Ways to Increase Fuel Economy

[jdh]

Electric fan, synthetic oil, clean air filter, and proper air pressure in the tires will do more for you than all the fancy cold air kits, exhaust cat backs, intake tornados, and fancy gimicks.  Unless you reprogram the ECU it will adjust to compensate for the improved air flow and you will see little change in the economy.  BTDT.

Or as someone else said, sell it and buy a more economical truck.

[runofthemill]

Good Idea sniper.. but one huge problem here.. most modern vehicles require you to be in park ot hold the clutch in when starting. Great for manuals.. bad for autos. You would have to stop then restart the car in the middle of the intersection with now moving traffic. Id just coast an auto unless its a fresh green.

I think cars with automatic trannys will start in neutral

[1952Sniper]

Yes, any automatic will start while in neutral.  I used to do it all the time in my Mercury as well as my Saturn.  And all manuals, of course, can be started while moving by just picking the right gear and letting the clutch out (without using the starter motor).

Yea, well for most of us with automatics and P/S P/B I'm pretty hesitant about coasting merrily along without brakes or steering, or at least with EXTREMELY hard braking and steering.

Have you tried it, galahad?  All modern vehicles that use power assist are still required to be able to stop and have limited steering when the engine loses power.  This is part of federal safety regulations.  Otherwise, any time a vehicle stalls on the highway, the driver wouldn't be able to even stop the car or get off the road.  I think you'd be surprised how easy it is to coast to a stop with the engine off.  You're only good for one stop, though, without turning the engine back on.

[Danjal]

Yes, any automatic will start while in neutral.  I used to do it all the time in my Mercury as well as my Saturn.  And all manuals, of course, can be started while moving by just picking the right gear and letting the clutch out (without using the starter motor).

Yea, well for most of us with automatics and P/S P/B I'm pretty hesitant about coasting merrily along without brakes or steering, or at least with EXTREMELY hard braking and steering.

Have you tried it, galahad?  All modern vehicles that use power assist are still required to be able to stop and have limited steering when the engine loses power.  This is part of federal safety regulations.  Otherwise, any time a vehicle stalls on the highway, the driver wouldn't be able to even stop the car or get off the road.  I think you'd be surprised how easy it is to coast to a stop with the engine off.  You're only good for one stop, though, without turning the engine back on.

tell this to my prix.. it refuses to start till its in park.

[galahad]

Yea, well for most of us with automatics and P/S P/B I'm pretty hesitant about coasting merrily along without brakes or steering, or at least with EXTREMELY hard braking and steering.

Have you tried it, galahad?  All modern vehicles that use power assist are still required to be able to stop and have limited steering when the engine loses power.  This is part of federal safety regulations.  Otherwise, any time a vehicle stalls on the highway, the driver wouldn't be able to even stop the car or get off the road.  I think you'd be surprised how easy it is to coast to a stop with the engine off.  You're only good for one stop, though, without turning the engine back on.

  I don't know what "modern" is but my '91 GMC 4WD is basically unsteerable without power.  I don't know about the Monte Carlo, never tried it. 

[Alabama]

Try this on: My gf says fill it up when it's cool, like in the morning, when the gas is denser. Keep more than 1/2 a tank to limit evap and pump slow to limit aeration during fueling. Could be in my head, but the needle does seem to be going down slower...

Personally, I drive like I'm trying to make it to the station: coast it. Use the weight of the vehicle as much as you can on hills and around curves; don't fight the gravity. Eh, fwiw.

edited to add: Oh, and drafting is proven by NASCAR. YMMV  (I can't believe nobody's used that yet!)

[galahad]

edited to add: Oh, and drafting is proven by NASCAR. YMMV  (I can't believe nobody's used that yet!)

  Yea, and if you're drafting on me in my truck you're going to get a good, old fashioned, NASCAR brake check!!   

