I have a 2004 Supercab, 6.5 bed, 5.4 engine, 3:73 gears, 18" factory wheels on Big O Bigfoots, the only Mod I've done so far is to add an Air Raid CAI, I'm not building a "Race Truck" it is a daily driver that only makes it off road for a few hunting trips in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. I would just like a little more get up and go, and a little better milage out of it. I'm considering adding a set of U/D pullies, JBA Cat Forward Shorty Headers, Magnaflow 15821 SI/SO exhast, and maybe the Flex A Lite 270 electric fan kit, would I get the desired results from all of this ? WHat can I reasonably expect for a gain in power and milage out of these Mods ?

 

From what I've seen, the only thing you'll get MPGs from are the UD pullies and E fans.
I've seen 1-2 MPG gains from these.

The headers and better flowing exhaust will give you a few more ponies, but I don't think you'd feel a lot of it (if any), but the truck would sound MUCH better with that combo.

You might get better throttle response from a programer, which will feel like more power, but I've heard they don't do anything, and make the biggest difference in the world....don't know who to believe.

Just take it easy on acceleration.

 

A programmer will make it shift firmer, but no real increases in mileage. It will give you different numbers than the stock numbers on the dash for MPG, but miles divided by gallons gives you yet another number. Best mod for mileage is to put the max air in, that your tires can take, and go easy on the pedal...I gained 1.5 MPG by upping my tire pressure from the cushy 36psi to the max 55psi. Rides a little rougher, but I'm used to it now.

 

Look at all the mods in my signature. I've seen a whooping MPG increase of zero, zilch, nada, nill, none.

I'm going to give the efans a shot so that I unequivocally say that I've done everything possible to increase MPG short of buying a rocket powered winch to grapple other cars.

 

I wonder how long one will expect to get any ROI on all those ex$pen$ive mod$ :-)

Here are a few freebies:
- leave the spare tire at home. My user manual says every 400lbs shed from the truck = 1mpg gain. My spare checks in at 85lbs.
- keep your tires inflated to max allowable pressure to reduce rolling resistance
- no aggressive driving habits... it takes a heck-a-lot of energy to launch a 3-ton truck--can't bypass the basic laws of physics.
- have everyone who rides in the truck go on a diet
- don't haul any junk in the back that you don't absolutely need
- keep the megawatt stereos turned down. That 750W stereo costs you about 2HP of engine power and corresponding gas mileage

I think Truck Trend did a test with a tonneau on a screw some time ago. MPG's actually decreased than without. But in general, other cab configs fared a tiny increase, and that's only assuming you're driving freeway most of the time.

That said, I still get 15~18mpg no matter what I do in my FX4. Not bad considering some smaller SUV's and vans don't do much better. I'll take my truck any day :-)

 

All good suggestions...I won't do any of them but, good suggestions none the less.

If my driving habits aren't aggressive I can't hear my mods over my stereo...and the second I take my spare out I know I'll get a flat whilst driving though the worst part of town...I'm not going to lie, the weight comment hurt a little dude.LOL

 

question... how much fuel can you buy with 1200.00?? thats about the price of a CAI, Tuner, and exhaust... do the math. an extra 2mpg in the form of fuel would go a long way with that 1200 in your pocket...

 

A programmer can increase your mileage. I got my gryphon in the other day (waiting on custom tunes from bill) and with some custom tuning I did my self I am getting around 20 mpg average now (i got around 16.5 stock). It is kinda weird what I did. I pretty much just raised all the shift points and lowered all the converter lock points. Other than a few wot adjustments thats it. I also managed to get mine 1/4 mile time down to a 16.3 from a 16.8 i ran with the canned tow tune. A tuner will also drastically increase your throttle response and it will shift much better.

 

P.S. I have an SCT X-Cal 3, not sure I really care for it at all, and the folks that make custom tunes for them are WAY too proud of their work, I also have a shell or topper on the bed, I average about 13MPG around town, to and from work.

