mws Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Calculated over about 600 miles, 98+% freeway miles, cruising around 70 mph. Drove to Portland and around town a few days. Miles based on GPS tracking, not odometer. '87 V6, 5 speed, 200K original miles. 255/70-16 A/T tires (same size as 31x10.5-15's) aired up to 40 psi. New O2 sensor, plugs, wires, cap, rotor this past spring. Roof rack OFF, but the rear cross bar still attached. T-Bars cranked just enough to level truck and clear tires (maybe 1"?) Antenna down (listened to XM radio) This is more than 2 mpg better than our last trip. The only significant changes were: - No usage of A/C. Last time we ran it about 1/2 the time. - Removed mechanical radiator fan. Installed electric fan but never used it. Still nowhere near our BMW at 34+mpg, but not the 12-14 it got when I bought it. She ran fine, but the terrible mileage said it needed some tuning... Moral: A good tune up makes a world of difference, and minimizing aerodynamic drag and parasitic power drags can help a bunch as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Thats pretty dang good. I amazed myself this summer when I made it from 88's place in Salem all the way to Redding, CA on one tank. It was about 420 miles total, and she only took 19.5 gallons, so I still had a bit left. I agree, amazing what a bit of tune up can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheel366 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 420 miles? I was never able to get more than 320. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 jeez, the best i ever got was 350, i probably get 320 or so now to a tank. some of the stuff like keeping the antenna down and taking off the bars might have helped, but i can tell you what was most responsible was your tune up...esp the o2 sensor. too many times people change the cap/rotor and some plugs/wire but neglect the single BIGGEST factor of fuel milage of all. i need to swap out my o2 on the pathy. i swaped the one out in my dsm and now i get nearly 40mpg. i can get 500+ miles outta about 13 gallons of gas with no fuel light on. i used to only get 420 WITH the fuel light on. probably improved my MPG by 8 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filthy Luker Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Hopefully I'll be installing electric fans this winter. From what I hear they free up a fair bit of engine power. The rest is so true... good tuneup and high tire pressures are the key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 420 miles? I was never able to get more than 320. :o that's about what i get now regularly.. i haven't figured out the numbers from my latest trip but on the highway i probably got close to 350-360 per tank.. on the mountains rds the truck was getting a drunk on though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Calculated over about 600 miles, 98+% freeway miles, cruising around 70 mph. Drove to Portland and around town a few days. Miles based on GPS tracking, not odometer. :cool2: Good god, just goes to show I'm overdue for a tune up and fan swap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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