Friend of mine said he improved his fuel economy by five miles to the gal. by installing a K&N air filter, drilling holes in the bottom of his air box, and replacing the air in his tires with nitrogen. Anyone have any thoughts or has anyone tried this with results? Looking to gain a few more miles per gal. and i will do just about anything. Suggestions????

 

No, that ain't going to happen!
I'm assuming you have a V10, look at my signature for mods.
Before going to 285's and lifting 2 inches.
My gain was about 1 mpg. Or so...
Best you can do is keep your truck maintained, plugs, filters etc.

This conversation with your friend didn't happen to be over a couple of drinks, correct??

 

MPG stories are sort of like fish stories, the truth is usually stretched.

IF he got that much of a gain by doing those two things he either had a VERY VERY dirty air filter to start with or all four of his tires were set to about 4 psi. (or both)

 

Whats your base? What kind of mileage are you getting right now? As was and will be said most mileage boosting products are not really worth it. My bone stock down to tire size Excursion V10 was getting about 14 on a 510 mile trip from Spokane to Seattle area while hauling 6 adults and luggage and I was happy as a clam! I get about 10-11 with mostly town driving. I agree with what has been said though, routine maintenance is key! I havent put a K/N on my Excursion. I had one on my Expedition and didnt notice really any difference except I could clean it instead of replacing it. Also you will get better mileage if you remove the weight from your right foot! It helped me!

-Thor

 

I think your friend has been breathin' 79% Nitrogen!

 

Sorry, drilling holes in the air box allows induction of hot air from the engine compartment, which decreases air density, leading to less power and therefore, less MPG.

My stock air box had two small (1/2") holes in it that I plugged ASAP.

I seriously question the 5MPG gain without knowing where he started. Is this on an Excursion???

 

I bought an SCT 5-Star Tune earlier this summer when we purchased a larger TT. It definitely improved my towing mileage. My previous TT was 5,800 loaded and I averaged 8.2mpg. The new one weighed in at just over 9,400lbs on our last trip. It's also about a foot taller. I am averaging about 8.6 mpg and have seen 9.2 mpg. I never touched 9 mpg with my previous tt.
I have not used the economy tune yet as we only use the X to tow in the summer and short trips to ball games. Mike at 5-Star also sent a Y-pipe with tunes. I am now afraid to install it for fear of losing mpg's.
Oh, almost forgot to mention. The power difference was also night and day with at addition of the 5-star.
Once we put the TT away for the year I will be able to run a few tanks through with the economy tune installed.
Mike told me he would refund my money on the SCT if I was not satisfied.
I doubt you will ever see much more than 1-1.5 mpg difference, but with the V10's, that can be a huge percentage increase.

 

My point is 5 mpg is not a realistic number without major cost.

There are a ton of little things you can do.

Increase tire pressure, remove 3rd row of seats, remove roof rack and so on.

I just feel that a well serviced Ex and a lite foot is the best savings.

 

LivingLarge,
Hope you didn't think I was taking a shot at you. I noticed in you signature that you added a modified Y-Pipe.
I bought one with my 5-star tune but am afraid to add it for fear of losing my gains.

Did you notice any difference in power or mpg's with the Y-pipe?

 

Mine gets 18 MPG and 21 on the hiway.

 

mrad, I cant answer that because i did the headers at the same time. So, yes I did gain more power and a little better mpg with the headers, y-pipe and custom exhaust. Only bad thing is i drive her a little bit more aggressive now cause i love the sound.

I originally had the fear of losing torque, but actually gained in that department.

 

I once got 32mpg hauling my 10k TT up hill with a headwind with AC on...

 

Joe, that's amazing whats your secret?

 

EXv10 your on the wrong forum again, we are discussing the EX, not your snowmobile.

 

18 MPG would be great what's your secret?