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Fuel Economy+Ford Diesel - A look at an E350 15 Passenger VanThis particular van was once a Sheriff's van used to transport convicts. It was purchased out of state and driven home cross country. On the return trip at mostly highway speeds, the fuel economy of the Ford diesel 7.3L Powerstroke engine was around 18mpg. Later, this van was modified to run dually rear tires. After this change, the highway fuel economy dropped to around 16mph.
Ford 7.3 Powerstroke Diesel Dually Van It appears that the extra rolling resistance of the additional 2 tires might have lowered the fuel economy of this Ford diesel. In addition, the aerodynamics of the van (whatever little aerodynamics it had!) might have been reduced further by adding the duallies, since the extra tires stick out the sides of the van. Another factor could have been that the size of tires selected for the dually conversion had a slightly smaller overall diameter than the stock tires. All this combined with the very low 4.10 rear axle gears made for less than optimal fuel economy. However, one winter a set of snow tires were put on back of this van. Not dually, but just a single set of snow tires. In this case, the snow tire size chosen was bigger than the original stock tires. As a result, the diameter of the tires and the overall gearing of the van was increased over stock. This higher gearing combined with the single tires out back really helped improve fuel economy. Instead of getting 16-17mpg while highway driving, the fuel economy of this Ford diesel jumped up to 20mpg. Pretty good considering the size of this van. That was the first time this particular Ford diesel van cracked the 20mpg fuel economy level.
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Fuel Economy - Ford Diesel