how to drive a 3.0

[hihoslvr]

hey, so what kinda mileage ya'll gettin? I drive mine like Kdawg, and average 20mpg.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

my "normal" driving is probably considered to be a medium to heavy foot and my average is about 20mpg.

i can easily hit 24-25 by dropping 5th gear on the highway.

and im doing an experiment now with premium fuel to see if i can increase my mileage (to hopefully at least offset the cost of more expensive fuel).

 

[funkingonutz]

Wait....you get better gas milege if you keep the rpm's between 2000 and 3000, ?
I shift at 3000 (like everyone else) but i cruise at 1500, (EX: at 45 im in 5th gear with the rpm's at 1500 exact) I thought that the lower the rpm's, the better your gas milege?? Im confused here

 

[thegoat4]

Wait....you get better gas milege if you keep the rpm's between 2000 and 3000, ?
I shift at 3000 (like everyone else) but i cruise at 1500, (EX: at 45 im in 5th gear with the rpm's at 1500 exact) I thought that the lower the rpm's, the better your gas milege?? Im confused here

Depends more on how hard you have to mash the pedal to maintain that speed. If I have to push the pedal down more than 1/4 I usually drop a gear when cruising. If I still have to mash the throttle at the higher rpms, I'll just shift back up and live with it.

The more you mash the pedal down, the more air that goes through the engine. The more air that goes through the engine, the more fuel that's injected, because, you know, lean is bad.

Hook up a vacuum gauge and drive around with it for a week. You'll see.

 

[arkantor]

Yeah I am getting around 12 but I also drive mine about two miles to school everyday in sub zero temps. I also have permanently locked hubs and 3.73 with 31's seems to screw with the mileage also.

 

[michowski]

Wait....you get better gas milege if you keep the rpm's between 2000 and 3000, ?
I shift at 3000 (like everyone else) but i cruise at 1500, (EX: at 45 im in 5th gear with the rpm's at 1500 exact) I thought that the lower the rpm's, the better your gas milege?? Im confused here

The 3.0 gets the best gas mileage around 3000rpm. Thats because the most power you can get from this motor is from like 2800-4000rpm. When its in that powerband it doesnt have to work as hard to get the truck moving faster. The 4.0 is best around 2000rpm because its powerband is from like 2000-3000rpm. Why dont you for one tank go fill up and keep it from like 2500-3000 in gear and shift around 3500-4000. Notes the mileage and get your mpg. Fill up again and drive it normal how you do now and then compare the two.

 

[hihoslvr]

yeah, I'll have to play around with it sometime, right now I haven't driven in over a month. I'm in Northern California, and we've already hit 70 degrees F, and the low is around 40. Gas however is $3.50 for reg and $3.75 for prem. and diesel is like $3.80. So anyway, lately I've just been walking and ridin the bus, and when I drive, I'm like an old man... nice and easy.

 

[flyingbrick]

Gas is about $1.11 a liter up here in Winnipeg, last time i put on fuel i had my friend with me, he could not stop laughing so when we got going after when i asked whats up? He said ''dude, your 65 bux would get me about 2 tanks or about 1000KMs'' (by the way he owns a Festiva). and he mocked me for buying a ranger, till he needed a bunch of steel to make a go cart think we loaded that in his car, lol I'll get him back for mocking me.

 

[piffsedge13]

Guess I will have to give this a try. I shift at barely 3000 rpm, so should I be shifting it at like 3500, 4000 to get the full benefit of this engine? I'm new to the whole V6 deal, All i have ever had is an I4.

 

[MUDDING B-3000]

ya i think i only get like 15 -18 mpg on my truck and gas in barrie ontario canada is $1.07 a liter which isnt bad but compared to a year ago when it was about 85 to 90 cents a liter so my truck takes about 50 to $55 to fill but i havnt filled it in a while cuz im a lil straped for cash

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

Guess I will have to give this a try. I shift at barely 3000 rpm, so should I be shifting it at like 3500, 4000 to get the full benefit of this engine? I'm new to the whole V6 deal, All i have ever had is an I4.

i shift below 3k when im just cruising around town...but anytime you want power (3/4 to full throttle) you really need to wind it up to about 4 grand.