Newbie 2001 7.3 X

[hhcobra]

Greetings to everyone. New to the forum. I found this site through a link someone posted on the FTE 7.3 site. I drive a 2001 7.3 Excursion and am interested in economy only, ha ha. I currently run my tires at 65 psi and never let the rpm's get above 2000 and can get 20 mpg on the highway. Found some interesting ideas about aerodynamics and the Excursion. I am also interested in the Scangauge ll and how it will function with the 7.3 psd. I will post some questions later about the Scangauge and the 7.3. Thanks, Fred

[larrybuck]

Welcome! If this is not a joke; you have a great challenge on your hand!

Slowing your cruise speeds down, and making smoothness a priority will help you some.

Practice working at slowing gradually before red lights so that you don't have to come to full, or near stops when possible.

Work this smoothness into all of your driving, keep throttle opening very casual, as if that egg were under the pedal.

In short, drive like the proverbial old lady on her way to church, and back; once a week.

If your pride can endure this; the results may surprise you!

[hhcobra]

Thanks for the welcome and this is no joke!! I am very interested is the ScanGaugeII and what it is capable of reading with the 7.3. Also read something interesting about steering wander and how that could effect MPG's. These trucks have a history of steering wander and I would like to know how much that effects the MPG's. I am running the LTX M/S2's which is a low RR tire inflated to 65psi. I was going to inflate to 80 which is max. inflation and also read that the extra psi wouldn't help with the MPG's and could hurt the handling of the truck. Thanks for any feedback. Fred

[MV7]

Have you made any progress towards higher mileage on the big Ex? I have the same... 01 7.3L 4X4. Am interested in learning if you've made any progress. I'd love to see 25 highway if poss. Have been able to see 22.5 display average on a 700 mi trip... but would LOVE to learn any insights you might have since your quest began.

[Domman56]

I believe there is a company that has an ECO TUNE for diesels. it gives you a bit of a power boost to but it's geared towards Economy. I don't remember off the top of my head which Company it is..

You are saying you are interested in Aerodynamics. Do you have any reason for not lowering the vehicle a few inches?

[MV7]

Thanks Domman56 for the heads up on an ECO TUNE. I'm not that interested in lowering mine just yet, but tuning and instantaneous mpg monitoring, exhausts, and aerodeletes have sparked my interest. I've already deleted the cross rails and running boards and will soon remove the longitudinal rack rails. I fancy removing the side-views and replacing them with back-up cameras -- but that is down the road a bit (and probably marginally legal albeit safer). As mine is driven in city driving (ugh) for very short distances (<10 miles/day) the mileage can be abysmal compared to what you guys can achieve. I usually wait for long trips to see what I can squeeze out of it. Given the size of the thing (they are MASSIVE), I'm shocked it does as well as it does.