Better gas mileage

[TeryT]

With gas prices going up again, & no sign they will ever come down, I've been wondering what I can do with my 4th gen V8. Perhaps putting flaming decals on the side or girlie silhouettes on the mud-flaps would make it run more effeciently.

:girl:

Seriously, beyond replacing oil with Mobile 1 & keeping my lead foot off the accelerator, what's a guy to do? Is there anything that really works that isn't just anecdotal evidence? :awais:

If I could just get 20 MPG out of this thing in mixed driving, I'd be (literally) a happy camper.

 

[mac0822]

20?

20 mpg? Ya right! I often complain about my V8 4th gen too, but then I think "I wouldn't have bought it, if I was looking for good gas mileage".

 

[Koz]

Snthetics in diff. and transfer case
Run max. tire pressure
Keep engine tuned and internals clean
Use cruise control on highway
CUT OFF YOUR RIGHT FOOT!

Koz

 

[pbm317]

20??! out of a truck that's rated 15/19 City/Highway? sounds like you need a new car my friend.

 

[greasefingers]

The maximum tire pressure on those Dunlop

 

[Koz]

If you can pick-up 1 mpg thats over a 5% increase. :biggrin2:

Koz

 

[greasefingers]

Yea but I do not like wearing safety glasses while drinking my morning coffee

 

[dcampen]

Synthetic oils?

Will using a synthetic engine oil improve gasoline mileage by a significant amount?

 

[mjfrank]

When I first got my 4R, the dealer had 43lbs in the tires. It didn't ride horribly, just a little harsher. It did wander the lanes a bit more though.

I dropped all the tires to the factory 33lbs and lost about 1.5 MPG.

I'm seriously considering going back up to 43lbs.

--Mike

 

[greasefingers]

Probably not enough to measure, however being that synthetic oil is a Hot topic recently; I am sure someone will correct me

 

[tribaldragon]

#1 reason I boughj the v6.


Gas prices are always going to be trending upwards.

 

[Bosconian]

I get 20mpg with my V6 and that's driving it like a grandma. So getting 20mpg on a V8 will be very tough if not impossible.

Anyways, when I'm in my gas saving mode(grandma mode), I do smooth takeoffs and braking, keeping it at 70mph on Hwys(cruise control), and keeping the tach under 2500rpm.

Now, there are times when I like to do some spirited driving, normally that's when gas prices are low:

 

[TeryT]

The maximum tire pressure on those Dunlop

 

[TeryT]

Snthetics in diff. and transfer case
Run max. tire pressure
Keep engine tuned and internals clean
Use cruise control on highway
CUT OFF YOUR RIGHT FOOT!

Koz

I already did the diffs & tranfer case with synthetics. So what you're saying is after I change the engine oil, I'll be hobblin' around a bit?

 

[TeryT]

20??! out of a truck that's rated 15/19 City/Highway? sounds like you need a new car my friend.

Hey - a guy can dream can't he!? Ya never know what one might come up with when stretched . . . (just ask my wife)

 

[iFORCE]

V6 - roughly 18.3MPG - 420miles
V8 - roughly 16.5MPG - 380miles

So lets say 2miles/gallon difference, 23 gallon capacity. how much will you save? you can calculate that based on how often you fill and what gas prices are in your area.

 

[tkr128]

By driving like a grandma, I've been able to get as high as 25.56 mpg with my V6 on the highway. That's 4.56 more than it was rated at, so I think it's completely possible to get 20 with the V8, just take it easy.

 

[daveman]

hey Tkr128, when you say you can get close to 23 miles a gallon on the highway, is that the computer's calculation or your own?? i've on the forum this one guy who got a 2005 v6 and took a several thousand mile roadtrip in the first 5 weeks, and he said overall he got 23 miles a gallon. I figured he was either bad at math and went with the computer's calculation, or that new 5-speed is really something...yours is a 2004???

 

[daveman]

one more trick to reduce drag and thus improve fuel efficiency: either drive with the windows ALL closed (best), or open ALL the windows, including the back roll down windshield. all the windows closed will reduce the parachute effect like an jet's air brake when landing, and by opening all windows, at least the air streaming into the cabin will have the back rolled down gate to exit through?

and try to time your stops and gos with traffic and lights; it's not just top speed that dictates fuel usage, also useless acceleration that gets you to that red light up ahead 2 seconds faster only to slow down and reaccelerate again.

 

[tkr128]

hey Tkr128, when you say you can get close to 23 miles a gallon on the highway, is that the computer's calculation or your own?? i've on the forum this one guy who got a 2005 v6 and took a several thousand mile roadtrip in the first 5 weeks, and he said overall he got 23 miles a gallon. I figured he was either bad at math and went with the computer's calculation, or that new 5-speed is really something...yours is a 2004???

I calculate it myself with distance traveled divided by number of gallons filled. My computer reads about 28 when I get 25 and 26-27 when I get 24. Mine is a 2003 with the 4 speed. My last fill-up was 18.759 gallons and 443.6 miles giving a mileage of 23.65.