What tuner would you recommend for improved fuel economy - 2013 Expedition

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Johnathan M

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Hi, I have a 2013 Expedition King Ranch EL. Just purchased it in May of 2021. I use it as my work vehicle (remodeling - kitchens & bathrooms), so I usually have quite a few tools in it at all times. However, occasionally I use it to haul my family on long trips such as from PA to FL for vacation. I would love to improve my fuel mileage. I live in a rural area, so not usually doing city driving, however central PA is all hills. On the highway (long trips), I usually only get 15-17 mpg, and locally I would say I get around 12-14. This is checking it manually, not going off of what the dash tells me. I usually put around 25K per year on my work vehicle, so even improving my mpg by 1 would make a definite difference in savings every year - especially with gas prices nowdays.

I am planning to do the Gotts mod to the air intake, but don't really want to do anything to the exhaust system until I need to (if/when it rusts out). I am considering a tune, but there are so many different options out there, I don't really know where to start. I don't mind increased performance (in fact I would love it), but my primary reason for a tune would be improved fuel mileage. Does anyone with a 2013 or similar year have a tuner that has improved fuel mileage, and if so, what numbers have you seen? I apologize if there are threads on this for my year/gen Expy, but either I don't know how to search properly, or they aren't out there. I did see some old threads (not specifically for my year), but many years have passed and I was hoping for updated information. And there are newer threads on 4th gen, but I would like info related to my vehicle.

If anyone has info relevant to my question, I would love to hear it. Also if you have other inexpensive ideas to improve fuel mileage, I would love to hear them as well. I'm ok with paying for a tune, because I drive enough miles that it would probably pay for itself in the first year or so. I just would like to hear if it actually improves mpg and if so, how much. Thanks!

By the way, everything is stock on the Expedition (as far as I know). I did put wheel adapters/spacers on to set my wheels out a bit more, but they are stock rims/tires.
 

Hamfisted

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Clean and wax the Expy, and make sure the tires are properly inflated. Good tune up and clean throttle body. The Expy has the aerodynamics of a large refrigerator. Keep it under 70 mph. There's just not a lot of gas mileage to be squeezed out of her.
 
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Vdubnick

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gotts mod isnt going to do anything to mpg, may give you more throttle sound, but that is it. better MPG will be had at lower RPM, intake mods are only beneficial at high rpm.

not sure of any fuel saving tune other than watch your foot. if a tune could get a few extra MPG, ford would have done it from the factory to get EPA off their backs. best fuel economy will come from proper maintenance and efficient driving habits.
 
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Johnathan M

Johnathan M

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gotts mod isnt going to do anything to mpg, may give you more throttle sound, but that is it. better MPG will be had at lower RPM, intake mods are only beneficial at high rpm.

not sure of any fuel saving tune other than watch your foot. if a tune could get a few extra MPG, ford would have done it from the factory to get EPA off their backs. best fuel economy will come from proper maintenance and efficient driving habits.
So would the gotts mod help when towing, since it will be pulling harder, especially on hills on the freeway?
 

Vdubnick

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So would the gotts mod help when towing, since it will be pulling harder, especially on hills on the freeway?
no, keeping a clean OE air filter will tho. unless you are actually increasing air flow past the designed amount (e.g. forced induction upgrade) the factory system works great as intended.
 

mr_dave

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5 Star has a fuel economy tune, but I haven't noticed much of a difference with it enabled. It changes throttle response and shift points so I think the idea is saving some fuel through a more conservative driving style.
 

JExpedition07

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Nothing lol, it’s a 6,000 pound rolling brick with no aerodynamics. I’d say save the headache and live with it. Down low and around town driving it doesn’t matter what you have. It takes energy to move alot of weight from a stop, no overcoming that unless you feather the gas pedal over a mile to get to 40. I’m not trying to be negative but there is a lot of snake oil out there. These vehicles aren’t geared for fuel economy.
 
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Johnathan M

Johnathan M

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I guess I had read on the forum about people using tuners and improving their fuel mileage a bit. Like I said, it wouldn’t take much to pay for itself. I just didn’t know where to start. I’ve also seen others talk about getting close to 20 mpg on the highway with their Expeditions, but maybe those were newer Expeditions.
 

Vdubnick

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I guess I had read on the forum about people using tuners and improving their fuel mileage a bit. Like I said, it wouldn’t take much to pay for itself. I just didn’t know where to start. I’ve also seen others talk about getting close to 20 mpg on the highway with their Expeditions, but maybe those were newer Expeditions.
newer ones will get close to 20, but i believe they weigh about 700lb less and probably have active air dams on the front.
 
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