semlin
curmudgeon
Also, that green paint on Dan's rig is probably more aerodynamic than other colours (there must be some reason he chose it) as are the special parts manager only body moldings.
High fuel cost - anyone have MPG suggestions?
- Thread starter IdahoDoug
- Start date
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Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Dan's rig is really cherry, as in pristine-the green paint helps his mileage as do the fuel line magnets and intake vortex. He also gets the special home market parts that boost mileage too, but isn't allowed to discuss them even with us. I think that Stout bumper helps too, but when Chevron found out how much it boosted gas mileage, they bought him out and shut him down. The body mouldings, however, do not help. I've tried that.
[quote author=Cruiserdrew link=board=2;threadid=16099;start=msg154030#msg154030 date=1084234827]
I do not believe anyone who says they get 18 mpg in a gasoline Cruiser! That's because the best I have ever done is 17 and that was years ago, before lifts, tires, bumpers etc. Oh yeah-the best tip for improving fuel mileage-you have to lie...
[/quote]
Well, shiite, (phonetically the second i and last e are silent, pun intended), I guess if YOUR cruiser cant do it, no other cruiser can right! Look, I dont care if you believe it or not, it is true I consistently get those mileages. The PO reported to me that after the turbo the cruiser actually got improved mpg. Now I cannot verify this, but I can verify those mileages. Ohh, as a rule, I do not lie, however, I would be lying if I stated that I do not mind a person calling me a liar. You gettin my driftin here?
I do not believe anyone who says they get 18 mpg in a gasoline Cruiser! That's because the best I have ever done is 17 and that was years ago, before lifts, tires, bumpers etc. Oh yeah-the best tip for improving fuel mileage-you have to lie...
[/quote]
Well, shiite, (phonetically the second i and last e are silent, pun intended), I guess if YOUR cruiser cant do it, no other cruiser can right! Look, I dont care if you believe it or not, it is true I consistently get those mileages. The PO reported to me that after the turbo the cruiser actually got improved mpg. Now I cannot verify this, but I can verify those mileages. Ohh, as a rule, I do not lie, however, I would be lying if I stated that I do not mind a person calling me a liar. You gettin my driftin here?
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Sorry Turbo, no offence intended. It was all tounge-in-cheek. There was a great thread years ago on the LCML and in the end people were making outrageous (but serious) claims of great gas mileage. Someone said their FJ40 got 22mpg! This thread reminded me of that. Believe me, I would love to get 18 or even higher in my cruisers. The time I got really good mileage, everything was going my way-60k tune up, tail wind down the central valley, 65 mph. But usually there is a head wind or a hill or lots of start and stop. I was happy to get 14 on one tank coming home from Moab, and that ain't no fish story. You're making me wish I had bought a turbo when they were available.
Shell says that you get better MPG with their gas. I tried it several times and did notice about 1 to 2 better mpg.
Going to stock "P" rated street tires should help over "LT" rated mud tires.
Removing the ARB front bumper and replace the stock bumper should help too but will kill your $$$ if you hit deer.
I found no increase with the dist advanced.
I have new O2 sensors on the way and will see if it makes a difference.
I get 14mpg average.
Going to stock "P" rated street tires should help over "LT" rated mud tires.
Removing the ARB front bumper and replace the stock bumper should help too but will kill your $$$ if you hit deer.
I found no increase with the dist advanced.
I have new O2 sensors on the way and will see if it makes a difference.
I get 14mpg average.
[quote author=Cruiserdrew link=board=2;threadid=16099;start=msg154107#msg154107 date=1084242331]
Sorry Turbo, no offence intended. It was all tounge-in-cheek. There was a great thread years ago on the LCML and in the end people were making outrageous (but serious) claims of great gas mileage. Someone said their FJ40 got 22mpg! This thread reminded me of that. Believe me, I would love to get 18 or even higher in my cruisers. The time I got really good mileage, everything was going my way-60k tune up, tail wind down the central valley, 65 mph. But usually there is a head wind or a hill or lots of start and stop. I was happy to get 14 on one tank coming home from Moab, and that ain't no fish story. You're making me wish I had bought a turbo when they were available.
