5.0 with 3.73 gears

[kevdog0710]

Yesterday I towed a little 5x8 uhaul enclosed trailer 444 miles and I fed my thirsty little beast $115 dollars of gas and had to fill up again this morning for another $65 or risk running out when I took the trailer back.

I don't check mileage because there's no point in my opinion. If the truck is running right and you are getting crummy mileage what are you going to do? Trade it? No. The 5.0 with 3.73 is too much fun.

I've never reset the average display and yesterdays adventure drug it down to 17 something from over 18 something calculated by the truck.

Driving down interstate 80 around 71-73 mph it was dropping below 15 according to the truck.

I have a 2 door shortbed 4x4.

For some reason Il was charging $3.69 a gallon while next door in Iowa it was only $3.19.

I agree with you for the most part. I do like to make efforts for better economy when I tow, but as long as the trans is happy I'm good.
I had a thread about a 1000 mile trip I took at Thanksgiving. From PA through Virginia I got about 7-8 mpg. South of Virginia I almost doubled. I assume the flatter highway helped, but I wonder if there was also less winter additive that helped?
My camper is about 6500 dry.

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[fordhouston]

even though the 3.73 axle takes a hit on my 5.0L V8 fuel economy, i f*cking love it!
hell i wish they even offered the 3.92 axle like my Ram 1500 has.

 

[Djlee1592]

I've got a '21 SCREW 5.0 with the 3.73 gears. Just about to cross the 10k mile threshold. I don't do a lot of highway. Small town with a lot of stop signs and street lights. I don't hammer the truck but I give it some gas when I want to hear the V8. Current real world MPG is 15.8

 

[HammaMan]

3.73 gives your trans an easier time doing whatever you're asking it to do. It puts more torque down to the ground, but has to shift faster. If you're someone that likes to go larger tires, or might even consider doing it, going with the larger ratio helps to offset the workload the engine and trans have to put up with.

If you're a non-towing highway cruiser, the lower numerical value provides you better mileage. If you're regularly carrying payload and or like a responsive truck, the higher ratio is your choice. I'm surprised that ford still offers ratios below 3.55 with the 10spd being a component. The overdrive gearing can offset the ratio while cruising, while still allowing higher torque to the ground.

4x4 powerboost's only gearing option is 3.73 w/ locking rear - I was pleased to see it.

 

[kevdog0710]

3.73 gives your trans an easier time doing whatever you're asking it to do. It puts more torque down to the ground, but has to shift faster. If you're someone that likes to go larger tires, or might even consider doing it, going with the larger ratio helps to offset the workload the engine and trans have to put up with.

If you're a non-towing highway cruiser, the lower numerical value provides you better mileage. If you're regularly carrying payload and or like a responsive truck, the higher ratio is your choice. I'm surprised that ford still offers ratios below 3.55 with the 10spd being a component. The overdrive gearing can offset the ratio while cruising, while still allowing higher torque to the ground.

4x4 powerboost's only gearing option is 3.73 w/ locking rear - I was pleased to see it.

This guy isn't looking into mods. His focus is on travel trailer towing and regular driving.
He doesn't care about my experience with 3.5 eco and 3.55 gears even though I have a larger camper than he does. .

 

[HammaMan]

3.55 and 3.73 given the number of gears the truck has are both more than adequate. at 80mph w/ no trailer my 3.5 truck w/ 3.73s does 19 / 20 mpg. The hybrid does nothing for mileage at those highway speeds.

 

[jz777]

I have a 22 5.0 3.73 SCREW 5.5, don’t do any real towing though. I average 16-19 combo city/hwy and I don’t baby it. But once on a trip from PA to upstate NY, I experimented and actually drove the speed limit the entire trip using the cruise. I went through the entire tank of gas and averaged 25 mpg. I don’t think I’ll ever try that again, it was killing me not to step into the throttle! lol

 

[Rockman5159]

I have a buddy in the market for a new truck, he isnt interested in my setup, which is SCrew, 6.5 bed, max tow, 3.5 with 3.55 gears. He wants the 5.0 with the taller gears. Does anyone have any real world fuel economy experience to share?
Thanks in advance.
For the record, my truck tows like a beast. Fuel economy is OK when I run premium fuel and keep the speed reasonable.

I was looking for 3.73 but only found 3.31 on dealer lots in February, I was very surprised by this 4th generation 5.0L and bought the 3.31. I was also likely more budget oriented just graduating college last year, so I just knew I wanted the 5.0L and a locker for my key options. Just food for thought as I went in with the attitude 3.73 or nothing, until the test drive. Only 3.73 were like $70,000 trucks that I found. The 21+ 5.0 Ford changed the power curve with a lot of new variables and it gets into torque sooner than last gen, so it doesn’t feel soft in the low end like the older ones I’ve driven. I tow my 20 foot open bow boat and steel roller trailer which is about 4,000 pounds with fuel and gear. That’s about it for my towing ventures.

If he hauls heavier than that then I’d say the 3.73 may be a good option to go for, but the 3.31 is no slouch with 410 lb ft of torque thrusting through it either.

I have a 2021 rcsb FX4 XLT with 5.0 and 3:73 gears and it is totally awsome. Great towing power and MPGs are way better than expected from 18 to 21 mpg

 

[Carbon_21F-150]

I have a 21 5.0 with the 3.73 I get 24mpg-26mpg cruising between 72-75mph

 

[kevdog0710]

I have a 21 5.0 with the 3.73 I get 24mpg-26mpg cruising between 72-75mph

Going downhill with a strong tail wind?!

 

[bgalakazam]

Interesting. I have the 3.31, always ran US equivalent of 91 premium (95 here, E10). I do get slightly better MPG with 95 E5, but price is not worth it. City is 14-16, but usually 14-15 in cold days, highway since the higher limits is 19-20. I did achieve 24 highway when staying below 70, which is not really possible here. All hand calculated at pump.

Also, at 10th gear, it's already pushing RPMs up past 65mi/h. I wish there was a better overdrive for the 10th. Keep 1-9 the way they are but make the last gear really efficient. And with 3.73 10th is similar to 9th on 3.31 if I am not mistaken. So how you hit those 20+ mpg above 70 is beyond me. Unless you have a SCrew or RWD?

 

[kevdog0710]

Interesting. I have the 3.31, always ran US equivalent of 91 premium (95 here, E10). I do get slightly better MPG with 95 E5, but price is not worth it. City is 14-16, but usually 14-15 in cold days, highway since the higher limits is 19-20. I did achieve 24 highway when staying below 70, which is not really possible here. All hand calculated at pump.

Also, at 10th gear, it's already pushing RPMs up past 65mi/h. I wish there was a better overdrive for the 10th. Keep 1-9 the way they are but make the last gear really efficient. And with 3.73 10th is similar to 9th on 3.31 if I am not mistaken. So how you hit those 20+ mpg above 70 is beyond me. Unless you have a SCrew or RWD?

I have just over 11,000 miles on my 3.5 eco with 3.55's. I did get above 24 according to the trucks calculations one time. That was during a 60 mile highway drive in light traffic. Average speed was right around 60mph. As soon as traffic cleared and I got back to normal speeds, around 70-75, economy immediately dropped to about 19.

 

[Carbon_21F-150]

Going downhill with a strong tail wind?!

When it was stock I was getting 21-23mpg Highway but when I installed aftermarket exhaust and s&b cold air intake it jump up to 24-26mpg

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