I'm a serious diesel rookie and am in need of some serious help I'm working with a 2001 Ford F250 7.3L w/ 150k mi. it has an AirRaid intake 5" MBRP exhaust those are the few basics Ive done it has a 8" lift with 37s for the tires now for the tuner or programmer Im very unsure and want some opinions before I start doing anything because Im afraid of destroying something with suspension mods and tire size I dont feel like destroying any trannys or rear ends. I tow a 21' toy hauler for me and my six year old son what do you guys suggest I do to give my 7.3 some more power better fuel mileage you know the basics my pockets arent incredibly deep but I do spend some money on my vehicles and I want a good truck for me thanks for any input you guys can provide anything can help.

 

Before you get a tuner, I highly recomend getting gauges, boost, exaust temp, and tranny temp, you need to watch those, especially with your mods and towing.

 

Welcome to FTE. First, as I'm sure you know, 8" lift, 37 inch tires and towing a 21' toy hauler don't really belong in the same sentence as MPG's, so let's not hope for too much there.

Since the 250 came with 3.73 gears, what kind of rpm's are you turning at your typical towing speed? I'm wondering if changing your gears to keep you in the proper part of the HP/TQ curve wouldn't help with both power & mpg's.

For mods, I'd start with a set of gauges to monitor boost, tranny temp & exhaust gas temp. Then look at a shift kit or modified valve body, an upgraded tranny cooler, then a custom chip. Avoid the off the shelf stuff like Edge, Superchip, etc. A customs chip will give you shift on the fly options as well as different tow and go fast tune options. DP-Tuner is a site sponsor so they get first nod here. Other options include Total Diesel Performance, Beans, PHP, Gearhead, Cale, and a few others.

 

X2----i tried running 3.73 gears with 37" tires, dodnt tow very well so i went with 4.56 gears.. they are a little low but towing is great...4.30 would be close to stock with 37" tires