Calling all Ford Truck People out there......

[Powerstroker]

Hello All, Cool site I just found here. I was wondering if anyone can offer any tips for my truck. It is a 2000 Ford F350 Superduty, 7.3 powerstroke diesal, crew cab, long bed, dually, zf6 speed manual shift truck with 4.10 gears. It has 112k miles, in excellant condition, averaging 18mpg, 80% highway, 20% city, only sees 1000 pds in the bed with a camper top, occasionally pulls a 5k pound boat, but mostly daily driver. At the moment, mostly stock. I have replaced the stock air box with an s&b intake. I am installing a 4" exhaust, and a SCT tuner. I want to squeeze out every mpg humanly possible, and was told to change the rear gear to 3.31 or 3.55. Anyone have any thoughts on my plans, or anything else that would increase the mpg. I was told to get with Big Dave on this site, but don't know how to find him, he is supposed to be a diesal truck guru. Thanks all!

[dirtydave]

check this page!! Details: White Whale - 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 ST Quad Cab 2wd, short bed Fuel Economy - EcoModder.com

He did a ****ton of mods but the most important info:

Driving mods:
Pulse & glide
Engine off coasting
Generally keeping it under 55mph (1,670 rpm)
Timing lights
Shifting as low as possible
Route planning

[Cobb]

Most of his mods involved adjusts made behind the steering wheel.

[BlowNdoh]

Welcome fellow Ford truck owner! I am also a newbie to this forum. Your truck has some crazy low mileage for a 7.3. I tried forever looking for an 7.3 Excursion with ZERO luck. Here is my input.
I have a 6.0 but I have found that if I can keep "heat" in the engine it runs more efficiently. I try to keep as close to 200* coolant temp and around 130* intake air temperature. I don't use a cold air intake since cool air increases fuel use. I wont win any drag races with warm air but I have an Impala SS for that. The 7.3 has a 203* thermostat available. International built the 7.3 and 6.0 with a 203* thermostat for efficiency but Ford put 192* thermostats in.

I use the Torque Pro app to monitor my engine temperatures. I use a grill block to increase temps and add a little aerodynamics to the front. A two inch opening allowed plenty of cooling air for my September trip out west. If you can reduce the openings in the front it will help. Maybe Lund has some cold weather inserts you can install.

I have a Sterling 10.5 rear with 3.55's. What rear diff do you have? I reduced rpms by only 200 with the switch from 3.73's. My rear gears were not installed correctly by the dealership and the stock 3.73's wore out is the reason for the 3.55's. If you can go lower that will definitely help mpg.

You could put a belly pan on but it is some work. I have also seen the Job 2 2008+ F250 air dam/valance installed to divert air.

[elhigh]

It ain't a Ford, but Diesel Dave can really wring the miles out of a diesel truck. He would be my first reference, closely followed by...

Big Dave who hasn't posted an update on his fullsize in a few years - possibly because he doesn't drive it - but the info regarding it is nonetheless relevant. He was in the high 20s, which in a fullsize is just excellent no matter how you look at it.