[Grnrngr]

Can't say about all front wheel drive cars, but I broke the hanger on the car that the motor mount attaches to, by bump starting with the clutch. I know of several others that have done this as well, except in emergency situations, I would strongly advise against habitual rolling starts using the clutch on FWD vehicles (especially Chrysler/Mitsubishi products) not to mention it puts additional wear on the clutch itself. Turning it on and off between lights is also rediculously hard on the starter. As far as 318s go, it's all about gearing. I consistantly got 20-25 mpg with 318s in my Darts and Dusters and I have a heavy foot (and a driving record to prove it). The same motor in a truck will only get 12 -15 because of the difference in gearing. Probably is a good idea to turn it off while you wait in line at Starbucks or Burger King drive-thrus, probably even a better idea to ban that drive-thru crap altogether. I can hear it now..."but i don't have time to run inside.." so you wait longer in line with the engine running than it would take to stop, go inside, place an order, get the order, go back outside, get in your car and leave. But what can you say to someone who pays $3.00 for a $.25 cup of coffee...got about as much a chance of banning drive-thrus as it would be to make driving and talking on the damned cell phone illegal.

[just for fun]

As you have read there are many ways to improve on milage. the very best one to date- consolidate your trips. can't do much about back and forth to work, but after that the ball is in your park. herein lies the answere! leave it parked. the days of "Riding the Roads" is over.

[hillbillyboy]

get a good muffler, or run your truck straight pipe, also get a turbo, both of these will give you more power and better mileage

[Alabama]

But I love Ridin' the Roads! 

[Grnrngr]

Well, on the bright side, when there are less cars on the roads, bicycling will be a lot safer...

[jlwilliams]

Seem to be overlooking the obvious.  Reduce the weight.  That's always been the cheapest performance upgrade because you aren't buying anything, youre cutting stuff off.  The old 'bobber' motorcycles are a good example.  Take a good long look at what you can do without, and get rid of it.  You may end up with a truck that looks something between 'The Road Warrior' and 'Sanford and Son' but you will get more mileage hauling less weight.

[jblomenberg16]

I had always heard that starting an engine consumes as much as idling for 5 minutes, if that is true I dont know about turning the engine off at stoplights.

That's a myth.  It's impossible, actually.  Your engine will only inject enough fuel to start the combustion process.  I think the general rule of thumb is that if you're stopped for longer than 30 seconds, you're better off stopping the engine.

Actually, its not impossible.  Most (Not all) engines actually over fuel at start up to ensure a start.  You typcially need a fuel rich mixture for this to happen.  Remember not so long ago cars with chokes?  Now, not sure how much fuel that is in comparison to the fuel burnt idling, but it does go rich and burn more fuel temporarily until it reachs stable low idle speed.  In fact, in some cases it might be 2 to 3 times the amount of fuel normally needed to sustain idle!  I'd say that if you're driving in stop and go city traffic, you'd end up burning more fuel, but in drive thru's, RR crossings, and other extended idling periods you'd have a gain.

But, you are right, you can save fuel by avoiding extended idling.  That's something we're working very hard in in the Diesel engine industry at the moment.  Big rig trucks are notorious for extended idling.  Same with other industrial equipment, big dump trucks, etc.  Idle is one of the most inefficient operating points for an engine, and also one of the most damaging.


Eveyone else has pretty much nailed it though, the number one way you and I can improve fuel economy is to slow down.  Power needed to move a vehicle goes up with the square of the velocity.  The second way is as discussed by many as well, eliminate all unnecessary idling. 

Here's some other good tips and info:  http://www.everytime.cummins.com/every/pdf/MPG_Secrets_Whitepaper.pdf
Its tailored to on-highway trucks, but many of the same rules apply to our daily drivers.



P.S.  My '01 Dodge Ram 2500 gets 21mpg at 70mph, and 28mpg at 60mph.  Just sucks that I'm paying  $4.25+ per gallon of fuel right now...

[Poncho400]

Bmartens, I have a 2000 Durango with the 4.7L Magnum (I'm guessing you have similar).

I drive extremely light-footed, but I still only get 13-16mpg city. Thank God I only use the truck twice a week. I need to start saving up some money to get some nice upgrades to improve mileage (exhaust, headers, air filter).

Whats funny is, the few times I've actually floored it (which was quite fun), I can LITERALLY see the needle go down. Thats how hungry my damn truck is.