Fuel economy at 70-80 mph?

[johndeerefarmer]

Anybody got any data yet on fuel economy at 70-80 mph? If so what trim level and rear diff?

Thanks

Sponsored

 

[ilbastarge]

Anybody got any data yet on fuel economy at 70-80 mph? If so what trim level and rear diff?

Thanks

Don't forget the GOAT mode in use too.

EDIT: the difference in my Expo is 3-4 mpg depending on mode.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Don't forget the GOAT mode in use too.

EDIT: the difference in my Expo is 3-4 mpg depending on mode.

I don't see any noticeable difference in using economy mode in either my F150 or F350 at highway speeds. I haven't tried it for city driving. Sport mode and tow/haul mode use more fuel because they hold the gears longer.

 

[BaseManSquatch]

From everything that I've read 55mph to 59mph is the optimal speed to drive on the highway if you're worried about gas mileage.

There was a study done by the department of energy and they found that on average a vehicle (since they all have different gearing and engine size) will get the sticker advertised MPG at 55mph.

According to the study this is what they concluded.


- 3% less efficient at 60 mph
- 8% less efficient at 65 mph
- 17% less efficient at 70 mph
- 23% less efficient at 75 mph
- 28% less efficient at 80 mph

So basically just take the advertised mpg that's on your vehicle sticker and subtract 28% to get a ballpark mpg figure.

Couple things that come to mind is that I wouldn't feel safe driving 80mph+ in a vehicle like a Bronco that has a high center of gravity in case you have to make a sudden turn to prevent hitting something in the road and end up flipping the vehicle. Also, if you plan on going 80mph why not get a different car that will probably get double the mpg as the Bronco?

Personally from what I've found out driving over the years is that driving 80mph+ is only worth it if you're driving long distances, say Michigan to Florida, then you will save a couple of hours but if you're just driving 10 miles or less you will barely save any time. That's why when I drive on the highway I just set cruise control at 59mph and stay in the right lane.

Couple years back I ran my own study. I work a 12 hour shift and get off at 7pm, I would drive right after work straight to the gym. I did about 85mph to see how long it would take me to drive 25 miles and then the next day I did 55mph ( this is all 95% highway). I found that the couple of minutes I saved was not worth the hassle of driving like a race car driver.


Here in MI no one drives the speed limit, especially on the highway. You have people doing 85mph+ all the time, it's like a race. On Woodward people are doing 60mph in a 45mph zone. I don't get it.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

From everything that I've read 55mph to 59mph is the optimal speed to drive on the highway if you're worried about gas mileage.

There was a study done by the department of energy and they found that on average a vehicle (since they all have different gearing and engine size) will get the sticker advertised MPG at 55mph.

According to the study this is what they concluded.


- 3% less efficient at 60 mph
- 8% less efficient at 65 mph
- 17% less efficient at 70 mph
- 23% less efficient at 75 mph
- 28% less efficient at 80 mph

So basically just take the advertised mpg that's on your vehicle sticker and subtract 28% to get a ballpark mpg figure.

Couple things that come to mind is that I wouldn't feel safe driving 80mph+ in a vehicle like a Bronco that has a high center of gravity in case you have to make a sudden turn to prevent hitting something in the road and end up flipping the vehicle. Also, if you plan on going 80mph why not get a different car that will probably get double the mpg as the Bronco?

Personally from what I've found out driving over the years is that driving 80mph+ is only worth it if you're driving long distances, say Michigan to Florida, then you will save a couple of hours but if you're just driving 10 miles or less you will barely save any time. That's why when I drive on the highway I just set cruise control at 59mph and stay in the right lane.

Couple years back I ran my own study. I work a 12 hour shift and get off at 7pm, I would drive right after work straight to the gym. I did about 85mph to see how long it would take me to drive 25 miles and then the next day I did 55mph ( this is all 95% highway). I found that the couple of minutes I saved was not worth the hassle of driving like a race car driver.


Here in MI no one drives the speed limit, especially on the highway. You have people doing 85mph+ all the time, it's like a race. On Woodward people are doing 60mph in a 45mph zone. I don't get it.

Nobody drives at 55......... if you do you will get ran over..


On our long drives from TX to CO driving at 55 instead of 80 would take me an extra 3 hours or so, so that isn't happening either

Finally your data on fuel economy drop at speeds is worthless because the EPA doesn't test at 55mph any more so you can't just use the EPA rating and subtract 28%

My F150 EPA highway is 21 mpg
I get 18.5 mpg @ 80. This is a 12% drop

If this held true for a Bronco Badlands
EPA highway 18 mpg
-12% gives 15.8 mpg

 

[hozer]

Nobody drives at 55......... if you do you will get ran over..


