Gas Mileage

[YellowRanger95]

95' Splash ExtCab 3.0 ----> 4x4 <---- 3.73's ----> automatic trans <---- 18 gallon tank ----> 31x10.5 new all terrain tires <----.
I put a sheet of plywood on hinges to cover my bed and disconnected the power to my AC pump and I have seen about 2-3 mpg more. I go about 340-380 on a tank and I drive about 300+ miles a week.

I have AMSOIL severe gear(Best rear diff fluid on the market) full synthetic 75 90 in my rear diff. AMSOIL Full Synthetic Performance 5-20 motor oil, noticed a great difference going up hill with these two oils.

 

[CGK60]

I have a 98 ext cab 4x4 3.0 V-6, I get about 19 to 20 mixed driving.

 

[pillen140]

95' Splash ExtCab 3.0 ----> 4x4 <---- 3.73's ----> automatic trans <---- 18 gallon tank ----> 31x10.5 new all terrain tires <----.
I put a sheet of plywood on hinges to cover my bed and disconnected the power to my AC pump and I have seen about 2-3 mpg more. I go about 340-380 on a tank and I drive about 300+ miles a week.

I have AMSOIL severe gear(Best rear diff fluid on the market) full synthetic 75 90 in my rear diff. AMSOIL Full Synthetic Performance 5-20 motor oil, noticed a great difference going up hill with these two oils.

you sure you dont have a 20 gallon tank? pretty sure all ext cabs came with a 20 gallon tank. and wouldnt it be easier to just turn the ac off than unplugging it? if its never used at all, usually that seizes up the compressor pretty quickly.... unless it already wasnt working. i used to have a soft tonneau cover on my truck, but noticed no difference in gas mileage. its been removed for a while now, and didnt notice a difference when i took it back off either. and i check my mileage every time i fill up.

 

[getrdone52]

95' Splash ExtCab 3.0 ----> 4x4 <---- 3.73's ----> automatic trans <---- 18 gallon tank ----> 31x10.5 new all terrain tires <----.
I put a sheet of plywood on hinges to cover my bed and disconnected the power to my AC pump and I have seen about 2-3 mpg more. I go about 340-380 on a tank and I drive about 300+ miles a week.

I have AMSOIL severe gear(Best rear diff fluid on the market) full synthetic 75 90 in my rear diff. AMSOIL Full Synthetic Performance 5-20 motor oil, noticed a great difference going up hill with these two oils.

I've thought about taking the tailgate off and putting a net tailgate instead but I don't know if that would make any difference. I also want to make a soft top to it will fit with my roll bar and make a teanneu cover or how ever you spell it. I don't know how I would make it into both though.

 

[joecool85]

How are you guys getting only 16mpg? Lots of city driving? Or is it just the automatic tranny?

My truck (3.0, 5spd, 4x4 supercab w/offroad and tow packages, 4.11 gears and 245/75/16 tires) gets 20.5mpg average (yes, I keep a spreadsheet that does the math for me and I track almost every tank). I do mostly driving on 45-55mph roads. This gives me 370 miles or so before my light comes on, 20 gallon tank.

 

[getrdone52]

How are you guys getting only 16mpg? Lots of city driving? Or is it just the automatic tranny?

My truck (3.0, 5spd, 4x4 supercab w/offroad and tow packages, 4.11 gears and 245/75/16 tires) gets 20.5mpg average (yes, I keep a spreadsheet that does the math for me and I track almost every tank). I do mostly driving on 45-55mph roads. This gives me 370 miles or so before my light comes on, 20 gallon tank.

I think my gas light Is broken because my tank was low and I was gunna wait for the light to come on before I filled it and I ran out of gas at a stop sign.

 

[YellowRanger95]

I'm pretty sure it's an 18 gallon tank... might be 18.5 with the half gallon being reserve. But those soft covers for the bends don't really do a great job at deflecting wind resistance. A hard surface is the way to go. As for the AC, I didn't want it drawing any power at all, plus it cycles even with it turned off... and if it does seize, oh well lol I'm still not using it...

I drive about 10 miles around town during the week (Mon-Tues-Fri) 20-35 mph and 70 miles on the highway going 55-62 mph. Weekends are all in town miles being 25-40 and going 20-35 mph.

It's a combo of the 4x4 and automatic transmission. A 4x4 5 spd does a little bit better but the 4x4 linkage is always in the way... so getting stuck with a 4x4 auto is a complete bummer... My tires are also 31x10.5'' and are a bit weathered so the side walls sag down a tad even with 45 psi. (50psi max), which killllllls my mileage.

