The Gas Mileage Tricks and Trumps thread.

[Warpig]

Alright, with gas prices soaring up this summer, I have decided to do some testing on my big beast F250 Gas guzzler.

So far the only mods have been a programmer from hyper tech.

I have it set for the following settings.

87 octane fuel
Firm shift points
32" tires

On the average before the programmer 8.47mpg
After 10.5mpg

On my trip to NC with a trailer I averaged 10flat there and back.

So I have ordered the fuel air ratio "chip" from Ebay,  a wooping 12bucks with shipping.

I will report gains or losses.

Also I am bidding on the fuel line magnets, will produce results once that gets installed.


My father inlaw has began building the Smack's generator for the production of hydrogen gas for use in vehicles. 

The samurai will be the guinea pig for that one.


And I'm gonna try and do a homebrew propane kit for the zuk this summer.




So post up what you have tried, what you think works.




Caleb

[viking]

I've been wanting to try out installing air dams.  I want to install one on our diesel pusher because the front cap is already pretty aerodynamic.  It might be worth having a removable one on my tintop.  My 75 year old friend installed one on his '81 Toyota Corolla SR5, with a bored out 1.8 (now 2 liter), Weber 32/36 and Pacesetter header he gets 38 mpg regularly.

[Jeremiah]

I've been wanting to try out installing air dams.  I want to install one on our diesel pusher because the front cap is already pretty aerodynamic.  It might be worth having a removable one on my tintop.  My 75 year old friend installed one on his '81 Toyota Corolla SR5, with a bored out 1.8 (now 2 liter), Weber 32/36 and Pacesetter header he gets 38 mpg regularly.

Hrm - I get 36 in my Prizm (under geo badge, but it's the Corolla).

I hear the magnets are bogus, but I'll keep watching this thread to find out. Be careful with cheap chip mods - they can screw the engine (running it too rich or lean).

[samurota]

Alright, with gas prices soaring up this summer, I have decided to do some testing on my big beast F250 Gas guzzler.

So far the only mods have been a programmer from hyper tech.

I have it set for the following settings.

87 octane fuel
Firm shift points
32" tires

On the average before the programmer 8.47mpg
After 10.5mpg

On my trip to NC with a trailer I averaged 10flat there and back.

So I have ordered the fuel air ratio "chip" from Ebay,  a wooping 12bucks with shipping.

I will report gains or losses.

Also I am bidding on the fuel line magnets, will produce results once that gets installed.


My father inlaw has began building the Smack's generator for the production of hydrogen gas for use in vehicles. 

The samurai will be the guinea pig for that one.


And I'm gonna try and do a homebrew propane kit for the zuk this summer.




So post up what you have tried, what you think works.




Caleb

 I"d like to try out your company Gas Card .

[Warpig]

unfortunately I only drill for the oil, I don't get to keep it. and I pay the same at the pump. ask dane, he hauls the stuff some times. 

[ZUKIMON]

Here's the greatest tip I can offer to anyone wanting to save on fuel costs:

Don't do any unnecessary driving.

Slow down and don't take off hard; this is where the most fuel is expended for nothing.
If you forget to get something in town when you go, you'll just have to wait 'till next time to get it. <This is what my father said that they used to do when he was young in the 50's-60's.>
And last but not least, CARPOOL!! We all need to start riding with someone everyday and splitting the fuel bill. This will help most of all, but is the hardest thing to do.

[Jeremiah]

Got off the gas sooner as well. I'm amaized at how many people keep their car at normal throttle - RIGHT up to the breaking point. If you can see a block ahead there's a red light, and a line of cars, get off the gas sooner.

I've learned to come to the back of the pack while they're starting to take off, and I still have 5-10 MPH of rolling speed when I catch up to them. That's 5-10 MPH I don't have to demand from the engine. If I can do this for 1/2 the intersections in stop & go traffic, it makes a tremendous difference. This works on the freeway as well - don't speed up and slam on the breaks, speed up, slam on breaks [repeat]. Try and give space between you and the car ahead, pick a gear and idle along. Acceleration KILLS gas mileage - do what you can to avoid it. Gasoline engines are most efficient when they're doing the same speed.

Speaking of speed, SLOW DOWN. Speeds above 55 MPH are diffficult for most vehicles and it gets much worse the faster the car goes. Wind resistance is a mo-fo.

[Workamper]

I have an 88 Suburban, with a 454, Banks Power Pack, and an upsized (Kodiak)  rear axle. It used to pull a 38' Travel Trailer (!4,000#) for the last owner, so he replaced the rear axle after breaking it on a trip to Florida. When I got it to tow my 27' (7500#) TT, my boss thought the fuel bill might bankrupt me!!!

On a trip from western NC to Northern IL, it got 14mpg pulling the trailer..... (when pulling the trailer on long trips, Premium gas gives me 1-2 mpg better, so is often worth the extra 10-15 cents a gallon)

Heading back to NC without the trailer, it got 17mpg. (back on 88 octane)

Pulling my Sami back from NC to Panzer's house, it still got 17mpg (Sami only weighs 1600#, so you don't even feel her back there)


I am gentle on the gas, use Cruise Control  as much as possible, watch the Interstate FAR ahead of me. I rarely go faster than 55mph, but still get to my destination faster (and cheaper), because of fewer gas stops, as my Suburban has a 40 gallon tank.

I try to keep it above 1/2 though, as filling an almost empty tank results in uncontrollable weeping, because gas is almost $4.50 a gallon here.

Conservative driving really makes a difference ................

[Jeremiah]

I wonder if your timing's messed up, and causing early detonation... hence the high-octane giving better performance?

