wat are some gas saving mods

[OilPatch197]

Mythbusters ran a segment on this in the same episode as the tailgate up vs tailgate down question.

They found that running identical trucks (F-150's or Expeditions I believe), with all the windows down actually got better fuel mileage than A/C with all the windows closed because the A/C unit adds extra strain to the engine while the condenser is engaged.

But do you remember how "fast" were they simulating? I believe that for fairly low speeds, as there is not much wind drag, but what about faster speeds where the wind drag increases much?

 

[TSpring3]

But do you remember how "fast" were they simulating? I believe that for fairly low speeds, as there is not much wind drag, but what about faster speeds where the wind drag increases much?

They were on a NASCAR race track and had the cruise set at 55mph.

 

[LearjetMinako]

Yep, and 50mph is about the correct speed when drag starts to dramicaly increase. So below 50mph, windows down. Above 50mph, A/C on.

To me, screw the windows. Its 90*F outside and I've been working in it all day. I want my A/C. I can afford the .2~.5mpg loss. I'm sure the synthetics I run equal out the loss, but not the cost.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

With crappy gas, a fresh tune up, 4.30s in the diffs, and 35x15.5 TSLs, I pulled 19.45 MPG on the road.

3.0L flex, bed full of crap, i don't get it.

 

[Toms01PSD]

With crappy gas, a fresh tune up, 4.30s in the diffs, and 35x15.5 TSLs, I pulled 19.45 MPG on the road.

3.0L flex, bed full of crap, i don't get it.

What did you do to your truck besides the SAS? And how did you do it? If you're getting close to 20 mpg I need to SAS my truck. I get 15 on a GOOD day on 31s with the stock 3.73's. Same engine too....minus the bed full of crap.

 

[4x4fun]

i have efan, underdrive pulleys, exhaust, and soft cover, i did 250 miles on half a tank. in a 3.0l auto with 31's at about 55-60mph

 

[triumphrider-1]

It was also a shortbox Supercrew F-150 in both the water/rice tests and on the track.

Indeed. The bed length to cab height/length ratio (in additional to the air channels on the top of the cab) play a big factor in how helpful the vortex behind the cab will be. a regular cab long bed will have different results than the supercab short bed they used.

It should also be noted that it is illegal in some states to drive around with your tailgate down and an empty bed.

With crappy gas, a fresh tune up, 4.30s in the diffs, and 35x15.5 TSLs, I pulled 19.45 MPG on the road.

3.0L flex, bed full of crap, i don't get it.

Not bad.

Edit:
Thought this was a cool video, though I wish it showed more wind tunnel flows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_3xnVzf0EE

 

[jgertsch]

But do you remember how "fast" were they simulating? I believe that for fairly low speeds, as there is not much wind drag, but what about faster speeds where the wind drag increases much?

I might be just making up s__t, but I swear they don't take into account the weight of gas (6.5 lb/gal?). It seems their fuel economy is much higher at the end of the day when they've been driving around for hours on the same tank.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

It's the gearing plus driving it knowing I did the welding hahaha.

Depending on how I drive, i can get between 10 and 20 mpg. If I drive it like a big ass truck with an overly soft suspension, 20, if I'm passing people in a snow storm, 10.

 

[06RangerXLT]

ok heres what you can do. put your tires at at least 34psi. do an efan swap if you can, get a soft tonneau (its like a golfball with those little dents, well soft tonneau acts the same way and reduces drag by alot). drive like your 110 years old, dont bother with high octane as its just a waste of money since ranger comp ratio is around 9 to 1. high octane is only required if your in the 11' and 12 to 1 range. keep your truck clean! any crap you dont need dont haul. also on hills let off the gas as you hit the top. take your foot off the pedal and throw it in neutral if you want when going down hills. draft if you can, brake early, coast to red lights instead of hitting the brakes at the last second and dont slam the gas taking off.

theres no reason to rush anywhere. if you do need to rush, you should have left earlier.

If you have questions let me know. im all about mpg while still enjoying my truck and ive spent days figuring out what i know.