On our long drives from TX to CO driving at 55 instead of 80 would take me an extra 3 hours or so, so that isn't happening either

Finally your data on fuel economy drop at speeds is worthless because the EPA doesn't test at 55mph any more so you can't just use the EPA rating and subtract 28%

My F150 EPA highway is 21 mpg
I get 18.5 mpg @ 80. This is a 12% drop

If this held true for a Bronco Badlands
EPA highway 18 mpg
-12% gives 15.8 mpg

I'd be amazed if the Bronco did more than 15mpg at 80mph. It's way too boxy for it

 

[mpeugeot]

Personally from what I've found out driving over the years is that driving 80mph+ is only worth it if you're driving long distances, say Michigan to Florida, then you will save a couple of hours but if you're just driving 10 miles or less you will barely save any time. That's why when I drive on the highway I just set cruise control at 59mph and stay in the right lane.

You do realize that much of I-10 in Texas are 75 MPH or 80 MPH zones. I would be quite happy going faster than that in my F-150 and I would certainly expect that the Bronco would handle well enough to do the same... This isn't a Jeep (which I have also seen approaching 80 MPH on I-10 - but it is a struggle).

I'd be amazed if the Bronco did more than 15mpg at 80mph. It's way too boxy for it

My 2011 3.5 liter F-150 with 230k miles averaged 14.9 MPG at 88.1 MPH average speed from Corpus Christi to San Angelo last weekend (closed course, professional driver, etc). I would expect the Bronco (in non-SAS OBX trim as I ordered it) to do slightly better than that.

 

[Razorback]

Nobody drives at 55......... if you do you will get ran over..


On our long drives from TX to CO driving at 55 instead of 80 would take me an extra 3 hours or so, so that isn't happening either

Finally your data on fuel economy drop at speeds is worthless because the EPA doesn't test at 55mph any more so you can't just use the EPA rating and subtract 28%

My F150 EPA highway is 21 mpg
I get 18.5 mpg @ 80. This is a 12% drop

If this held true for a Bronco Badlands
EPA highway 18 mpg
-12% gives 15.8 mpg

Except for the ridiculous "Safety Corridor" in New Mexico. Most worthless section of asphalt any where...

 

[Silver-Bolt]

In my Raptor the difference between 70mpn and 80mph is about 3mpg. At 70 or below on the highway I can manage 19-20mpg. At 80-ish I am right at 17 mpg.

 

[NatureMan]

You do realize that much of I-10 in Texas are 75 MPH or 80 MPH zones. I would be quite happy going faster than that in my F-150 and I would certainly expect that the Bronco would handle well enough to do the same... This isn't a Jeep (which I have also seen approaching 80 MPH on I-10 - but it is a struggle).



My 2011 3.5 liter F-150 with 230k miles averaged 14.9 MPG at 88.1 MPH average speed from Corpus Christi to San Angelo last weekend (closed course, professional driver, etc). I would expect the Bronco (in non-SAS OBX trim as I ordered it) to do slightly better than that.

Are you sure you weren’t driving in mexico?

 

[foremi]

I'm also watching fuel economy reports like a hawk. I get it, it's not aerodynamic and it's a box on wheels and gear ratios but I'm really hoping my 2.7 badlands without sasquatch will be able to be in the low 20s at 65 or so in Michigan's up.

I'm coming from a diesel (2.8L 4cyl) colorado zr2. Its huge, not aerodynamic, longer, heavier and has wrangler duratracs on it and can average in the 30s at 55-65mph.

 

[WuNgUn]

I don't see any noticeable difference in using economy mode in either my F150 or F350 at highway speeds. I haven't tried it for city driving. Sport mode and tow/haul mode use more fuel because they hold the gears longer.

Eco mode won't do shit on the highway. All its doing is softening initial throttle opening as far as I know.

 

[AZMikeL]

My 6.7 F350 sees a significant drop in mileage between 65 and 75 mph. If I keep it at 70 or below, I can get nearly 20 on the highway. Once I go above 70, drops a good 20% to the high 15's.

Reason: at 70+, the truck is pushing enough air to get into the turbo - as soon as the boost gauge lifts off it's resting position, the mileage goes to pot. Not a lot of boost (maybe 5 lbs or so), but enough to trash the mileage (and see the oil temp climb a few degrees too).

I'd suspect that with the aerodynamics of a large refrigerator, the Bronco would get into the turbos pretty soon as well. If I can get 15/16 at freeway speeds, I'll be happy since unleaded is cheaper than diesel here. Speed limits are 65mph in town and 75mph out of town - and then add 10 or so to that number to keep up with everyone else.

My 73 and 67 broncos got around 9 and 11 respectively on the highway, so 15 would be a vast improvement.

 

[Mattwings]

I am averaging just under 20 mpg at 1.2k miles. I have driven between 70 and 80 for short, defined periods of time and see an indication of low 19s at 70 and low 17s at 80. Not scientific, not much history or verified, just indicated on the computer. It has slowly improved from mid 18s to high 19s average. Similar to my last three Fords. (FYI- 2.7 Non SQ Badlands).

 

[NatureMan]

I am averaging just under 20 mpg at 1.2k miles. I have driven between 70 and 80 for short, defined periods of time and see an indication of low 19s at 70 and low 17s at 80. Not scientific, not much history or verified, just indicated on the computer. It has slowly improved from mid 18s to high 19s average. Similar to my last three Fords. (FYI- 2.7 Non SQ Badlands).

Is it true that you got smoked by a ranger? Someone mentioned that in another thread.

Sponsored