[Zuki-murai]

talking about tricks, if you need to refill your tank do it  in the early morning...
 i dont remember who told me this but it makes sense, when the weather is hot (like here in TX) the gas molecules are separated from each other.. its mean that the gasoline is about to evaporate, so when the gas container its cold, like in the mornings all molecules are stable so you get better gas.

like i said i dont remember who told me about this but it sounds logical

[ZUKIMON]

While that sounds logical, it's not relevant. The containers that hold the fuel for the gas stations are underground (at least most of them are) and with this being said, they tend to stay at a constant temp of roughly 50 some degrees.

[slowmotion4x4]

Thats great with a 454  some how I don't think I am going to get that from my 440. I will be happy with 12 mpg. Good thread here.

[samurota]

While that sounds logical, it's not relevant. The containers that hold the fuel for the gas stations are underground (at least most of them are) and with this being said, they tend to stay at a constant temp of roughly 50 some degrees.

The store here in Sawmills is above ground,It is a wonder somebody somebody hasn't drilled a hole in one of um and filled up.

[StLouisKingsnake]

 I drive across the worlds longest bridge everyday so mpg is a game I play. I average about 30 mpg in my 87 Samurai w/16v and 85 Toyota 2wd longbed.  Like previously stated a big reason is knowing how to drive to save gas and keeping up on maintenance.  My Samurai turns 3000 rpm at 55 mph,  so I drive 55(Sorry Sammy Haggar). My Toyota only has 182,000 highway miles so it runs like new but I still have 14 inch wheels/tires on the truck. Will upgrading to a 15 inch wheel and bigger tire help or hurt my mileage?  I have an extra set of 235/75's from my sammy and ordered white wagon wheels from jegs for 30 bucks a piece. Anyone have any idea?  Can I just put the 15's on the rear and still maintain streetability?

[surfersami]

You would be better off installing a vacuum guage than fuel (fool) line magnets. Install the guage and during accelleration balence the highest vacuum possible with decent acceleration. You will save big $$$ this way. A lot of car companies have gas mileage guages on their vehicles, and they are just vacuum guages. Others use fuel flow info from the computer. Consumer reports did a bunch of research on fuel saving gimmicks and tricks and found the magnets did absolutely nothing. Checking tire pressure, good tune-ups and your right foot will save more gas than most people realize. Have fun testing though, and do report what you find.

[Workamper]

What Zukemon & Jeramiah recommended earlier seems the best advice, and is probably the reason my Suburban gets better than expected.....

Stomping your foot to the floor, passing a guy, then making a turn 1/2 mile up the road just seems like a good way to waste fuel, but people do it to me alll the time. Unless it's White with an Orange stripe down the side, nothing needs to go that fast

[Warpig]

I got drastically improved mileage after my trip to west texas hunting this year, I pulled a 16ft gooseneck, there and back with a zuk and lots of gear on it.  The few passes in west texas were peging my f250 out at 4500 rpm.  I didnt get very good mileage on those tanks, but after I got unhooked I got 13.5, I think the high rpms, cleaned some carbon from my engine.

[Claysaddiction]

or you could go as fast as the person in front of you in the right lane(multiple lane roads) it's called DRAFTING , use the people around you too

[Jeremiah]

There's whole web sites dedicated to what works and what doesn't. google "hypermileing"

[Claysaddiction]

There's whole web sites dedicated to what works and what doesn't. google "hypermileing"

thats neat

[brotherjack]

Yep -- the ole right foot is the key.   If I go easy on the throttle, I get 27mpg out of my V6 Tacoma, and 32mpg out of my 2003 Tracker (2.0l).   In those very same vehicles, if I drive with a heavy foot, I can get as poor as 12/13mpg in the Tacoma, and 20 to 22mpg in the Tracker.

Your mileage may vary (LOL).

[viking]

I've been thinking of installing a vacuum gauge in the tintop and the Windstar, I've used them in the past in other vehicles and they can help the mpg's if you strive to keep the vacuum as high as possible.  If drive the Sammy at 55 to 60 mph wind resistance doesn't hurt mpg's but anything above that and the milage really falls off.  On the other hand the Windstar, due to very good aerodynamics, axle ratio, lockup torque converter and overdrive, plus a very good power to weight ratio it gets its best mpg around 70.  Because we have so many freeway mountain passes going north or south to local towns the mpg's are in the low 20''s but on long flat stretches it will get in the 30's.  I installed a boost gauge on our motorhome and if I'm able to keep the boost as low as possible it does get good mpg considering all the weight that the 5.9 Cummins is pushing.

[Southeast Offroad]

Any word on the $12 ebaychip?

[Skyman]

MY buddy's ford  had an "economy" light. It was basically a vacuum switch. Once vacuum dropped below a certain level the light would go on, and you would ease off the throttle to get it to go off, and save mileage.

Following the "economy light" he got some very impressive mileage out of a 78 or 79 ford range (full size back then) with a 351 windsor.

[Strange]

ill weigh in on my trick for gas milage.
95 bronco
was getting ~10.6
so i did a tune up, old spark plugs and a dirty cap and rotor are bad for your economy, so i took the gasoline engine out and put in a turbo diesel.
now 25.2 highway 19 city

[viking]

ill weigh in on my trick for gas milage.
95 bronco
was getting ~10.6
so i did a tune up, old spark plugs and a dirty cap and rotor are bad for your economy, so i took the gasoline engine out and put in a turbo diesel.
now 25.2 highway 19 city

What kind of diesel?  I had a 1978 Bronco that I was considering installing a diesel in, almost bought a inline six out of a Isuzu truck.