What engine mods are out there that can be recouped in 2 years of normal driving that will increase fuel efficiency?

I have an 2005 F150 Super cap 6.5' bed.

I did some searching and couldn't find anything.

Thanks

Tom

 

A heavier throttle return spring.

If there were inexpensive mods that did anything significant, they'd be stock.

With gas prices like they are, some mods may become more economically attractive but there are usually negative tradeoffs as well, usually in areas like NVH (noise, vibration and harshness.) It all depends on what you're willing to live with and how you use the truck.

 

Buy a dozen eggs. Affix one on the gas pedal, another to the brake pedal. Drive so you don't break either. In lieu of buying the eggs, pretend they are there anyway.

Buy an accurate tire gauge. Use it every week and keep your tire pressure adjusted throughout the seasons.

Install a vacuum gauge that measures intake vacuum. Make a game of keeping its reading as high as possible. Used in conjunction with the eggs above, you can achieve constant high scores.

Install a retro 55 mph speed limit sign on your dash. Don't exceed the speed limit.

Keep up on your other maintenance: Filters, oil changes with proper oil, etc. Don't skimp on required service, get it done.

YOU are the single biggest contributor to fuel economy improvements, not "engine mods".

Steve

 

I agree completely with "projectSHO89"

In addition: In local traffic, time your lights. Don't race up to them. I tried this, Gained about 1/2 MPG. Doesn't sound like allot, but any little bit helps.

BTW Don't be annoying if you do this. you will still need to keep up with traffic flow , so rush hour it may not work.

Good luck, Keep truckin!

 

Google "hyper mileage".

 

Filling your tires with nitrogen can help a bit too,
Put 6psi over the recommended 40 because Nitrogen doesn’t react to cold or heat like air does, this is why you have to boost the pressure.
In city driving the tires never get a chance to warm up so air doesn’t expand to the 46psi you get at highway speeds thus increasing drag and fuel consumption
It’s even more noticeable in the winter.
And nitrogen molecules are bigger than air so it will keep the tire pressure optimal longer.
You lose pressure because the air molecules pass through the rubber. Being bigger the Nitrogen molecules takes more time to do the same.

 

Partially incorrect
There is no such thing as an air molecule. Air is a mixture of gasses, 78% of which is nitrogen.

The biggest advantage of nitrogen in filling tires is that it is dry, )i.e. it contains no water vapor.) It is the water vapor which causes the problems with temperature/pressure. Nitrogen's advantages over dry air are minimal.

 

Thank's for the correction
I got that molecule thing off a brochure at my tires dealer
and I also did get an extra 30miles off a full tank with lots of city driving

 

And the tire dealer charged you how much for the nitrogen? To paraphrase Marvin Gaye: Believe half of what you see and none of what you read.

 

This is AWESOME advice man!!! I still get crappy gas mileage with my truck but i always try not to accelerate hard and time myself by looking ahead. Learn to coast a lot too. I have to unleash the ponies sometimes though but you can watch the gauge go down

Gotta love a truck

 

I have not finished my project build. But from the past I have always gotten beter economy from installing an ignition system.
I know that there is pretty much nothing out there for all you Coil-Over-Plug owners. It's why I bought a 97 4.6 with front mount coil packs. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Jacobs DIS milemaster ignition system for it. Think about it, better ignition = more complete fuel burn= more power= less foot on pedle!!
People can say whatever they want about the COP system, but from all my experience I can tell you that I have NEVER come across such a crappy setup as Fords COP's. They fail so often that every time I hear of a miss or power problem, it's the first thing I check. Over 75% of the time, it's the culprit. I hear that the GM's are better as well as some foreign makes. I believe one company is making a conversion set of GM's to run on our Fords.

Second item in my build list for economy was ofcourse a tuner. I use a sniper tuner to get my fuel enrichment down a hair. Ford as most all manufacturers add in a bit of a safety factor in the fuel ratio.So it's not exactly an optimal mix.I did it on my previous vehicle a 99 Expedition 5.4 and gained a noticeable couple mpg out of it. I only wish that there was a dyno shop local to me that I could tune it even better. By me there is either no one, or no one that can be trusted. although more than willing to take your $$$

Lowflyingbird

 

Dang you guys took the wind out of my sails. I can't sell my truck because I can't even get a $1k less than trade in value for it, even with all the goodies I've got in mine. And driving it is costing me $400/month. I don't even drive all that much.

Wow what a bummer. I'm left with scrambled eggs and Marvin Gaye records.

Tom

 

You wont get 30 miles extra from nitrogen. That is just bs. You probably got better mileage from properly inflated new tires instead of the worn ones you replaced.

 

Sounds like my last wife.

 

Hey, all jokes aside, here's some info. I bought an Edge programmer for 200, and a used set of Troyer underdrive pulleys (crank and water, I believe they're 20% under) for 100, installed myself. I'm in for 340.00 (add shipping). From my track days, I'm a compulsive data logger, old school with notebook and calc in the truck. I've done almost every tank (fuel cons) since I bought it. I was 11.5 to 13 in town before and now I'm 12.8-14.9. The Edge mpg function has also backed up the long division. So: based on the cost of fuel at 4/gal- every 25 gal I'm banking about 14.00. I fill up about every 10 days. Over the course of 1 year that's a little over 500 I've saved from stock set up. So it's paid for. I have a set of electric fans to install but I'm waiting on the release of a new controller before I put them in (paid 125 for the pair of 16" used Troyer fans without controls). A 2mpg improvement is a 17-19% gain, and in the mechanical world that's huge. I don't start highway driving till summer, so I don't have good data for that, yet.