Best mods to increase MPG

[mtnracer]

I would like to know what everybody's experiences are with their various mods and how they affect miles per gallon. Positive or negative.

I also posted a poll to find out what, in your experience, gave the biggest boost in fuel mileage.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Gears definetly aren't worth the trouble but your best bets are just to let the engine breathe better which is limited to intake and exhaust and the gains still will be minimal. Nothing will add 5mpg but prudent speeds and avoid hard acceleration/jackrabbit starts.

 

[Iron Clad Lou]

buy a Tercel

 

[Light_Mania]

Only smaller tires and higher tire pressures will make much difference in mpg, and the gains will come at the cost of harsher ride, poorer handling, and probably lower load carrying capacity. Even with the skinnier tires, you aren't going to see a big difference. Braking losses in town (vehicle weight important here) and wind resistance above 50 mph (vehicle frontal area primary here) will be primary dictators of fuel economy.

 

[mtnracer]

buy a Tercel

I think I'll go with the Yaris...

 

[racefan_67]

....just basic maintenance and easy driving practices ..ie/ stops and starts, in the city is about all that will truly affect your gas mileage to the good....(where not driving sports cars here guys and gals)...gas mileage and SUV put together in the same sentence usually adds up to a negative but IMHO my V6 is pretty good compared to other SUV's be it V6's or V8's.......

 

[Falls]

Drive more conservative will be your best bet. I've never found filters,exhaust, ect.... to anything except the oppisite because you like the sound and extra new found power ( even though very slight if any power gains) and you usually have your foot into it heavier.

 

[RickyCRX]

Slow accelerating and 'conservative' driving will not do as much as paying attention and looking FAR ahead down the road to anticipate traffic slowing down. You can do quick accelerations and still get good mileage if you make sure you plan ahead to where you can coast as long as possible and manage your speed so you're not using your brakes very much.

Every time you hit your brakes, you are throwing away money both in pad life and fuel burned to get up to the speed you were at.

So, the best mod is to mod your driving habits... This will also make you a better driver because you will be more aware of what's going on around you.

Ricky

 

[Jacobzky]

"mod your driving habits", lol i like that. :biggrin2: im managing 19mpg on mine since i did this. but i dont know how accurate is the on board computer.

 

[xUSNavy]

Bus pass

 

[Ghostface80]

swap in a diesel. :bigok:

 

[Koz]

Smaller tires will create higher engine RPM and have a negative effect on mileage by causing a higher final gear ratio, especially on the highway. It will give more power and faster acceleration but loss top speed.

Koz

 

[Light_Mania]

I would interpret "smaller tires" to mean a thinner profile tire, not a smaller diameter one. That would improve mileage by very slightly reducing frontal area and rolling resistance.

But maybe thats not what he was thinking.

 

[mtnracer]

I would interpret "smaller tires" to mean a thinner profile tire, not a smaller diameter one. That would improve mileage by very slightly reducing frontal area and rolling resistance.

But maybe thats not what he was thinking.

I WAS thinking thinner, not smaller diameter. Maybe 245/75/16.

A thinner tire should reduce rolling resistance and rotational mass.

 

[jacal]

I'd swear I'm getting slightly better econ after going synthetic motor oil and synthetics in all 3 diffs (not sure which).

I can't be certain, but it looks like 1L/ 100 better in the city! Now, perhaps just a regular dino fluid change would have done the same, there is no way to tell at this point.


J

 

[OUTRNNR]

I voted for tire pressure because it is the simplest and easiest way to ensure you are getting the best fuel economy.

If you have your tires pumped up and are looking for more, making the engine breathe better and run more efficiently will really help. Try a combination of intake/exhaust with synthetic fluids wherever possible. This is what I run and I still average around 17 mpg with a lead foot, so I imagine someone normal driving my car would see 18-19 mpg combined, not bad for a V8 SUV.

If you're looking for more than 20 mpg, you're driving the wrong car...

 

[CVsGX470]

Make sure your tires are inflated properly and slow down.

CV

 

[mtnracer]

Make sure your tires are inflated properly and slow down.

CV

Slowing down is certainly one of the best ways to save fuel.

In a recent experiment I drove the minimum speed (45mph) on the interstate for several miles. It's just fast enough to shift into OD. I got close to 30mpg cruising along in the right lane.

Has anyone else tried this?

I also found that you can save fuel in general by keeping the RPM under 2000 on the 4x4 V8. Nor sure about V6.

 

[Koz]

Tire pressure is the number one factor out of the above posted (I run 40 psi). You could loose up 3 mpg being under inflated. You could pick-up 1 mpg by using all synthetics and low viscosities. Always keep you windows up on the highway and keep the speed down.

Koz

 

[OUTRNNR]

Slowing down is certainly one of the best ways to save fuel.

In a recent experiment I drove the minimum speed (45mph) on the interstate for several miles. It's just fast enough to shift into OD. I got close to 30mpg cruising along in the right lane.

Has anyone else tried this?

I also found that you can save fuel in general by keeping the RPM under 2000 on the 4x4 V8. Nor sure about V6.

45 on the interstate!? That's just dangerous and execessively slow. You could create speed differentials of up to 30 mph in that kind of situation, or the equivalent of driving 65 in one lane and someone flying by you going 95 in the next.

I wouldn't advise doing this in any situation, especially on the interstate unless you want to get run over by a big rig. 60-65 mph is slow enough to keep the mpg's satisfactory, anything above 70 mph starts to degrade fuel economy much worse.

Remember people, its an SUV, if you want good fuel economy go drive a Prius...