 

[shane96ranger]

I think my gas light Is broken because my tank was low and I was gunna wait for the light to come on before I filled it and I ran out of gas at a stop sign.

Mine said "Check Gauges" rather than a Low Fuel light.

I'm pretty sure it's an 18 gallon tank... might be 18.5

The owners manual in my 96 said 20.5 gallons (Supercab).

 

[pillen140]

I'm pretty sure it's an 18 gallon tank... might be 18.5 with the half gallon being reserve. But those soft covers for the bends don't really do a great job at deflecting wind resistance. A hard surface is the way to go. As for the AC, I didn't want it drawing any power at all, plus it cycles even with it turned off... and if it does seize, oh well lol I'm still not using it...

It's a combo of the 4x4 and automatic transmission. A 4x4 5 spd does a little bit better but the 4x4 linkage is always in the way... so getting stuck with a 4x4 auto is a complete bummer... My tires are also 31x10.5'' and are a bit weathered so the side walls sag down a tad even with 45 psi. (50psi max), which killllllls my mileage.

the first pargraph, it doesnt matter if you use a hard tonneau or a soft tonneau. your ac only cycles when you have your defroster on.... and thats for a reason. the second paragraph, i have no idea what youre talking about with linkage.... i think youre saying that people are getting worse mileage with 4wd and auto transmissions, but what does linkage have to do with it? and if you filled your tires up with air, your truck still weighs something, having a brand new tire will not make a tire "not sag".

 

[pillen140]

Mine said "Check Gauges" rather than a Low Fuel light .

what he said. and you can check if it works by turning your key on but not starting your truck. should come on, if it doesnt, its probably burnt out.

 

[joecool85]

your ac only cycles when you have your defroster on.... and if you filled your tires up with air, your truck still weighs something, having a brand new tire will not make a tire "not sag".

I'm glad you noted these two issues, I was going to if no one else did. If your AC is cycling with the fan off, something is wrong. And a new tire technically will get worse gas mileage because it will weigh more (more tread left) and have more rolling resistance (again, more tread left). That said, it's probably so negligible as to not be noticed.

 

[getrdone52]

I made a startling discovery! My lights don't work! Just like you said, the bulb is out. Not only that, when I turn the key right before starting it, the 4x4 hi and Lo usually goes on to with everything else but it doesn't work either. I put it in 4x4 and both the lights work, so I don't know why they don't with everything else before starting it. Could it be a fuse? Also, is every single thing supposed to light up? Cuz if it is I have a lot of bulbs out. All that lights up is the battery, Check Gage, ABS and the airbag symbol.

 

[06RangerXLT]

Wow seriously! How is yours so much better than mine?

take your foot out of the floor. i know about 100 people that say, oh my fuel economy sucks on my 4 cylinder car. go for a test drive, they launch hard.

every truck wears different. your wind drag, tire pressure, regular maintenance, oil you use, dif fluid you use, amount of power you draw from the alternator, if you let it idle before driving, gear ratio, auto or manual, trans flushes, coolant flushes, new or old belts, plugs and wires.

theres so many factors, everybody will get different.

i get 360 miles to a tank average. sometimes 380, sometimes 340. thats with a 4.0 with 32's and 4.56 gears.

like i said, take your foot out of it and you'll be fine. acceleration is where you burn the most. dont speed, dont let it rev over 2000 rpm on a start, dont throttle up hills.

its easy, you just gotta do it. my truck is rated at 16 mpg city. i get 18-20. believe me, i know ive run 3957.33 litres of gas through my truck, i know how much was E85, and was pure fuel. thats about 57.35 tanks since i bought it. at 550 a tank, thats 31,544 kms. i got it with 38,456 and im right around 69,920 now. ive changed the oil 6 times, and im half way to my next. i run full synthetic. if you know your vehicle, you know when its got a fouled plug, a dirty air filter, or a sensor going bad before it does.

if you arent as anal as me, you get worse MPG

 

[hondaxr650]

I made a startling discovery! My lights don't work! Just like you said, the bulb is out. Not only that, when I turn the key right before starting it, the 4x4 hi and Lo usually goes on to with everything else but it doesn't work either. I put it in 4x4 and both the lights work, so I don't know why they don't with everything else before starting it. Could it be a fuse? Also, is every single thing supposed to light up? Cuz if it is I have a lot of bulbs out. All that lights up is the battery, Check Gage, ABS and the airbag symbol.

Just in case somebody else posted it and I missed it, your truck does not have a low fuel light. The "check gage" light is the one that will come on if you run it low enough. They don't always come on at the same point either. When my truck was new , it came on at about 1/8 tank, now I have to run it almost below the E to get it to come on. Sort of a useless feature anyway.

 

[getrdone52]