[/quote]
Thanks, accepted, and appreciated. I too have thought that the claims that some make sound so silly (not here btw, on the toyota digest for example where people with 1st Gen 4Runners were getting 24 mpg and such). And, although I can accomplish the numbers I advertised, in truth, most of the time, I choose not to...everytime I choose to squeeze that sweet throttle, the mpg goes down drastically! I'm squeezing that throttle more and more and more, truth be told! Also, in truth, I choose not to get that higher mpg simply by setting my turbo timer thingy to a minimum of 1 minute of idle each and every time I shut the rig off so that right there takes the mpg down. Anyway, to me, getting the highest mpg possible is an interesting experiment in discipline (its so hard to control the foot), mechanics (it indicates in many ways the overall condition of the cruiser), and economics. Although I was not lying about the mpgs, to be totally truthful, I only see them when I work at it!!!
Sorry Turbo, no offence intended. It was all tounge-in-cheek. There was a great thread years ago on the LCML and in the end people were making outrageous (but serious) claims of great gas mileage. Someone said their FJ40 got 22mpg! This thread reminded me of that. Believe me, I would love to get 18 or even higher in my cruisers. The time I got really good mileage, everything was going my way-60k tune up, tail wind down the central valley, 65 mph. But usually there is a head wind or a hill or lots of start and stop. I was happy to get 14 on one tank coming home from Moab, and that ain't no fish story. You're making me wish I had bought a turbo when they were available.
[/quote]
Thanks, accepted, and appreciated. I too have thought that the claims that some make sound so silly (not here btw, on the toyota digest for example where people with 1st Gen 4Runners were getting 24 mpg and such). And, although I can accomplish the numbers I advertised, in truth, most of the time, I choose not to...everytime I choose to squeeze that sweet throttle, the mpg goes down drastically! I'm squeezing that throttle more and more and more, truth be told! Also, in truth, I choose not to get that higher mpg simply by setting my turbo timer thingy to a minimum of 1 minute of idle each and every time I shut the rig off so that right there takes the mpg down. Anyway, to me, getting the highest mpg possible is an interesting experiment in discipline (its so hard to control the foot), mechanics (it indicates in many ways the overall condition of the cruiser), and economics. Although I was not lying about the mpgs, to be totally truthful, I only see them when I work at it!!!
- Thread starter
- #47
Whups, gotta add that I've advanced my timing by 4 degrees. Noted an increase in power at certain throttle settings/vehicle speeds (mostly midrange and launch), but no MPG. Hmm. That means I simply used the extra power for acceleration rather than economy.
DougM
DougM
- Thread starter
- #49
I don't know. With the timing advanced, there's more advance at any given throttle setting and also more maximum advance, right? Remember, I changed the base timing. So pushing on the pedal before I did it would have gotten less advance and less power at several speeds/throttle settings where I now notice the change. Well, noticed. That was a couple years ago and I've adapted.
But yeah, I see your point.
DougM
But yeah, I see your point.
DougM
- Thread starter
- #50
Speaking of MPG and efficiency I was watching the Lance Chronicles on Lance Armstrong this evening. They were working in the wind tunnel on his new aero bike for time trialing as well as his skinsuit, helmet and body position. To help give him feedback they did something I thought was an excellent idea.
While he was in the windtunnel on the bike, they projected his resistance graph onto the windtunnel floor out in front of his bike so he could watch it change in real time. Great idea. He was able to do things like reach for water bottles, adjust his shorts, etc and watch how much it cost him in terms of resistance. It was so sensitive, he could watch his resistance change markedly when he took extra deep breaths.
