Let's start a "ways to get better MPG thread"

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:16 pm

easily 1-2 mpg difference Shell vs Valero (Diamond Shamrock) also as much or more between the station that pumps a lot vs the station that doesn't sell much.

and that station that was almost empty by the highway - I had to keep adding PowerService and change the filter as soon as possible.

basically diesel absorbs moisture very easily - any moisture kills your mileage, also different refineries refine to different cetane levels - higher cetane - better mileage.

danoid · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:02 am

gmctd wrote:

- the viscous heater does improve fuel economy by bringing ECT up to operating temps quicker, but
possily a manual switch, to disable it after engine is ~160degF operating temp, could reduce accessory drive loading = further improved fuel economy

The viscous heater turns on if coolant is below 170° and ambient is below 60°. It turns off when coolant is above 170°.

I have disabled both the viscous heater and fuel heater by removing the armature from the mini ISO relays. Lower accesory drive losses and the ability to quickly switch back by putting in a non modified relay.

danoid · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:06 am

Also if I'm not going faster than 50 mph I hit 'OD OFF'. Locking the torque converter in third gear vs. unlocked in 4th gear is an immediate +10% driveline efficiency gain.

Engine rpms are higher but that's not always bad. If you coast, the trans locked in 3rd will allow more fuel-off decel than 4th unlock and having the engine use fuel to maintain idle rpm.

kcfoxie · **Joined:** Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:27 am **Posts:** 113

Well! I checked the tires and they had like 38PSI. I bumped them to 50. I find 38PSI to be low, I didn't check the book for the recommended spec. The TDI says 34, and I run 40PSI all the time in them.

I've been doing what everyone else suggested:

-use cruise, even in the city
-cancel cruise and coast to the light,
-when applying the brake for a light I shift to Neutral
-Engage drive and feather the pedal to get above 30
-Resume cruise control
-Tires aat 50PSI

We have 150mi and the needle is about at the little slit just past the first quarter tank mark. Lets hope with a cleaned out MAP sensor, the MAF disconnected and the PSI we can get our first 400+ tank

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:50 am

markake
Fuel varies radically between stations and areas

I once got two tanks in a row of slightly better then 70 MPG in my jetta tdi driving at 70 mph. It was night, cool damp air, no ac and just stright interstate driving so conditions were right. But the fuel was from Florida and Georgia that in my many trips to Florida consistantly gave better mpg's. Central Ohio fuel is crap. Northern Ohio fuel up by the refineries in Toledo has given my son who now owns the jetta equally good results :lol:

Smaller mom and pop places often have better fuel. I buy mine at Meijer that is a big box store chain. Their fuel is trucked in from out of the area. One good indication is if it does not foam or just a little that is a good sign of a better fuel

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Joe Romas wrote:

Under the right (wrong?) conditions a crd will only get 19-22 mpg. In town and short trips that is what I average. I've only taken one trip without my trailer and it was 380 miles of interstate driving and I got a whopping 23 :cry:

But that was after F31 and my tranny was further neutered and before I added a lift pump and it ran like crapola :lol:

Mine is very late build (May 06), so it came pre-neutered w/ F37, and had the F31 done before I got it. I've been averaging 20-22 mpg with mixed city/highway driving (running 245-70-16 snow tires and B20 bio). I can't say exactly how much my mods like the Edge module and the SEGR help, but I'm thinking maybe 1-2 mpg. My city driving is brutal (10 mile commute with approx 20 red lights in it if I go the urban route, or stop and go bumper to bumper traffic if I take the interstate.) All hand calculated, no correction for the larger tires.

Pure highway I've been getting 25+ this winter.

crd liberty · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:16 pm

Last 3 tank fills, my average was 23.8 mpg. Mostly interstate driving 30
miles each way to and from work. That is up from around 22 from some
time back. Inflated the tires, did the SEGR and the EHM and running
some Powerservice and 2 stroke ashless oil now.

Far cry better than the 3.7 gets( in my opinion)

Steve

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:06 pm

For those that have chips or plug-in modules, I know that the Edge is generally accepted as one of the better ones, but how much does it's "mileage mode" really boost the numbers?

I'm thinking about getting one of those, or if someone tells me about a module that is better than the edge... I'll think about that one too.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

geordi wrote:

For those that have chips or plug-in modules, I know that the Edge is generally accepted as one of the better ones, but how much does it's "mileage mode" really boost the numbers?