 

I got this idea from my cousin who has an '03 F-250 and tried it out myself. He pulled the muffler out and straightpiped it. He claimed an increase of 2-3 MPG. I did the same thing on my truck (still waiting on new rear exhaust) and went from 14 to 15 MPG.

 

I did all of the typical stuff, CAI, Custom Dyno tune, true duals. I did this to get better performance and those mods increased the performance a lot; it did not result in an improvement in MPG.

The only way to improve MPG that I have seen is to keep the truck below 2K RPM's and get into OD as soon as you can.

Don't take off from lights or stop signs like you are running 1/4 miles at a track.
Try and stay at a consistent speed.
Avoid idling for long periods.

I'll admit I used to drive on the interstate in the left lane at 70-80 MPH,
Taking off from lights, flying down on-off ramps.
What that got me was 14-15 MPG, and in some cases less.
Now I keep it between 55-60 MPH,
I drive like grandpa in the sloooow lane.
Now I'm getting 17.5-18.5 MPG. I have not been able to get 19 or 20 MPG
like some folks are claiming. If all I drove on was the interstate 19-20 MPG might be
possible; however I have to do some city driving so I do not think I will see more MPG's
that I am getting now.

I bought this truck to haul stuff, drive down on the beach and tow my camper, and car to the track. I was not to concerned with MPG and the MPG I am getting now is fine with me.

 

When I first got it, before the CAI and Programmer, I was averaging 10-11 MPG, now it is averaging 13 mpg, so the CAI and Programmer must have helped some, I drive normal, like I said, it isn't a race truck, I don't buy into ANYONE getting 20 mpg out of a similarly equipped truck, I'd really like to see that !

 

I have been doing MPG testing for several thousand miles with a variety of products installed. My driving style is consistent (I'm driving for max MPG) and accurately checked both by the old fashioned method and via the Edge Evo (with tire circ. accurized to the MM). With the products installed as noted in my sig (except the CAI) I went from a mixed city/hwy/rural driving average of 13.8 to a pretty consistent 15.8 mpg. On trips, I can get mid 17 mpgs if I stay at 65 or below. At 55-60 I've gotten over 19 a coupla times but can do 18-plus consistently. Interestingly, if I reset the Edge EVO AMPG at fillups, it matches my calculated miles per gallon almost exactly (at worst 0.1 off, usually dead on).

My truck is probably the worst of the F-150s for MPG potential (longbed, heavy 8200 GVW package, 4.10 gears, etc.). You guys with lighter, shortbed trucks (especially if with a 4.6L) with tall gears should be able to break 20mpg pretty easily if you drove like I do. I ran about two tanks through mildly hottrodding mine and couldn't break 13 mpg (11.5-12.8) in my normal mixed driving situation. How and where you drive will effect mpg the most, for or against. There aren't too many products that will make a major changes in MPG but I'll take the 2+ mpg my current setup is giving me.

 

I should be getting the U/D pullies in todays mail, will reprt on any changes to milage with them installed, have a son getting married next week, so my "Play Money" has suddenly dwindled. I may still get the Flex a Lite 270 Electric Fan kit, I had actually ordered it from TruckPerformance but after a week and a half of waiting for it to arrive I called them and they were still waiting for it to get to them! I found remanufactured ones for a couple hundred cheaper, so I think I will go that route, then the Magnaflow exhaust, can get it for $420.00 off E-Bay!

 

I don't know that your truck would be the worst one off for mpg potential... the gears are helping your city mileage as you can get into o/d a lot faster, and the amount of work the engine has to do is actually smaller with the bigger gears. Yes, RPMs may be higher, but how much gas is injected into the engine depends on engine load more and not as much as you'd think on RPMs. With that being said, a crewcab 4x4 will consistenly get worse mileage than your reg cab HD 4x4 . There's just a lot more weight to move, and with lower (numerically speaking) gears, the engine has to work even more. I do agree that the driver's foot is the biggest difference of all...

I can't wait to take the excursion on some longer trips, prefferably the same ones I got over 20mpg w/ my old truck, just to see what it'll do.

The only other thing that i've had make a difference in the past, fuel filter. replace that often, and as soon as you can if you bought a used truck/car.