pros and cons of options to remedy turbo surge?

[Power Hungry]

Ford's recommendation is to always pull out of O/D. I tend to recommend pulling in whichever gear is going to let you pull comfortably without excessive EGTs or Trans temps. When pulling modest to heavy grades, it is still recommended to downshift or drop O/D as this provides a 1:1 through the transmission. This is less stressful on the transmission components and provide good pulling power to get through the grades.

Yes, driving without O/D will absolutely have an impact on your fuel economy, so use O/D when you can.

[wood4heat]

Got it, thanks!

I kept a close eye on my gauges throughout the trip. Averaging 65mph in 4th with outdoor temps between 90° and 94° my trans ran 177°-181° and EGT's were mostly between 700° and 1000°. For what I was pulling I felt like it was doing pretty good in terms of temps.

[rammertide07]

The way I did it, is if my transmission is searching gears a lot (in and out of OD) I'll just turn the OD off.The transmission knows when to give you more "umph" if you are needing it, so if its not changing in and out you are good with leaving OD on IMO.

[muns53]

I put a Wicked/Whistlin' Wheel and a Turbomaster on my turbo (and also rebuilt the guts with a kit from Guzzy at the same time). The WW provides lower power, is much louder (and I just have the 6637 air filter), but seems to spool quicker and does not surge. The Turbomaster allowed me to adjust the performance back up to the stock wheel and it holds boost right where I want it much better than the stock blow-off valve. So, it was a good mod overall for me to eliminate the surge in my truck. However, I'm sure there are other/better ways to go about it.