So, I'm going to apply these lessons to the 80 in the pursuit of 20MPG at 75MPH. I'm going to cut the springs down to lower it, put an adjustable air dam under the bumper all the way to the street, and put side spats from the rockers to the street. Then I'm pulling the factory rack, replacing the mirrors with a rear camera, and putting all season 225-85/16s on 'er. I'll get there....
DougM
While he was in the windtunnel on the bike, they projected his resistance graph onto the windtunnel floor out in front of his bike so he could watch it change in real time. Great idea. He was able to do things like reach for water bottles, adjust his shorts, etc and watch how much it cost him in terms of resistance. It was so sensitive, he could watch his resistance change markedly when he took extra deep breaths.
So, I'm going to apply these lessons to the 80 in the pursuit of 20MPG at 75MPH. I'm going to cut the springs down to lower it, put an adjustable air dam under the bumper all the way to the street, and put side spats from the rockers to the street. Then I'm pulling the factory rack, replacing the mirrors with a rear camera, and putting all season 225-85/16s on 'er. I'll get there....
DougM
thorvald
.......
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best thing Ive done to help with gas prices is to get a gas card that gives a rebate and pay it off each month. so far have recieved $60 back in two months of using, approx. 2 free tanks of gas. other than that have been contemplating trading my nissan for a toyota car instead of selling it. spent $450 in gas last month 
[quote author=thorvald link=board=2;threadid=16099;start=msg154210#msg154210 date=1084250880]
best thing Ive done to help with gas prices is to get a gas card that gives a rebate and pay it off each month. so far have recieved $60 back in two months of using, approx. 2 free tanks of gas. other than that have been contemplating trading my nissan for a toyota car instead of selling it. spent $450 in gas last month
[/quote]
Please tell us....Where do you find one of these gas cards that gives a rebate?
best thing Ive done to help with gas prices is to get a gas card that gives a rebate and pay it off each month. so far have recieved $60 back in two months of using, approx. 2 free tanks of gas. other than that have been contemplating trading my nissan for a toyota car instead of selling it. spent $450 in gas last month
[/quote]
Please tell us....Where do you find one of these gas cards that gives a rebate?
thorvald
.......
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2002
- Threads
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just a chase card from holiday station. pretty high interest. gives the best rebate, think its 6% for using it at holiday stations. course the interest doesnt matter since we got it just to pay for gas/pay it off each month.
Well just finished applying for a AAA visa card. 5% rebate on all gas purchases. With my current rate of driving and gas prices that should yield about a 20.00 a month savings.
Pskhaat
Tourer
[quote author=Cruiserdrew link=board=2;threadid=16099;start=msg154030#msg154030 date=1084234827]
The only way for prices to fall long term is for all of us to use less fuel.
[/quote]
In the supply/demand oil economy, that doesn't always work. One because of governmental control on oil. When demand falls, supply is reduced accordingly (and then some) to set pricing. Oil is NOT a privately controlled commodity with a lot of players.
Quit driving because it's expensive, but globablly reducing demand won't get us better pricing.
The only way for prices to fall long term is for all of us to use less fuel.
[/quote]
In the supply/demand oil economy, that doesn't always work. One because of governmental control on oil. When demand falls, supply is reduced accordingly (and then some) to set pricing. Oil is NOT a privately controlled commodity with a lot of players.
Quit driving because it's expensive, but globablly reducing demand won't get us better pricing.
We could convert all our cruisers to diesels and run on veggie oil!
Hell, I'm communting between Portland and Seattle and feel the pinch. 75 on cruz gets 15.24mpg w/ M1 in the crank case and dino everywhere else. BFG AT's 265/75's @45psi. I don't think its going to get any better. I want to try the timing advance simply to get an extra seat o da pants HP or 2. The diesel convert sounds great but I'd rather run heating oil cause I could tap into my oil tank and apy about a 1.40 a gallon. withoput having to recycle all those little plastic bottles.
