SLow Rider - DD Beater

Dont forget to start dropping unnecessary weight... my vote is for some 6 - 6.5" wide wheels with some 225's or 235's too
 
this week I got 22.49 mpg with same DD mixed driving. Must have been that can of sea foam I put in mid week :flipoff2:

Really stoked to see what the drop kit does for me now...
 
I'm thinking about going this routs as well, my ol' F-250 w/o A/C gets real old after work 10-12 hour shifts.

Good luck!
 
yager said:
this week I got 22.49 mpg with same DD mixed driving.
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I've got a 7800# 4wd in the driveway that'll do that. What do you have to do to this thing to get good mileage out of it?



:flipoff2:
 
www.eccomodder.com is a good hyper miling site.. basically I drive like gramma.. with the 3.08 gears its not like I can easily do jack rabbit starts anyway.. But I just keep the RPMs down shift as early as possible. Much of this is very easy to do when you drive the same way every single day. Its very easy to work on improvements. You know how each stop light cycles etc.. What speed is needed to pull each hill. I've been driving the same way to Durham for over 10 years.

The other thing is N coasting. Don't engine brake. If your rolling up onto a red light pop out of gear and roll on up. RPMs drop to ~600 during the coast. This really adds up... Decel (engine braking) actually burns a good bit of gas

I did put sea foam in. Figured it couldn't hurt..
 
yager said:
But I just keep the RPMs down shift as early as possible. Much of this is very easy to do when you drive the same way every single day. Its very easy to work on improvements. You know how each stop light cycles etc.. What speed is needed to pull each hill. I've been driving the same way to Durham for over 10 years.

The other thing is N coasting. Don't engine brake. If your rolling up onto a red light pop out of gear and roll on up. RPMs drop to ~600 during the coast. This really adds up... Decel (engine braking) actually burns a good bit of gas
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This sounds a lot like the way they teach UPS drivers to drive their trucks.
 
yager said:
Decel (engine braking) actually burns a good bit of gas
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Manual transmission Fords shut off the injectors on closed-throttle decel. It takes a couple of seconds before it switches over, but you can hear it happen.

One of the problems you're likely to run into swapping in an auto, BTW. Put a C6 or something in, and the damn thing stalls every time you coast up to a stoplight.
 
grnsanddemon said:
This sounds a lot like the way they teach UPS drivers to drive their trucks.
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heheh My pops drove a package car for 30 years ;) I remember him saying all the time the mechanics we always amazed at how well his truck lasted. Some guys just seem to always tear shit up. I think his one truck had the ford 6cyl. He put 300k on a clutch set once. It still wasn't worn out but the metal and rivets finally let loose. Also had 30years safe driving award.
 
ime the v8 full sizes actually got better mileage...my brother had an 89 that he bought with 165k on the clock some ugly body lift and 35s and it got an actual legitimate 26mpg over like a 2 year window...(calculated not with odometer but known mileage..only drove it to from work ever)

but these are decent little trucks...cant bring myself to own a 2wd truck though
 
Update for all the haters ! Still driving truck daily MPG holding 21-22 (pre drop)

3/4 drop kit installed, needs alignment but overall drives good.

Initial impression is much lower wind resistance/drag. Over 40mph I'm noticing less pedal needed to climb small hills on my way to work. Also I can pull OD easier to a lower speed/RPM on the flats.

I topped the tank yesterday so I should have mpg updates next week.

slow_rider_drop1.jpg
 
Try kids, grand kids, and a hobby lol, then you can complain about where the $'s go!
Looks good Mike, beats transforming the van to haul stuff I am sure
 
other thing I'd do is to remove every extraneous piece of equipment. Don't need a tailgate? Lose it. Also, unless you want to give it the "Rat Rod" look, I'd find someone who is building a Rat Rod and see if you can swap for a set of aluminum rims for less unsprung weight as well. Your tool box is probably as light as it can get being aluminum.
 
I've actually confirmed over a several tank period of time that the tail gate position up down or removed did not matter with the previous height. I plan to re-test this again to see if there is any change due to the lower height or rake being more stock like now..

I actually like the stock/rod look :D

I DD this truck 60 miles/day while I didn't do this specifically for mpg I'd be happy to see 1-2 more... I keep a fuel log here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-log.php?vehicleid=4009

I do realize in the realm of lowering vehicles this would be like putting on some 31" on a stock jeep... Big Whoop... But I did do it all my self and replaced all the upper and lower control arm bushings and ball joints during the process.. Some days I'm envious of guys on 31s who still DD their stuff....
 
The folks who dd their bigger tires either have deep pockets, or, don't have far to drive.
I keep driving my Olds for economy. Plus the fact that if you run bigger tires, you will loose on MPG's. The resistance of the larger tire and the difference it will make in gearing, not worth it. lil tires get better mileage too.
Drive it like Granny(no offense Don) and love the savings!
 
yager said:
I've actually confirmed over a several tank period of time that the tail gate position up down or removed did not matter with the previous height. I plan to re-test this again to see if there is any change due to the lower height or rake being more stock like now..

I actually like the stock/rod look :D

I DD this truck 60 miles/day while I didn't do this specifically for mpg I'd be happy to see 1-2 more... I keep a fuel log here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-log.php?vehicleid=4009

I do realize in the realm of lowering vehicles this would be like putting on some 31" on a stock jeep... Big Whoop... But I did do it all my self and replaced all the upper and lower control arm bushings and ball joints during the process.. Some days I'm envious of guys on 31s who still DD their stuff....
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Actually Mythbusters tested pickup trucks with the tailgate up and down and found that at highway speeds, the tailgate up is better because the wind circles inside the bed creating something similar to having a tonneu cover on. Also, they said that running the A/C actually was better than rolling the windows down for wind resistance. Now, around town and at idle, the A/C sucks MPG's. I was referring to the tailgate for the weight of it, not the resistance.
 
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