Nee more MPG out of my '03 6.0L Powerstroke

[MattattheRanch]

Hey Fellas...Please give me your opinions on what modifications to make (as cost effective as possible) to get this truck to get better fuel mileage. F250 Supercab, No muffler and the rest is 00% stock with 91,000 miles.

What has an has not worked for ou.

Prefer something I can just plug-in and go.

Thanks,
Matt

[mike 6.0]

buy a car for a daily driver never gona get good mileage. its a truck!

[armyguy209]

Get rid of the cat and put a turboback exhaust..this will let it breathe like its supposed to. An SCT tuner with custom tunes by gearhead of innovative will help as well. Just let them know what exactly you are looking to get (better mileage) and they can write you a tune for that.

Other than that...small things like keeping your foot out of the pedal..cruise control on the freeway at about 65...keeping tires inflated...all the normal stuff.

Like said above....this is a truck so it is not going to get GREAT mileage but gets a whole lot better than a gas rig...

Other drastic option is to get a 03-06 cummins and you will be getting 20+mpg. My cousin has an 03 with 275k miles on it and constantly get 23mpg..about 21mpg pulling.

[SickStroke6.0]

What he said.! ^^^

Also, I recommend getting some gauges and run a HOT tune and just keep your foot out of the skinny pedal. That will get you the best mileage

[smokersteve]

You can also buy a cat delte pipe for much cheaper than a full system. Stock trucks(inj adn turbo) do need 4" exhaust. 4" on a stock truck will decrease your low end TQ, thats what you need for mpg.

The stock exhaust size is 3" down pipe and 3.5" to the back.

Synthetic fluids in the eng, diffs will help.

SCT custom tunes and Innovative FICM progams hlep the most with mpg. Moderate is the most effective even with stock trucks.

I can give you more options but they depend on where you live in the US. What state do you live in?

I get 20mpg on the highway going 65mph.

[obsidian]

I get 22-23 doing 70mph on my truck.

K&N Cold air intake.
Cat delete
Muffler delete
T5 10w-30 oil.
Crankcase Ventilation mod.
Diesel Kleen cetane booster in every tank.

[smokersteve]

10W30 will help mpg but im not up for thinner oil in my 6. Same with the K&N


The reason why I talked about where you live Matt is cuz of the EGR system. That is a huge way to help your truck.

you can also unplug your egr valve but it is a good idea to have some way of clearing the codes when you want to plug it back in. When it is unpluged the valve is closed stoping the exhaust flow. It is even better to plug or almost plug the up-pipe that feeds the egr system.

[moriea1]

I was getting 23 highway with S&B airbox Quadzilla set on 10 and 4" turbo back with synthetic in all holes with a manual 6 spd

[armyguy209]

Not saying anyone is lying but 22-23mpg's in this truck does not sound realistic. If it was an inline 6 cummins I would believe it...but not a big ol 8 cylinder 6.0..

If your truck is somehow getting those kinda numbers I would NEVER get rid of it.

[War Eagle B]

Here is a good write up from Diesel Truck World on the 6.0L and improving economy. I like how they broke it down for what each mod got them. Do a search for part 2 of the article and it breaks down how long it takes to recoup the costs for the mods.

Diesel Truck World powered by EON - Enthusiasts' Online Network, Inc.

One of the biggest helps was changing the driveline lubricants to synthetic. Also since the front and rear gear and transfer case doesn't need to be changed that often you really make up some money on this. By the end of the test they were getting 21mpg on a closed course. Real world would probably be closer to 19.

Edit: Another good swap that helped a friend of mine is a bed cover. Does a pretty good job improving the aerodynamics. There's a reason the NASCAR trucks run closed beds.