I'm thinking about getting one of those, or if someone tells me about a module that is better than the edge... I'll think about that one too.

Hard to say. I did a lot of mods right around the same time, including taller/more aggressive tires and the SEGR. My guess is around 1 mpg.

I got mine cheap ($225 bucks) off EBAY.

One thing to consider about the Edge module is that it seems to be a lot more conservative than the Predator, Bully Dog, etc... options, and it only has three modes (off, mpg/towing, max power). Both their stated power gains (35 foot pounds of torque) and their instructions (which warn not to use their max power mode when towing without an EGT gauge) seem much more conservative than what other companies put out. I'd guess that is probably a good thing.

vtdog · **Joined:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:27 am **Posts:** 640

I have "solved" the problem by simply not driving the Jeep. I have a 4 cyl Nissan Pickup that gets about the same mpg as the Jeep. So with diesel costing almost $1 more per gallon I drive the Nissan as the daily driver and only use the Jeep when I need the enclosed space, or 4 wd. I like driving the Jeep more than the truck, but it seems the simple solution until the cost difference shakes out.

Ryan Fogg · **Posted:** Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:07 pm

What is the consesus with the latest flashes that the dealer downloads to "protect" the torque converter? Aren't we loosing MMPG's? We only get about 25 miles per gallon when we baby it.

Wobbly · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:47 am

[quote="
....
- and, of course, that soul-satisfying, manly man, darn the torpedo's, full speed ahead, nail it at all costs driving technique is money in the pockets of those middle-easterners manning the cash registers at yer fav snack'n'fuel emporium (well, rats!!! - there goes the thrill of driving for me!!)[/quote]

Some good suggestions, too bad you ended your post with a racist comment. Oil company executives, and oil traders have a lot more of our fuel dollars in their pockets than do the "middle-easterners" at the cash register. Canada is our No.1 oil supplier, BTW.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:37 am

mrkake wrote:

For what it's worth: I am running a Predator stage one (plug and play) performance module. The OR threw it in to sweeten the deal when we were negotiating price so it didn't cost me anything. I took it out when I went in for service and decided to leave it off for 6 tanks of fuel just to try to gauge if it really made any difference. The decrease in performance was noticeable, but not great and mileage seemed to decrease (I wasn't tracking it regularly before this little experiment). I put it back on after 6 tanks and ran another 6 tanks with it on. End result was a net gain in mileage of 2.6 MPG. That's great for me because the unit was free. But these things aren't cheap and with that small of an increase in fuel economy it would take a significant amount of time to recover the original investment let alone actually save money. I have nothing but my own experience to compare to. I don't know if these results are typical or not. I just thought I would throw it out there for informational purposes.

Small increase? 2.6 MPG is a 10% increase on the EPA highway rating, that's nothing to sneeze at. Lots of diesel owners drop far more money than what one of these modules cost into their rigs, on various other mods, in an attempt to get similar increases in fuel mileage.

Not saying I'm for or against using one of these modules, or that I think they're a bargain at the prices they charge, just that a consistent 10% increase in fuel economy is NOT insignificant (especially at $4/gallon).

retmil46 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:16 am

Wobbly wrote:

[quote="
....
- and, of course, that soul-satisfying, manly man, darn the torpedo's, full speed ahead, nail it at all costs driving technique is money in the pockets of those middle-easterners manning the cash registers at yer fav snack'n'fuel emporium (well, rats!!! - there goes the thrill of driving for me!!)

Some good suggestions, too bad you ended your post with a racist comment. Oil company executives, and oil traders have a lot more of our fuel dollars in their pockets than do the "middle-easterners" at the cash register. Canada is our No.1 oil supplier, BTW.[/quote]

And too bad you chose to publicly show off your politically correct assets and attempt to publicly embarrass the original poster. Excuse me, your "racist" comment had WHAT bearing on this discusion about fuel mileage?

If you truly found the original poster's attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor offensive, and felt compelled to say something about it, you could just as easily have sent him and/or the moderators a PM on the subject.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:30 am

Ryan Fogg wrote:

We only get about 25 miles per gallon when we baby it.

That's only if your lucky, I got 25 ONCE :!:

Seems to me the 05 models, very early ones maybe, get much better mileage. Some have reported highway of 30 or better :shock:

I wonder what all is different :?:

Wobbly · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:55 am

retmil46 wrote:

Wobbly wrote:

[quote="
....
- and, of course, that soul-satisfying, manly man, darn the torpedo's, full speed ahead, nail it at all costs driving technique is money in the pockets of those middle-easterners manning the cash registers at yer fav snack'n'fuel emporium (well, rats!!! - there goes the thrill of driving for me!!)

