suzuki430

i have a 1996 f150 supercab shortbed with a 5.0 302 5 speed manual. just was wondering what kind of gas mileage people are getting. i'm averaging around 11 in the city? i've replaced plugs and wires but didn't see any differance? also does anyone have anthing they have done to get more hp without doing a total rebuild? thanks

andyman7931

I get around 10 overall in mostly city driving, I have a 351 auto though. I think 11 would be ok.

How far do you want to go for hp? Underdrive pulleys are easy and cheap, aftermarket exhaust/intake is easy. Electric fan is cheap as well. Supercharger kits can be had for $1500 on ebay.

suzuki430

when i'm getting 11 around town thats me driving like a grandma and not ever going over 2500rpm. as soon as i let it go much higher it just sucks gas twice as fast. how much of a gain will i see from the underdrive pully, and from the electric fan? i have a CAI but i've been thinking about some long tube headers? will those help much? i've also cut a cat out and put in a 44 series flowmaster but didn't see much of a differance.

bjafeman

Connecting/installing a vacuum gauge can let you know if things aren't going well with your engine and is an easy way to keep an eye on things. Might point to something.

Here's a site on how to read/interpret vacuum gauge readings under a few different driving conditions as well
http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm

Boogerburns

Sounds like all that stuff you have done is for looks and sound. The CAI and Muffler dont do JACK for HP, a little for MPG. But not much. Thats about the max youll ever get.

suzuki430

you mean max as in gas mileage right? someone at my work was saying to get a chip but i hear those are a joke. oh i was also wondering how a underdrive pulley works?

Ham-Bone

long tube headers run around $300 to $500 i paid $300 for 3" flowtec long tube headers they claim to give you 5hp and and like 2mpg i never got the gas milage cause i ripped and teared and hauled heavy loads all the time with my truck

andyman7931

Now I want to go out and get a vacuum gauge :-) Very good info.

The underdrive pulleys I installed seem to make a difference but I've only driven my truck twice since the install and I can't recall ever pushing the truck without a heavy load, so I don't know the practical difference yet. In theory it has to make a difference since the accessories are turning slower which robs less power from the wheels.

Good old Bill

Thanks Andyman, always wondered what is was. Now, I'm sorry I do, have only bad thoughts. I'll move on. Thanks.

DixieDarkhorse

if you wanna spend alittle money and actually pick up some mpg you can go to a superchips dealer that has the custom tuning. I've got a friend with a supercharged mustang making 800hp and gets 20mpg on the highway. i definitly recommend superchargers because when tuned properly they increase the volumetric efficency of the engine pretty well. most dealers are around 400 bucks but they'll put your truck on the dyno and make a couple runs. they'll figure out where your fuel is at through the rpm range and adjust accordingly. (this will probably be a debate but most people think adding fuel makes power, but if your not adding air with the fuel you'll just run rich. engines make peak power the leaner they are, with that said you can go to far and cause damage but that should be obvious.) most tuners say that the earlier f.i. fords run "fat" from the factory so to make a long story alittle shorter they optimize your fuel curve based on you goals. you'll have a custom chip with 5 power levels, 4 power and one stock. Your specific application will probably have one mpg level. Your truck will run alot better and it would probably pick up three or four mpg's and possibly 15 or 20 horsepower. with all that said because your tuning to that truck at that time, you need to have any and all engine mods you want to do, done so everything is optimized for your tune.