I recently came across an article on the web that tested out performance add ons to increase fuel economy. The vehicle used was a 2003 Ford F150 Harley Davidson super crew with a supercharged 5.4l. As they made a change to the vehicle they tested it to see MPG change. The mods where done in order of least to most expensive. In the end with all mods completed they state a increase of 24.3%. It started at 14.8 and ended at 18.9 mpg. The link to the article is below.

http://fordtruckworld.tenmagazines.c...aid=3237&sid=2

If this is true then I would have no problem spending the money. Not only would I get better fuel economy, but I would also have the performance when ever I desired. I sold my wife on it as well. I said that if when we bought the truck the dealer said for around $1000 more you could have nearly 19 mpg.....we would have jumped on it.

I am wondering everyone else’s thoughts. Has there been any test like this performed by a reputable vendor (Troyer)?

 

Thats impressive if its true.

 

more power generally means less restriction which is good to a certain point (but cams, intakes, and exhausts can be too big), but more importantly the engine is more efficient so it takes less fuel and air to make the same power so instead of needing 45% throttle to get up the hill you may only need 35%.

I had a 73 ranchero with a 400/C6/9" with 275-60-15 out back and when the engine was stock I was getting about 12mpg, after I had it rebuilt with 9:1, put in a 268 cam with .494", edelbrock performer intake, and massaged the heads a little I could get 16mpg on the freeway, but in the city I only got 9mpg. I put on a set of hooker long tubes and got a consistant 13mpg. It had 3.00:1 gears and stock would spin the tires only on a turn in the rain but after I got done with it it would smoke em halfway into second. It had a LOT more torque and hp and it even made slightly better fuel economy. Just a real world example of mods giving better economy

 

Absolutely, it is very possible and probable.
My '01 Lightning laid down 490hp/620tq, ran consistent 12.20's @ 112mph and got 18+ mpg on the highway. ( cruise control averaging 75mph)
I was running a 6# lower pulley, 12" open element intake filter, Magnaflow mufflers in the stock exhaust system and Mike Troyers custom tuning....
Stock I got around 14, but that was only on the first two tanks of fuel as I added the mods at 1000 miles..

My 2003 Cobra made 475hp/495tq, ran 11:22's @ 121mph and got a whopping 23 mpg on the highway (cruise at 75 mph). 4# lower pulley, same intake set up, Magnaflow mufflers in stock exhaust, and Mikes custom tuning again....

Open them up, set the A/F ratios right, and you can get some pretty impressive mileage....

 

Is there any truth in changing all the fluids to synthetic will help improve fuel economy? I believe that the article used Royal Purple. It will make the drivetrain more effecient, but to the point of a noticable difference? In addition, they say you can go 12k miles between oil changes. Is that safe?

 

Some people have gotten a few rwhp from just a change to synthetic so it is worth a few ponies, but nothing you would notice.
I, too, want to know about the whole extended oil change with some of these oils. One of our work vans is a dodge sprinter (originally from europe made by mercedes) and it can go 10,000 on one oil change using the mobil1 and that is in the manual (but only if it has the system that monitors the oil).

 

You can spend a lot of money on synthetic fluids and not see any improvement in fuel efficiency. I did that with a Chevy S10 ZR2 and the mileage stayed the same. Did it with a GTO and the mileage stayed the same. Im thinkin Im not gonna do it with my FX4 cause going from 12 to 13 in the city wont make much of a difference!

Its like buying a K&N intake system to gain a few HP in the 5000rpm range, it makes no sense.

 

OK, Say the total for the intake, exhaust, chip, and fluids works out to $1000. (I think that's a low-ball number... that total's likely around $1500) Say you get the exact numbers they published in that article. Lets do the math:

Simple 3-part story problem: A truck getting 14.8 mpg buys gas at $2.75 per gallon of regular unleaded. How much does 10,000 miles worth of gas cost?

(10,000 miles /14.8mpg) *$2.75/gallon = $1858.11 per 10,000 miles.

That same truck starts getting better mileage. It now gets 18.9mpg, but must burn premium gas at a cost of $3.05 per gallon. Now how much does the fuel cost per 10k?

(10,000 miles / 18.9 mpg) * $3.05 = $1613.76.

Now, if the modifications cost $1000 to get the better mileage, how long do you have to drive at the better mileage to recoup the costs of the mods?

1858.11 - 1613.76 = a savings of $244.35 per 10,000 miles.

Now it's a simple proportion:
$244.35 / 10,000 miles = $1000 / XXXXX miles
Solve for X, and you'll find X = 40,924.9 miles 'til you break even. After that, you're saving money. (This, of course, is assuming a constant gas price... actual results are guaranteed to vary)

In my truck, I only get about 2mpg better with just e-fans and a tuner running premium. My payback is happening, but I've never actually crunched the numbers... Now seems appropriate:

10k @ 16mpg and $2.75 = $1718.75

10k @ 18mpg and $3.05 = $1694.44

1718.75 - 1694.44 = $24.31 per 10k miles.

Now, I only spent $600 on the mods, so we get:

$24.31 / 10,000 miles = $600 / X miles

I've got to drive 246,812 miles before I'll break even on the e-fans and tuner... But it's well worth the extra power they provide when I need it!

-Joe

 

I hate math!

 

LOL... Me too... but I'm average at it... Got straight C's all through high school algebra, geometry, calculus I, II, III, and Differential Equations.

 

You guys are darn right about the big HP and Torque engines, my '00 Dakota gets an impressive 22 mpg with a 4.7 l V8 5 spd 4x2 with a 3.92 lsrd. That's driving normally.

It's only when I start driving it hard do I get those lousy 15's to the worst 11 mpg... but it was well worth it.

That is why buying a v6 truck compared to a v8 truck of the same kind will probably yield much better on the bigger engine if driven the same. I've seen this before... but my friend's say, "Oh, it's got a 4.7l v8, and it must get like 10 mpg... till I show them how far I can go on a tank of gas, then they are crapping their pants.

Yet the 4.2l v6 is wierd an exception because of it's low end torque. It might get better mpg than the 4.6l only because that engine has it's hp and torque curves higher on the rpm band. The 5.4l should get the same as the 4.6l though only because of the displacement.

And as always, there is NO replacement for displacement.

 

Why does math have to suck so badly? It all seeme like a good idea till the "math" had to take its role, and the wife happened to see it and now....IM SCREWED!! lol

 

First off let me start off by saying......YOU SUCK! Why do you have to be so damn correct. I did all the math shortly after I posted it. This was at my wifes request of course. I was already at the phone with charge card in hand. I know that it it does take a while for the cost to turn into a savings, but there is also the benefit of extra power when I want it. Down side of that is......extra power = lower fuel economy. I guess it kind of defeats the purpose. So I say to hell with gas mileage.

 

This is the problem with gas mileage. I could spend a couple of grand on things to make my truck more fuel efficient, but then I'd be putting the pedal to the floor more often so it kinda cancels out...

 

Man, isn't that the truth!