Best ways to improve fuel economy?

[lilredtruck]

Hey everyone, I'm new to Rangers, and trucks in general. Coming from the world of 30-40mpg neons, filling up the tank is kind of a sour moment for me. Are there any tweaks I can do to bump up fuel economy a tad? I'd like to see 20mpg city, 25mpg highway if possible. Where should I start? K&N airfilter or complete cold air intake? Headers or just a better flowing muffler? Anyone ever considered building an underpan to decrease coefficient drag? Looking for ideas/recommendations. Thanks.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

buy a car.

seriously...its a truck. its not made to get good mileage...its made to work. keeping your tires up to pressure and keeping the motor tuned up is about all you can do. any gain had from things like headers, bed covers, ect will be so insignificant that they may never pay for themselves.

FYI, your truck already has a complete cold air intake.

one thing you can do is keep the motor in its "happy zone". ICE's are most efficient near their peak torque RPM, and for the 3.0 thats about 3500 rpm.

also, drive slower. i can hit 24mpg in my truck, but only at 60 MPH. at 75+ i get 17-18 just like everyone else.

 

[PARKINGLOT]

Correct air pressure in tires. Tonneau cover. Tune up. Drive less.

 

[sonicboom919]

I achieve optimum highway fuel economy at about 67mph, or 2600 to 2700 rpm's. Any more or less and I start losing a tad bit of fuel milage. As far as city, since i have a manual, shift at 2k. Idk about an automatic.

 

[Southern3.0]

If I drive my truck real easy I can get 19 city. I dont do to much highway driving so Im not to sure on that, The best tank I got was 22 mpg with a 50/50 mix of city and highway.

Wicked sumed it up though, keep your truck tuned up and keep the truck in the right Rpm's.

 

[lilredtruck]

Thanks for the replies. So nothing will alter mileage enough to make it worth the money? 24mpg highway isnt too bad for a truck I suppose...

If it were as simple as buying a car I'd just keep the one I have. However, if I sell the car I can buy a heck of a lot of gas for the truck, which is a more useful vehicle.

 

[soylent_green]

Driving style is the best way to get beter mileage. I have a 2000 4.0 4x4 5-speed extended cab with 31' mt's. Cold air intake, exhaust ends after the cats. (trail damage I havn't repaired yet)

If I drive like I want to, it'll get 15 mpg.

If I drive like an old lady; shift at 2k, push in the clutch anytime you reduce speed, time traffic lights so you always hit green, never let it sit and idle when parked.

I get 21-22 mpg consistanatly on my 60 mile daily commute.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

Go pick yourself up a 4 banger, front wheel drive beater car. They can be had for only a few hundred bucks and last forever. I’ve got 2 escorts, both get 34+ MPG and both paid for themselves within the first few months of driving. I even put a set of brand new tires on one and im still ahead of where I would be if I’d been driving the truck the whole time.