I have a 1997 f150, 4.6 V8 2wd with 77,000 miles on it. I got it from a old man that didnt use it to much. It has 31 inch tires on it and ive heard alot of things i can do to improve gas mileage but what is the most efficient one? A Cold Air Intake? What should i do?

 

What are you figuring you are getting for mpg now?

Cheapest thing to do is your driving habits..

I've got a 218,000 mile 5.4 4x4 extra cab and I average around 15 mpg overall.. Straight hwy, I can get 17 mpg if I keep it at 60 mph.

This has been the same since I got the truck with 62,000 miles on it 10 years ago..

No bolt on gadget is just going to instantly get you better mpg that you will see in your pocket for a quick ROI..

Imagine an egg on your gas pedal and your brake pedal while driving and that will get you the most gain in mpg then anything else...

Mitch

 

Air up the tires, follow the factory maintenance schedule religiously, and never press the skinny pedal more than 1/2 way, unless it's a life-threatening emergency. That should instantly put you over 30mpg.

 

Put the stock tires back on. Remove the bed, front seats ( replace with 5 gallon bucket, hence "bucket seat") and interior trim. Should yield you an extra 5mpg.

 

gotts intake mod, driver mod, put the stock tires back on it, fresh motorcraft plugs, stock exhaust, e-fans, custom tune,

all innall you'll be able to put about 3-4 grand into the truck in order to gain 3-4 mpg's if you're so worried about mileage you need to ditch the truckand yourself a prius...

 

I have the exact same truck, don't waste the money on a cold air. Take the outside cover off the air filter, slide on a cone filter and that will help. Also do something with the exhaust, nothing crazy but the improved horsepower and throttle response will make you feel better even if it doesn't help with the mileage, and clearly lose the 31's, i would also look into lowering shackles for the rear, mine cost 68 bucks to my door and took 8 min to install. helps with looks and drives better and im sure helps with mileage.

 

Smaller tires and a program for the computer. I use a Superchips program and it helped the mpg on mine as well as much better throttle response and I estimate about 20 more hp.

 

wait aminute i thought a little bigger tire won't hurt Mpg's it should change gear ratio just alittle and give you a better hwy mileage ? other than that unhook the boat, or hunting camper, turn it off when your not in it, and above all else don't let the kids drive it that will save gas and wear and tear .

 

I have a friend that got the bukllydog triple dog programmer for hid 6.0l gmc, and it gave him almost 40 more hp and 9 m ore mpg. But everyone knows how bullydog is, his motor might be shot by next week. But for this week hes gettin 22 mpg high way and also probably doin 135mph as we speak. Im not sayin go spend $500 on a bullydog but get a nive edge or one of the better programers and it will pay its self off in gas and performance.

 

and for the question on thinking bigger tires helping high way mileage. That is true on some trucks, 4.6l not so much. the motor has enough hp problems stock, bigger tires just steal more hp than there worth, im sure it helps once you get up to 70 but not enought to make up for all the gas you burn getting there.

 

i changed to fully synthetic motor oil and went from 14.6 average to 15.4
it cost more but its better protection for your engine and if you drive enough miles it pays off

 

Today's trucks are geared so high that the lower rpm from larger tires don't really help. They do raise the truck and that causes more aerodynamic drag and reduces mileage. They are heavier which will affect mileage. The wider tires themselves causes more aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance. Smaller tires, lower your truck, and a program. Better yet trade it for a 4cyl stick Ranger.

 

And I say he is full of crap.

 

the most ive ever gotten out of my 97 2wd 4.6L is 22mpg. i had a CAI, Efan and longtubes and brand new o2's.

due plugs wires fuel filter o2's and for more MPG do an E-fan that was the biggest diff. i noticed in my truck.

oh and your right foot has the most to do with MPG's dont get much above 2,200 RPM if you want good MPG.

 

I went from a 4cyl Escape to my 5.4L F150. Major difference is mpg, obviously but thats a truck for ya. I can understand trying to save money these days but really if one doesn't like the mpg in their truck...best to just not have one all together. I don't even look at gas prices anymore and couldn't even tell you what kind of mpg I get. I don't have the stock tires and I leveled my truck. I'm sure these made it even worse but once again, I don't pay attention to the price. Whats the point? I have to have gas so I'm not going to drive myself crazy worring about my mpg.
I have found that having a exhaust system on your vehicle seems to decrease the mpg only because I hit the gas to hear it. Maybe if i laid off the gas pedal and kept it under 2000 rpm, I would save but then I wouldn't really enjoy my truck.
Vroom Vroom!