I own a 99 f250 "GAS GUZZLER" sorry super duty, has anybody heard of chipping it so its gets better mileage? I have been reading about a thing that plugs into the OBD plug and it sets the fuel air ratio, but they said it was a scam. With gas prices now I am trying to get better mileage.

 

I think that we have all “heard of” all sorts of chips, tunes, devices and black magic that promise to increase MPGs on these heavy gas powered trucks, unfortunately the real world results just don’t match the sellers claims……..ever. The only way to increase your mileage is to drive smarter with the mileage in mind, easier on the skinny pedal, and a little slower on the highway are the most efficient fuel stretchers for these trucks. If you find that a lot of your miles driven really don’t REQUIRE the trucks capabilities it might be worth doing the math on getting a second more economical car for those miles. My last few trucks have done about 14 MPG at their best and I was doing 35/40 miles a day commuting plus all of the local running around to stores and entertainment, so several years ago I decided my Excursion was only truly needed for our towing and infrequent large group travel needs. I bought a crusty ‘94 Geo Metro and drove it for 3 years before the rust finally killed it, but I found it did the bread and butter miles just fine at 60 MPG and the big Excursion was going to last a lot longer in great shape for the important TT towing chores. After the first rusty Metro fell apart I lucked into a very clean, low mile rust free one that needed a single part to get it running correctly, then I was back to that 60 MPG for the boring miles. Keeping good records of fuel used and dollars spent on this Metro I tracked it and marked as it paid for itself with fuel savings over the 14 MPG truck, then it paid for the first Metro, then it paid for the little Winter daily driver I got to save the Metro from salty death, an ‘01 Suzuki Vitara ( it gets about twice the mileage of the truck) and the fuel savings from them both covers their insurance costs which are low because of their age. Depending on your usage, unloaded miles driven, willingness to drive a toy car, and finding a cheap good solid economy car the numbers can work out in your favor, but of course, it’s really not for everyone.

 

In normal times don't know if it would pay to have another vehicle for better gas mileage, when you consider purchase price of said vehicle, licensing fees, insurance, taxes etc, but in high gas price times think it does work. My wife has a Toyota Corolla that does 40 mpg highway, and i have a 4 cyl Tacoma that averages 25 mpg, that is my daily driver. Only time i use the gas guzzlers is when I need to pull a trailer or haul a heavy load. Do keep some seafoam in the V-10 truck, as it does like to leak from the injectors and cause problems. Luckily found that seafoam takes care of that.

 

You guys don’t know what expensive gas is. I just filled my truck yesterday $245 cdn. Or 7.25 / us gal. And price is still climbing!

 

Only a fool owns a heavy duty truck and complains about gas mileage.

-- Dave

 

WE3ZS, and others:
While I agree having a fuel efficient car in the stable is nice,
however, when I see rear ended little cars on the roadways, and in my mind's eye,
I always feel my life is worth a lot MORE than the opportunity to save money on my fuel bill.

And what about a front end collision?
Or a side impact collision?
The human body is fragile, and lives can be shortened.

In our bigger rigs our chance of a spinal cord, life altering, injury is less than driving an ECONO BOX.

Carry on.

 

The cheapest and most effective add on would be a chunk of 2 X 4 or some other such item bolted directly under the gas pedal. Anything else is just a gimmick. I.E………a change in driving habits will do more than anything else.

 

You did not post what engine, gearing, tires etc your truck has or what your current mileage is to determine if you have a normal baseline. That said the best way to increase economy is to cover tune up items, Air filter new? how about sparkplugs? less that 25K? Has the MAF been cleaned recently? Exhaust in good shape and free flowing? are your O2 sensors under 100K? Following the tune up items, raise the cold tire pressure at least 5psi above the number on the door sticker, but don't exceed the max pressure on the tire sidewall, then drive gently, slowly, & conservatively. Use the least throttle you can to accelerate, keep your RPM's low (under 2K is ideal) and drive 55-60 MPH, basically the no fun grandpa style of driving. If you do all of the preceding, you will be surprised how much you can improve your fuel economy and, if you are anything like me, how much you despise driving for economy. Good luck, Russ

 

OP,

Driving habit is about the only way to improve your mileage in these trucks. That's assuming your truck is in good running order with no issues and you're not driving around with 1500 lbs of extra sand ballast in the truck bed like I do in winter.

Drive it like there is a raw egg on the gas pedal and you don't want to crack the shell. Keep your top speed down. The difference in mpg between running highways at 55-60 mph and running at 75-80 mph is substantial. Don't put a big lift kit on it and run crazy sized tires.

That's about all you can do. The rest is smoke and mirrors and lies to trick you into spending money on useless gizmos.

 

This is a F-ing stupid saying. Fuel economy matters in EVERYTHING. Especially trucks that are driven a lot of miles. The savings of 1 mile per gallon can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

This is exactly why trucking companies fight for every fraction of MPG they can.


Back to the topic at hand, I agree with everyone else. You have to drive it conservatively. You might squeeze out 15-16mpg on the highway. But average will probably be around 13 mixed driving. Less if towing is involved.

Getting a small car to drive around for errands will be beneficial in more ways than just fuel savings. Maintenance costs are lower, and they drive so much easier. For the first 10 years of my driving life, I never drove anything smaller than a F100. Spent a lot of time in Super Duty seats. Never understood what a hassle it really is to get around in a full-size truck. Then my wife comes along with a puny little Kia Rio and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. That little car zips around anywhere and averages over 30mpg. Gets 40+ on the highway.

 

A lot of the headstones at Arlington have KIA on them

 

Fuel economy is the only thing that little car has going for it. There's nothing else that's appealing lol

 

Totally agree. driving ar lower speeds on highway dramatically increases economy

 

This I can totally agree with.

After driving company issued vehicles for 10+ years, two years ago I opted for the company vehicle allowance. This allowed me to drive the truck (11mpg) or buy a commuter vehicle. I chose to buy a Hyundai Tucson and it has been a great a commuter/grocery getter/kid hauler. It gets 25mpg (over a 17k mile average) so it's a definite improvement at the pump. But, the real advantages are that it's easier to park in downtown Seattle, rides much smoother than the truck and has a lot more bells and whistles. Maintenance costs nearly nothing and I can buy a set of 4 tires for less than what 2 truck tires costs. It has been a great daily driver and has saved me more than $1k in personal fuel costs (company pays for commuting fuel).

But, there is nothing like driving the truck!