Increasing mpg (5 Viewers)

[EDPA]

Will replacing my 8 year old 02 sensor and PCV valve increase my mpg? Will denso iridium spark plugs have any positive effect on mpg? Other than proper tire inflation, clean air filter, etc. is there anything else that can be done? With the cost of petrol skyrocketing I'd like to squeeze as much mpg as I can out my truck.

 

[lovetoski]

Tune up, and stock plugs/wires/etc will maximise the efficency of the engine. Special spark plugs are a scam. Biggest improvement in mpg is from how hard you push on the skinny pedal. Try driving 55 or 60 instead of 65 or 70. Aerodymanics is where fuel efficiency can be improved.

 

[nyk438]

Drive like a grandma. You'll get a lot better gas mileage. And saves money from replacing crap.

 

[Gold Finger]

As above but can get very boring or

Put a 1HD-T or even better 1HD-FT in the engine bay!

 

[hoser]

Overinflate your tires for less rolling resistance or swap them altogether for "highway" type tires.

 

[crushers]

doing a diesel swap is a viable alternative IF you are going to keep your truck a long time. it will increase the resale espec if it is a US titled cruiser. it will cost more than what most trucks are worth to do.
if your truck is in very nice shape and you AND your wife love it then check into it.
a diesel swap is not for the faint of heart...
my suggestion is to stay away from the HD-T, HD-FT but go with the simple but reliable 1HZ and turbo it afterwards. the results is more power than the HDT, easier install and cheaper outlay of hard earned cash.
just my take on the matter...
cheers

 

[Kalawang]

I wouldn't advise a deisel swap. Here in my country more than a few went down that road and made a mess of their vehicles and worse than that, never got their money back in expected fuel cost savings. By my point of view, there are no real benefits to an engine swap as both the engine and your labor costs too much to safely recover via operation of the rebuilt vehicle. You'll also be out a whole lot of little parts that you didn't know were needed, and a lot of rewiring. Worst part of the equation is that you are swapping out an engine you know for one you don't know, presumably old, and that one will probably also need replacement parts in due time. Old engines also don't always work as efficiently as new engines so you might not even get the mileage benefits without spending even more money.

Make the car you have as good, efficient and reliable as you can. Learn to drive boringly. It's not all that difficult to find the rpm your engine finds most comfortable and a little effort will teach you to drive at that rpm. There are no new tricks to getting the best mileage out of the engine you already have, just learning to stop wasting so much. Make friends with your neighbors. It will cost you less in travel to be with friends.


Kalawang

 

[rgsiii]

Kalawang pretty much sums up my fears for a diesel conversion. In the past year, I have spent about $200 in shipping of 3B parts from Canada. I would hate to consider the possible costs of a relatively exotic one IF you had problems.

 

[cruiser ken]

Better gas mileage:

Stock size low rolling resistance tires, no roof rack, well maintained and tuned engine, synthetics throughout, no lift, remove 3rd row seats, don't carry extra weight. And as others have said drive to get better gas mileage. Keep in mind that whenver you hit the brake you are wasting fuel that you spent to get up to that speed. Obviously you can't stop braking but you can not come up stop signs and lights slower.

 

[crushers]

I wouldn't advise a deisel swap. Here in my country more than a few went down that road and made a mess of their vehicles and worse than that, never got their money back in expected fuel cost savings. By my point of view, there are no real benefits to an engine swap as both the engine and your labor costs too much to safely recover via operation of the rebuilt vehicle. You'll also be out a whole lot of little parts that you didn't know were needed, and a lot of rewiring. Worst part of the equation is that you are swapping out an engine you know for one you don't know, presumably old, and that one will probably also need replacement parts in due time. Old engines also don't always work as efficiently as new engines so you might not even get the mileage benefits without spending even more money.

Make the car you have as good, efficient and reliable as you can. Learn to drive boringly. It's not all that difficult to find the rpm your engine finds most comfortable and a little effort will teach you to drive at that rpm. There are no new tricks to getting the best mileage out of the engine you already have, just learning to stop wasting so much. Make friends with your neighbors. It will cost you less in travel to be with friends.


