You haven't commented on my most recent post. Im asking very specific questions about specific scenarios because you guys are the ones that are experienced with these trucks. I've searched and searched on this forum and others and most people seem to be concerned with performance rather than gas mileage. Hard finding the specific info im looking for. Just looking for opinions from more experienced people than myself. On this topic anyways.

 

im getting 19-20 average of hwy and city. probably time for a plug change. i was getting 21. bear in mind thats keeping out of it.

 

Listen.. most of us here can take our DD's to the track, is that what you're looking for and to get 20mpg?

Do moderate changes first so you have a base line, CAI, LT's, Tune... keep it simple.

There was a comment made earlier about your trans being on borrowed time, you can count on it if you do the larger changes first.

 

Thats a false statement. Its the driver/tune that kills the mileage on these trucks. If you keep your foot off the skinny pedal decent mpg's can be had.

As far as figuring out which gears the truck will contain. There are some threads that will tell you what codes to look for in the VIN to tell you the ratio.
CAI isn't needed, most guys run the stock airbox just with a few holes drilled out of the bottom.
LT's, gears and tune will help in your case. As i've already stated once in this thread.
Is it going to give you better than stock?! Every truck/driver is different so i can't answer that.

Your "very" specific questions about specific scenarios have already been asked and answered thousands of times throughout the years. Dig deeper and do some reading.

 

so you're saying the driver is responsible for the bad mileage; but giving the driver better control of shift points and engine load is a false statement? I'm referring to a daily driving situation, not a blast down the 1/4 mile.

I have yet to see a 4l60 that actually selected the correct gear based on throttle input around town; jumping into overdrive ASAP irregardless of throttle input is not the correct procedure for mileage. The sloppy converter and lockup programming from the factory doesn't help matters either.

 

Everything that you stated can be fixed with a tune.

Driver error/mod is the culprit for bad mpgs in most cases with these trucks

 

I'm getting 14/20 if I stay out of it with the following:

02' 5.3 Z71
216/220 cam
Milled 243 heads - CR 9.9
OBX longtubes
X-piped 2.5" to 3" exhaust
3.73 gears
275/55/R20 (31" I think?)
This is before my retune, haven't checked since I got the new tune, and I'm in the process of adding a 3000-3200 stall which will probably drop me down a little bit.

 

Ha ha, who really does that?

 

If you want that truck, then buy it. None of those mods should hurt your mpg after a tune. My mpg got killed by my bigger tires; don't do big wheels or fat tires, a nasty cam, or a converter if you want mpgs. Buy the truck, do the mods, and if you drive wisely, you'll get the best you can get. Move on from there. You can't let the mpgs run your life though. Consider this: if you spend $2000 on your truck just to go from 14 city to 16 city, you will have to go through nearly 200 tanks of gas before you break even on your mpg mods. That's at a bit less than four dollars per gallon. With my mpgs, I refuel once a week. That would mean 4 years of driving before I've recovered the 2 grand, if I drive for mileage the entire time. Buy the truck that you want because it's the truck you want. If $500 a year in gas makes the difference between you living ok and you struggling, you really probably need to step back and take a good look at your situation. JMHO.

 

These quotes right here was all I was looking for. Excellent advice guys, I appreciate it. I'll pick one up when my ranger and one of my bikes sells and post back when I start modding. Thanks again.