Need help with plan to save on gas,,
 

With gas murdering my wallet at the pump, I know you V6 4x4 guys have it the worse, I need help, so with reading all the threads on gas so far Ive compiled a list of what my next mods will be for my truck,,

1. K&N Dropin FILTER - Where to buy? How are they labeled?

2. EFAN - Do they make it for the 2.3L?? and who would sell and install it?

3. Tonneau - I know a place,, Id have to get a hard top, too many kids at my school would want to rip a soft top,,

4. Alcolas - Are they lighter then the stock spare steel 15"s? Any other ideas?

5. Royal Purple 5-30 synthetic oil - Where to find it and is i good for the 2.3L?

6. Tuner - Are there tuners for the 2.3L? and where can I get it?

7. Underdrive pulley - What is it and does it help? And where at?

Thank you,, in 2 weeks Ill have a job and be able to pay for all these fun hopefully money saving toys, though they might not pay for themselves right now, if gas does hit $5 a gallon, they just might,, I love this truck too much to ever sell it for an economy car,,

for what you spend getting all of that, youll be in a hole for like 10 years before you make the money back from gas...

lighter wheels will give you like .1mpg.... efan will give like 2ish, tonnue isnt even worth it unless you get it for dirt cheap or have alterary motive for getting it, and im not sure if a tunner will help your 2.3 or not....

a hard top will not really help to much on a 4cyl. its weight will affects it "effectiveness".

and you can get a xcal from jusnes modified, they should be able to program for a 4cyl.

1. worthless and totally useless, the paper filter flows more air than a 2.3 could ever ingest and a ton less dirt and dust.

2. wont save much in the gas department

3. a toneau might save you 1MPG, but a hard toneau weights probly around 150 pounds, so you will lose any MPG you save.

4. steels are lighter than aluminums, but the factory aluminum rims are still very very light and changing things out wont affect much in the MPG department if at all.

5. royal purple is a great oil, but a different oil wont gain you much in teh MPG either. if you wanted to for protection of the engine, the mobil 1 is a good synthetic and can be bought almost anywhere includeing wal-mart.

6. can be worth it if you want to spend the money for it... probly good for 3-4 MPG with a $400 price tag

7. wont help with mileage and will change the way the truck runs slightly.

the best ways to keep your MPG up is to ahve the truck runnign good, meaning a good tune up with the right sparkplugs (not bosch, use autolites), good plug wires, new fuel and air filters, make sure there are no vacuum leaks and that there are no trouble codes. if the O2 sensor is over 100K miles old it's worth replacing it. and the biggest thing is keep the tires at the correct air pressure and the alignment good and straight. keep the suspension parts in good condition and make sure all the drivetrain fluids (tranny and rear end) are full and in good shape.

dont believe the hype that is placed on a lot of these products out there. an engine can only be so efficient...

With all the money you would be spending, you wont be able to afford gas ;]

If your going to put parts on your truck, do it for fun, because saving in the gas milege will take a long time to pay all that off..

I'm a nut about fuel economy since I use my Ranger for long trips and never for off roading (maybe to fishing locations, but that's it). The three things that I've found that appear to be worthwhile are: efan, tuner (bamachips) and keeping the engine clean, ie change the oil when needed, use a little sea foam perhaps, keep the air filter in good shape.


There is really little to just bolt on and see a huge jump, the tuner being mainly the only item that qualifies in this category. How you actually drives makes a huge difference, as well as what's on the truck. I have a big truck cap on the back of mine which weighs a lot. I like my cap for the cargo capacity it gives, but I'll admit the visibility with it can stink at times and it would be nice to have a tonneau cover instead. Granted, being able to shove an entire sofa back there and not worry about rain or theft is nice.

If you are about burning people at the stoplight, slamming on the brakes, and nailing the gas pedal to the floor, sucks for you. The best fuel economy I have managed ever is around 350 miles out of the 16 gallon gas tank, or something like 21 MPG (separate occasion, not with a full tank). Without the cap, I might see better performance, but it's been long since I didn't have the cap on the truck that I can't answer that question.

Potential loss areas are having the tailgate down, yes down, leaving your windows down and running the air conditioner constantly. The windows will not affect things that much, but all the little add on like nerf/step bars, ventvisors, ect. can take a little bit of energy away and require more fuel to move the vehicle.

I tend to cruise with the windows cracked, no AC or heat, things as buttoned up as possible and around 70 MPH between 2500-2800 RPM. If I really feel uncomfortable, I add the vents or will turn on low AC. I haven't travelled a huge distance with my EATC, but I'll let yall know if it saves any fuel (I doubt it). Fuel prices stink all over. If you REALLY want to save fuel costs, go here and beg: http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/ I want one :)

only things that can REALLY help are the efan and a soft tonnau cover. aluminum wheels ARE lighter than steel wheels, but you wont notice a change in MPG with them. a tuner may help with your gas mileage but it all really depends on how you drive the truck.

we have efans and tuners on our site.

As has already been said, tuner and e-fan are about your only options for mechanically assisted fuel economy. Too bad yours is an auto, the parasitic loss of power from an auto is a problem when you are trying to tune for milage. If the tuner and e-fan make it really peppy you might increase tire size by about 10% with a tall skinny tire like a 7.00 15 LT , it worked on my 01 . Just remember , if you try it and don't reflash your computer for the new tires, it won't show in your fuel computations. Some 7.00 15's are almost 30 inch tall and LIGHT. They are also fairly cheap ground clearance [ which I needed]. But do the fan and tuner first, I don't want you cursing me because you're bogging. Good luck , bob.

http://racerwalsh.zoovy.com/category/ford_racing_parts/
www.summitracing.com
www.jegs.com

Anything you can find that will increase your HP with out hurting your MPG will actually increase your MPG. I know that sounds kinda of redundent. Basically, if doesn't hurt it, then it'll help.

In my experience with my '87, inflate the tires about 2-5 psi above the reccomended. As crazy as this may sound, if you take the power steering belt off, you can gain almost 2mpg. Stick pretty close to the stock size tire because if you get 'em too big, it's pulling more power and will decrease your MPG. Of course, regular maintenance if the best way to go for keeping good fuel milage.

1. Filter. They pop up in the classifieds section pretty often. New they are available anywhere via internet or local parts stores.

2. If you're near Austin I have 2 laying around that I could install turn key for under $100. A good starting price for buying one new would be around $120 w/temp sensor. They can get over $200 easily,

3. Not cheap for a hardtop. Luckily it has other uses. Get one that prevents the tailgate from opening when the lid is locked.

4. Kudos for thinking of weight reduction. Sprung weight such as wheels will help several times more than unsprung weight such as occupants and stuff in your bed. Weight kills MPG, unsprung weight kills it more.

5. Any full synthetic will help. Mobil 1, Redline, Royal purple. If your truck calls for 5w20 it will help more being a lighter oil than the 30 you mentioned.

6. Tuners are available.

7. No underdive pulleys for your application. You could underdrive the alt which would get you maybe 10-20% of the benefit and underdrive crank pulley would give you. It's cheap also- about $30- $40.

Dude jus get a bike. You'll get inshape, might get laid, and save a lot more than driving everywhere.

try a scooter... im still trying to convince my parents to let me take it the 5 miles to my job but the roads 55mph and the scooter goes 35 so they dont like that....

beter yet an electric scooter

i had a k&n drop-in filter in my truck and it gave me worse gas milage, clogged my mafs, but if you reallly want one walmart now stocks them.

Make your own tonneau... I have some aluminum rails and office partition that I got from a buddy's work, and I made a nice tonneau out of it. Don't have any pictures, but when I get my cam back, I'll post some