Some good suggestions, too bad you ended your post with a racist comment. Oil company executives, and oil traders have a lot more of our fuel dollars in their pockets than do the "middle-easterners" at the cash register. Canada is our No.1 oil supplier, BTW.

And too bad you chose to publicly show off your politically correct assets and attempt to publicly embarrass the original poster. Excuse me, your "racist" comment had WHAT bearing on this discusion about fuel mileage?

If you truly found the original poster's attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor offensive, and felt compelled to say something about it, you could just as easily have sent him and/or the moderators a PM on the subject.[/quote]

The comment was still racist even though meant to be humorous. The original poster may not have realized the implications of the comment. After all, "middle-easterners" are one of the few remaining "acceptable" targets for stereotyping. Sorry, but I'm not embarrassed (despite your attempt) to speak up against xenophobia.

Coal Cracker · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:34 am

I Guess Everybody Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion. Man I Love The U.S.A

I Suppose All Things Are Interpreted In A Different Way

Like The Constitution, Some Read It For What It Says, Some Read It For What It Can Say.

I Say Baloney On The Political Correctness Movement.

It's His Opinion And He Should Stick To It.

I'm Not Saying It's right Or Wrong.

Chill Out, We're All A Bit Frustrated

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Coal Cracker wrote:

I Guess Everybody Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion. Man I Love The U.S.A

I Suppose All Things Are Interpreted In A Different Way

Like The Constitution, Some Read It For What It Says, Some Read It For What It Can Say.

I Say Baloney On The Political Correctness Movement.

It's His Opinion And He Should Stick To It.

I'm Not Saying It's right Or Wrong.

Chill Out, We're All A Bit Frustrated

I love the USA to. The constitution protects a persons right to free speech. It does not protect one's right to be a dumb booty and make racist comments. I find Lost KJ to be a great resource. I'd hate to see it develop a reputation as a place that tolerates racist postings (and this is the second time in the last couple weeks someone has posted something like this).

Thats the sort of thing that makes web space providers and forum software companies shut down a site.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:51 pm

PM sent to Wobbly on the subject. This is after all the LOST KJ CRD forum and the discussion was on ways to increase fuel mileage. It is NOT a forum on racism and xenophobia. As I said, the entire matter could have been handled via PM.

And now, if we're through attempting to publicly label gmctd as a racist and xenophobe (which I find even more offensive than some of you find his "middle eastern" comment) based on one off-hand comment and never having met the man, then let's end this disgusting hijack and get back to fuel mileage.

mrkake · **Posted:** Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:23 pm

retmil46 wrote:

mrkake wrote:

For what it's worth: I am running a Predator stage one (plug and play) performance module. The OR threw it in to sweeten the deal when we were negotiating price so it didn't cost me anything. I took it out when I went in for service and decided to leave it off for 6 tanks of fuel just to try to gauge if it really made any difference. The decrease in performance was noticeable, but not great and mileage seemed to decrease (I wasn't tracking it regularly before this little experiment). I put it back on after 6 tanks and ran another 6 tanks with it on. End result was a net gain in mileage of 2.6 MPG. That's great for me because the unit was free. But these things aren't cheap and with that small of an increase in fuel economy it would take a significant amount of time to recover the original investment let alone actually save money. I have nothing but my own experience to compare to. I don't know if these results are typical or not. I just thought I would throw it out there for informational purposes.

Small increase? 2.6 MPG is a 10% increase on the EPA highway rating, that's nothing to sneeze at. Lots of diesel owners drop far more money than what one of these modules cost into their rigs, on various other mods, in an attempt to get similar increases in fuel mileage.

Not saying I'm for or against using one of these modules, or that I think they're a bargain at the prices they charge, just that a consistent 10% increase in fuel economy is NOT insignificant (especially at $4/gallon).

Your right. I didn't stop to do the math. I just looked at a couple of miles per gallon and thought, "that's not much". 10% is most definitely significant. Probably take less than a year to save enough at the pump to pay for one. And if fuel prices continue to increase at the current rate it would take even less time.

Employing techniques listed above and with quality fuel in the tank, I was able to get 23.4 mpg on the last tank full. I do alot of driving in town, in traffic. I have to drive about 800 miles all highway next week for business so I will see how well I can do.

Let's start a "ways to get better MPG thread"

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