Tips to increase MPG?

[vw151]

Www.fuelly.com. See what others are getting real world.

I'm vw151 on there. If it makes you feel any Bette my v6 dakota barely gets 15mpg. I did see an increase with new plugs, wires cap and rotor though.

[jbot]

Not grave digging here...lol

any update on fuel economy? Here's what my 08 Tundra 5.7L 4WD is getting. I'm going to switch to Amsoil next oil change. Need to check the plugs and see how they are. But at $10/ea, I don't want to.

i'm more interested in knowing where in the shitsnacks you're getting those fuel prices?

[chevysoldier]

i'm more interested in knowing where in the shitsnacks you're getting those fuel prices?

Kroger fuel points. Got 30¢ off today.

[max power]

Not grave digging here...lol

any update on fuel economy? Here's what my 08 Tundra 5.7L 4WD is getting. I'm going to switch to Amsoil next oil change. Need to check the plugs and see how they are. But at $10/ea, I don't want to.

Nope. Still gets 12mpg (10mpg when towing) and barely gets driven (put 3k miles on it in the last year). Selling it after vacation this summer.

i'm more interested in knowing where in the shitsnacks you're getting those fuel prices?

^this!!

[motozachl]

What app is that? Cool to keep track of complete vehicle history

[chevysoldier]

Man that sucks bubby.

What app is that? Cool to keep track of complete vehicle history

It's called aCar. Pretty cool app. Gives you trends and tracks everything for the vehicle.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zonewalker.acar

Edited April 30, 2013 by chevysoldier

[max power]

Man that sucks bubby.

It's a great truck. Rides nice, drives nice, tows well (despite the MPG) but I have a company truck and my Yota gets 20 mpg, so I do all my running in it.

Gonna sell it to get the wife a newer 4Runner and I'm taking her 02 4Runner to tow the trailer with. Then I gotta find a beater for the kid.

[CBBaron]

Nope. Still gets 12mpg (10mpg when towing) and barely gets driven (put 3k miles on it in the last year). Selling it after vacation this summer.

^this!!

Well thats the easiest way to save fuel costs... Don't drive much

My car (VW Beetle) only gets about 28 mpg but I drive it < 3k a year so I dont care.

You would think a tiny econobox with an underpowered 4 could do better

The good is that it takes up very little room in the garage leaving room for the bike

Craig

[ZxHooligan]

Buy a diesel. I get 18 towing and 22 just driving.

[M_Quick]

Mine gets about the same mpg. Don't matter if your towing, driving freeway or city it's all the same right around 11.8mpg

[M_Quick]

I talked with my Uncle and his buddy about this. And from there experience we should be getting better mileage. Then my Uncle remembered a flex fuel Chevy truck he had, and said it was the same way and that's why he sold it right away. 

[aforrest4]

Buy a diesel. I get 18 towing and 22 just driving.

 

What r u driving and with what mods?

[2talltim]

Don't remember if I posted in this thread or not but my Tahoe gets 19 on the highway and I actually got about 14 towwing four bikes and the big trailer down to the gap this year. Getting ready to make a trip to Colorado with 6 people and towing my bike on a small trailer I'm thinking I'm going to get around 16 to 17. I wonder if the Suburbans are geared lower than the Tahoes that's why the mileage is so different

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[M_Quick]

Is your Tahoe flex fuel?  The thing about the subs is they cruise at 70 and only are taching around 1700 rpms. So idt it's the gearing. 

[max power]

My burb has 3.73 gears. I've been told the units without the tow package have 3.42 gears and get much better mileage.

[zx3vfr]

Hate t

Long story short - Friend and forum member talks me into buying 5.3 V8 Chevy. Says it gets 15-18 MPG. Truth - 13 MPG driving like my granny is sleeping in the trunk. FUCK!!!

What to do to make a FI engine get better mileage?

Truck only has 67k

I bought new plugs ($7/ea.! Iridium) damn E85 engine! Supposed to be good for 100k.

Planning on new wires. There is no cap/rotor. Each cylinder has its own coil instead.

