How can I improve my 2007 F-150 gas milage im interested in getting a chip or programmer what should I get?

 

The odds of a programmer increasing the mileage enough to pay for the device are slim to none. Your best chance is a SCT X4 with custom tunes from one of the good tuning houses such as MPT or 5 Star.

 

One thing you can do is put on a bed cover, I have an Edge tuner to make the trans shift into high gear faster, I'm getting about 2 mpg more. (Sweet stop is 50-55 mph for the best gas mileage ) Its mounted in a dash pod and it gives me the extra gauges I don't have. oh yea, don't put your foot in it, there goes the gas.

 

Unfortunately, the bed cover improving mpgs is just a myth.

 

Not necessarily - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

Get a $2500.00 "econo-beater" that gets 25-30 mpg. Seriously -- trying to get good gas mileage out of your era truck is like trying to perform brain surgery with a sledge hammer! Like it or not, you've got the wrong tool for the job.....

 

My ex told me that a few times.

 

07 FX4 Scab Fside 5.4 with 3.55s and 275/55-20 rubber, when purchased with 24,xxx miles in 2009 it had cat back exhaust and bed cover and TrueFlow intake mod (like Gotts mod, just store bought). Truck was stock height.

In road trip to family in Ga. over Christmas 2009 over 500 miles one way, avg fuel stop to fuel stop was 18.5-19.0 mpg.

In early 2010 I bought a SC FP1865 tuner at suggestion of Troyers in Covington, Va. I wanted better shift qualities, I noticed improved throttle response as well on "87 Perf" setting which also allows towing up to 6K. I was told not to expect much good from the "Mileage XS" tune, but was told that they had reports of some mileage increases with the "87 Perf" tune. I've never tried the "93 Perf" tune, don't need the higher gas costs.

Summer 2010 trip to Indianapolis I found that the "Mileage XS" tune setting "sucked", getting worse mileage than stock, which pretty much was predicted by Mr. Troyer due to heavy veh and lack luster tune .... but on "87 Perf" tune, my mileage on first tank was just over 20 mpg.

Later that year I took another same trip to Ga. for Christmas 2010 ..... my fuel stop to fuel stop averages were 20-20.5 mpg that time.

Now she has right at 50K miles on her but still will average 20 mpg or better tank to tank on non stop highway driving on the trips. I have since added a ScanGageII and in comparisons to math, I find is within a few tenths of same. I check it every fuel stop, I always am at 16-17-18 or better in my local running around driving which is not much in town as I live in a rural area. I tend to avoid Interstate travel even though I-81 goes through here, I use US Rt 11 more with it's 55 limit. On road trips, I seldom ever drive over 65-67 mph when I get on an Interstate in the truck. I've also lowered her a hair.

Did the SC FP1865 tuner help mileage? I think it did.

I haven't done the math to determine how many miles I'll have to drive to pay for it, but I also got better throttle response ..... and better transmission shift habits and that's what I bought it for.

 

Did do a single thing for me. I watched an episode of mythbusters where they disproved it and found the air actually moved better without a cover.

 

I thought they only tested the myth of tailgate up or tailgate down? If I recall, they found that that the tailgate up actually did better?

As to Cory's mpg question, I'd like to know what he's getting now and/or what he considers "improved" mileage?

My old 97 F150 with a 5.4 in it got 14-15 mpg on my daily commute and would get a best of around 17-18 mpg on a straight hwy run.

My 13 Eco gets me 16-17 mpg on the same daily commute and 21-22 mpg on the same straight hwy run. (and kicks that old 5.4 A$$ in terms of power!)

Good luck!

Mitch

 

They tested the following.

1 The use of a flat and rigid tonneau cover.
2 Using a mesh net tailgate instead of the metal one.
3 Removal of the tailgate entirely.

The results showed that the best method is actually that mesh net tailgate. They said it improved fuel efficency 5%. Tailgate up, tailgate removed, and a tonneau cover tests all measured about the same, and the worst was once again the down tailgate.

 

The best way to improve mileage is to avoid sitting still while running the engine (city traffic).

Use "normal" sized tires, maintain allignment, balance and tire pressures.

Avoid hilly areas, towing, and maintain speeds from 45-60 mph.

It's a truck, not a Focus. Welcome to reality.

A tuner (of your choice) will make it drive better, but will make no appreciable difference in gas mileage.

 

Looks like its time for all of us wanting good mpg, To Buy a Yugo or a Geo metro! 39 mpg

 

One thing that makes a big difference, 1-2 mpg is keeping the engine clean (on the inside). Make sure the valves aren't all coked up with carbon build up and if they are consider doing a manual valve cleaning. A simple media blast with walnut shell media works best and it's easy, messy but easy.

The last two vehicles we did had 9k & 12k miles and each gained 2-3 HP and aprox 20 torque.

Making sure that you are burning the cleanest fuel possible can also add a 1-2 mpg. This can be accomplished by ensuring you are ingesting oil via the intake with a proper oil separating system. It will prolong the life of your engine and help you get the most our of your fuel dollars spent.

 

I second the buy another car option. Sure it is a bulk cost up front, but my truck has less wear & tear, and miles on it due to this 30mpg 5spd pup. Couple of appearance and exhaust mods and its quite fun too!