Kalawang

you make some good points but since i do this as part of my living i will disagree somewhat. get someone that KNOWS what he is doing to do the conversion OR get a complete donor unit, not just and engine...
the little parts can brake the bank and the fun goes out of the swap very quickly when the wife starts asking when all the nickle and dime parts are adding up...
i have seen some very nice swaps that work fantastic and i have seen some real crap...
cheers

 

[OZCAL]

If you have a roofrack, put a couple of hooks in the ceiling joists of the garage/carport/shade tree in the front yard and hang it up there when you are not using it. Even a little rack like the Yakima basketcase I use to stow boogie boards and lightweight beach stuff acts like a parachute.

David

 

[hoser]

Haha, I thought you were going to say...

If you have a roofrack, put a couple of hooks in the ceiling joists of the garage/carport, attach it to your rack, put your transmission in "Reverse" and floor it!

 

[tarbe]

Use a good Xw-30 oil vs 40wt oil.

I switched from a 40 wt (about 15 cSt at 100C) to 30 wt (about 11.4 Cst - it is a "high mileage" oil, so it is on the thicker side of 30 wt) and gained about 1 mpg. Oil analysis has shown my wear metals actually dropped going to the slightly thinner oil! Better pumpability may have helped my analysis. They were both good oils, the 40 wt a synthetic blend with moly and the 30 wt a group III with moly.

If you switch to 30 wt Mobil 1 (10 cSt) you may well pick up even a little more than I. Mobil 1 30 wts tend to run on the thinner side of 30....

 

[EDPA]

To have a complete tune-up should I replace the O2 sensor and/or PCV valve being that they're 8 years old?

 

[OZCAL]

Haha, I thought you were going to say...

Don't laugh - I once caught a few thousand 1987 dollars worth of carbon fibre road racing bicycles on a utility pole guy wire in a parking lot in Coalinga. One mount of the rack pulled off the gutters of the van and the entire rack, bikes and all, twisted on its pivot points until I stopped a few feet into the disaster. No damage whatsoever!

And my teammate still let me drive

David

 

[Kalawang]

Crushers,

Allow me to qualify. A deisel swap as a DIY is something I wouldn't advise. If it's done as a regular business properly equipped with the needed tools, inventory parts and expertise, it can produce some very nice products. But lets be specific here. If I truly want a deisel and I have the spare cash, patronizing your shop would certainly be one of my alternatives, but not for the purpose of saving on fuel cost. Regardless that deisel can be a less expensive fuel, if you are already driving a good gas engine, the change would not be very smart. The math is obvious.

However, if I want a beater that is more powerfull at low revs, had an engine that doesn't die from being at a steep angle for too long and can pull like a team of mules, and the spare cash for it, you're my man. Your product is for the dedicated, not for the cash starved.


Kalawang

 

[FJ809496TLC]

To increase your mileage, the best way to do is to loose excess weight and not use the a/c.

 

[Gold Finger]

I think that to install a diesel conversion it may be helpful if economy is the main concern to look at how long the pay back time is in terms of fuel saved over how long. Fuel prices are going to keep on rising and I doubt if they will ever come down, China the World biggest oil producer already can not meet its own demands and operates a 3 day working week in some industries to conserve what it has and is putting pressure on world supplies to try to meet demand and in the process forcing up prices. As China is also the World fastest growing economy with the largest population it is easy to see where things are going. Is that why perhaps Iraq and the Middle East have figured so prominently over recent years? In the UK what ever fuel you chose to use causes a whole to appear in your bank balance, I filled up with diesel yesterday and it cost me £75 (141.9788 USD) and I only have one tank which is the OEM. However tax forms a large part of the price and serves a form of rationing in a way because it forces people to consider alternatives such as staying at home or using a smaller car such as a hatch back. I remember when diesel cost half the price of petrol her but once alot of poeple went over the price shot up

 

[rgsiii]

Gold Finger

What is the cost of diesel in the UK? and what sort of fuel economy do you get? My guess is the cost of a diesel conversion would be about £6,300 for somebody in the US excluding any shipping--it seems like most of these conversions are done in Canada. Curious to see where a financial break even point would be with UK prices.

Regards

 

[gregc]

Alignment!

After I replaced the tie rod end in my '94 fzj, I was struggling to get 12 mpg. After an alignment by a decent shop, I'm back to almost 15!

I KNOW my right-front was waaaaaaaay off, I wouldn't expect to see such a big jump unless there's been front-end work done....but I certainly wasn't expecting 2+ mpg.

G