Increased Fuel Economy, Am I Crazy?

[newbury]

Not as drastic as your experience. Ran Motorcraft 5w20 Synthethic blend from new till this spring in my 17 Ford Escape. Switched to Mobil 1 Extended Performance Full Synthetic 5w20 and my mileage went from 27.7 to 29.9, a gain of 2.2 mpg more per gallon mostly local driving. On a trip of 300 miles the difference goes to 3.0 more per gallon. Almost 10% difference just by changing oil brand in same weights.

"Synthetic Blend" in Motorcraft has been shown to be poor compared to Full Synthetic Motorcraft.
Check out Bob is the Oil Guy it's on there somewhere..

 

[Hay Dude]

I don't doubt you at all. I am just at a loss of what it could be.

I would think it could just be getting broken in real good, too.
My Cummins was a little underwhelming on fuel economy when it was new & tight. Now it has 60,000 on it and gets better MPGs than ever.

I’m not one to perseverate over fuel economy as I just need a truck that can get the job done

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I would think it could just be getting broken in real good, too.
My Cummins was a little underwhelming on fuel economy when it was new & tight. Now it has 60,000 on it and gets better MPGs than ever.

I’m not one to perseverate over fuel economy as I just need a truck that can get the job done

That is entirely possible from what I hear.

As far as economy, it is my primary transportation, but I put it to work to pay its own payment and a little pocket money. So, I pay a little attention to the fuel economy.

 

[dodge man]

When it comes to fuel mileage it’s sometimes tough to separate reality from a fluke. You get some kind of tailwind and get great fuel mileage and think it was the oil, gas, bug deflector, or bed cover you put on.


It’s proven that synthetic oil and gear lubes can improve your fuel mileage. But how much? I’d say less than 0.5 mpg and probably more like 0.1 mpg. Probably the only thing an average person can do to improve their fuel mileage is tires. There are tires that get better fuel mileage but of course are a pure road tire. Once again probably not even a 1 mpg increase.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

When it comes to fuel mileage it’s sometimes tough to separate reality from a fluke. You get some kind of tailwind and get great fuel mileage and think it was the oil, gas, bug deflector, or bed cover you put on.


It’s proven that synthetic oil and gear lubes can improve your fuel mileage. But how much? I’d say less than 0.5 mpg and probably more like 0.1 mpg. Probably the only thing an average person can do to improve their fuel mileage is tires. There are tires that get better fuel mileage but of course are a pure road tire. Once again probably not even a 1 mpg increase.

I hear what you are saying and have had that experience most of the time. Although I messed up my milage way worse than the .5 MPG with big tires when I was younger.

Right now though my "fluke" is going on 3,000 consecutive miles. I'm leaning toward it braking in, cooler weather, and better oil combined.

 

[EddieWalker]

I bought my 2012 F150 with 5.0 gas engine brand new, and I've done every oil change at 5,000 miles with Motorcraft Synthetic blend 5w-20, Motorcraft oil filter and air filter. Walmart keeps them all in stock!!!

Right after I change my oil and filters, my mileage goes up. Normal is 15.5 and it will go up to 16.5 or even hit 17 for a little while, but then it works its way back down to 15.5 mpg.

A year or so ago, I had to drive to Dallas, and I was curious about Ethanol Free gas, so I filled up with that before the 4 hour round trip drive. It's 75 mph each way with some areas that where slower, some stop and go traffic in the DFW area, and maybe some areas where I might of gone a little faster. My fuel mileage hit 20 mpg!!!

I thought I had found the secret for better mileage, so I kept buying the super expensive Ethanol Free gasoline, but once back in town, and running around for work, it went down to 17 mpg, or even a little lower. When I did the math, it wasn't worth the extra cost to buy it, so I'm back to using the cheapest gas at the station.

 

[Paystar]

I've had my truck for several months now and have put 15,000 or so miles on it. I got it with around 25,000 miles and am up to about 42,000 now. The whole time I've had it I've gotten around 16.5 MPG empty and around 12.5 on an average hauling trip. I had the dealership change the oil until it got out of the 36,000 mile warranty and I did my own at around the 40,000 mark. Immediately after changing the oil my unloaded average is up to a little over 19mpg and my haul has bumped up to a little over 15mpg. I took an unloaded trip with my wife that was about 600 total miles and we got almost 22mpg. Seems rather odd to me? I used Rotella T6 and an Autozone K&N filter. The immediate change makes me think the oil caused better fuel economy but I have never heard of that before. What say you?

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On my VW Tiguan2.0 turbo and F150 5.0 litre, I saw a 1 US MPG increase when I started doing my own changes and using Petro Canada Supreme Synthetic 5W30 over all my past dealer services.
Obviously no scientific proof, just going by dash display.

 

[garry1p]

My Honda was getting around 27.4 for over 50,000 miles with OEM tires.

Had Michelin Defender tires put on and now 26.4 over 10,00 miles. However; the Defenders hold the road a lot better in wet conditions.
A loss of 1mpg will add up over time but the Defender rides better.