Best ways to get better....

[user 62851]

i know i could do a search but figured id just throw this out there and try to find out some better ways to save fuel and mpg. Basically, heres the deal, bought the truck in 04 and i could get about 460miles out of a tank of gas. Now for the past month, i can get maybe 260miles out of a tank and it really sucks. Not sure if the quality of gas is just crap, or its the fact alot of gas stations add 10 percent ethonal in it. When i say a tank, im not using the whole thing, i use all except about 2 gallons worth.



Stats on the truck: 04 4x4 Adrenalin, 57k miles, im not sure what the rear end it has in it. And i got 265/70r16 tires on it.



Any given ideas on how to safe mpg would be great. Any Price for upgrades is good to hear, money aint no thang these days. You have some, You lose some. Open to all comments except trade it in for something else lol thanks

 

[Todd Z]

First thing, DID you recalibrate the speedo once you put the bigger tires on it ???



Right now your loosing about 5%.... SO the truck is actually going further than you think.



Second, going by the tank full is not the right way to do it... you need to properly calculate it..



DID your driving habits change ????



Change your filters ????



Can be a BUNCH of things...



ARE you using only 87??

Todd Z

 

[Darrel Chaney01]

It could be one of your good friends. First they added gas to your tank & now they are taking it out to drive you nuts. I heard of this happening to someone that was bragging about their great gas millage.Just kidding

 

[Chris Harris]

if money "aint no thang these days" throw some my way, and forget trying to save money on gas if you have lpenty og it

 

[Gypsy me]

shvdnlayd, same thing is happening with my 04, however Todd is right, best to do the correct calculations on the mpg.



I know someting is not right on mine... my fuel filter was changed in Nov. cleaned the air filter same time... Jeff C gave me a couple of things to check and possiblities... Guess I'll have the hood up this weekend....

 

[Tom Schindler]

It is wintertime. The weather is colder and it takes longer for the engine to get to normal operating temperatue.



Summer will come and your mileage will go up.





Tom

 

[TomT]

For me it's just the opposite. Get my best gas mileage in the winter when I'm not using the AC. Of course we don't really have a winter compared to you guys up north.

 

[user 62851]

Lets see, i didnt recal the truck for the tires.. didnt think there would be much of a difference from upgrading from the stock tire of 255/65r16 to the 265/75r16. i know theres alittle difference, but not much. driving habits havent changed much, i can go about 4 days and i have to refill. most of the driving is highway time. i havent changed the fuel filter but have purchased it, just waiting for it to get warmer. its got a new air cleaner in it. i got new spark plugs, again waiting til it warms up to do it. And yes, im only using 87 gas. Been using only shell pump station gas, if that makes any difference.



Would upgrading to cold air intake, y-pipe, free flow exhaust, coil packs, plug wires, xcal2. would those upgrades help to get better mpg or defeat the purpose? maybe changing all fluids to syn. What about perhaps gettin rid of dead weight, like the oem bed cover? i dunno, im just tryin to think of good ways to save to get through this winter. when spring hits, ill have the 4 banger ranger to toy round with. Would the body lift be causing more wind draft or whatever to cut down on the gas mileage, i would guess those 3 inches could be a factor. Would having the vent on for the heater be a factor, i dunno. just thought id ask.



how do u do the calculations to figure the right mpg?

 

[Tom Schindler]

Start with full tank. Drive. Fill back up.



Miles driven/gallons used to fill up the tank=MPG





Tom

 

[Fred]

Buy a toyota or honda.... :wacko:



Figger'd I'd beat the wave of anti Ford crap. (on a Ford enthusiast website) :lol:



Keep on Trac'n.

 

[user 62851]

just checked my last receipt....



265miles / 19.573gal = im getting about 13.5mpg

 

[Chase Straw]

the tire size diff puts your mileage 5.3% lower than actual readings so your real mileage would be 14.25mpg not great but still better than seeing 13.5

 

[user 65037]

hmmm thats is weird i get about 350-375 ,miles on a tank stock motor.. when the needle is on F then to E not topping the gas tank off ... although I mostly all 90% are highway speeds

 

[Brian Miller]

On my old 2002, I used to get an average of 17 to 20 depending on driving types. On my 2005, I have not gotten any better than 15.5, but I have not had it too long and it has been cold. I hope it gets better this Spring! My Magnum with a Hemi was getting 24 on the highway, so I hope it gets better!

 

[Mike Wilson]

shvdnlayd,



Here's your page to calculate tire size. It's cool, but you may know of it

already. if it doesn't link, heres your stats:



From 255/65/16's to 265/75/16's, your stats are:



Speedometer is 8.9% too slow;



When your speedometer reads 60 m.p.h., you are actually travelling 65.4 m.p.h.



Or, when your trip odometer reads 460 miles, you have actually travelled 500.4 miles!



Hope this helps...TnB