[Johnnyb1972]

I have a 2002 F350 Crew Cab 4x4 7.3L I am new to the diesel world my first one. i was wondering if anyone could give me an idea on where to start to get better MPG's as far as i can tell it is totally stock

 

[caryt]

We have good luck with these upgrades..2-3 MPG.

Tymar intake system
Turbo back exhaust system
TS chip with custom tunes..TW is what we burn.

With a chip guages are required..we recomened Isspro..IMO best quality and match for the dash.

if I can get you more info or prices please PM me.

Cary

 

[JasonL]

Definitely start with some kind of quality intake and free-flowing turbo-back exhaust, I picked up a little mileage and power doing just those two things, and I lowered my EGT's a bit while ensuring I have better filtration than the stock airbox (I have an AIS now).

Other things to keep in mind are tire pressure, clean fuel filters and injectors that are working in tip top condition, as well as ensuring all brakes and wheel bearings are operating perfectly and aren't creating unnecessary drag on your truck. Some say synthetic oils help with mileage, others say it doesn't really make a difference, I've run it before and my mileage was the same but YMMV of course.

 

[rammertide07]

I've seen gains with my 4" turbo back exhaust (MBRP), TS stock tunes...now I have custom tune from Power Hungry Performance, and I've just done the 6637 intake. The intake is just a temp until I get the $$$ and time to do the intake I want to do. Don't do a 5" exhaust.

There are also fuel mods you can do yourself, raise the fuel pressure by adjusting the FPR to help attomize the fuel better, hi pressure oil cross-over line (both of the last 2 also help quiten the engine).

 

[westvandude]

Simple stuff, get rid of dead weight in the truck like tools and such in the cab/bed. Replace air filter and/or a fram 6637 tymar setup. Inflate to max sidewall rating. Drive like grandma.

Stock tires vs 40" gumbo mudders. If you do run bigger tires get a gps, measure actual mph to speedo mph. Increase trip meter miles same ratio. So with big tires say truck runs 70mph on gps, speedo shows 65mph.... 70/65=1.0769. Now if your trip meter says 400 miles, multiple by 1.0769 = 430.7 miles is what you actually drove (rough calculation).

More $ get good econo chip tune and 4" magnaflow exhaust. Factory stock muffler is very restrictive.

 

[Tailgate]

Dave Whitmer, the MPG guru from TDS posted the text below a few years back...fantastic information. His numbers were all with NO MODIFICATIONS. Ultimately, you will see the biggest boost to MPG from a chip / tuner, but to optimize that chip/tuner, you will need to do things like larger intake, larger exhaust, etc. And yes, as the previous poster stated, YOUR DRIVING HABITS are probably the biggest factor. You don't have to do full-blown hyper-miling to see it, but a lot of the principles are good to know how to do.

4x4: Big killer of MPG and it forecloses some effective mods. Figure that half-ton of machinery costs you at least 2 MPG vs a 4x2 truck.

Automatic transmission: Another big MPG-killer. It is good for 2 MPG

Dually: It will cost you 1 MPG over a SRW

Crew Cab: It will cost you 0.75 MPG vs a regular cab

Club Cab: It will cost you 0.5 MPG vs a regular cab

Big tires: Anything over 235-85 or 265-75 will hurt. Figure 285s will cost you 1 MPG 305s will cost yet another 1 MPG

Lift: It will cost you 2 MPG

Gearing: Very strong effect on MPG
3.55s will get 1 MPG better than 3.73s (all else equal)
3.73s will get 1 MPG better than 4.10s
My 3.08s (not widely available) improved my economy by 3 MPG over the stock 3.73s
An overdrive (US Gear or Gear Vendor) will improve most trucks by 2-3 MPG
Be very careful about re-gearing if you have an automatic

The 6.4 is somewhat less efficient due to EGR and the filter thingy but I would expect a RC 4x2 six-speed SRW with stock tires and the stock 3.73 gears to get 19-20 MPG if driven normally.

All the stuff above adds up.

A CC 4x4 automatic dually with 305s and a lift and 4.10 gears should expect about 9-10 MPG.

To add insult to injury, the higher MPG truck will probably set you back $10-12,000 less up front. Even with my exotic drivetrain and aero mods, my truck may be one of the ten lowest-cost trucks in The Diesel Stop community.

All these numbers square with my experience and what I have found out talking to literally hundreds of guys plus design engineers.

Its your money. You know what you want/need. Get what you will but those numbers outline the unmodded MPG you can expect. The specification sheet is a powerful tool.