Tips for maximizing fuel economy

[lesterl]

my 1995 just got 16mpg hwy/ city driving mix. needs an alignment and a few other issues.

 

[lesterl]

Anyone use a "Variable Orifice Tube" in their AC system? Supposed to help with MPG and make compressor run cooler for longer life....

 

[Zipper369]

Not sure if I have one or not. But speaking of the AC system, I've been thinking about completely taking mine out. If I removed all the piping, compressor, etc., would that improve MPG much? Just wondering because it got "fixed" by several mechanics several times in one summer and never worked for more than a month before it would lose coolant again. It still doesn't work and I usually rock windows down anyway, so I don't need it.

 

[Topdeadcenter]

Hollowed out my cats I get about 450 to a tank

 

[Topdeadcenter]

I know it got better but not sure if that is accurate mileage sorry mother nature

 

[lesterl]

Need to post how many gallons it took to refill when you ran the 450.... Miles/ Gallon....

 

[Beeker702]

I get 450 mile a tank on the highway and its still 50 state legal. Volant cold air intank, headers, magnaflow y-pipe and cats and flowmaster cat back muffler and a superchip programmer with E3 plugs and accel coil and distributor. Will post pics of it tomorrow. Still have to get my 8mm plug wires. All senthrntic fluids. Royal pupal in the rear end and trans and Mobil 1 in motor. Even wheel beating grease as well

 

[lesterl]

So is it 450 miles on 26 gallons of fuel, 30 gallons, 20 gallons? Your gas guage is a glorified idiot light with a needle....

 

[Beeker702]

30 gallon tank. I don't use the gas guage, I calculate it the old way and plus I have one of the scan gauge II in place of where the CD player used to be. This is all highway driving all in I10 going from fl to Texas and back to fl. I was thinking about pushing 500 miles but I never trust gas gauges. But every time I filled up id be putting in 20-22 gallons of gas which averages around 20-22mpg. And yes I believe in nitrogen in your tires. I change my oil 3,000-4.000 miles and rotate the tires every other oil change. Soon I won't be getting that gas mileage once I find a set of 3.73 gears for my tahoe. So in other words I get better gas mileage then it did when it came out of the factory

 

[cruzer076]

I have found there are a few modifications that can make a great deal of difference in your quest for better fuel efficiency/gas mileage. Combining some or all of these can increase your MPG significantly. You will just have to decide if the cost outweigh the benefits.

1. Switching to synthetic oil. Can improve gas mileage up to .05 - 1 MPG
2. Switching to synthetic transmission oil. can improve gas mileage by 1% - 2%
3. Cold Air Intake - Can improve HP and improve gas mileage from .05 - 3 MPG
4. Cat Back Exhaust can improve HP and improve gas mileage from .05 - 3 MPG
5. Performance Chip/Tune can significantly improve HP and improve gas mileage from .05 - 4 MPG (May also decrease gas mileage depending on how heavy your foot becomes)
6. Underdrive Pulleys - Can increase HP and improve gas milage from .05 - 2 MPG
7. SeaFoam - Can increase HP and improve mileage by removing build up and gunk from your top end.
8. Injector Cleaner - Can improve mileage by remove build up/junk from injectors.
9. Tire Pressure - Increasing tire pressure can help improve mpg, lowering your "rolling resistance" by over inflating your tires can help reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency, every 1lbs of pressure helps by .4% so going from 32 lbs to 37 increases fuel economy by 2%. Never exceed the manufacture max pressure (most are 44lbs)

*Please note: numerical values will vary and will depend on your make/model/and any mods on your vehicle and driving style.

Car Maintenance
Fuel and Fire
1. check/replace Spark plugs
2. check/replace spark plug wires
3. check/replace cap/distributor/ coil packs
4. check/replace air filter
5. check/replace fuel filter
6. Ensure all check engine lights/codes are properly addressed
7. Ensure there are no emission vacuum hose leaks

Other things you can do.
1. Use Cruise Control often - Cruise control was designed to optimize your milage and power/speed ratio. it will use the most appropriate amount of fuel to maintain the velocity of the vehicle. Use it often!
2. Cut off Air Conditioner when driving - (Use with caution especially if you have a significant other that is always hot) but this can save significant mpg's on a long trip or commute.
3. Weight Reduction - Removing rear seats and spare tire can lighten your vehicle from 50-100 lbs allowing your motor work less to get up to speed, increasing fuel efficiency.
4. Drive slower/Lower RPM - Your RPM gauge looks different driving at 75mph vs 55 mph...The Lower your rpms are the less fuel you will use.
5. Gearing -"Installing a set of lower numerical gears will translate to higher fuel economy. Switching from a set of 3.23s to 2.73s will lower your auto’s normal operating rpm range during driving using less fuel. NOTE: You car's acceleration performance can feel greatly decreased because of lower gears
6. Waxing (umm for your car..) - Reducing wind drag will help increase MPG, it may not be noticeable on a per tank basis but over time and in conjunction with other modifications you can realize better result.

 

[Chaingun]

Few questions on tune up parts for increased MPG (the truck has 194K) I'm getting roughly 10.4 (according to my DIC) in town. I haven't checked highway milage yet. I'll be installing a new cap and rotor later this week and i'm thinking about an MSD coil. Plugs are newish (5k miles) and wires are good. Alignment will be done monday as well and tires are new with good pressure. What other repairs are common for returning at least some of the mileage to this old motor

 

[lesterl]

Few questions on tune up parts for increased MPG (the truck has 194K) I'm getting roughly 10.4 (according to my DIC) in town. I haven't checked highway milage yet. I'll be installing a new cap and rotor later this week and i'm thinking about an MSD coil. Plugs are newish (5k miles) and wires are good. Alignment will be done monday as well and tires are new with good pressure. What other repairs are common for returning at least some of the mileage to this old motor

Start a new thread, tell us what you have, what issues its got, what you have done to it, what you are doing to it, and where we can help....

 

[nathanhanover]

The first things for my stock truck I did was change the ypipe Catylitic to a new exact fit from jegs and I sprayed my O2 intake clean, and new oem engine pullys, they bearings go bad and drag
my tahoe went from 314 miles out of a 26 gal tank to 360 miles for normal driving. it's amazing. All that other stuff was just throwing money away.
You want to ease the engine function. Also a really old AC pump will eat your MPG too. All in I think I spent $720.00