I've ordered. Now I'm trying to decide what mods I should do first. After reading so many threads about the poor gas mileage, I think I want to put high priority in improving gas mileage. What do you all think about the K&N and the catback exhausts??? Which catback exhaust brand should I get???

Are these the biggest "bang for the buck" mods for improving gas mileage???

Thanks in advance.

 

Okay, I've had my SCrew for over a month now. Im getting some really lousy gas mileage. My cousin who used to work in the auto racing industry says not to waste money on the catback exhaust or the KN air filter. He said they will not improve gas mileage. Any feedback on this?

 

Just how lousy is your mileage? Which engine? What kind of driving do you do? If you're like me and mostly do short drives, there's not much you can do.

 

Hey Imhooked,

I'm like you, I want to get better mileage too. I haven't been tracking it all that well but the couple of times I did it was around 13.5 to 14 MPG. I was thinking about headers and a better intake system like the Air Force 1 or something comparable and maybe a computer system reprograming chip.

I'm a little weary of the chip giving better mileage but then again I've done almost no research. I'm just thinking about it in a logical way, if I have to use premium gas to get the most from the chip, then expenditures are increasing which seems to be going the wrong way.

I'm sure the headers are expensive and are a real PIA to install. The chip is fairly simple to install from what I understand but I'm concerned about having to remove it each time I go to the dealer for something, I might forget one time and possibly void my warranty. Of course, the headers might void the warranty too so I dunno.
DaveMan

 

Hey Guys,

The first question that I asked myself, "Self, why buy a truck if you're going to worry about gas mileage?" Did we really buy a truck for the gas mileage; I should hope not. The question is, how do we get better gas mileage from what we have.

As you can see by my sig, I've added several performance mods to the truck over the past year; mainly because I wanted more power for pulling a four horse trailer up and down some pretty steep hills in Western New York. Believe me, the added power of the K&N FIPK, Magnaflow Cat-Back exhaust, TransGo Shift Kit, and to top it off with the Superchip rounds out a nice performance package.

With all these mods the mileage has stayed about the same (14 mpg to 16 mpg), but the power is much better; much less down-shifting on hills and the engine just plain sounds better - healthier! I plan on keeping my truck for a good many years, 15 to 20 or more, so I want to do as many mods that will increase the likelyhood of this happening. As a matter of fact, I installed the TransGo Performance Shift Kit to increase the life of the transmission - works great so far!

If you speak to Mike Troyer in the Chips forum, he can explain all the science behind what I am saying about combinations of the right mods.

Good luck on your mods!

 

I echo BruceScrew. I did not buy this to get good gas mileage, but I am also not unhappy with what I am getting. Over Christmas I got 16.5 out of one tank of highway driving. Remember if you make performance changes like a chip you will then have to buy higher octane gas. That will really hurt you're wallet. I went from a Nissan to this Ford and am getting about 4 MPG less. For the difference in the trucks thats not bad.

 

i do a mix of city driving/commuting and i started off getting 13.5 mpg roughly. right away i added the gibson ss exhaust, air force one kit, and superchip. nowadays i get about 15 mpg, more if i do more highway miles of course (typically i'd say i do 60/40 highway/city).

Wes

 

Guys,

I hope you didn't read me wrong. I never meant to say I bought my truck and now I'm disappointed about the mileage. Hell, this is my third one with the same engine and tranny, I'm mearly saying that I just want to make the mileage better. I can live with it the way it is now but if I can justify adding some performance improvements and when I don't want to go fast I can get the added benefit of better fuel mileage then the investment is easy to justify in my mind. Also, the more efficient the engine runs then probably the longer it will last as well.

Happy New Year to all!

DaveMan

 

I would be VERY surprised if an aftermarket chip produces better fuel economy. Ford has a HUGE incentive to do everything it can to get as good as mileage as possible (CAFE) and that usually results in trading off performance. The after-market chips usually provide performance, thereby reducing fuel economy, not improving it.

 

ssabin...

believe it or not, I actually documented a better MPG... was getting between 13.5 and 15 city/hiway before and now getting a consistent 15 city and 17.5 ( best is 19) this christmas holiday on a trip from Va to SC and back... and that was with my foot in it and not really tryin to conserve gas mileage...

I didnt think it would make a difference when I bought the chip, and I didnt buy it for the MPG inmprovement, I bought it for the improvd shifting and power increases for towing... but turns out that a nice side benefit was a better MPG result as well....

I agree with above posts that I didnt buy the truck for mg, and the requirement of hitest gas from the chip does not offset the increase of mpg so there is a long time for payback if any of that... I bought to tow, and carry, and have friends/family along... and overall am very satisfied with the truck...

Hope y'all had a great holiday.... Great discussion thread... thanks for the good read and ideas.... ...man I love this place...

Mosa

 

Well, although I am surprised, and wonder if your "before" mileage was measured when the engine was still breaking in, I can see how the aftermarket chips might get performance AND mileage by sacrificing emissions. That's the only way they could do it and make the improvements measureable.

 

The airfilter and catback can help your mileage but they are more of a perfomance upgrade than an economy upgrade. The way they will increase the mileage is if you let the extra power take place of your foot pressing on the gas pedal as much. But you will not see a lot of improvment with those mods in gas mileage mostly power. Depends a lot on your driving habits.

Now you can try a better gasoline (not a higher octane) as some gases such as Texeco, have improved mileage for a lot of people. But sometimes not enough to compensate for the cost.

I agree with the other post that I didn't buy this almost 5000 pound truck for the gas mielage.

For the best mileage, don't acelerate quickly, don't drive too much faster than 70-75MPH and do things like when your on the freeway instead of driving faster to catch up to traffic then slam on the brakes when you get there, take your time...

I don't find this as fun so I just pay in mileage.

 

If it makes you feel better the f150 4.2 v6 does not get any better gas mileage either, I have owned both trucks. gotta like the screw the best.

 

My brother in law bought a Durango R/T last month.
He's already got a K&N and intake, exhaust is done, roller rockers on order, computer is going to get flashed and he's got a supercharger flyer on his workbench in the garage.
I've got to get to work on my 5.4 or that 5.9 is going to stomp my ***.

 

Regarding the mileage thing, I knew that my SCrew would get worse mileage than my old 4Runner. I bought the truck because I wanted a truck with a V8 that can carry 6 people and still carry my surfboard or mountain bike....I love this truck!!

As far as the performance mods go, I totally agree with 'dcovell'. Not that I'm an engineer or anything (actually I am), but it stands to reason that performance mods TYPICALLY help your internal combustion engine run more efficiently, thereby also producing more power. Think about it, wouldn't a more efficient machine will also do better in the mpg department? It's all the other variables which produce the perceived loss in mpg, things like the heavier foot since the engine sounds better the harder you press the pedal

Just my opinion.


Aloha From Hawaii