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Power wagon fuel range

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Alexpw2500

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What fuel range are you guys getting on the Powerwagons im only getting 270 range on a full tank ive tried everything and cant get it to go higher
 
Try driving with a lighter foot?

It’s a 31 gallon tank but has a large “reserve” (fuel remaining after fuel light comes on). I don’t think I’ve ever put more than 28gallons in even when I thought I’d run it pretty low…typically I put 24-26 gal when it’s “empty”.

So assuming 25gallons to empty (leaving plenty of reserve)…270 miles, you’re averaging 10.8mpg.

On 35s, I average about 11 in the winter (winter blend fuel, truck takes longer to warm up, more idle time)…which would be 275 miles. In the summer I average 12.5-13…so about 320 miles. Road tripping I do even better…about 15mpg…375mi.

A heavy foot and city driving are the biggest killers with this truck I’ve found.

That said, it is what it is. It’s a huge 7000lb truck with 6.4 L V8 4.10 gears and 35s…It’s never going to be great on fuel. But considering lifted Jeeps with bigger tires don’t do much better but are far less comfortable, less powerful…I can tolerate it
 
I took delivery of my PW on 7/16/22 and it currently has 265 miles on it. Averaging 7.5MPG right now. I knew it was going to be bad but I didn't think it would be this bad. I've read that the MPG may increase as the engine breaks in, which I am really hoping for. I have yet to take it on the highway, so I know that all this city driving isn't going to magically get much better. I also lifted the front 1.5" (Thuren springs) and have 37" tires on it. Going on a 3,500+ mile road trip in September. Hoping to see 13MPG+ during that.

And on a side note, the truck seems very shaky and hesitant in lower gears and lower speeds. I watch the RPMs and those don't jump around so I assume its either MDS kicking on/off and/or trans related something. Today I've been driving around with MDS off (gear selector used) and that seems to have eliminated that, but not entirely sure yet. I've read that turning MDS off, for city driving, can actually improve MPG. But that does not apply to HWY driving.
 
kennyarsen said:
Yes, used a ProCal Snap to make those changes. I thought it was going to get better, seems to have gotten worse since.
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That's stupid low lol. 37's RIP
 
I've got 37's on mine; and for the first several thousand miles I got under 9MPG. around 5,000 Miles it bumped up to around 10, and now I'm getting around 11 as I just past 11k miles.

I've gotten as low as 8 on a fill up a couple times. The most recent was all city driving under 10 mile total trips. The highest I've gotten was 15mpg, 100% highway with a tailwind but driving from lower elevation to higher.

I've tried to baby it at times, and not at all others. It seems to only make a difference of about 1mpg for the tank ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
UNifc6pF said:
I've got 37's on mine; and for the first several thousand miles I got under 9MPG. around 5,000 Miles it bumped up to around 10, and now I'm getting around 11 as I just past 11k miles.

I've gotten as low as 8 on a fill up a couple times. The most recent was all city driving under 10 mile total trips. The highest I've gotten was 15mpg, 100% highway with a tailwind but driving from lower elevation to higher.

I've tried to baby it at times, and not at all others. It seems to only make a difference of about 1mpg for the tank ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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So I just started turning MDS off, via gear selector, and that seems to be making a huge difference. I just started doing this yesterday. I also put 91 in yesterday, only because the gas station I went to only had 87 & 91, no midgrade (89). Not sure what the main catalyst is, since I made two changes within the same timeframe. I commute 14 miles to work and back, which has been enough to move the fuel gauge needle every day. But after fueling yesterday morning, driving to work, driving home and back to work again, the needle still sits at full. When I started my truck this morning, range was 204. Upon arriving at the office, after a 7 mile drive and a ton of stop lights, range was 207.

I suspect shutting the MDS off is a bigger catalyst than the 91 fuel. But whichever it is, I was very happy to see this. I am still just under 300 total miles on the truck, but I will continue this and hopefully see my avg. begin to climb a bit.
 
I've gotten anywhere from 10 to 15 MPG on the highway. All depends on how I'm driving and the speeds I'm driving at.

I've also seen anywhere between 6 and 10 MPG in the city. Again all depends on how I'm driving.

Got almost 20K on the truck now and rolling on 35's set at 45/37 PSI.

Higher octane gas just means the fuel charge burns slower and helps prevent detonation.

MDS should only be kicking in when you are on flat level ground at a constant speed with little power required from the engine. So turning it off with the gear selector probably doesn't make much of a difference.

Tire pressure on the other hand can make a difference as the more pressure, the less contact patch you have on the road, hence less rolling resistance.

With only 300 miles on the truck, everything is still stiff and not settled/worn in.

Bottom line for me anyways is it's better mileage than I was getting in my F250 or my built K5 Blazer. ;)
 
Crusty old shellback said:
MDS should only be kicking in when you are on flat level ground at a constant speed with little power required from the engine. So turning it off with the gear selector probably doesn't make much of a difference.
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With my exhaust, I can here with the engine goes into eco mode. It does it WAY more then the dash light shows. And it will do it very often - which can be very annoying hearing the exhaust bounce back and forth without much of a change in RPM.
 
I find cruising at 70mph or 2000 rpm gives the best MPG. but that is open road hwy. I drive about 14 miles to work on hwy / through town at 25-55 and average about 11mpg. If I go the long way on the hwy at 60 -70 the lie-o-meter averages about 14mpg over the week. She definitely likes to run on open hwy vs the city/town stop and go.
 
UNifc6pF said:
I still don't believe it.
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I ain't making it up, I am not going to lose any sleep over you not believing it...lol.. that is highway mpg and average mph was 68mph. some times I was going 75mph sometimes 60mph but 400 miles divided by 5.888 hours is 68mph. actual hand figured was just a tinge under the trucks computer.
 
UNifc6pF said:
With my exhaust, I can here with the engine goes into eco mode. It does it WAY more then the dash light shows. And it will do it very often - which can be very annoying hearing the exhaust bounce back and forth without much of a change in RPM.
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I don't even have an exhaust and could tell when the MDS was wanting to kick in, but the dash light wasn't illuminated. Lots of shuttering/hesitation and shaky. After a full day of driving around with MDS off, I am 100% convinced that it is terrible, for city driving, in regards to MPG. My total estimated range today only dropped 7 miles and I drove over triple that. All of the other days, when MDS was left on and the same amount of miles were driven, my range would drop 3X-5X more than the miles actually driven.
 
Maybe there is something wrong with your MDS.
Mine comes on and goes off and I dont even notice. And I removed my resonator so it's a little louder than stock.
And I get what I figured I'd get for MPG.
 
Crusty old shellback said:
Maybe there is something wrong with your MDS.
Mine comes on and goes off and I dont even notice. And I removed my resonator so it's a little louder than stock.
And I get what I figured I'd get for MPG.
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Ditto i can not tell when mine kicks in. My green eco light comes on but nothing i can feel.
 
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