Just last week I started a new job which means a round trip commute of 90 miles in more or less stop and go traffic, heading towards Boston. Since the resale values of our trucks are extremely low thanks to all the dealer incentives etc I cannot give away my truck right now so I am resigned to the fact that it will remain my commuter vehicle.

With that in mind I am trying to find ways in which I can improve MPG, knowing only too well that it is a full size truck and my chances of improving it too much are limited. I wondered if products like the Air Force One induction kit, Magnaflow exhaust and Troyer Performance xCal 2 might improve MPG or not. Of course I understand that the urge to exploit the performance that these changes will bring will wipe out any MPG improvement, but I meant purely under normal driving conditions.

I currently have an Edge tuner set on option 2, and I recently changed back to stock and cannot detect any improvement. I know some will say I shouldn't have bought a truck if I wanted good gas mileage, but I have it and just want to see if I can at least make it a little better. The truck is a 2006 FX4 Supercab. Thanks. Oh and I have a tonneau cover.

 

I have an Edge Evo, Efans, Manganflow SI/SO, an Undercover tonneau and Airaid intake and I have a, in comparison, short 50 mile round trip daily in stop and go traffic. The long and the short of it is maybe a 1 MPG improvement in this traffic enviroment. Now, when I bought the truck I was getting around 10.5 MPG city and now it's around 11-12 MPG city.

Get out of the trafffic though and it is a different story, on a recent 160 mile trip to the desert and back I was able to average 19 MPG while averaging 80 MPH (still rolling on stockers) with the a/c on.

I love driving the truck, and it is a whole new beast with these mods, but I don't think it's justifiable for a gas savings view point.

 

I think the efans and tuner and a change of driving habits will get you thru.I can't speak of the AF1.Mikes performance tune on 93 octane is the best start.Now you say you have the edge,I can't speak of that.This is what I noticed and I drive 76-80 miles round trip.I got the scangauge,I watched that mpg meter like a religious ritual.1st I noticed that there is a point of acceleration that will run you up to speed and the truck weight then works to push you and you can feather the gas pedal.Don't laugh it works!I noticed if you dog the pedal from a light you actually burn more gas.By dog I mean try to accellerate to slowly.I get to the posted limit or 5-10mph faster then posted and then I cruise(enersha),on the highway I drive 70 to 85 mph I found this to be the best mileage speed zone.I sometimes coast to a red light,try not to have to break hard.The e-fans will give the engine back some lost horse power.I am sure that if you get something to monitor your mpg,e-fans,go with mikes tune for 93 perf or figure the edge out,but with Mike you get his knowledge that IMHO pays for itself.You will find the trip alittle more bearable,except for the lost time off the clock per day because of travel.

 

e-fans & pulleys are a sure thing for better mpg. Custom tuning will help a lot too if you don’t floor it to much

 

I have the troyer x-cal, I actually have a mileage decrease when using the 87 performance or the 93 performance. So I say you may either loose 1mpg or gain 1mpg.

 

The best thing I've ever did towards improving gas mileage was buy a scangauge. According to my scangauge, the best way to improve mileage is to run stop lights!

 

That Scangauge looks like a nice unit. I may have to invest in one of those if I decide against running the Edge.

 

Where to get one and how much??

My wife's SUV has this feature built in but is this something we can add to our truck?

 

www.scangauge.com Just plug into OBDII port under dash. Easy.

 

The Scanguage II looks pretty good. Imma gonna get it.

Check the gallery for a pic of original Scanguage.

 

Hi nhfx4,

That's an excellent question - if you take the time to review enough posts here, you will actually find that the majority of our customers who use our custom tuning, the AF1 and the Magnaflow exhaust actually do see improvements in MPG - of course, you have to do your part and use good quality fuel and keep your foot out of the firewall, so to speak!

We provide 3 different custom tunes set up however each vehicle owner prefers, so for example, we could do one of them as an MPG-specific type of tune, if you like. We also offer our electric fans kit and underdrive pulleys that will also gain power while reducing fuel consumption.

If you'd like to go over any of this in more detail, please feel free to give us a call at our number listed below & we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have, so that you can make your decision from a fully informed position.

Thanks for your post, & best of luck with your new truck!

 

Kosher fuel??? You know all the tricks!

 

Electric Fans will boost fuel economy. Buy 'em from Troyer. Costs around $300 I remember. I also remember getting an immediate boost of over 1 MPG. The investment is easily paid for. Kind of surprised Mike didn't point this out.

 

Mike,

Thanks for your post. I was thinking about calling you guys pretty soon anyways, but thanks for the information in advance. As it turns out my company went "belly up" and half of us were laid off yesterday, so my new job lasted all of two weeks.

Fortunately I was able to get my old job back, so now I am working from home again and can rest a little easier knowing I don't have a commute every day, at least not like the one I had.

Still, I will definitely call you, Mike, and see what you guys can do for me. Thanks for all the other responses also. I might need to look into the Scanguage product. Looks pretty cool.

 

nhfx4 just set one of your displays to impg and you can see instant mpg without paying money for the scan gauge.