Horrid mpg please help

[Haydenhilbert]

Hello my name is Hayden. I have a 1998 ford ranger 2.5l manual 5speed with a 3" spindle lift and a 3" body lift not a big fan of the body lift as I bought it that way I run 32x11.50 falken Rocky Mountains also geared to 4:56
I am getting about 13mpg and I can't stand it I feel like I should be gettin at least 18
Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Mark_88]

has it recently gotten worse or has it been like that since you bought it?

I'd say, if it has always been like that, the big tires, lift, and overall dynamics of the truck are your enemies in gas mileage. If you don't like the lift, drop the body back on the frame and maybe consider smaller tires.

If it has only recently gotten worse then you may need to check things like air filter, tire pressure, and check for codes that may indicate a sensor is out of spec and your computer is compensating by dumping more fuel...

But I'm sure you will get other suggestions and maybe even something helpful from some of the more knowledgeable members...

 

[adsm08]

I'm with Mark. The tire size, plus the added drag of the lift, plus the dinky little excuse for an engine, well it's just having to work too hard to do the job you are asking of it.

Look into a 5.0 swap.

 

[Revhendo]

Tires and gearing are gonna be huge killers on MPG. Driving style also has a big affect on it. If you're pushing to compensate for an engine that hates the tall profile and big rolling resistance, then your mileage will suffer. Oddly, a V8 swap makes sense in this respect because you won't work it near as hard. Inversely, as your big silly grin factor goes up, your fuel economy goes goes way down.

 

[tmcalavy]

That's about it unless you drop the lift, tires and get a better gear ratio. Meantime, train it to run on home-made hooch or kerosene.

 

[adsm08]

4.56 gears wouldn't be too bad if he dropped a few inches on the tire size.

 

[RANGERROD]

Want better mileage buy a car.