\/ thats what i drive and i get 21 mpg in the city. 24 to 27 highway.

 

[TheTopher]

ok heres what you can do. put your tires at at least 34psi. do an efan swap if you can, get a soft tonneau (its like a golfball with those little dents, well soft tonneau acts the same way and reduces drag by alot). drive like your 110 years old, dont bother with high octane as its just a waste of money since ranger comp ratio is around 9 to 1. high octane is only required if your in the 11' and 12 to 1 range. keep your truck clean! any crap you dont need dont haul. also on hills let off the gas as you hit the top. take your foot off the pedal and throw it in neutral if you want when going down hills. draft if you can, brake early, coast to red lights instead of hitting the brakes at the last second and dont slam the gas taking off.

theres no reason to rush anywhere. if you do need to rush, you should have left earlier.

If you have questions let me know. im all about mpg while still enjoying my truck and ive spent days figuring out what i know.

\/ thats what i drive and i get 21 mpg in the city. 24 to 27 highway.

If you really want to get technical you should be leaving it in gear and letting off the gas at the top of the hill. The truck's fuel cutoff system will kick on and turn off the fuel injectors if you're above a certian RPM (Usually 1200-1300 in most vehicles) and your TPS is reading below a certain setting, something like 13 on my truck. Most OBDII and newer vehicles have this feature. My 95 has it.


Without fuel engine is still running, but the energy is flowing backwards and your wheels are turning the engine, This would also be the best time to turn on your air conditioning since it costs you no gas to use it. Once the fuel cutoff mode turns off when you get slow enough, if it's an auto you can pop it into neutral while at the red light and save a little gas then go back into drive when you're ready... Unless your daily driver is a POS Chevy company truck like mine that takes a full 3-6 seconds to go into gear after you pull the shifter.



I'm pretty sure one way NOT to save gas is reviving a year-and-a-half old thread though

 

[adsm08]

Lose weight.

 

[strvger]

i went from 3.45 gears to 4.56. took off the 195/75x15, 26.5 tires and replaced them with 215/85x16, 31" tires. the tires are E rated and i have them aired at 35 psi. went from 16-17 mpg stock to 21 mpg. that's on the freeway cruising at 65 mph. and now i'm carrying even more weight thanks to my 27 gallon aux. fuel tank in the bed. i can go an honest 800+ miles before refueling when i'm traveling. i can use 5th gear with my cruise control and it goes up and down the hills much easier.

 

[02RangerXLT]

Buy a ricer.

 

[06RangerXLT]

If you really want to get technical you should be leaving it in gear and letting off the gas at the top of the hill. The truck's fuel cutoff system will kick on and turn off the fuel injectors if you're above a certian RPM (Usually 1200-1300 in most vehicles) and your TPS is reading below a certain setting, something like 13 on my truck. Most OBDII and newer vehicles have this feature. My 95 has it.


Without fuel engine is still running, but the energy is flowing backwards and your wheels are turning the engine, This would also be the best time to turn on your air conditioning since it costs you no gas to use it. Once the fuel cutoff mode turns off when you get slow enough, if it's an auto you can pop it into neutral while at the red light and save a little gas then go back into drive when you're ready... Unless your daily driver is a POS Chevy company truck like mine that takes a full 3-6 seconds to go into gear after you pull the shifter.



I'm pretty sure one way NOT to save gas is reviving a year-and-a-half old thread though

No doubt reviving old posts is the best!

i like your ideas. but i doubt id do alot of them. i know all these things listed help alot, but im usually to busy driving to worry about alot of this stuff.

the best way to save gas still is plan your routes, take your time and lighten your truck any way you can. now removing things like spare tires wont do much other then leave you stuck on the road with a flat, but if you have bags of sand laying around in the back id suggest taking them out. with these trucks i think this topic should be a sticky. because these rangers dont get nearly the mpg or horsepower they should. hell ive seen a v6 in a kia get over 30 highway with 260 somethin horses. so ford's done something wrong here cus my 4.0 doesn't do near that.