Wild powerboost numbers?

[erixgix]

Folks have covered the aggressive driving angle / tow angle pretty well. The other big factor i’ve noticed is your mileage can really dive with particular speed / load combinations no matter how gently you drive even with help from the electric drive.

I was seeing some unexpected numbers and starting driving with the instant mpg meter on over a combination of rural roads and city driving. all done gingerly, no cargo.

There seemed to be a correlation with higher gear low speed lugging as it cut in and out of electric that saw the meter hanging close to 10-12 mpg while barely touching throttle to maintain 35-40 mph in 8th gear. Same driving habit around 60 mph see the meter hang around 26 - 30 mpg as it cuts in and out of electric in 10th. Tells me you don’t need to drive aggressively for it to swill gas and lugging may get high fuel demand an spool the turbos more so than more ‘purposeful’ driving at higher speeds.

Getting stuck behind someone on a 35 mph backroad mostly on trailing throttle seemed to be the worst case scenario for me.

In the end, I think it’s really hard for folks to compare numbers, too many environmental variables and conditions that can’t need accounted for. Those reports of avg 26 mpg may be largely be attributable to certain goldilocks driving conditions on top of gentle driving habits.

Sponsored

 

[Snakebitten]

"Those reports of avg 26 mpg may be largely be attributable to certain goldilocks driving conditions on top of gentle driving habits."

No doubt, except the gentle habits. I am not a hooligan (often) nor a hyper-miler. I just drive with the flow of the faster lane.

For me and the 2 Powerboost trucks I've had so far, both have overall per/tank mileage averages so close to the EPA rating that I could never complain.
But having said that, it's remarkable how horrible a coldstart short trip/errand (<7 miles) performs VS the return trip with a warmed up motor.

If my daily commute to/from work was a short one, I would still love my Powerboost for all the REAL reasons I purchased it. But because of the specific commute I have and the mixed conditions that it includes, my truck is a dead ringer for what Ford said that I could expect. 23-24mpg on 93

21.5-22.5 on 89

Have yet to test 87

 

[darioa]

I have taken my PB up the mountains and I drive down mostly on electric, unless I get on the highways. My last 77 trip from the mountains was 45% electric miles and I got 36.8 MPG. I could see towing a trialer up averaging 10-11 MPG and coming down to average less than 20 mpg.

 

[Snakebitten]

Perfect example of short errand/trips.

Had to go to Ace Hardware. Rural roads.
If this had been a coldstart trip it would have been a dismal 15-16mpg.

But it was a fully warmed up truck, so it's these kinds of samples that prop up the tankful average in the EPA 23mpg area.

 

[spiritrider1]

There are so many variables and everyone will have their 'methodology' of how to drive their PB. That being said, I'll share my experiences, cuz I can!
I have a 'relaxed' driving style, I don't gun the engine, I let the truck creep a couple inches before applying throttle (no jackrabbit starts), etc. But I run the speed limit +5 on average. Most of my local highways are 70mph. I drive a 25.8 mile trek each way to and from work M-F in regular rush hour traffic. 75% (approx) of that is highway. The rest is neighborhood & city streets of 30-45mph.
I always set Trip 2 from the time of an oil change and monitor the long-range average. Trip 1 is reset every fill-up, again, to monitor performance of that tank. I've used the Feully app since my '18 2.7 Eco 2wd STX which gave me 21.2 mpg overall lifetime average doing the same driving. My current '21 XLT 4WD is averaging 22.0 mpg lifetime with a 'best' tank of 23.8 and a worst of 14.2 (trailering through the hill country of Texas with a piano). If I never hauled or idled I'm almost positive my lifetime average would be closer to the 'best' tank.

To comment on the OP's initial question: Looking at my "Trip 1" readings, I have 492.4 miles on a tank and it says 91.5 of those were electric. It also calculates 250 miles to empty. Knowing that my current computed overall average (Trip 2) is 21.4 mpg based on calculated evidence (Feully) and that we have a 30.6 gallon tank in the PB's, I should get 654.84 miles from a full tank. If I run this current Trip 1 tank dry, theoretically I should get 742.4 miles. Subtract the 654.84 result from above (overall average) leaves a 87.56 "surplus". Note that my dash currently shows 91.5 electric miles! Thus, I deduct that the trip computers are giving us a "hybrid" mpg (LOL!). But truthfully, the range is augmented by the distance covered while the engine is off which is what helps a non-hybrid just the same if you were coasting down a very long downhill grade. You are not going to discount the fuel savings in your calculations. So, what you see is what you are getting.

