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I wouldn't feel bad, your car is probably 1000 lbs heavier and the engine is 75% larger, so your MPG is about right. When your Jimmy wears out you might consider a smaller vehicle.
This tank was completely city-driving - I did not set foot (er, tire) on a road with a speed limit above 35 the entire tank. I got 20.9 mpg (on the lowest grade of fuel), which is about the same as my VW Passat Wagon (4-cyl turbo) got, for a car with a lot more pep and space.
The previous tank was mostly Rocky Mt highway driving, and I got 25.1 mpg. The previous tank, which was all Rocky Mt highways (including a lot of driving through Rocky Mt National Park), I got 28 mpg.
Altogether, I've gotten 24.2 mpg to date. I haven't tried mid-grade fuel yet, which is what's recommended in the owner's manual.
This tank was completely city-driving - I did not set foot (er, tire) on a road with a speed limit above 35 the entire tank. I got 20.9 mpg (on the lowest grade of fuel), which is about the same as my VW Passat Wagon (4-cyl turbo) got, for a car with a lot more pep and space.
The previous tank was mostly Rocky Mt highway driving, and I got 25.1 mpg. The previous tank, which was all Rocky Mt highways (including a lot of driving through Rocky Mt National Park), I got 28 mpg.
Altogether, I've gotten 24.2 mpg to date. I haven't tried mid-grade fuel yet, which is what's recommended in the owner's manual.
READ THE MANUAL AGAIN!!!! You probably missed the part where it says to use octane 86. Unless you are in Brazil, Eastern Europe, other developing country, or Rocky mountain region still gets 76 octane. The lowest grade sold in most of the US is 87, which is higher than recommended 86.
By the way, I am getting 26 mpg 95% City driving in a 2005 CR-V EX manual with 3 oz of acetone per 15 gallon tank. 24 mpg without acetone.
Does it have to do with the lower air pressure, lower O2 concentration in the mile high city?
I remember reading some where on the internet about a person that improved his gas mileage by modify certain parts of the engine and adding Redline fuel injection (something of that sort). I was wondering if people out there have any other ideas and experiences other than improving gas mileage by driving habits etc. Thanks!
Steve, Host
So- yes, the Octane available in Denver, and other high altitude areas, is lower than in Los Angeles because of the altitude. Lower air pressure = less oxygen = slower burn (kinda'). So, they change the fuel to work best in cars that are designed to operate at a lower altitude. Octane 85 in denver will work just like 86 in LA.
So how long is the break-in period and does the MPG traditionally improve after the vehicle has few mile on it?
Lisa
-juice
'86 Jeep Cherokee 4cyl FI 5speed manual 4WD gets about 20 in town, 24-25 on hiway. Heavy foot but I do try to squeeze the gas out if I can.
'04 Lincoln Navigator 4WD gets just under 12 around town when wife drives it which is 1 or 2 miles stop drop off/pick up; 2 or 3 miles repeat, 4 or 5 miles home. IOW pretty much the worst conditions for good mpg. On the hiway it's mid 16s, but we've only really done that twice, both times FULLY loaded vehicle and both times in winter with California winter gas - yeck.
OK, now the question, the Cherokee at 210,000 miles has pretty much reached end of life for us. I want to replace it with an SUV (a four-wheel drive vehicle) that gets as good or better mileage than the Jeep did. A Liberty would be nice, but the 3.7L V6 apparently gets dismal mileage, though the one poster in here said over 20 on hway. I'd get another 4cyl/5speed if they weren't as rare as hen's teeth and it was admittedly a wee bit underpowered. A Liberty CRD would work except I'm in California and the whackos won't let em sell the CRD here.
So, I probably will have to settle for an AWD vehicle and from readng in here it seems the following are possiblities: Honda CRV, Saturn Vue, Subarus, maybe the Escape ... I have even considered a Mercury Mariner hybrid, but the price is really off-putting.
My question then is can folks recommend their best (oh, low $$$s is another requirement) vehicle for me: 4WD (or AWD if I must), >= 20/25 mpg, no smaller than a Cherokee.
Thanks.
Steve, Host
i know my explorer gets better mileage running the fronts a little higher than recommended. i can see that you might not want to try that, plus the mantra has been 'under' inflated tires cost you mileage. it also gets it's best mileage at between 75-80.
how about trying it with some smaller engined vehicles?
Define an SUV? My definition of SUV is a station wagon with jacked up suspension. SUV=Sport Utility Vehicle.
Sport means handling and acceleration = solid axles were sport in 1950-1960. Decent sport car has independant axels front and rear. Honda CR-V has independant front and rear axles, goes 0-60 in 8 seconds and gets 26-28 mpg.
Utility = Cargo carrying capcity. CR-V has more room than Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Vehicle = we all know what a vehicle is.
So if FWD CR-V is not an SUV, is RWD Suburban/Navigator/Explorer/Escalade not SUV either????
CR-V has AWD in 90% of the configurations, and it is available with a manual. CR-V drives like a car, which is a benefit in my book. I have yet to see a report of a CR-V that flipped over, unlike Liberty and Explorer.
So, you are looking at CR-V or the new Toyota RAV4.
Closest you might get is the new Suzuki Grand Vitara, which even offers a low range. And the V6 is close to what you want in terms of efficiency.
The efficiency champs are the car-based utes. 2005 Forester gets 23/30, that's the best. AWD models of the RAV4 and CR-V follow close behind.
You have to compromise somewhere.
-juice
Mark.
What about fuel types & gas mileage?
Fuel Economy Tips
Gas Saving Gizmos & Gadgets
What Really Saves Gas? And How Much?
Steve, Host
Be patient, ride the price spikes out.
With that said, I'll give you $500 for it. :P
Just kidding.
