I finally hit 200 miles on a single tank of gas in my truck

Been driving a 1998 Ford F150 for about 5 years now. Always thought I was doing okay on gas, maybe 150 miles per tank if I was lucky. Then last month I decided to try keeping my speed under 65 on the highway and aired up my tires to the max psi listed on the sidewall. Ended up hitting 204 miles before the light came on. That extra 50 miles saved me about $12 per fill up, which adds up fast when you drive to job sites every day. Has anyone else found that just slowing down a little makes that big of a difference in their offroad rig?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciacarr14d ago

Dude same here. I got a 2005 Tundra and started keeping it under 60 on the highway. Went from like 180 miles per tank to almost 220. It’s wild how much just easing up on the gas pedal saves.

shane_wilson14d ago

Got that same gut feeling when I started doing it with my old Chevy Silverado. I used to just cruise at 75 on the interstate thinking it saved time but man the gas gauge drops like a rock. Dropping down to 58-60 mph made such a difference I figured I was saving a solid 15 bucks a week which adds up fast when you commute. And honestly you don't even notice the extra few minutes if you got a good podcast going. Plus the engine and transmission seem happier not screaming along at high RPMs all day. It's crazy how much we overthink fuel economy when the simplest trick is just backing off the gas pedal a bit.

-1

christopher7132d ago

My 2015 F-150 gets about the same mileage whether I'm doing 60 or 70, maybe 1 or 2 mpg difference. I tried the slow lane thing for a month and barely saved $6 a week, which wasn't worth the extra 15 minutes each way. Not to disagree @shane_wilson but maybe it just depends on the truck because mine doesn't seem to care that much.