optimum mpg..... please help
 

im taking a trip to the keys this weekend. (one day...there and back) its approx. 320-360 mile trip.


many people tell me its 60mph and others tell me its 65mph.

i usually do 70mph but what would be the best speed to get most mpg?

btw......

my truck info is in my signature

I can't really help on that part but make sure your tires are inflated to the proper PSI, that can rob 1-2mpg.

Its probably worth it to pick up a new air filter for the trip.

i have a 99 b2500 xcab 4cyl 2wd stick shift (same as a ranger with the 2.5)

so far the BEST mpg ive gotten has been doing 65 to 70ish and i got 24mpg with the bed fully loaded

ive only had the truck a little over a month, and i havent taken any trips yet doing only 60, or with nothing in the bed. I have however driven it close to 4000 miles so far, 2300 of which were done in the course of a week driving from CA to WI.

Definitley agree with the previous poster about the tires though, and i plan to replace my air filter before driving back from WI to CA in august and see if that helps, im sure it was replaced somewhat recently, but where im working is a 1.5 mile each way dirt road, and ive been driving some other dirt roads too so it couldnt hurt.

well i have a 4.0 and i did 70 for 375 miles and i got 19-21 mpg stock, im sure with a few mods (i.e. cold air intake, exhaust, tune) you could do better.

Rangers aren't cold air. Their longer ram air intakes. Unless you personally route the intake tube to the front of the truck or away from the motor, you're just allowing more air to be sucked in, it's not necessarily cold. Feel the intake tube if you have an intake after a 20 mi drive. It's still warm-hot... That's because it's not cold air.

I don't see people talk about more MPG from intake, but with intake and exhaust together maybe something small, and more power, more air in, more air out.

Check the tires. Change the fuel filter and air filter. Change your oil.

Those are the best I can give you.

I get 240mi a tank at most. That's with 35's

where are you guys getting your intakes? Ive looked on ebay and they seem hella expensive, my last 3 cars before the truck were hondas and you could get a short ram for like $30 shipped!

Thats sad that your 4.0 with 4wd is pulling 21 .... the best ive gotten out of my 2.5 2wd is 24 like i stated earlier

oh and wheres the fuel filter ... its not in the gas tank is it?

I believe there's 2 filters. One in the tank and one on the frame rail, drivers side towards the rear by the tank...

Here's an interesting article for you guys.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...o/4262933.html

damn tre your milage sucks.. i get atlease 260 -290 a tank

Gotta remember though don, you got gears lol

i jus did the oil about 1,000 miles ago and the fuel filter about 5,000.

my fan clutch seized on me and i jus replaced it tuesday night and im already seeing better mpg.

tomorrow ill pick up an air filter cause it need replacing and ill make sure tires are inflated to proper psi.

thanks y'all.

I got 19.3 MPG on 35" tires last weekend coming home from the dunes.

You need to go the slowest speed once you hit your last gear, for me O/D is 5th, which is right around 50-60, thats pretty good considering its an "un-tuned" truck with only intake and exhaust on 7" lift 35" tires and 4.56 gears.

I want 4.56 gears lol..

I'm waiting on my D44 and D60 for gears lol

What gear ratios are you running? If you are running 4.10's 65 mph is about as fast as you can go without watching your fuel needle drop. switch to 10W30 motor oil, lower your tail gate and install a K&N direct O.E.M replacement airfilter and you'll get 18 in city and 24 Highway mpgs. I also changed my exhaust to a flowmaster american thunder 40 series.

Its been proven you get better gas mileage with the tailgate up.

Myth Busters FTW

The best things you can do are free.

Keep it at 65-70. Obviously it would do even better at 55-60 but lets be realistic here, thats just too slow.

Properly inflate your tires. Low air pressure creates more resistance to the tires rolling. More resistance = more work = less MPG.

Get rid of extra weight. All that crap we like to keep in the bed and behind the seats for really no reason that we'll never need and are too lazy to clean out. Get rid of it. Less weight = less work = better MPG.

Keep the tailgate UP. Lowering the tailgate makes it worse. I know it looks counter-intuitive, but aerodynamics have nothing to do with how something looks.

Use hills to coast. Let off the gas and coast to red lights rather than staying on it and jamming the brakes when you get close. Don't peg it when you start up from a stop.

Replacing your air filter if it is dirt is cheap and worthwhile. If you're staving the engine of air, it is like the choke on a lawnmower. Its so cheap, it might as well be free.

He didn't say where he would be traveling, 2 lane highway or the expressway. We avoided the expressway to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, and I'm glad we did, MPG was much better and it didn't take much longer to get there.

Of course, there wasn't much stop and go, it was a 55MPH limit and we were going right around that.

I guess if you guys are lucky enough to have a choice to travel a 2-lane highway @ 55-60 rather than the expressway then go for it. If the expressway is the only way, do what Matt said 65-70 MPH.

the best speed to get the best gas mileage is 55 thats y is the 70s when the gas wars where going on the max speed limit was set at 55 to help people get better gas mileage and buy less fuel. anything over 65 is really killing you. i try not to go over 65 and i get almost 19 mpg.

keep it at 55mph. Tre keep the ifs and get some 4.56's it will be pimp

If the goal is to optimize fuel economy, this is correct. Acceleration and transmission multiplication hurt you at city speeds. Aerodynamic drag becomes the dominant factor at steady speeds above roughly 40 MPH.

I have a fuel economy computer in my truck and the level ground fuel economy looks something like this in top gear w/converter locked:

40 MPH - 23 MPG
50 MPH - 21 MPG
60 MPH - 19 MPG
70 MPH - 17 MPG
80 MPH - 13 MPG

At speeds below 40, the steady state FE deteriorates because the transmission shifts to lower gears.

Of course, there will be a particular FE vs MPH curve for any individual truck and it probably won't look exactly like mine. Some influential factors are displacement, transmission type and ratios, axle ratio and mods. However, the trend is always the same. Once you're in the highest gear, faster will cost you.

It's not what we want to hear but, if you want the best highway fuel economy, go easy on the skinny pedal, avoid downshifts and reduce your speed.

No way dude... 5.13's and 40's FTW!

i figured i would update on my accomplishment.

21.5MPG!!!!!!!!!

344.4miles and 16gallons.

i topped off before the highway and filled up at the same station when i got back. almost exactly 16gallons.(16.048)

i am completely amazed....... before i replaced my fan clutch i was seeing maybe at best, 14mpg. i couldnt be happier.

Very nice. I never considered my fan clutch,..I'll have to check mine.