-juice
-juice
I live in California, and you can buy a CRD here. It has to have more than 7500 miles on it. I bet if you spoke with your dealer, they could arrange to get a "demo" or slightly used one from outside the state brought in to sell you. Or you could check with out of state Jeep dealers and bring the car back here, or have them transfer it to CA for delivery, or something. But you can indeed get a late model diesel here in CA. For example, I just saw a VW TDI available with about 10K miles on it in Thousand Oaks.
If you want a CRD, it can be done. But keep in mind that diesel is at least as expensive as premium fuel here in CA.
The only true 4WD vehicles in the small class are the RAV4 (which is really small), Land Rover (really expensive), Hummer H3 (very new, and not cheap either), Jeep Liberty, and any Subaru. The other vehicles are part-time 4WD (engages when needed), and I don't think most of them come with LSD either. But do you really need "true" 4WD capability?
BTW, I own a 2003 CR-V EX, a fine vehicle, which I use only occasionally for light off road use. Although I've been in a lot of big rainstorms where I was glad of the RT4WD system, and have felt the system engage periodically.
I'd call it full-time AWD, and not 4WD, because the center differential doesn't truly lock the axles together.
-juice
not all drivers,,,but a group do buy cayennes, X5, fx45, tribeca, etc....for the sporty performance, as well as 4 wheel drive and utility.
I am one of them....
Mark.
How about even trade. I have an 88 Prelude that gets 40 mpg but has been sitting in the garage for the last 5 years. I can have Expedition sitting in the garage as well, but Prelude will help you with gas mileage. :-)
Try uplugging two injectors to make run in 6 cyl mode.
Big engine, big vehicle. I think you are doing pretty well on MPG, all things considered.
I drove a 454 many moons ago, what a blast!
pickup cross country several times. going east from bakersfield, ca on I-40 i
found that my gas mileage increased dramatically once i'd gone into the high country east of kingman,az. the extra 2-3 mpg lasted through gallup, NM &
across the continental divide. however, after reaching oklahoma it became a
bit more difficult to judge because the gas there was gasohol instead of gasoline.
if you don't think altitude makes a difference, try driving a diesel engine without
a turbocharger that has been purchased and set up at almost sea level (such as
bakersfield at 47 feet above sea level). You will be astounded at the amount of
smoke pouring out of the exhaust. that's why all the big rigss are running turbo
don't get confused over the issue of acetone when you're driving at different altitudes and using different fuels. it's too easy to start comparing apples with
oranges and coming up with plums.
I don't know the answer but suspect all may apply.
tidester, host
Steve, Host
Our '01 Durango averages about 15 combined, 17-18 highway, depending on how fast and such. It has the 4.7L w/ part-time 4wd. I've never had a car that I couldn't coax higher than the EPA ratings, so I assumed I could do the same with this one. I was wrong! It is even worse than my father's '00 5.3L Suburban (I drove it on a 2000 mile trip last winter--averaged almost 20 mpg (all hwy, cruise @ speed limit)--even with 1/2 liter smaller engine and a couple thousand less pounds!
On the other hand, it does move along quite nicely, if you're willing to pay the gas bill!
I commute in an '02 VW Passat 1.8T w/ 5-spd manual. I drive from Salt Lake City, Utah to Park City every day. It's a 31 mile trip one-way from my house, all but 2 miles freeway or highway driving. I start at approx. 4200 ft elevation, take the interstate freeway up over Parley Summit at approx 7100 ft, and drop down to Park City at about 6300 ft. The climb up the summit is about 15 miles steady up hill @ 4-7% grade. On the return trip, the climb up is obviously much shorter (about 5 miles), but about the same grade.
I've played around with just about every variable I can think of (I get bored!), and I can't make my mpg differ by more than .5 mpg or so--this is based on my trip computer, which I've checked several times, and has never been off by more than .2 mpg. On the way to work, when I set the cruise @ 80, including the hill and all, I'm at 28.3 mpg, give or take 1/10 or so. Set the cruise @ 65 = 28.5. Turn the cruise off for the hill and go 60-65 mph = 28.8 at best. On the way home, it always reads over 50mpg, since I practically coast for 15 miles. My overall mpg for a tank (usually 480-520 miles) is usually between 34 and 35 mpg, depending on what city driving I have done during the week.
I wonder if a large SUV would have the same experience, of if the weight and aerodynamics would result in much better mpg by slowing down and/or turning off the cruise. Any thoughts???
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I have an engine that has extrude honed exhaust ...meaning the exit manifolds have been blasted larger and smoothed. The engine also has a supercharger, low restriction K&N filter, and new fuel injection system. All this raises the horse power to 405 hp.....from stock of 287 hp. So there is less throttle pressure needed to produce more hp....yes...there is more gas going in.. at a given throttle pressure...but also you do not need to jam on the thing to move the vehicle.
It (the enhancements) was put on to increase hp...not to save gas...but in theory, a supercharger always gives one a slight increase in gas mileage.
You guys remember the Toyota Previa ? the regular aspirated engine gets 134 hp...and 16/19 mpg.
the supercharged model that we bought has on its sticker 160 hp.... 17/21 mpg. So in theory, it always saves more gas compared to a normally aspirated model.
The same is true for my suburban. But the previous owner of my suburban went to Stillen and paid over $8500 for the engine modifications alone ( that is retail, one can buy the supercharger and install for much less) .
Now if you only wanted to save gas on your current burb...I would NOT recommmend you pump money into a supercharger.....the extra gas savings is not worth the price....it would take you 20 years to recover the costs of supercharging.
Instead , maybe go light pressure on the gas pedal, cruise to red lights, plan your trips, don't go over 65 mph on freeway. These will go a long way in saving you gas. Of course, you can think about gettting a Prius....
PS had 1997 expedition 5.4 about 15 on the highway