1986F150Six Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Well, I am back from the 2018 Garagemahal Ford Truck Show [what a great time to be had by all who attended!!!]. I attended in 2017, but due to mechanical problems with my truck, was unable to drive it. I decided to update this older thread by including the gas mileage for this year in the same format as before. Since the previous listings, the distributor has been replaced with a NOS Motorcraft Duraspark distributor which was recurved by a man I have come to know through another forum. He asked if I might be interested in slightly better performance and gas mileage, but would be required to use 89 octane gasoline. I agreed and the static timing is @ 16* BTDC. [edit 9/19/18; I contacted the man who recurved the distributor and can now provide the following: 20 degrees @ 2800 RPMs + initial [16*] = 36 degrees. Vacuum is 10 degrees.] This year, I decided to drive to get there as quickly as possible and drove the speed limit or with the traffic flow [faster]. Instead of my "normal" tank-by-tank description, I am going to provide the overall average for the approximately 1200 mile trip as compared to the previous 3 years. 2014 55-62 mph with no aerodynamic modifications = 21.93 mpg [highest tank = 23.26 mpg] 2015 55-62 mph with aerodynamic modifications = 24.13 mpg [highest tank = 25.72 mpg] 2016 55-70 mph [weighted towards 65-70] with aerodynamic modifications = 22.05 mpg [highest tank = 23.46 mpg] 2017 Missing data due to having driven another vehicle. 2018 65-75 mph [closer to 75] with no aerodynamic modifications] = 19.87 mpg [highest tank = 21.3 mpg] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 David - It certainly was FUN! Such a good turn out, including from our international members. As for your MPG, here are my observations, which are based on the 2015 #'s as they should have the majority of the engine changes - right? Driving ~10 MPH, or about 15%, faster decreased the average MPG by 8.6% and the high tank by 8.8% Driving ~15 MPH, or about 24%, faster decreased the average MPG by 17.7% and the high tank by 17.2% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 David - It certainly was FUN! Such a good turn out, including from our international members. As for your MPG, here are my observations, which are based on the 2015 #'s as they should have the majority of the engine changes - right? Driving ~10 MPH, or about 15%, faster decreased the average MPG by 8.6% and the high tank by 8.8% Driving ~15 MPH, or about 24%, faster decreased the average MPG by 17.7% and the high tank by 17.2% Speed kills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Speed kills! Yuppers! But you got home at 5:30 and Chris got home at 9:15. I wonder who got the best MPG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 Yuppers! But you got home at 5:30 and Chris got home at 9:15. I wonder who got the best MPG? Which engine spun the most? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Which engine spun the most? Same bore and stroke, but 33% more cylinders. And the one with 1/3 more cylinders spun about 1/3 more revs per mile. Hmmmm, I'm getting a faint, fuzzy picture here. Wonder how much oil he used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 2015 55-62 mph with aerodynamic modifications = 24.13 mpg [highest tank = 25.72 mpg] What are the aerodynamic modifications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 What are the aerodynamic modifications? For 2015, I covered the grill, except for just in front of the radiator, with roof flashing. The headlights and turn signals were covered [flush] with Plexiglas. A section of foam weather stripping was placed between the radiator support and the closed hood, closing off the gap. The passenger mirror was tucked in next to the door. The original steel wheels were covered using 1980 Cadillac full wheel covers. The tires were @ ~38 psi and the bed was covered using heavy cardboard. In 2016, the headlights and turn signals were covered as before. The foam strip was used to seal the gap between the radiator support and the closed hood. The passenger side mirror was again folded next to the door. The wheels were replaced with alloy [less weight] and the tires were inflated to ~38 psi. The bed was covered using heavy cardboard. Up front was an innovative way to reduce wind drag by using a split cardboard tube [ask Chris Tubutis about this!!! ] https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-20160917_184951_1__9ff480b0d8c43050df3101ed633e536cd2f53338.jpg Check the results and you will see that these modifications did have a positive effect in increasing gas mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 What are the aerodynamic modifications? For 2015, I covered the grill, except for just in front of the radiator, with roof flashing. The headlights and turn signals were covered [flush] with Plexiglas. A section of foam weather stripping was placed between the radiator support and the closed hood, closing off the gap. The passenger mirror was tucked in next to the door. The original steel wheels were covered using 1980 Cadillac full wheel covers. The tires were @ ~38 psi and the bed was covered using heavy cardboard. In 2016, the headlights and turn signals were covered as before. The foam strip was used to seal the gap between the radiator support and the closed hood. The passenger side mirror was again folded next to the door. The wheels were replaced with alloy [less weight] and the tires were inflated to ~38 psi. The bed was covered using heavy cardboard. Up front was an innovative way to reduce wind drag by using a split cardboard tube [ask Chris Tubutis about this!!! ] https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-20160917_184951_1__9ff480b0d8c43050df3101ed633e536cd2f53338.jpg Check the results and you will see that these modifications did have a positive effect in increasing gas mileage. Excellent work. I love MPG mods. Are you running anything below the front bumper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted September 20, 2018 Author Share Posted September 20, 2018 Excellent work. I love MPG mods. Are you running anything below the front bumper? My truck came with the tiny air dam which was supplied with some models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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