Gas Mileage on 5.3 V8 engine on a 4x4

[Wiggums]

I'm into hypermiling. Most times, my gas mileage is better than EPA's. Rarely, it's not.

 

My 2004 Audi A4's EPA had 30 mpg highway and my average was 36 after over 1,000 miles despite 20% being city. Then it was a new 2008 Benz C300 that supposedly got 26 mpg according to EPA but I could barely get 24 out of it. Tires were properly inflated, but other owners said that it was common. A lousy 177-hp V6! The Audi had 170-hp. I learned not to trust the EPA numbers. I suspect they use soccer moms who keep both feet on both pedals simultaneously.

 

Then I had the new 2012 Ford F-150 4x4 with a 365-hp V8 that got me 22 mpg on the highway, not too bad since EPA's estimate was 19 mpg highway. When I got a new 2016 with the same V-8, with the power slightly increased at 385-hp, my gas mileage average was initially 20, but dropped to 17 after I added a shell on it. I thought a shell would help but a lot of forums didn't agree. I didn't use the computer, I measured the gas since Ford's tend to be around 5% to 8% optimistic while Chevrolet's is usually spot-on (that was what I read and have been told).

 

The 2019 Silverado supposedly has the lowest wind resistance of all the pick-up trucks. EPA numbers show 22 mpg on the highway. My last trip was 28 mpg, not bad for a 355-hp V8. I don't think the engine revs at over 1,500 whilst going 60 mph. I am almost sure I can do better than 28 mpg because about 10 to 20% of that was in stop and go traffic. I am not adding a shell for sure, don't want to mess it up.

 

I thought the Z71 package would make the gas mileage worse with the slightly more aggressive tires since wind resistance is a big factor. Getting 28 surprised me, I'm very happy with the fuel economy. I am old school, am still leery towards small quad-turbo charged engines. I read about owners disabling the troublesome active fuel management which resulted in almost no difference in gas mileage, but since Chevrolet did a lot of quality control on the 2019 dynamic fuel management, I don't expect that to be a problem.

 

Has anybody achieved better gas mileage? No going downhill, just on a flat surface going 60. Just about everybody who doesn't own one or doesn't watch the gas mileage would say a tonneau cover helps, but Mythbusters disagreed, along with several who own trucks with tonneau covers.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Wiggums

[Controller23]

You never got 28mpg in a v8 Silverado. Would someone ban this ****ing troll?


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[Wiggums]

Okay, just added one more to the ignore list. Sorry if you can't handle criticism very well. I posted a legitimate safety-related concern and you couldn't dish it.

 

Frankly, if you can't get 28 mpg out of yours, perhaps it's your driving habit you need to look at. Or maybe you're some 15-year-old Chevy fanboy in the basement who's never driven one?

For your reference, that was the picture I took... but you're still going to be ignored. Go back to that Kool-Aid. Yum, right?

 

 

[aseibel]

My best ever 25 mile number was like 25.6 mpg, and that was in ideal conditions: summer gas, exactly 60 mph, flat terrain, no stopping at all for 25 miles, calm conditions through mostly heavy trees.

I think I once hit a similar number on the freeway doing 70 mph, but that was with a tail wind.

 

Its very hard to do much better than that in a rolling brick. My average fuel economy per tank is more like 17-18 in winter and 19-20 in summer. I have 3.42 gears. Anybody posting MPG results should state their gears and what speed the trip occurred at. Since those are huge variables in predicting fuel economy.

 

Its easy to get exaggerated numbers for a short trip if wind or slope is in your favor. If anyone wants to get a real result, a full round-trip should be recorded.

Edited March 20, 2019 by aseibel

[Wiggums]

I am sure we're still using winter gas here in California which is stupid since it doesn't snow here. I am a little anxious to see what the result would be when we start using summer gas along with breaking in the engine. I had to look up the specs, it's RST with Z71 and doesn't have the Max Trailering so I'm sure it's 3.23. Aerodynamics plays a huge role, especially when hitting 50 mph or above. I read that Chevrolet really cut down on wind resistance on their rolling bricks and I believe it.

 

A 1 mph difference can mean a big drop in gas mileage, especially at highway speeds. That's why I rarely exceed 60. Doesn't get windy here in California. I had mine set for 50 miles and when I said stop and go.. it was more like letting off the gas, never hitting the brakes then it was a ramp that went downhill for a little over a mile. I took that picture at a stop light about 2 miles later. I'm the kind of driver that rarely hits the brakes when it's not necessary. I can't stand the thought of bringing that massive 5,000 pound boulder back to 60 mph especially after a wasted brake. That's why I usually leave quite a bit of distance between me and people in front of me.

 

I haven't done enough driving to see the bigger picture though, but, still, 28 mpg is impressive for a V8. I still have only 360 miles on it. I can't really move it around because I am at the coveted parking spot on my street and we fight like dogs over it.

[Grumpy Bear]

Richard, there is what the DIC is telling you is your mileage and there is the hand calculated average over at least six tanks that will educate you to the fact that your DIC is lying by roughly 8-10%. It is woefully happy. That said and accounting for that even a 25 mpg six tank average would still indeed be impressive. My wife's Terrain will show 27 mpg over the 450 mile setting but deliver only 19 mpg. I'm sure GM thinks this is funny somehow but I'm not laughing when they are lying and doing so with intent to deceive. 