Bought new fuel filter.

Will be needing new tires soon - any suggestions?

What else can I do? Is this just the "true" mileage of the 5.3 and I'm screwed?

Hate to say it but iridiums suck. Find the copper core equivalent part # and go one step colder. Gap just slightly wider than factory spec.

I have done tons and tons of research and experimenting with this. The problem with iridium spark plugs is right on the box. The best performance/mpg/power over the life of the plug.

Only problem with copper core is they need to be changed every 30k, but at less than 2$ a piece you still come out ahead.

Copper is the most conductive metal that spark plugs are made of and the old time engineers knew what they were doing when the used copper.

Using a one step colder plug is better because it allows the plug to cool down quicker and prevent pre detonation during the next combustion cycle. The only problem is if the factory spec is already using the coldest plug possible you may run into fouling issues.

Gotta run to work, ill post more information tonight

[ohiomike]

Long story short - Friend and forum member talks me into buying 5.3 V8 Chevy. Says it gets 15-18 MPG. Truth - 13 MPG driving like my granny is sleeping in the trunk. FUCK!!!

What to do to make a FI engine get better mileage?

Truck only has 67k

I bought new plugs ($7/ea.! Iridium) damn E85 engine! Supposed to be good for 100k.

Planning on new wires. There is no cap/rotor. Each cylinder has its own coil instead.

Bought new fuel filter.

Will be needing new tires soon - any suggestions?

What else can I do? Is this just the "true" mileage of the 5.3 and I'm screwed?

 

 

 

My driving habits when trying to stretch my gas mileage- Keep whatever tires you have all aired up to specs, keep the air filter clean (I installed a K&N kit which added 2 or 3 mpg), do not use ethanol or ethanol blended gas,  no jackrabbit starts, try and keep as constant a speed as you can....and when on the highway if I drive over 73 mph I see gas mileage drop quite a bit......60 mph seems to be about the best.....understanding where your vehicle gets the best mpg is good to know...

 

The old theory of driving a pickup with the tailgate down to improve mpg is a myth-mythbusters proved that.

 

Keeping your vehicle tuned and all the things you mentioned kept up also helps.  I once owned a Dodge 1/2 ton shortbed with a 318 in it.  It got 12 mpg, loaded, unloaded, fast or slow, didn't matter how I drove or what I did (as long as I kept it maintained up to snuff).  Sometimes a vehicle is just going to suck gas.

Edited July 19, 2013 by ohiomike

[ohiomike]

I also found that sometimes using a higher grade of gas actually makes the overall cost of a tank of gas cheaper because it improves your mpg's enough to more than offset the increased cost per gallon/tankful.  I had an S 10 once that called for reg unleaded, but if I put mid grade in the mpg's went up.  Enough so the actual cost of the tank of gas was cheaper using it.  You just have to pay around with a few tanks of gas to figure if it is that way with your vehicle.

[chevysoldier]

I would much rather use ethanol free but when there aren't many stations near that have it and I can get 30-70¢ off a gallon at Kroger, I fill up there.

I've maxed out my tires to 42psi even though they are rated for 35psi. I keep the throttle under 2k rpm almost always and on the freeway I only go 65-70mph. I don't carry much extra in the truck but I do keep some tools and truck stuff that I sometimes need: small basic tool set, tow strap, chain, hitch, flashlight, etc. The less weight the better.

I have not tried running premium fuel to test the difference, it's really hard to justify to spend the extra money. I've read that some gain a couple mpgs but that could be negated by the extra cost.

I've ripped out a secondary carbon air filter, main filter still intact of course. I think that may have gained me a .5mpg with the less restriction.

I try to coast whenever possible and don't accelerate fast from stops. I don't idle the truck for long periods of time. If I run inside for a couple minutes, it gets shut off. I also try to avoid using the a/c in town at low speeds but with the heat and humidity, that doesn't happen often.

I run synthetic 0w-20 Amsoil. Light oil, less load on the engine. I don't use it for the purpose of fuel economy but I figure it can't hurt it.

