Best tuning for fuel economy

Iowan · Jul 25, 2016

I'm currently running Spar<->tan tuning on my 2011 F250. If I'm running below 45 mph I can squeak out 20mpg as soon as I get on the interstate it drops to 18 mpg running 67-68mph. And anything over 70 is like watching the wallet drain. Is there any options to get better fuel economy using tuning only? I understand I can get better economy by swapping the read end to a different ratio but a little out of the budget. The tune I'm working with is the 200hp QR tune.

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PowerStrokePops · Jul 25, 2016

What is the calculated mpg per tank at fill up?

Are the numbers you are quoting based off of the lie-o-meter on the info screen?

Notneb · Jul 25, 2016

Does no one here understand aerodynamics? Change ratio's all you want, you're not going to see much over 18mpg on the highway...

PowerStrokePops · Jul 25, 2016

Notneb said:
Does no one here understand aerodynamics? Change ratio's all you want, you're not going to see much over 18mpg on the highway...

Some do...
lol! I would love to get 18 mpg but it probably ain't gonna happen.

Hottrod81 · Jul 25, 2016

Drive slower to get better mpgs. The sweet spot for mine is around 62

JRLott · Jul 25, 2016

PowerStrokePops said:
Some do...
lol! I would love to get 18 mpg but it probably ain't gonna happen.

This is a bit like Nessie. People report seeing it, but I've never talked to anyone that claims to get 20+ that actually did any math. If you believe the dash, mine gets 1mpg better on average than reality. That puts me at 18-19 running 75-85 on the highway. Reality is 16.5-17.9 after filling up and applying some rudimentary arithmetic. I think that's pretty d@mn good for a 7500ish pound brick.

Hottrod81 · Jul 25, 2016

I have never gotten anything better than 19 mpgs hand calculated and that was practically hypermiling and driving 120 miles on the highway.

dsmracing1 · Jul 25, 2016

Mileage is good for a stock height, stock tire, deeleted truck. Then in my case you add a 3.5" lift, 36x13 wide tires, light bars, tool box, traction bars, 2wd valance, 75 gallon slip tank, work gear etc and it goes to chit lol. You find out really quick that a 9500 pound brick going down the highway is good for 16mpg tops with a tailwind haha.

Iowan · Jul 25, 2016

The number are hand calculated. The truck is stock height with stock size tires. Has a ranch hand on it. Of course it is straight pipes and i carry a 75 gallon tank in the bed.

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Jomax · Jul 25, 2016

Best I get is 16ish.. All hwy.

In the city it's 13.5-14. Heavy foot though.

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Iowan · Jul 25, 2016

Jomax said:
Best I get is 16ish.. All hwy.

In the city it's 13.5-14. Heavy foot though.

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I see the opposite. That's the part that is confusing me. I can see close to 19 in the city and anywhere from 10-15 on the highway

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Jomax · Jul 25, 2016

Iowan said:
I see the opposite. That's the part that is confusing me. I can see close to 19 in the city and anywhere from 10-15 on the highway

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How fast are you driving on the hwy?

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Iowan · Jul 25, 2016

Jomax said:
How fast are you driving on the hwy?

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I drive 65 and set the cruise. If I go much slower it becomes a safety hazard. If I go any faster my economy drops off fast

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Hottrod81 · Jul 25, 2016

I don't not think you will ever get the mileage you want with this big of a truck.

dsmracing1 · Jul 25, 2016

Iowan said:
I drive 65 and set the cruise. If I go much slower it becomes a safety hazard. If I go any faster my economy drops off fast

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Just the name of the game with these big units...

JRLott · Jul 25, 2016

As far as best mpg tune...all the great minds on here seem to agree on the "hottest tune, light foot" theory.

Notneb · Jul 25, 2016

These threads kill me... I'm gonna start going on Prius forums and bitch about the towing capacity...

Iowan · Jul 25, 2016

Notneb said:
These threads kill me... I'm gonna start going on Prius forums and bitch about the towing capacity...

If I was towing a load with this trip I wouldn't care what I got for economy. But being as its a trip through Canada I really don't want to buy fuel so any extra bit helps a lot in the long haul.

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Notneb · Jul 25, 2016

It's just that this topic always comes up, there's even a sticky on it, gets old hearing the same fuel economy stuff over and over when bottom line is: surface area + speed = bad economy. Honestly at those speeds it doesn't matter what tune you run, wind resistance trump weight. Weight in motion requires very little power to keep going, it's drag and wind resistance that pulls the mileage down.

Now if you're talking huge altitude changes, then yes, a hotter tune will net you better mileage, but you're still not going to see 20mpg, unless you set the cruise to 55mph and like getting honked at or blown off the road by angry truckers.

This is why you're starting to see big rigs with smoother front ends, wheel caps, and skirts/rear deflectors *that crap on the back of reefers that looks like an unfolded cardboard box top*. They're starting to realize aerodynamics and drag effects fuel economy upwards of 3mpg on these rigs. Do the math, that's huge for trucks. Going from 5-6mpg to 8-9mpg on a rig is insane.

JRLott · Jul 25, 2016

I think you miss his point, Iowa. You're not gonna make these pickups attain 45-55+ mpg, and you're not gonna make the Prius pull 16,000+ pounds.

City I get between 12.5 & 14.6 depending on how I drive. 16.5-17.9 on the highway. All numbers hand calculated, d3leted, IDP tuned (mostly race), 2.5" level, stock tires, Frontier grillgaurd bumper replacement.