Increase Mileage Switch ??

[jchico77]

e9999: You're right. I did my calculations wrong. I was doing 11 and now, with higher psi and doing careful driving I have rised the mileage to 13, more or less, but I need another 2mpg more to meke this fun drive affordable. If not, I can only drive to nearby places. I was seeking to drive a bit further.
The problem is that water injection, hidrogen "home-made" systems, new narrow wheels, etc... are expensive systems and I was seeking for a low-cost solution.
Spending 1000$ on wheels.....mine are half-way used now and will spend a long time until I recover thourgh mileage the cost of the wheels.

Anyway, thanks for the advices!!!

Water injection systems.....more than 800$......
Narrow tyres....more than 900$

I'm starting to be happy with 13mpg. I prefer to try to have my engine well tuned up. What would you check in terms of maintenance in order to increase mpg?

 

[winstonclein]

Hola Chico.
IMHO, there is not such a bypass on 1FZE to increase a significant gain in MPG, but to keep tuned your rig up, to drive carefully and less; to get the train and riding your bicycle more often, ¿vale?.
Other solution is to switch for a Hilux 4X4 with D4D engine which you will also rock out the Sahara as you were in the Rally Paris-Dakar.
Hasta logo Chico.

 

[wesayso]

Er, wha?

If you manually set it, it stays manual set. If you really want to disable all automatic function, there's a switch on the back that lets you go from auto to completely manual.

.

Really? Please tell me where it is/how to access it.

 

[jchico77]

wesayso, you have to extract the A/C control unit from the dashboard.
On the back of it, after removing the back plastic plate, there is a switch which has two positions, auto and manual.

Here is a picture of the switch.

By jchico at 2011-04-11

 

[xprmntl]

Idk but my uncles tracker isnt a street racer...And he has been running it for 3 yrs. with an around 4-6 mpg extra on avg. He runs straight water in summer and mixture in cold weather. Works flawlessly exexpt for check engine light stays on from being disconnected I believe. This application works far superior on forced induction cars but can show gains on NA vehicles as well. Very inexpensive to build. Tons of info on this in google search.

I forgot to mention known HP and moderate MPG benefits for diesels, due to their high compression ratio.

I'm not suggesting your uncle street races his Geo. What would be the point?

I have done your suggested "Google" search--this is where I got my information. I don't see any reputable sources suggesting large MPG gains. Snow Performance Snow Performance: FAQ gasoline probably has one of the best tested water/methanol injection systems on the market and they claim a fuel efficiency increase of 5-15% with advanced engine timing and leaner air/fuel ratios (have to mess with the injection computer for this). A good portion of this fuel economy increase is likely offset by the cost of the methanol, and whether distilled water is used. Fuel economy on a Tracker is quoted as 22 MPG, combined, so a 6 MPG increase would be a 27% increase, which is rather off the chart for water-only injection.

The Geo is a quite lightweight SUV (it's actually a Suzuki, curb weight 2250-2450 lbs) with a quite underpowered 80 or 95 HP motor depending on year. This is a world of difference away from an FZJ80 at ~4800 lbs and 212 HP. Maybe the possible ~10 HP power boost your uncle may have seen has a bigger effect on MPG in a light, underpowered vehicle. Still rather skeptical.

 

[firetruck41]

wesayso, you have to extract the A/C control unit from the dashboard.
On the back of it, after removing the back plastic plate, there is a switch which has two positions, auto and manual.

Here is a picture of the switch.

By jchico at 2011-04-11

Has this been verified? Years ago, when the switch was first "discovered", it did not make the hvac work as expected.

Sent from my android Iconia Tab using Forum Runner

 

[yoopercharged]

Do a CNG conversion. Mileage will be similar, but far cheaper and cleaner.

 

[wagonteeth]

I only read through page one, but figured I'd add the little I know.
I bought my 80 with a Marks part time conversion. With 34.5" tires and factory gears, I get 13.5mpg corrected for gearing. If I didn't have it, I'd do it again.

another idea that might get better MPG is to have a second set of tires to swap on for highway use, and run the bigger tires when you know you're heading offroad.

 

[Itchy Sides]

Subscribed in hopes of learning how to increase our 80's mpg, if possible...

(MP enviado...)

 

[Grench]

Subscribed in hopes of learning how to increase our 80's mpg, if possible...

(MP enviado...)

Perfectly possible.
Remove all excess weight - seats, carpets, console, glass, air conditioning system, rear heater core, spare tire, 1/2 the fuel, etc...

Run supper skinny tires - 235/85R16 maybe? You'd need special 6.5" wide rims for those - so find some really light weight but durable ones...

Always drive down hill. That seems to help. Drive like there is an egg under the accelerator - i.e. like grandma.

All of the above might get you into the 16-17 maybe even 18 mpg range. It isn't, and won't be a high mpg vehicle.

The reality is, though, these are big, overbuilt cab on frame, heavy trucks. Stock curb weight is roughly 4850lbs.
They have the aerodynamics of a stack of bricks being pushed sideways.

However, if you load one up with seven people OR four people, camping gear and supplies for a week, and actually go up a 4x4 high clearance required trail, then it is suddenly relatively practical.

IMHO YMMV

 

[e9999]

I could get in the 16-17 mpg range with my armored truck and still seats inside...

 

[Tapage]

did you ever check if your dizzy advance ?

 

[jchico77]

did you ever check if your dizzy advance ?

What is the "dizzy advance"?

 

[e9999]

What is the "dizzy advance"?

timing/distributor

 

[xprmntl]

Perfectly possible.

Run supper skinny tires - 235/85R16 maybe? You'd need special 6.5" wide rims for those - so find some really light weight but durable ones...

IMHO YMMV

Most manufacturers rate 235's for 6-7.5" rims. They are often mounted on 8" rims with no discernible detrimental effects. I ran 235's for a while on stock 8" rims and liked them. No unusual wear and was on my way to 40k mi before tearing out a sidewall.


From the Maxxis site:
"RIM WIDTH...
If the tire is mounted on a rim that is too narrow, the tire will have a measurement that is too narrow. This could possibly put an increase of force on the shoulder of the tire, resulting in tire damage."


This is because the flex point moves toward the tire shoulder, which can cause increased heating in the tire.

I can't imgine that an extra 0.5" of width is going to move the flex point of the tire this tall, significantly enough to cause an issue.


Keep your tires inflated properly, as this causes much more heat build up due to flexing.

 

[Tapage]

What is the "dizzy advance"?

as e9999 said .. el avance de tu distribuidor .. hay varios threads acá hablando del tema ..

 

[wesayso]

Thanks.

wesayso, you have to extract the A/C control unit from the dashboard.
On the back of it, after removing the back plastic plate, there is a switch which has two positions, auto and manual.

Here is a picture of the switch.


By jchico at 2011-04-11