I concur with those who say efficiency is poor while the engine is cold. The average starts low and improves over the length of the drive (depending on speed, idling, towing, etc. of course). Alternately, I can hyper mile to the corner store and make it almost all the way with electric alone and get something silly like 38mpg... but we all know that's not possible in any normal circumstance.
So, to tie a bow on this stumping - I'm very happy with the mileage I get in a heavy 4WD full size truck that is smooth, quiet, and powerful when I feel like ripping down a country road. It's a lot quicker and more powerful than my old 2.7 AND I get better mpg. Win-win.
Oh, and by the way, my trip computer is within .2mpg of calculated on almost every fill-up. I calibrated the AFE bias in engineering mode. It's simple and I've shared instructions numerous times but am kind of baffled that no one ever comments about it. Has anyone else calibrated theirs?? It's irritating that Ford ships them set at a default AFE value of 1000 from the factory, regardless of axle ratio and tire size. Both my trucks were 1.2 mpg 'optimistic'. I currently got my 4WD at 963 and it's almost spot on.

 

[waphilips]

There are so many variables and everyone will have their 'methodology' of how to drive their PB. That being said, I'll share my experiences, cuz I can!
I have a 'relaxed' driving style, I don't gun the engine, I let the truck creep a couple inches before applying throttle (no jackrabbit starts), etc. But I run the speed limit +5 on average. Most of my local highways are 70mph. I drive a 25.8 mile trek each way to and from work M-F in regular rush hour traffic. 75% (approx) of that is highway. The rest is neighborhood & city streets of 30-45mph.
I always set Trip 2 from the time of an oil change and monitor the long-range average. Trip 1 is reset every fill-up, again, to monitor performance of that tank. I've used the Feully app since my '18 2.7 Eco 2wd STX which gave me 21.2 mpg overall lifetime average doing the same driving. My current '21 XLT 4WD is averaging 22.0 mpg lifetime with a 'best' tank of 23.8 and a worst of 14.2 (trailering through the hill country of Texas with a piano). If I never hauled or idled I'm almost positive my lifetime average would be closer to the 'best' tank.

To comment on the OP's initial question: Looking at my "Trip 1" readings, I have 492.4 miles on a tank and it says 91.5 of those were electric. It also calculates 250 miles to empty. Knowing that my current computed overall average (Trip 2) is 21.4 mpg based on calculated evidence (Feully) and that we have a 30.6 gallon tank in the PB's, I should get 654.84 miles from a full tank. If I run this current Trip 1 tank dry, theoretically I should get 742.4 miles. Subtract the 654.84 result from above (overall average) leaves a 87.56 "surplus". Note that my dash currently shows 91.5 electric miles! Thus, I deduct that the trip computers are giving us a "hybrid" mpg (LOL!). But truthfully, the range is augmented by the distance covered while the engine is off which is what helps a non-hybrid just the same if you were coasting down a very long downhill grade. You are not going to discount the fuel savings in your calculations. So, what you see is what you are getting.

I concur with those who say efficiency is poor while the engine is cold. The average starts low and improves over the length of the drive (depending on speed, idling, towing, etc. of course). Alternately, I can hyper mile to the corner store and make it almost all the way with electric alone and get something silly like 38mpg... but we all know that's not possible in any normal circumstance.
So, to tie a bow on this stumping - I'm very happy with the mileage I get in a heavy 4WD full size truck that is smooth, quiet, and powerful when I feel like ripping down a country road. It's a lot quicker and more powerful than my old 2.7 AND I get better mpg. Win-win.
Oh, and by the way, my trip computer is within .2mpg of calculated on almost every fill-up. I calibrated the AFE bias in engineering mode. It's simple and I've shared instructions numerous times but am kind of baffled that no one ever comments about it. Has anyone else calibrated theirs?? It's irritating that Ford ships them set at a default AFE value of 1000 from the factory, regardless of axle ratio and tire size. Both my trucks were 1.2 mpg 'optimistic'. I currently got my 4WD at 963 and it's almost spot on.

I calibrated he AFE bias in my last truck (2015 2.7 XLT FX4) and found out the hard way that when the DTE says ZERO you are out of gas. no more 30-50 mile reserve.... too easy to keep track of true mileage manually.

