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TEXAST1
08-17-2007, 01:07 PM
I have a bone stock 2001 Ford Excursion with the 7.3 Diesel. I talked to guy who said I could gain 3-5 MPG with a 75 HP chip and a 4" exhaust and down pipe kit and an air intake kit.

Has anyone done any of these upgrades and are any of them worth doing?

It looks like it has a 3.5+" stainless exhaust now, could be aluminized pipe.

j3ffbrooks
08-17-2007, 01:35 PM
With a downpipe and tuner/chip you might see 2 mpg gain. Mainly, you'll see more throttle response and power. The problem is you'll drive more aggressively with the increases and negate the mpg benefits.

If you drive it like a grandma you could see that 5 mpg.

TEXAST1
08-17-2007, 01:53 PM
Thanks Jeff.

What about the rest of the exhaust?

j3ffbrooks
08-17-2007, 03:18 PM
What about the rest of the exhaust?

I wouldn't spend the money to do the exhaust unless you start seeing EGTs go up during towing.

The downpipe should keep all that down.

When choosing a tuner look at the piggy back systems that let you chnage the tune in the fly. Instant gratification.

mitchntx
08-17-2007, 03:49 PM
I have found great information about Ford Trucks on this site.
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php

And you can probably all your Qs answered in this thread ...
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/409926-1999-2003-7-3l-diesel-fte-guidelines-general-information-common-mods-etc.html

donovan
08-17-2007, 04:13 PM
My 1995 F-350 has a downpipe upgrade, muffler removed, K&N filter and an Edge programmer on Settting 1...

I have been seeing 17 MPG in the city with it, I just drove to Waco and back Saturday and got 18.6 MPG. Without the Edge programmer I was getting ~15 MPG.

DD

j3ffbrooks
08-17-2007, 07:12 PM
Hey Dave,

I might be wanting that programmer back soon..... :lol:

donovan
08-17-2007, 07:19 PM
Hey Dave,

I might be wanting that programmer back soon..... :lol:

Damn it...

AI#97
08-18-2007, 01:27 AM
Diesels love programmers! Just be ready to eat a tranny rebuild if you get too crazy! My dodge is making crazy numbers with the Edge Juice w/attitude. supposedly there is a level 6 named "crazy larry" that would put it in the range of 550hp and 950 tq at the crank.

I typically run around on level 3 cause the clutch hates levels 4 and 5 but being tame has seen a definite increase in mpg. If anything the motor just seems to work no where near as hard as it used to and will pull a gear higher in traffic so there is a lot less shifting of the gears.

Personally I would get a Juice with the attitude monitor. gives you digital guages on the dash and you can watch the EGT's live as well as boost, mph one other item. It also has built in alarms that go off if any parameter starts to get exceeded...mine trips boost alarms all the time after peaking at 36lbs...I have seen 40 before but only for an instant. Stock waste gate usually intervenes prior to that anyway.

Jeff is right though...it is VERY difficult to not plant the right foot! Ask John G. how long his tires lasted on his new ford!!!! :shock:

cobra132
08-20-2007, 02:32 PM
I put a chip from "western diesel" in my 2002 excursion along with a high flow filter. No exhaust mods. I like the increased power and better shifting. I got between 1 and 2 mpg improvement with towing. I spare the right foot because of the transmission issues. So far no problems after 125k miles. FMR

TEXAST1
08-20-2007, 04:04 PM
What HP chip did you use?

What Tranny issues?

cobra132
08-21-2007, 04:33 PM
I think it was a 75 hp chip (It was 5 years ago). It did not require an exhaust upgrade. Western Diesel appears to be out of business. No specific tranny issues with me. I just take it easy as I know many lead footed drivers that have gone through transmissions on the f250-350 platforms. FMR