Gas mileage tricks or myths ?

[Mac]

I had the modern day equivalent of a vacume gauge on my '05' Mustang in the display panel in the form of a instant reading bar graph, and yes, the speed and how you are driving really showed up in it. With the 300HP Gt I was able to get 28mpg at interstate speed of 72mph. Slowing down to 60-65 showed worst mileage, seems like the sweet spot was right around 70-72 with my combonation. No egg was harmed in this example.

 

[gw33gp]

Wait.... How does coasting in neutral use more gas than coasting in gear? I always assumed that lower RPM with no stress uses the least amount of gas. I always throw my truck into neutral down hills because 800 RPM with no stress compared to 2500 RPM useing engine brakeing just seems logical that it would use less gas.

Some one fill me in lol?

When you coast in gear, the fuel out of the injectors is shut off after a very short period. This is part of the emissions strategy. If you coast in neutral with the engine idling, it requires fuel to keep it idling so the fuel does not shut off.

With a carburetor it probably is better to coast in neutral for better gas mileage but it is still not a good idea with respect to safety.

 

[JohnnyO]

With a carburetor it probably is better to coast in neutral for better gas mileage but it is still not a good idea with respect to safety.

Nor if you have an automatic transmission. If it's rolling in neutral the tranny does not get proper lubrication. This is why you're not supposed to flat-tow an automatic very far. If you keep doing it on one you drive, it will probably catch up with you sooner or later and a rebuild job will cost more than any gas you save.

It's like I got told when I bought my jetski, "If you want a faster jetski, buy a faster jetski. Modding the one you have only leads to more mods and more problems."
If you really want to save money on gas, either 1) buy a 4-banger Ranger or 2) buy a 4-banger car.

Ain't no free lunch.

 

[Will]

My truck uses the smashmouth method of fuel economy. You mercilessly pummel the air in front of you by driving the maximum possible frontal area into it. Then, badly beaten, those air molecules retreat warning the other ones in your path, like little molecular Paul Reveres.

IC 9-21-8-44
Coasting in neutral when traveling upon a down grade; prohibition
Sec. 44. (a) A person who drives a motor vehicle may not coast with the gears of the vehicle in neutral when traveling upon a down grade.
(b) A person who drives a commercial motor vehicle may not coast with the clutch disengaged when traveling upon a down grade.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.

 

[nate12346]

Ahhh... I see now. I forget about emission control stuff. It makes sence that fuel would shut off too. I guess I'll keep her in gear next time and see if I improve a little bit. I already get with stock gearing and 31"s on my B2 on average around 19-20 MPG. On bad days I have gotten it down to 4 or 5 lol. And a good day or two of highway cruisein brought it just below 26.

 

[xavierarmadillo]

An electric fan rather then the one mounted to the water pump. That saves mileage.

 

[Bent Bolt]

Nor if you have an automatic transmission. If it's rolling in neutral the tranny does not get proper lubrication. This is why you're not supposed to flat-tow an automatic very far. If you keep doing it on one you drive, it will probably catch up with you sooner or later and a rebuild job will cost more than any gas you save.

I'm afraid not. With the engine running ,the trans will get all the lube it needs because the front pump is turning. When you flat tow with the engine off, no pressurized lube to planetarys or rear bushing. The rear driveshaft will spin said parts dry and then BOOM !!!

 

[LearjetMinako]

Probably the best one is to park it and walk. Or take a bus, bicycle, motorcycle. And bugging your best bud to carpool you to work.

But seriously, proper manitence and tune-ups help a bunch. I should know, got my Ranger as tuned-up out as it can get without going into aftermarket add-ons. Synthenic oil through out the drivetrain does help, especially in the winter. Easy on the pedals also helps. Knowing when to shift and coast also helps. A/C off below 50mph can give 1-2mpg gains.

As is, the 2.3L Ranger gets 23-27mpg. My Kawasaki KLX250s always seems to get 65mpg.

 

[HAPPY_RANGER_GUY]

An electric fan rather then the one mounted to the water pump. That saves mileage.

That statement would fall into the 'myth' category.

T.

 

[pacodiablo]

I had a tonneau cover on my Ranger. It made no difference at all. What did make a difference was the Dynomax cat back exhaust and going easy on the gas.

With the Explorer, replacing the DPFE and thermostat made a world of difference. I think replacing the thermostat likely made the biggest difference, but I can't say for sure since both parts were replaced at roughly the same time. Obviously, if your thermostat and DPFE are working right, this will not help...but in my case the coolant gauge was staying on L and my CEL was on.

Both vehicles get better MPG than their EPA ratings. The Ranger is about 22 city/28 highway, the Explorer about 18 city/22 highway.

 

[Danger-Ranger96]

heres a little no brainer - i just got rid of my old K&N filter, it was hooped, the meshing was tearing apart and the thing was covered in mud and coffee ground textured dirt.

I put a new K&N in have noticed a huge increase in hp and mileage.

Also with the ethanol blended gas, i find that i get a bit better mileage, not to mention if you throw an octane booster in the gas it really helps.

Also Fuel Injector cleaner works awesome too.

another thing i do is usually drive around at about 3000 + rpm and notice that i don't burn as much gas either, less load on the motor i guess?

 

[macdaddy31516]

An electric fan rather then the one mounted to the water pump. That saves mileage.

i think you meant to say, switching from mechanical fan to electric fan gives you more horsepower.

 

[ngzcaz]

Wouldnt it be interesting to see a wind tunnel test with the tailgate up, down and covered ? Preferably with some coloring dust so you could see whats actually going on ? I dont have one on the Ranger yet but I have one on my 1979 ElCamino and it doesn't take a genius to look out the rear mirror and see the wind buffeting the cover.. So it would seem to be a good idea.

 

[Bent Bolt]

I had a tonneau cover on my Ranger. It made no difference at all. What did make a difference was the Dynomax cat back exhaust and going easy on the gas.

With the Explorer, replacing the DPFE and thermostat made a world of difference. I think replacing the thermostat likely made the biggest difference, but I can't say for sure since both parts were replaced at roughly the same time. Obviously, if your thermostat and DPFE are working right, this will not help...but in my case the coolant gauge was staying on L and my CEL was on.

Both vehicles get better MPG than their EPA ratings. The Ranger is about 22 city/28 highway, the Explorer about 18 city/22 highway.

A properly working T-stat has a HUGE effect on fuel economy. For whatever reason, the 4.0L is particularly fussy about it and the t-stat seems to fail open about every 2 years. When the t-stat fails open, the engine does not warm up properly and the PCM will keep dumping fuel into the engine. 99% of the time it won't set the CEL.

 

[ngzcaz]

Also with the ethanol blended gas, i find that i get a bit better mileage, not to mention if you throw an octane booster in the tank.
?

Well.... that certainly seems to go against the grain. Most of the current thinking is that the ethanol mix, while intended to save some gas, actually is making our current dependence on petrol even worse due to the lousy gas mileage it gives. Even if the vehicles would run on straight ethanol you wouldnt want to pay the price. Factor in the soaring prices of everything because of transportation costs and it becomes obvious that we need another source of fuel. ... like yesterday.. I'm tired of giving money to the middle east nuts and their money hungry cronies..
And an octane booster will only work if you did any mods that increased the octane requirements of your vehicle. You may have just gotten back up to the octane level before the ethanol fill up.