help - poor gas mileage is killing me

jeeplikens · **Posted:** Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:00 pm

BVCRD wrote:

tommudd wrote:

Not trying to start a family fued here, (just my 2 cents of rambling) but why did some of you buy a 4Wheel Drive vehicle in the first place? I have driven 4Wds since the 1970s and they never, ever got that good of gas mileage. If you look at the wanna be 4 wds (Rav-4 etc ) they dont get that much better than a Liberty, when stock. Then like Tokyojoe said if you do add larger tires/lift/skids/etc etc of course the thing is going to weigh 5000 lbs and take more gas to haul its fat butt around. I agree that 12-14 is not that great but if you want the great mileage then dont lift it, keep stock tires inflated properly, tune up often etc. I get an average of 20 on the road now and about 22 when it was stock. If I would of wanted something that got 25/30 all the time I would never of bought a 4WD! Since 1975 I have never been without one so I know I have to pay the price to enjoy it, its like any toy be it a boat, Harley, RV whatever you pay the price to play the game.
OK I will get off the soap box now!! :lol:

.....................or, you could have bought a CRD. That is why I did.

From what I've read. From what I've heard.. Most CRD's are not much better off in the MPG then gas. But that doesn't explain why the 2wd version of the KJ doesn't get much better GM. We have made great strides from the 70's, 80's so there is no reason why KJ's should be so bad on gas. With Diesel going for 2.50 or more around where I live, there isn't much return in savings for either power plant. If I was towing, I would want the CRD. For the harsh cold winters up here in my area, gas. But as far as having 4wd, a 2wd KJ is about as useless as a tit on a boar hog when the roads get a few inches of snow or it gets slick. I drove around some young girl who was sitting still, spinning her little heart out in a KJ trying to get up a off ramp this past tuesday. I couldn't tell if she had 4wd or not, maybe she didn't know how to put it 4wd, doesn't matter, I pulled around her and went on, slowley, but it went right on. Granted, my fwd voyager had really good tires but my point is, on the KJ, if you live where you might encounter snow, mud, wet grass, 4wd is required if you plan on driving anywhere. I drove my KJ for 3 years. I learned real fast the w/o 4wd in the snow, it was pretty much a road hazard. As far as what to expect in the mileage range, my motorhome gets better gas mileage on the hwy then the KJ does in the city. The RV in the city is a little lower then the KJ but it is 10k lbs past the libo. I expected a 15k block to get bad gas mileage. I did expect my KJ to get better after driving off the lot. It didn't. :shock:

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:29 pm

I think most CRD's are hitting around 20 in town and 25 on the highway
What I'm hearing on gas is around 15 in town 20 highway.

At current prices that's about 11 cents/mile vs 14 cents/mile - which means break even is 83,000 miles - I've put 30,000 on mine in 15 months - I intend to keep it well past break even.

although - if I wanted great mileage I'd have gotten a Honda.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:22 am

I put an aeroturbine muffler on my Cummins, that gave me a solid 1.5 mpg increase. I’m also going to put one on my gasser Liberty. I’m hoping for a 1 mpg increase. The aeroturbine is the only muffler that I am aware of that actually uses tested technology to show more than just opening up the back pressure. I’m already averaging between 19.7 and 21.8 on the highway (all stock) running 70 mph. All my driving has been in hilly terrain. The lower end mpg is in strong windy conditions, the higher mileage was in lower windy conditions. I’ve recorded 22 mpg a few times, both times were recorded running down a short stretch of road (20 mile stretch). I like to average my mileage after running at least 200 miles of constant driving to achieve real world mpg data. I hear that more air will cause over fueling in the Liberty, although, I have yet known anyone to prove that theory. I would agree that more air isn’t always better unless if upgrading the engine. But we do know that more cooler air is better. It is also true that the engine can only digest so much air, but providing cooler air to the motor I believe can still be improved upon in the Liberty. The factory air intake is pretty good, I would like to add something like the PSM air intake to my factory air box for added cool air. The cool air flow could be achieved by scooping it up from under the front bumper. In most cases, the biggest restriction when it comes to flow is the air filter. K&N as far as I know flows the best, but it also flows the most dirt. If you are planning to keep your motor for long term, the K&N would not be the wise choice as it would allow way too much debris into the motor causing wear scaring which results in lower compression which results in lower horsepower and poor mileage. If you are building a hot rod, then you will need the K&N to feed your high performance injectors and retuned computer. WIX dry filter (available) or Amsoil dry filter (when it is available) will block out the most dirt and flow really good. Wix and Amsoil can hold more dirt within the filter allowing extended replacements and cleaning intervals as well.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:23 am

