milage

[mlh]

Rich
I to was dead set against tuners. I thought you had to be a complete stark raving idiot to put one on your truck. why would you need any mower power? you don't. I hated the fuel millage and the DPF even more. I became convinced the DPF was ruining my engine, and decided to, after much research, to install a Spartan tuner. I couldn't be happier. It's like a new truck. It's much more responsive and no nosier in the truck than before. Plus I get at least 2 MPG better millage probably closer to 3. The next time you are down I81 or 77 in Va call me at 540 380 2683 and I will let you drive my truck and play with it for a day. I will even put the fuel in it for you.
Lynwood

[mlh]

washley1
Spartan is the bast tuner for your Ford. They say nobody that has returned their truck to stock before having any work done at the dealer has had their warranty revoked. In other words Ford has never found any trace or footprint of a Spartan tuner. Ford says they can find it and will revoke your warranty, But they have never found a single one. Call Spartan at 828 702 3461. A very nice lady will answer, ask her all of your questions. Her son makes these tuners. A guy that works with me said it best "The best computer people don't work for Ford". I will make you the same offer I made Rich
Lynwood

[richfaa]

I have talked to a few Ford Diesel techs who say they can tell if you have or had a tuner on the truck no matter what tuner and it will void the warranty. We do not drive this like a race
car. It is for pulling the 3400..that is it. Don't care about 0 to 60 times or who is faster than who. However the increase in performance does interest me. I know Spartan tuner says they leave no trace...Ford and the others say they do..who to believe. Does Spartan back the repair if Ford voids the warranty????

[washley1]

Now Spartan backing the warranty WOULD be an interesting development, but I guess we all know that it wouldn't happen. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on all of this, and continue to mull. I really haven't had any concerns about my truck's ability to pull my Big Sky. Mountains or flats, it seems to have all the power I need...so far. I do long for better mileage, and the regens coming and going too often hurt that as well. That being said, the warranty does not last forever, and as I hope the truck will be around for at least three days after forever ends, sooner or later I might take the plunge!

[richfaa]

I guess I am where you are Walt. This truck does the job as is. I am not even disappointed in the towing MPG. 9/11 towing a gross of over 22.5 K to me is not bad. Our daily driver is a Honda Accord that does 28/30 and I would like to see it do 50mpg.. On the trip back from the NE rally, tpk and interstate we did 10.8mpg.Not bad.We are not pulling a load of feathers.

[CamillaMichael]

We are currently getting 15.5 avg, solo...on two 40 mile highway trips we recorded 23.8, also solo. So far, we have only towed our fifth wheel a few times...soon to take it on a loooong trip. Anyway, on one of the 25-mile trips we made, we recorded 10...and I think had we kept it on the highway longer we would have seen better mileage. I do avoid quick starts (not that I think our truck is capable of quick starts) and I do not drive over 62-65 mph...solo or towing.

[mlh]

Rich
Ford says they can find a tuner but they never have been able to find a Spartan tuner. What would you expect them to say. I have herd of Ford factory reps trying to find a spartan tuner and couldn't. Call Spartan and talk to them. The lady that answers the phone is a very nice parson. I think they do business like I do. If you call me and and ask about something that I make I WILL tell you the truth, if I sell you something fine if I don't I don't care. One thing I wont do I lie to you or sell you something you don't need. I think Spartan is the same way. Their reputation is all they have.

[washley1]

Rich,
I wasn't really unhappy at 8 when towing either (well, I guess I wasn't happy, but I rather expected it!). I did finally learn to slow down though. Just because I was comfortable at 70 didn't mean I needed to GO 70! Quite by accident I had a medium distance haul at 65, and I was getting close to 11. Could be another 100 miles a tank. No longer in a hurry! Our other vehicle is a Volkswagen CC. Gets 28 city and up to 36 hwy. Now when a tuner gets me THAT...

[richfaa]

The speed makes a Big difference in these 6.4L Ford Diesels. We run at 63/65mph on interstates and tpks. We just do not feel comfortable at faster speeds besides we are in no hurry anymore. We found that for every 5mph increase from 50mph you suffer a significant decrease in MPG. Running a stretch of"level" interstate near here at 63 mph solo we will do 17/18 mpg. At 70mph it drops to 14/15, at 75 it drops to 12/13. It is really simple increase in boost = increase in fuel use = decrease in MPG.

IF we had a tuner and IF we had a failure and Ford decided to not honor the Warranty we just could not afford the financial hit.

1. We drive a 63/65 MPH solo and towing
2. We use a fuel additive in every tank.
3. We are easy on the power
4. We use brand name fuel whenever possible
5. We do maint by the book


It works for us..

[billhoover]

quote:Originally posted by 8e3k0

We just brought in a load on a double dually 30 foot 5th wheel; actual load was 19,800 ( large John Deere), trailer weighs 7,000, and truck weighs 10,000 with auxillary fuel, chains, tools etc. Total weight of 36,800 Lbs;

As the late Lewis Grizzard would say..."don't believe I'd of told that."

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

The speed makes a Big difference in these 6.4L Ford Diesels.

My opinion is this is true of all brands. I've noticed a significant improvement in mileage when towing at 60 than at 70, or even 63 to 65. So now I most often tow at 60 mph. And the rpm is perfect for climbing those long grades with little or no downshifting in many cases.

When my father passed away we towed at 70 mph from Maryland to Kansas. And again from Connecticut to Kansas at 70 mph when my mother passed away. Mileage suffered but mpg was a distant concern at that time. Other times, 60 it is.

Did you know the difference in towing at 60 mph for 100 miles compared to 65 mph is less than 8 minutes? It makes it easier for me to hold speed down when I think of it that way. Just 7.69 more minutes for each 100 miles we do that day. I can live with that to lessen the load on my wallet.

Solo, my Dodge does much better (sorry, you don't want to know the numbers) when I hold speed no higher than 70 mph.

[GregN]

On my last trip out I averaged 11.5 mpg Monty in tow. That was climbing quite a few 6% grades. Turned 195,000 while on the trip. The best I have seen was not towing at 22mpg.