I know about the gas mileage survey, this is different. I want and NEED to get better gas mileage out of this truck.

Im looking for ANY tips/crazy ideas.

Its not so much the cost of gas, that bothers me, to me its that this truck is small [I dont care what you say] Way to small to get 14mpg average. I could understand if it was a f-350 but its not. I know some of you get worse.

I thought all hope was lost untill I heard a few people getting decent gas mileage.

Heres whats NOT up for debate. Yes 14mpg sucks. And yes driving style has the biggest factor.

I already drive EXCEPTIONALLY. I would just like to do almost anything I could to get better gas mileage. Now hear me, I know technology does great things, so Im not trying to compare vehicles so much per say or technology. BUT when owning my 07 4x4 Frontier I averaged EASY 19mpg and few times got 24MPG WITH traffic. If I could get similar gas mileage I would be saving 251$ a month in gas because of better efficiency and the the difference between premium and regular. NOT COUNTING ALL THE THINGS I CONSTANTLY REPLACE. Thats almost a truck payment. However.. IT AINT NO ROVER.

NOW some people will say get a beater honda. -NO

I would like to do almost everything I can to get decent gas mileage out of this thing. So I welcome ANY tips or ideas. Even the basics [other than driving style] as to be sure I didn't forget anything..

-Drive 65MPH tops [I dont like to be THAT guy and our discoveries already read 5MPH fast]
-Thinner Oil
-Ethanol Free Gas
-Inflate tires to 40psi
-Remove rear seat along with any junk[seriously think 100lbs will make a difference?]
-Remove roof rails
-Replace 02 sensors
-Clean Maf
-Volvo Chip [?]
-Larger Tires [I have actually heard on trucks like ours this helps with interstate driving similar to gearing higher.]
-Loose weight

 

Engine oil weight makes no difference once the engine is up to temp.
Let it warm up for 5 min before driving when it is stone cold and the outside temp is below 40*F. (I did a experiment with this last winter, it really works and I can explain if needed)
Set the cruise at 70, your actual speed will be 65.
Inflate tires to 40psi.
Roof rails make no matter, cross bars do.
Avoid ethanol gas.
Leave the seat just loose the mother in law.
Windows up sunroofs closed, a/c on or off no matter.
New front O2's, the rears do nothing.
Shell Premium fuel.
Drive down hill all the time.
Thinner gear lube helps in the winter time.
Make sure your fan clutch is working properly.
The longer the trip the better the MPG.

I made 2 trips in one month to Cleveland, 700 miles round trip and averaged 24 mpg the first trip, 22 the second.
The second trip I had the pregnant wife and both kids in the truck. (Rotella 15w-40)

My trip to Ft. Worth my friend and I averaged 15.8 mpg for the 2400 miles and that was with 2 grown men, a full cooler, enough Mountain Dew for 3 wks of normal living and 2 tents, camping gear, SD roof rack...lets just say the back of the truck was lower than the front and the rear seat was folded down to fit all the gear. (Rotella HD-30)

 

they are heavy vehicles, you'll be glad they are if you ever get in a front or side impact accident. Drop in a 300tdi and double your mileage.

 

I understand what you mean by the oil weight. But is not 5w30 thinner at 195* than 10w40?

AND OMG if I ever got 24mpg I would literally **** myself.

 

24 mpg? you sure you didn't miscalculate spike?

 

Yes the 5w-30 is going to be thinner at temp than the 10w-40.
Crankcase temps can be as high as 400*F.
And honestly, the MPG difference at temp from a 5w-30 to a 10w-40 you will not beable to measure, that would have to be done in a lab on a computer controlled engine.
If you were only driving it 5 miles a day then for sure the 5w-30 would be the way to go.
You have to compromise between a small fraction of a MPG increase to engine wear and oil consumption.

 

Even though I went to publick skool my math adding subtraction numbers thingy was accurate, Texas Instruments has yet to let me down.

Set the cruise at 65, windows up and a/c on and the cd player cranking out Kid Rock, Metallica, Beethoven, Bach and Dizzy Gillespie.

Personally I think Iridium plugs help too.

 

That is quite the selection there Spike. They are all good (except that last one, never heard of 'em).

 

You have never heard of Dizzy Gillespie? Really? Only the best trumpet player of all time!!

Ever heard of iTunes? Go check him out.
Herb Albert is really good too.
I used to play trumpet so I'm biased.

 

Now that you said trumpet I recognize the name. I can't say I have heard alot but at least now I am not completely in the dark lol.