shifting down. Not long enough to record MPG.

That was one of my goals - to reduce the constant down shifting and make it pull a little longer on a higher gear on grades. With 5 star, Banks, and a free-flow intake (forget which one) I made some real progress, but when running full throttle up a hill the intake was loud.

 

[1Hurrican]

That was one of my goals - to reduce the constant down shifting and make it pull a little longer on a higher gear on grades. With 5 star, Banks, and a free-flow intake (forget which one) I made some real progress, but when running full throttle up a hill the intake was loud.

With those upgrades what was your MPG increase?

 

[DennisT]

We added a 5 star tuner to the E450 V10 we recently traded in.

As mentioned for advantages, easier to control downshift on grades etc.

We also had an increase in mpg after install - about 10% is what we saw with no other mods in play. We run between 60 and 65 on the highway normally.

From 7.7 towing our toad to 8.5 isn’t much but did make a difference for us. That was measured across the same route and about the same conditions before and after.

 

[Joe Hogan]

The Canyon Star, using Prem Fuel and quality synthetic oil, averaged 6.7 mpg over the last 25K miles. Typically the RV was at max weight, 30,000 lbs, towing a sedan on a dolly. We traveled coast to coast and border to border several times.

 

[Little Bitty Zitty]

Thanks for all your input. For a starter I am going to do a cold air system, upgrade the exhaust to a performance type, get a tuner, and look into the Airtabs, semi truckers reviews are saying they reduce drag increasing there MPG. I have seen a couple on coaches, but not able to talk to the owners. Any other suggestions.....

When I first got my Georgetown, it got about 6.5mpg at 55 mph. I made some modification to it and now get 8.5 to 9 mpg at 70 mph on my last trip of 2500 miles. I drive the same route a couple times a year to our "GO TO PLACE. "

First I did a cold air intake, a simple scoop at the front grill, directing air thu a dryer vent metal flex pipe to the intake of the stock air filter.

Secon, and the greatest improvement, was to shorten the exhaust pipe. Mine crossed over after the muffler to the driversders side from the passengers side. It now exits at midway on the passenger side. No increase in noise and about 10 foot of pipe and 100 lbs. I have also noticed less downshifting on steep grades, which I am smart enough not to be concerned about dropping speed down to 45 to get over in an attempt to keep the engine RPMs as low as possible. Remember your engine develops max Horsepower at about 4500 RPM, but it sucks a lot of gas.

Third was an filler between the front grill and radiator support at the bottom of the radiator and an air dam below radiator cross member. othe front bumper, this improves air flow thru the radiator and, I believe, reduces front end air resistance. (not wind tunnel tested).

Make sure tires are inflated to 85 psi. Lastly, plan your trip to avoid long steep grades if possible.