Probably this week I'll be getting a light weight tonneau cover. I hope that gets me something. I'll also be relaxing the air filter, something less restrictive but not an oiled one...bad for MAF.

I could go with an intake and exhaust system but the cost totally negates any savings on gas.

I didn't buy the 5.7L Tundra for the fuel economy. But I'll do what I can to improve it. I average 16-16.5mpg normal daily driving. Freeway I can get 18.5-19mpg. this is also making me hesitate getting a leveling kit and more aggressive tires since that will negatively impact my fuel economy. I wish I could get 18-19 mpg all the time.

[ohiomike]

chevysoldier-

 

Have you ever checked out how much your mpg's change when using an ethanol mix?  I call it 'cost per tank' which is different from mpg.  You might still be ahead of the game when you get big discounts at Kroger, but unless you actually check and 'do the math' you never know.  Same with trying a higher grade of gas.  Might make a difference even though the initial outlay is more......sure proved me wrong with my truck anyway because when someone suggested me checking into it I said the same thing as you.  I was driving nearly 100 miles one way to work everyday so I tried it, figured I would prove the guy wrong.  Joke was on me....lol

 

Just thought I'd bring it up, might be worth the try especially if it works.

[max power]

I would kill for 18 or 19 miles per gallon in the suburban. Hell that's just a little less than what I average in my 22RE pick up.

[ZxHooligan]

What r u driving and with what mods?

99 Cummins 6 speed 150 injectors 66mm phat shaft boost fooler 90 horse fuel mod 12 degrees of timing

[JBWalker]

try using a higher octane fuel.  

[magley64]

try using a higher octane fuel.  

 

 

As stated before, Higher octane doesn't do a damn thing unless you're running forced induction or high compression ratio...

 

1: Boost tire pressure, max out your tires cold psi rating (mine are rated 44 psi max cold on the eldorado and that is where I keep them during the spring/summer/fall)

2: Check air cleaner/replace/clean

3: Use injector cleaner (like seafoam)... if your injectors are dirty, you're not atomizing the fuel properly and getting an incomplete burn.

4: Check O2 Sensor, if it's dirty, you're running rich and wasting fuel

 

My 4000 lb 4.6 V8 Eldorado averages about 30 Mpg, and like the bike, I'm not gentle with it.

[M_Quick]

Corn fuel is the biggest contributor to poor economy. It's a terrible idea.

 

So is letting US Farmers go broke!

 

  Ethanol at the Pump? 

Ethanol is usually blended with gasoline to produce different levels of ethanol fuel. E10 is a mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% regular gasoline. This produces a fuel with an 89 octane rating. E10 can be used in all regular gas fueled cars and trucks. By using E10, you can reduce the CO2 emission levels by 3 to 6% and reduce the use of fossil fuel petroleum. Yes, using E10 will make a difference!

E85 contains a higher percent of ethanol than E10. It is a combination of 85% ethanol and 15% regular gasoline. This renewable alternative fuel has a 105 octane rating which is higher than the 93 octane of supreme grade fuel. Since E85 has a higher ethanol content, it can only be used in specific vehicles. These vehicles are called Flex Fuel Vehicles or FFV’s. These vehicles can fuel up with regular gasoline, E85 and even mix together between fuel ups. All three of the major auto manufacturers produce FFV’s. By the end of 2006, there will be more than 6 million of these vehicles on the road. Production of these vehicles began in 1998. So don’t think it is just the latest cars on the market. Refer to the FFV section on our Home Page for more information on FFV’s. Click on www.e85fuel.com for an updated list of FFV’s that have been produced since 1998.

 

  Why should I use ethanol fuel?

1. Ethanol fuel is renewable and burns cleaner than gasoline.
2. Ethanol fuel emits less harmful emissions such as carbon monoxide.
3. Additional farmland use would help US farmers and the economy.
4. Very little petroleum is used in ethanol production reducing our dependency on foreign oil.
5. E85 typically costs less at the pump than regular unleaded gasoline.