theres allot of programers out there, although performance is nice gasmileage is what im really looking for. which programmer should i go with and what kind of gains should i expect?

 

Well if its mileage your after, a tuner is probably not in your best interest. While most here have reported a gain, it is so hard to keep your foot out of the "new found" power that its usually a wash. While my standpoint on high flow air filters and intakes remains neutral. (have not used one myself) I can tell you that a simple muffler delete will raise fuel mileage. It is not obnoxiously loud, nor is it as expensive as replacing the entire exhaust. Some other points that have been brought up here were the installation and monitoring of a exhaust temp. pyrometer. To a certain extent, you can alter your driving habits to keep the EGT in a certain range, and it will increase fuel economy. (Gauges are just plain good to have when towing anything, chipped or not) Several threads may spark your interest in what others are doing here to obtain better mileage. Do a search on mileage. Also many tuner wars have been started in this section as well. The 2 most popular are the Predator, and the SCMT which have their own threads at the top of this section, happy reading. The 3 most supported by this forum are the SCT, the SCMT, and the Predator, as well as discounts on any of the above mentioned if you purchase form this site.


Ryan

 

I've looked for one for years that does a good job of this - none of them do. I've always said if you want to make a pile of cash, come up with a programmer that gives you 4-5 mpg better - you'd sell a crapload of them.

 

With diesels you almost always get more mileage with the tuners provided you don't have a lead foot. 4-5 mpg is unrealistic, though some 7.3L diesels did gain that much but it was only because the factory calibration was so poor (for instance, PMT2).

With gas, I can program a tune that will give a significant mileage increase but it requires non-resister plugs/wires and will cause an enormous amount of interference with the radio/cd player. Not worth the headache for 99% of the people out there...

 

Agreed.

2 MPG is realistic in many cases.
Even 1 MPG is great considering the power gains, but 2 MPG is common.

For those who can't keep the heel off the steel....even a wash is a great deal to get all that power and not lose mileage.

 

"For those who can't keep the heel off the steel....even a wash is a great deal to get all that power and not lose mileage."

Agreed, I love mine, anxiously awaiting it's return.

Ryan

 

I just removed my Predator tow safe tune to check milage, I think that I lost 3 mpg when I installed it and that is driving very conservatively trying to stay below 2000 rpm still averaged 14 mpg instead of 16.5.

 

Purchased and installed an SCT tuner on my 2003 6.0L Lariat this year. The truck had about 34,000 miles on it at the time. The performance was great with the SCT tune with the truck empty, but didn't do so well towing. When empty, SCT tuned, the mileage went from 16+ mpg stock, to around 14 mpg with the tuner. I downloaded the stock tune and the truck is back to 16+ empty, and 11-12 towing a 6000# tt.