 

[Snakebitten]

My hand calculated mileage can vary by a little more than 2/10ths, but not much more. And I've had it be pessimistic and optimistic. I don't need it to be more accurate than it is. I'm actually impressed.

However, I don't ordinarily let the truck get empty. I like to fill up while at least 100 miles are left. (estimated) These in-tank fuel pumps are cooled by the fuel they sit in. I figure ~5 gallons still has the pump submerged adequately?

 

[talespin]

I’ve been thinking about switching to a Powerboost (from an Ecoboost). The generator capabilities are super attractive. So I checked out this used Powerboost and noticed what seem to be wild numbers for MPG and electric vs gas miles. Almost 40% of the miles were electric but the MPG is 18.9… am I crazy or does that mean they only averaged 10ish MPG when using the gas engine? And is it realistic to have that high a percentage be electric miles? I feel like I must be missing something obvious…

maybe they were doing a lot of towing? But then they wouldn’t get such a high percentage of electric miles?

 

[talespin]

I’ve been thinking about switching to a Powerboost (from an Ecoboost). The generator capabilities are super attractive. So I checked out this used Powerboost and noticed what seem to be wild numbers for MPG and electric vs gas miles. Almost 40% of the miles were electric but the MPG is 18.9… am I crazy or does that mean they only averaged 10ish MPG when using the gas engine? And is it realistic to have that high a percentage be electric miles? I feel like I must be missing something obvious…

maybe they were doing a lot of towing? But then they wouldn’t get such a high percentage of electric miles?

I have a Powerboost that I got last Nov and now have 9900 miles on it and my average MPG is 24.9.
I would suspect this person is driving in the city with lots of stop lights, lots of starts snd stops where the constant acceleration is driving down the milage becaus I’ve occasionally experienced similar numbers in that circumstance…….talespin

 

[spiritrider1]

My hand calculated mileage can vary by a little more than 2/10ths, but not much more. And I've had it be pessimistic and optimistic. I don't need it to be more accurate than it is. I'm actually impressed.

However, I don't ordinarily let the truck get empty. I like to fill up while at least 100 miles are left. (estimated) These in-tank fuel pumps are cooled by the fuel they sit in. I figure ~5 gallons still has the pump submerged adequately?

Quite true. I try to do what the TFL guys do and count off a number of seconds after the first click of the nozzle, then squeeze in just one more, stopping after the second click. Who's to say how much fuel just went in? But it's as accurate as can be without graduated cylinders and "calibrated" pumps. (And no, I don't trust the gas pump calibration stickers)
I haven't tempted the 0 miles remaining on the truck. But I have on my old Audi and when it says "0", be prepared to pull over just about immediately... Don't ask how I know.

 

[Madman]

My hand calculated mileage can vary by a little more than 2/10ths, but not much more. And I've had it be pessimistic and optimistic. I don't need it to be more accurate than it is. I'm actually impressed.

However, I don't ordinarily let the truck get empty. I like to fill up while at least 100 miles are left. (estimated) These in-tank fuel pumps are cooled by the fuel they sit in. I figure ~5 gallons still has the pump submerged adequately?

@Snakebitten -

Since the warm weather returned, I have consistently been getting over 700 miles per 30.6 gallon tank in my Powerboost.

Here’s a pic of my dashboard at my last fillup. (No towing, mostly in eco-mode commuting to/from work.) The truck said it got 25.1 mpg but my hand calculated mileage was closer to 24.9 mpg. For a truck? Yet another way I continue to be impressed with this truck!

 

[thudnblunder]

I was kinda shocked at the numbers I got today.

I’m trying to learn how to drive more efficiently and I’m still on my first tank of gas so there’s a ways to go. This trip was mostly 45-50 mph with rolling hills and no big climbs or descents.

I wonder what mileage would be like with 5x battery capacity (not a big deal - 7.5KWh wouldn’t be a huge pack) and say a motor 2-3x stronger. I’m in California so lots of hills, the included pack can’t really store the energy of a long descent, and the motor isn’t strong enough to climb hills without the gas engine kicking in.

 

[Snakebitten]

I've been monitoring the SOC of the Hybrid battery for a few days and I'm finally starting to make a bit of sense of the programming strategy. It's far from simple charge-discharge.

If Ford would add that pid to the instrument panel, I'm convinced it would result in improved mileage for many folks.

Sponsored