djxealot

Just picked up my 2013 Scab with the 3.7L. I put on a lot of miles every year (30k+), and so gas for me is a non-trivial expense. So I opted for the 3.7L engine. Enough power for what I do, lower initial cost and better gas mileage.

Now, I'm going to put a cover on the bed, of course, which will keep the gear dry and help a bit with the fuel economy. But are there any other relatively inexpensive things I can do to eek out the best economy out of this engine?

Snowflake

Not listen to scream at 7 grand lol They are screamers

schizbomb

Keep the tach below 2500 as much as possible, I get about 20MPG on my commute to work. 18 in typical city travels and then long highway hauls 21-25 depending on winds, terrain, and speed.

Your MPG get slaughtered at about 75 (17-19) and are best at 55-60 (23-27).

justjimmy

Weight, speed and head winds are the biggest mpg factors with these trucks - not to say that there aren't other factors like lifts/levels, over sized tires etc.

The cover will not do anything to increase mpgs (as proven on Mythbusters) - as a matter of fact, they extra weight will hurt it a little - however; you DO need to keep the gear dry.

Mpgs are all about common sense - drive slower, slow-easy starts from a stop, keep the truck as light as possible.

I'm speaking from experience, I do all the wrong things (Level, larger tires, drive faster then I should and I keep EVERYTHING in my truck) and with each mod, my mpgs get worse and worse.

Common sense my man - that's all you need!

Wanted33

Congrats on the new truck. I owned a 3.7L SCREW for two trouble free years. They are tough little engine. I found that easier starts in town help a lot, stop and go with rabbit starts kill the mpgs. With the 3.73 gears 2000 rpms start to lower you mileage a bit. We took ours on a 5000 miles westward trip that included a lot of mountains around Yellowstone, and some long distance running on Hwy. 80 at 75-80 mph. Overall avg. was 21.5 with a high of 24, and a low of 19.7. From what I have read the SCAB does better, which is probably because of the weight difference. It will start to do better after about 3000 miles of break-in. Enjoy.

schizbomb

I wouldn't put much stock in Mythbusters. Racers and Ford itself both say a tonneau will reduce enough drag to improve MPG, albeit it's probably minuscule and unnoticeable. But it doesn't hurt

djxealot

Didn't think about the gears... but you can't get the 3.7L in a Supercab with anything but the 3.73 gears anyway. Wonder how much of a difference it makes.

Wanted33

I'm not sure either. We can't compare it to anything but the Reg. Cab with the 3.55's, and that's apples to oranges.

roconnor2012

All of these guys have given you all they key tips to high gas mileage for the 3.7. I have a hypertech programmer and seemed to get about 1.5mpg more out of daily driving, but I merely got it because of the great price I paid (silent auction where no one else knew what it was). Drive easy and she'll give you decent gas mileage her whole life.

Congrats on the truck! And great engine choice!

KHall127

Don't use your brakes... Nothing is worse for fuel economy then using your brakes... Take your foot off the gas and watch your fuel economy sky rocket.. Of course, people get pissed when you coast 1/2 a mile to the light!