Like everyone else, I am looking to increase my mpg on my 06. Looking for advice on programmers/tuners and exhaust upgrades. Everything is stock on my truck right now.

 

Truth be known the easiest and cheapest solution is to just slow down. No guarantees that a chip or programmer will help with the fuel economy.

But if your looking for a little more gitty up and go with a possible gain in fuel economy the Smarty Jr. is hard to beat.

MikeyB

 

This!


Proper tire pressure, clean filters, and slowing down will get the best gains.
I have the Smarty Jr. and gained about 2 MPG (hand calculated) which was just an added bonus because I wanted the extra power and lower egt's.
If your looking for a programmer to "Save Money" it will take a long time to save that money, but the other benefits are nice as well.

 

Actually the best mpg improver is a tail wind. Just got back from a trip. Heading into the 30-40mp southbound 35 with a headwind I got 15.8mpg at 69mph. Coming home nortbound 35 with a 10-20mph tail wind at 72mph I got 20.0 on the nose at my fill up stop.

Those are handcalc'd, same exact route and no extra city driving or idling in between, just a down and back 440ml trip.

 

Diablo predator / and power puck give the biggest mpg gain.

 

Clean air filter & Fuel filter.
Proper tire inflation for loads carried.
Anticipate stop & go traffic.
Use the cruise control.
keep RPM @ 1700-1900 regardless of speed.
no extended idling & drive throughs.

All of these will maximize any cummins powered vehicle's efficiency.

Add a programmer & get another 1-2 mpg. But it takes a long time to recoup the cost of the programmer. Everything above is free.

 

^^ These are the more practical and better ways to go about getting the most mpg from each tank.

The trick is to be consistent. It is very hard! And it's tough to really see improvements when you're constantly watching every little thing, every driving move then fill up and not see the results you thought. Or if you've "been bad" a few times in the city or at stop lights or on the highway any of those scrimped savings get quickly erased. It's almost like counting calories. You scrimp and put so much effort yet there's just this mediocre result. So, you never really see an "improvement" when mpgs are fuel savings. All you end up seeing is the debt or loss. It's a psychological game. The nice reward to scrimping would be to see this wonderful 2+ mpg increase. Not these tenths of a tank difference between the last five fillups

Oh, as for recouping cost of a programmer, with the cost of a gallon of diesel being so high, it won't take long at all.


Ok, sorry for the calorie reference and psych talk, it's where I'm at right now. I've cleaned up my diet as part of my training preparation for a team marathon next month. I'm dying And I just did a quick 800ml round trip so mpg factors are fresh on my mind.

 

275-80-17 tires. I wish they were available. Tall and thin.

 

I recently slowed down from the posted 70mph speed limit to 55mph and have seen my gas needle slow WAY down. It's real hard to do but man is it worth it. More coasting to stops and less braking at the last minute.

 

Instal a pyrometer and keep it below 550 degrees...

 

MPG Posts

600 - 60 - 6

600F Pyrometer (or lower)
60-mph travel speed (or lower)
6-psi manifold pressure (or lower)

 

Some pretty good reading in that link

 

In this link is this below:


What are the better avg costs on these trucks?

 

I have found that 1700 rpm is about right. you have all the torque the truck has at about 1600 and that may change some with mods but ruffly 1600 you have it all and add 100 rpm so the auto does not lug at all. I drive 164 mile round trip to work and back in mountainous terrain and will consistently get 19.5 to 20.5 p/g hand calculated.. the truck never even shifts out of o/d and some of the grade is 6%+

 

Be carefull about planning mods for mileage improvement. Some of them actually work. But most of them do not.

You have to compare the cost of the mod vs. the money saved on fuel. A $400 air cleaner may get you another 1mpg. But how long does it take to pay off?

Some mods don't work at all. Like a $900 cat back exhaust doesn't get you any more MPG.

And some simple changes are "free"; like setting tire pressure at the max 85psi. Yes, you will get more MPG, and no, it didn't cost yu anything to do it. But, your tire wear will increase significantly. So any money you save on fuel is spent on tire. Plus there are other good reasons not to overinflate your tires.

The best bang for the buck often comes form a computer tune. The factory tune is designed to be all things to all people at all times. If you can tune it better for your particular application, you can often make it more efficient. the trick is to decide what your application is, and what to change to maximize it. Also, computer tuners are expensive, so you have to be carefull there, and figure in the miles it takes to break even.