If you do a good deal of highway then the larger wheels will help. It helped my mpg. I went from 31 to 33 and 17-18.

 

Why don't you just get taller tires and leave the stock rims? Unless you are doing it for looks, a 20" rim with the 7 lug pattern is going to be very pricey. You can get some nice looking 17"/7lugs then just mount a taller tire then you will get the affect that you are looking for. Since your truck has 245/70/17 (roughly 30.5" tall) if you were to go with a 265/70 or 265/75/17 (roughly 32-32.5" tall) that would bring your gear ratio up to about 3.90 vs. the 4.10 that you have now.

 

The 7-lug Rim is already a debacle-the stock rims are not gonna get it-they are the ugliest rims.

Any replacement for a 7-lug is going to be more (Roughly $300 apiece for 20" Chrome Albas).

Lets just say that I was planning to spend some money to get my rig to where I'd like to see it, and I wanted to tailor my ideas towards MPG savings, if at all possible.

I think alot of post'rs are misinterpreting my meaning in this thread.

Many are trying to equate gas-savings with directly paying for mods.

It think its more appropriate to construe that I dont want to pay as much for gas (a liability), and I'd rather see that money go towards assets (Mods). When its done and said, I have mods. Gas just burns.

So if I'm gonna mod-how can I make the most of my money.

I still dont have any great claims for Efans, or Underdrive pulleys.

And I dont have any endorsements for Intake or Exhaust Mods.

Anybody?

 

I'd like to speak up about the exhaust and intake. I'm no engineer or anything, but I do own one of these and I have done the mods proposed. It is unfortunate that I installed them all at the same time, not allowing me to judge each one individually. Cold air intake: They flow much more air than stock, being like an always "clean" air filter,and a dirty air filter robs MPG. Exhaust: It should be more beneficial than it seems according to these posts. Decreasing the backpressure should increase exhaust flow, lowering engine temps, and increase efficiancy. Any engine mod that increases the vehicle's ability to reach cruising speed sooner, while maintaining the same throttle position as before, should be saving gas. Now for the other two, E fans seem like they can help a little. I did the under drive pullies and had to remove the fan to do it. That plastic sucka is heavy, I'd guess 8 lbs. with centrifugal force on top of it? The E fans would have to reduce drag, giving quicker accel at the light. Under Drive Pullies: seem like they would benefit the same as E fan, but not at the same level. I did them seperately, and found a slighty improved hole shot and minimal fuel savings. (Not worth the hassle: Underdrive pullies, shorty headers, and throttle body spacers) Tuners: seem to help the most with the transmission shift points and pressures I think. Added power is always welcome, but these benefit from shifting sooner and more positively. Some tuners allow you to only tune the trans, if you want. You don't even need to touch the engine tuning. You can be the first to try the ELCTRIC SUPERCHARGER/ hair dryer and report back. Just Kidding

 

Electric ran accessories: About ten years ago, I had a studio in Pontiac Michigan, and I had a neighbor who was a Machinist, who only did prototype work for the big three.

The last thing I remember him working on were parts for an "All-Electric" accessory idea.

The fan, the water pump, the A/C, etc. Ford was paying him to help set it up. He said that they were pursuing that idea to help with mileage and economy.

I see some people with Meziere water pumps on this forum. I know its for performance, but it does take load off the motor.

I was wondering this.

If you changed your alternator to a 200 amp unit, and then went all electric, would the alternator replace the draw that the other units had on the motor?

 

It took me all of 2 minutes to grind the rib of the water pump... Whats the big pain in the a$$? I guess if you had to do it with a hand file it might be a PITA.

 

It took me all of 2 minutes to grind the rib of the water pump... Whats the big pain in the a$$? I guess if you had to do it with a hand file it might be a PITA.

 

I thought I'd revive this thread. I'm sure some members might be a little more interested after they've been paying a C-Note per fill-up on a regular basis.

Can anybody add to this?

 

[QUOTE=SuperSlabCab] Please read and comment.

Okay...

You are right on the black ones cooking. And yes, a bed cover will improve your milage.

20" rims also increase unsprung weight, increasing rolling resistance. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. With those 4.10 gears you REALLY should be running at LEAST a 285.70R17 tire to keep your rpms in the right range. What I want to know is why you swapped 4.10s in if gas milage is that much of a concern for you. AFAIK 3.55 and 3.73 are the only ratios factory offered in these trucks. So I am assuming you are running aftermarket gears...

Those take quite a bit of turning resistance off of the engine, allowing it to work more freely. This is a good thing, and good for HP and MPG.

Overrated. Might get a slight HP increase, but that is about it. Not worth the $$ or effort.

To get a decent tune out of either of these, you have to run PREMIUM gas. Right now regular unleaded is $2.79 a gallon. Premium is still over $3.00. You MIGHT see a 1 mpg improvement with these tuners, so not worth the effort. I'd say go with the Hypertech Powerpack III. This tuner has a canned tune designed for MPG on 87 octane while improving HP....

Frees up the breathing = improves MPG assuming you can keep your foot off the carpet.

See the above.

Lubricants. I know this sounds funny, but full synthetics like Royal Purple in your lubed housings such as engine, transmission, T-case, differentials, etc.... will increase lubricating efficiency, and decrease resistance on the moving assemblies, thereby improving fuel efficiency, and longevity of the assembly.

And the biggest thing to keep in mind is keep your foot out of the carpet and you will be okay.

 

My 4.10 is stock, and I had no choice. They made my truck HD-with (7-lug %%$#%$# Rims).

My older trucks-same config, had 3.73.

 

Superslab,
I am about to order the same truck HD payload as yours because it is the only super cab 8' bed 2wd I can find for my parts truck at work. Dealer checked surrounding 300 dealers inventory so I can get the big rebate and zero %.

I am just wondering what MPG are you getting and are the 4:10 gears bothersome at 65 mph?

Only other choice I have is to run this 03 F-150 I have and order a new 08 and loose the finance incentives.

Interested in your comments.

Ps. I have a 07 Harley F150 the wife drives & a F150 screw 4X4 with the SCT tune from (Alternative performance) huge difference and he set them up to run on midgrade.

 

I have a friend who just changed to redline synthetics in the engine, transmission and differentials. He'll do the bearings next. I'm waiting to get some results back. He also added some new boric acid additive to everything. He says it's like night and day on how smooth everything runs.

On a seperate topic I'd like to hear more about headers and exhaust from other posters...

 

I have an 04/SCab/4X2/LBox/5.4/4.10 gears.

Have a folding tonneau cover, everything else stock. Run around with a consistent 500-700 lbs in the bed and peaks at the occasional 1500/2000 lbs. My mileage 50/50 city/highway and I drive easy most of the time.
Mpg is 13-14MPG.

 

After a discussion with Dad last month, where he outlined the fact that his old Model T Coupe had a two-speed rear end, that got me thinking.

A real two speed rear end is only suitable for a manual trans, because you have to clutch in to shift, so that idea was out, and nobody makes one.

Then I found these guys. http://www.gearvendors.com

An auxiliary two speed trans that has electronics.

I know, THREE GRAND! But-the current budget is for fuel yearly is $5200, because once again, to get an 8' bed SC, it had to be an HD, and the HD only comes with a 4:10.

One of the interesting things about GV, is the ability to use 8 gears-and keep the motor in the sweet spot. My truck is at 2500 rpm's at 75, and that's just excessive.

After all of the mods discussed in this thread, this one may be the most effective, to get to my goal.

Secondarily-I'd be looking for torque down low.

Anybody have any experience with 2-speed auxiliary transmissions?

 

That seems really cool but will it work with our trucks computers?