CleanMPG Coaxes 32 MPG from Ford F-150 EcoBoost Pickup
Photo courtesy of CleanMPG.com
The hypermiling mavens from CleanMPG.com have completed a 2,500-mile cross-country trip in a 2011 Ford F-150 SuperCrew using just three tanks of gas. They squeezed an astonishing 32.281 miles per gallon from the EcoBoost-powered half-ton.
During our recent twin F-150 EcoBoost road test, we averaged 21 mpg with an empty truck. So how'd CleanMPG wring another 11 mpg from the 365 horsepower, 420 pounds-feet of torque gasoline twin-turbo direct-injection V-6? By driving the most efficient configuration slowly.
CleanMPG drove a two-wheel drive model from California to Georgia with a conservative 3.15 rear axle for maximum fuel economy. That doesn't mean they didn't use the truck like it was meant to be used. There were five adults in the pickup for most of the journey plus a cargo box full of camping gear and supplies that pushed the F-150's gross vehicle weight to 7,120 pounds — 20 pounds over its 7,100-pound GVWR.
Here's a look at CleanMPG's observed Interstate highway steady state fuel economy at different speeds:
- 70-mph – 22.3 mpg (6th gear with transmission's torque converter locked)
- 60-mph – 25.5 mpg (6th gear with transmission's torque converter locked)
- 50-mph – 31.6 mpg (6th gear with transmission's torque converter locked)
- 45-mph – 33.9 mpg (6th gear with transmission's torque converter locked)
- 40-mph – 32.6 mpg (6th gear with transmission's torque converter locked)
Another interesting fact — CleanMPG squeezed 36 gallons of gasoline into the F-150's 26 gallon factory fuel system by following a slow fill approach that utilized all of the gas vapor space in the tank and fuel lines. This required up to an hour to trickle fuel into the truck.
For more details and a full recap of the trip, head over to CleanMPG.
