New just purchased '90 ranger 2.3L 5speed

[smarttowers]

I'm Tom, just bought a '90 ranger 2.3L 5 speed with 3.08 rear end. First ranger so far liking it had to replace the fill tube fix the fuel gauge and some other minor stuff. Found the forums great for both the fill tube and fuel gauge fixes.

I have 205/70/R14 tires on it now and looking for gas mileage at 70-75 mph. I plugged the gear ratio's into a calculator with 2600 for the RPM and seems that the 3.08 may not be the best for fuel mileage. Engine is setup best possible for fuel efficiency no A/C or P/S. I'm just wondering is 2600 RPM going to be the best point for fuel efficiency since its the max torque point? If so would putting in a 3.45 or 3.55 give me considerably better mileage or would it be minuscule gains? I'd say tires but the ones on it are nearly new and don't want to shell out an extra $400+ for tires and new rims if I went to R15.

Any help is much appreciated as I'm going to be driving it around 100 miles daily 95% highway with about 60% 70mph speed limit rest 55mph.

 

[Will]

The thing is, it takes a certain amount of power to force a given shape through the air at a given speed. Your engine is computer controlled. There's not going to be a lot of difference between it and other computer controlled engines shoving the same shape through the air. It's much more a factor of how hard you accelerate and how high you set the cruise. None of that effects the mailbox shape of a Ranger.

Look at a Prius. That vehicle was designed for mileage. The shape is perfect. It gets stupendous mileage and it's from the shape. The Toyota Camry hybrid has the same drivetrain and does a lot worse. If you want mileage, bend your Ranger into Prius shape. That's the biggest thing. And whatever you do that makes your Ranger look less like a Prius, it makes the mileage worse.

It's not the engine (providing it is computer controlled), it's the damn vehicle.

 

[smarttowers]

The thing is, it takes a certain amount of power to force a given shape through the air at a given speed. Your engine is computer controlled. There's not going to be a lot of difference between it and other computer controlled engines shoving the same shape through the air. It's much more a factor of how hard you accelerate and how high you set the cruise. None of that effects the mailbox shape of a Ranger.

Look at a Prius. That vehicle was designed for mileage. The shape is perfect. It gets stupendous mileage and it's from the shape. The Toyota Camry hybrid has the same drivetrain and does a lot worse. If you want mileage, bend your Ranger into Prius shape. That's the biggest thing. And whatever you do that makes your Ranger look less like a Prius, it makes the mileage worse.

It's not the engine (providing it is computer controlled), it's the damn vehicle.

Ok minus the idea of getting a different vehicle what's the best setup for my current ranger to get the best fuel mileage on the highway? I know a car will get better mileage but purchased the ranger for the bed with plans of putting a camper on it for getting sleep if needed before driving 50 miles home after a 12-14 hour day. Just curious what some of the experts here have to say about my setup for fuel efficiency and what could be done to it to get better mileage.

Also forgot to mention I live in a part of New Mexico that the road is mostly flat so not many hills to worry about killing my mileage. And between me and work is about 3 stop sign/lights so it really is almost totally cruising at 70mph.