 

Nice to have a new truck though, right? 

[CmackR56]

I've not even come close to your mileage and I try to hypermile as much as possible. Not only can the practice yield great fuel mileage, it saves wear and tear on your vehicle. I drove a Yukon XL 200K+ and replaced the brake pads at 180K and they still had over 50% wear left. My two previous F150 Ecoboosts would squeek  out 24+ mpg on flat ground in the summer. My 19 5.3 4WD Denali w/3.23  gear looks like it'll make low 20s. I live in rolling hills and in combo driving, I've yet to top 18 mpg on a tank full. OBTW, I always hand calculate and my DIC has shown about .1 mpg less than calculated. Both my F150s were 1.5 mpg happy.

Edited March 20, 2019 by CmackR56

[Wiggums]

No doubt, the new truck is nice. I'll tell you that. I buy new trucks every 2 or 3 years because of the insane resale value and the incentives from dealers.

I was told Chevy's trip computer would be more accurate than Ford's. On my Ford, I had to hand calculate it, was kind of hoping that wouldn't be the case. The hilly terrain near my home is indeed a mileage killer and I absolutely HATE braking going downhill. I always shift it in L and set my gear at 2. It's that steep - about 2 miles long. Very annoying. And when I'm driving back up home that damn hill, I have to watch the mpg gradually drop... 28, 27, 26, 25... little parts of me die. That's not something I'd take a picture of. Still, 28 mpg in a relatively flat terrain without braking and going 50-60 is better than the others I've driven.

 

Pads at 50% after 180k is damn impressive. I don't think I've ever changed brake pads on any one of my cars, but then again, I don't keep them long.

 

I had the V8 in my Ford, many EcoBoost owners reported similar gas mileage as the V8's even though EPA said Ecoboosts would get better gas mileage. My 2012 F-150 with the V8 got 24 mpg too, but that would be during long trips from Orange County to Vegas and I'd go over 80 mph downhill, 45 mph uphill. I try to keep my foot in the very same spot, that's one way I yield the best gas mileage. I will not let off the gas if I'm going downhill.

[OnTheReel]

The DIC in the 2019s is actually almost spot on. Many members on here and TFL have hand calculated and found it was within a few percent, sometimes optimistic, sometimes pessimistic.

 

We all know the older ones were silly at times but these I pretty much trust. There’s no reason it wouldn’t be accurate with all the data the truck gets nowadays.

[bshort]

I never look at fuel mileage.  Fill er up and drive. 

[Wiggums]

24 minutes ago, OnTheReel said:

The DIC in the 2019s is actually almost spot on.

 

The pre-2018 owners say otherwise. I know two with 2019's and, for them, it was spot on. So that would mean my 28 mpg is fantastic. If my F-150 showed that to me, I'd assume around 24.

[CmackR56]

Strangely enough the error on my F150s was pretty much linear. if it read 22.5 it would hand calculate about 21 or so. Pulling a trailer, if it read 14, it would calculate about 13.7 My GMC reads spot on, I mean to the hundredth, when towing my boat the DIC will read a couple tenths less than it calculates out to be.

[Limelight]

I've been getting around 18.5  mixed driving- around 22 on a trip through the mountains- lots of steep long hills.  I'm pretty impressed with that. 

 

I have yet to be able to go a full tank without getting into it at least a few times though, lol  Can't wait to get an exhaust on this thing.

[Wiggums]

I haven't even filled the first gas tank and don't think I'll be driving it much since I now have that coveted parking spot on the street and my neighbors will take it from me if I dare move it. It'll be there for weeks. As is with Ford, almost all of my driving is in the desert on a flat surface.

 

When I managed to get 28 mpg on the computer of the F-150 V-8, it was a 4:00 a.m. camping trip to Ocotillo Wells which is mostly flat and I went 40 to 50 mph all the way. Driving it the same way back, I went back to the same gas station to the very same pump and was disappointed it was actually 24. Although that was the best gas mileage I could possibly get on the Ford V-8, I'm now averaging 25 mpg with a slightly more aggressive driving so I'm very pleased.

 

I am almost sure I could achieve 30 mpg if I were to repeat that trip. I guess Dynamic Engine Management really works, but then again, those who had Active Engine Management reported no difference in gas mileage after deactivating it. Could be a marketing gimmick, like the auto/stop feature, it doesn't do squat to the gas mileage! Ford made that standard too, unfortunately.

 

Is there a way I can make the Dynamic Engine Management more aggressive? I rarely floor the gas pedal and don't even accelerate hard. I don't even need 355 horses. After all, I used to drive my old man's huge F-250 SuperCrew with a massive 6.6 V-8 engine that made only 150 hp. Still, it hauled boulders, wood, trailers, all sorts of stuff!

[Wiggums]

Going downhill, I seem to recall somebody complaining that the Silverado would brake instead of downshifting. I was unable to duplicate that on my truck but I sure would not want it to brake especially when I don't want it to!