I put an aeroturbine muffler on my Cummins, that gave me a solid 1.5 mpg increase. I’m also going to put one on my gasser Liberty. I’m hoping for a 1 mpg increase. The aeroturbine is the only muffler that I am aware of that actually uses tested technology to show more than just opening up the back pressure. I’m already averaging between 19.7 and 21.8 on the highway (all stock) running 70 mph. All my driving has been in hilly terrain. The lower end mpg is in strong windy conditions, the higher mileage was in lower windy conditions. I’ve recorded 22 mpg a few times, both times were recorded running down a short stretch of road (20 mile stretch). I like to average my mileage after running at least 200 miles of constant driving to achieve real world mpg data. I hear that more air will cause over fueling in the Liberty, although, I have yet known anyone to prove that theory. I would agree that more air isn’t always better unless if upgrading the engine. But we do know that more cooler air is better. It is also true that the engine can only digest so much air, but providing cooler air to the motor I believe can still be improved upon in the Liberty. The factory air intake is pretty good, I would like to add something like the PSM air intake to my factory air box for added cool air. The cool air flow could be achieved by scooping it up from under the front bumper. In most cases, the biggest restriction when it comes to flow is the air filter. K&N as far as I know flows the best, but it also flows the most dirt. If you are planning to keep your motor for long term, the K&N would not be the wise choice as it would allow way too much debris into the motor causing wear scaring which results in lower compression which results in lower horsepower and poor mileage. If you are building a hot rod, then you will need the K&N to feed your high performance injectors and retuned computer. WIX dry filter (available) or Amsoil dry filter (when it is available) will block out the most dirt and flow really good. Wix and Amsoil can hold more dirt within the filter allowing extended replacements and cleaning intervals as well.

RFCRD · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:22 am

jeeplikens wrote:

From what I've read. From what I've heard.. Most CRD's are not much better off in the MPG then gas. But that doesn't explain why the 2wd version of the KJ doesn't get much better GM. We have made great strides from the 70's, 80's so there is no reason why KJ's should be so bad on gas. With Diesel going for 2.50 or more around where I live, there isn't much return in savings for either power plant.

Yes & No. I see a considerable difference in mileage with the CRD, ranging from the the high 20's in hot weather to @ 20 mpg at the low end in severe cold. This is far better than the automatic transmission gas KJ's I read about. You are right in that it's not much more cost effective than a gasser in this relatively cheap fuel market. You need 15% better mileage to just make up for the fuel price differential and another 10% for the CRD nuisance issues. (Note: a CRD doesn't burn any fuel when it's parked at the dealer waiting for parts)

Now at the time I bought my CRD, RULG was over $3/gal and diesel fuel was @ $2.80/gal, an entirely different set of economics. But the KJ as an economy car?? NOT! Right now it cost me as much to run this KJ as my full-size Chevy pick-up.

65thKJ · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:16 am

If you haven't changed it recently you should try changing your fuel filter too.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:49 pm

RFCRD wrote:

jeeplikens wrote:

From what I've read. From what I've heard.. Most CRD's are not much better off in the MPG then gas. But that doesn't explain why the 2wd version of the KJ doesn't get much better GM. We have made great strides from the 70's, 80's so there is no reason why KJ's should be so bad on gas. With Diesel going for 2.50 or more around where I live, there isn't much return in savings for either power plant.

Yes & No. I see a considerable difference in mileage with the CRD, ranging from the the high 20's in hot weather to @ 20 mpg at the low end in severe cold. This is far better than the automatic transmission gas KJ's I read about. You are right in that it's not much more cost effective than a gasser in this relatively cheap fuel market. You need 15% better mileage to just make up for the fuel price differential and another 10% for the CRD nuisance issues. (Note: a CRD doesn't burn any fuel when it's parked at the dealer waiting for parts)

Now at the time I bought my CRD, RULG was over $3/gal and diesel fuel was @ $2.80/gal, an entirely different set of economics. But the KJ as an economy car?? NOT! Right now it cost me as much to run this KJ as my full-size Chevy pick-up.

That’s an excellent point that somehow gets overlooked. The Liberty is a heavy vehicle because it is well built.

The Liberty combines luxury and off-road components that make it heavy. If I wanted mileage, I would have bought the VW Jetta Diesel that averages between 45-50 mpg. After modifications, some are reporting over 55 mpg on the TDI. :shock:

My Dodge Cummins 4x4 gets between 22-25 mpg on the highway.

Heavy vehicles need more power to move them. People wonder why the Durango sucks down the fuel. The Durango by it’s weight was designed to be a freight train. Put a cummins under the Durango’s hood and watch the mileage soar. :wink:

The CRD vs. the 3.7 gets better fuel economy in the Liberty because it has the power to move the Liberty. We drive the Liberty not for mileage, but for performance and off road capabilities.

help - poor gas mileage is killing me

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