RAISE GAS MILEAGE: What have you done to boost your vehicles gas mileage? Any modifications or tips will be appreciated.

[magentawave]

I was wondering what you've done to boost the gas mileage of your vehicle? <br /><br />Hopefully this thread in time will become a good reference to help others so please feel free to share what you've learned.&nbsp;<img src="../images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br />Thank you!

 

[magentawave]

So to start out this thread with an idea for boosting mpg...<br /><br />I swear I have no financial interest in this website&nbsp;<a href="http://www.water4gasstore.com/default.asp">Water4Gas</a>&nbsp;but this guy sells information on how you can build an inexpensive system that he claims increases gas mileage, lowers emissions, and increases power. Have you tried this or something similar?<br /><br />Now before you blow off this idea, I just had a phone conversation with the mayor of a little town in South Carolina called Honea Path and he's been experimenting with this technique for a few years on three of his cars.&nbsp;He boosted the MPG on his 2007 Ford Explorer V6 from 16 mpg on the freeway to 25 mpg and gets about 3 to 4 more mpg in city driving.<br /><br />I found out about this guy from a Youtube video where the local news did a piece on him because he had the towns police cars converted to this and it was working quite well. I asked him today how that was going and he said it significantly raised the mpg of the police cars but he eventually pulled it off because he couldn't rely on the policeman to do the weekly maintenance required.<br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[mockturtle]

I have discovered a very effective way to increase my MPG:&nbsp; Slowing down.&nbsp; Yes, it's hard, because I tend to want to drive at least as fast as the prevailing traffic.&nbsp;

 

[magentawave]

Yeah, I think both of you guys are right on about slowing down.

 

[magentawave]

What engine do you have in your rig blkjak?<br /><br /><br />

<span style="font-size: xx-small; font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>i am a gear head and i do not know what to do....</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small; font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>people on a&nbsp;expediter&nbsp;forum that use vans like mine for full time driving say "well tuned and 60mph is it" .... </strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small; font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>blkjak....</strong></span>

 

[Seraphim]

+1 on slowing down. &nbsp;Easier now that we always have our bed with us and don't have to get anywhere at a certain time. Also use cruise control constantly and accelerate slowly so the engine keeps its rpms low.

 

[stude53]

<p>+2 on slowing down. Most vehicles give better mileage between 55-60 mph.<br /><br />People on the Mobil Economy Run also cite slow, steady&nbsp;acceleration and anticipating braking ... to slow down before applying the brakes to come to a stop. The tip about keeping tire pressure up works too. <br /><br />Bob</p>

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;If I'm on a highway it's 55 mph and staying in the slow lane. If it's a single lane each way I go the speed limit if someone's behind me and then drop back down to 55 when there's a passing lane and let everyone scoot by. ..Willy.

 

[maritimecamper]

Im always in the slow moving lane, pedaling as fast as i can, lol. I agree, slow down, and try to avoid headwinds, or sidewinds (dangerous).

 

[sidat202]

Driving habits have a big affect on mileage. I had an old toyota corolla many years ago. My dad and I took a trip in it and we would switch off driving. When my dad drove we got 27 MPG and when I drove it we got 32 MPG. When I drive I am always smooth on the gas and hold it steady. My dad was always on and off the gas. It makes alot of difference. I always use cruise control when I can. Accelerate slow and steady, maintain a steady speed. Also I have noticed&nbsp;when coming to an incline If you start speeding up before you get to it it gives you more momentum And I think it helps a little on fuel ecomony. And dont ride the brakes. I see people all the time cruising down the freeway with there brake lights on because they rest there foot on the brake pedal. &nbsp;

 

[Romana-S]

I read on a few web sites about ways to make vehicles more fuel efficient. One way that proved to be best was to remove the mirrors off of a van. I improved fuel economy quite a bit. Now my daily driver van has some big mirrors, but they can be folded back electrically. So as an experiment, while driving on the freeway I folded them back when there was no traffic around. Yes, it did improve the fuel economy. But it was a nusience so I gave up on it. I'd rather just be able to glance at the mirrors at any time.<br />On the highway I can get about 10 km / litre&nbsp; or 23.5 miles per gallon.

 

[Johnnomads]

<span style="font-family: arial black,avant garde; font-size: small;">Exactly right! I very rarely drive on the freeway anymore, and when i do, i toodle along no faster then 50 mph. Sometimes ppl get mad and blow the horn, give me the Hawaiian peace sign, etc, but they are not filling my tank, so too bad. <br />&nbsp;Generally though, i like to drive 5 less then the speed limit. <br />Hugs<br />&gt;<br /></span>

I have discovered a very effective way to increase my MPG:&nbsp; Slowing down.&nbsp; Yes, it's hard, because I tend to want to drive at least as fast as the prevailing traffic.&nbsp;

 

[josephusminimus]

I had an acquaintance for a while who'd been lead mechanic&nbsp;on the Ford or General Motors racing team a generation back.&nbsp; He'd been part of a design team putting one of their race cars on hydrogen generated by the car.<br /><br />He was old and retired when I knew him, but constantly experimenting on his own truck partially running it off hydrogen.<br /><br />I explored the matter but never felt comfortable putting one on my own vehicle.<br /><br />So I just drive slowly, same as everyone else.

 

[Vern M]

Water injection was used as a power-booster on aircraft engines in WWII. I don't recall any reference material and I'm sure it was not for continuous use, only a power booster gain through the explosion of the water in the cylinder. It'd likely stress the heck out of the pistons, etc.

 

[Pikachu711]

As many of you&nbsp;have already mentioned the best way to save gas is to just slow down. Having a "lead foot" will make you use quite a bit of gas.<br /><br />Years ago I&nbsp;had a 1985 Ford F-250 one-ton pick-up with the towing package. It had a 460ci/5.7 liter engine. That truck ran great but it "gulped" gas like you would not believe. I just had to drive slower than I would have normally otherwise driven.<br /><br />When I made a conscious effort to drive I could get up to 15mpg. If I weren't thinking drove faster than I should have I was lucky to get 12mpg! I probably got worse mileage than that if I really did the math correctly.<br /><br />I'll be opting to&nbsp;buy a van with a V-8 engine when I do buy my van.<br /><br />Here's a link that has a number of tips to save money &amp; gas:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2...-mileage-23-top-tips-for-better-fuel-economy/">http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2...-mileage-23-top-tips-for-better-fuel-economy/</a>

 

[oldsoul]

Check your tire pressure! often. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[blkjak]

drive @ 55mph+- .... blkjak

 

[SoulRaven]

Reduce wind resistance, drive naked...

 

[Johnnomads]

<span style="font-family: arial black,avant garde;">Driving Naked is more about saving weight, just think if we didn't have to keep all those clothes on board, plus laundry supplies, etc...<br /></span>

Reduce wind resistance, drive naked...

 

[cedric]

Here is what I have done recently to kick up my mpg on my corolla. I'm starting to tweak my toyota Rv now for better mpg and performance.<br />I removed and cleaned and set the gap on my spark plugs.<br />I changed the air filter to a high flow one from K&amp;N. They are double the cost but are washable so you never have to buy another one. This gave me a boost of 2 miles per gallon.<br />Another thing to watch for is your o2 sensor if you have one. Always have it replaced with the same manufacture of the original. Mine was originally made by Denso and I bought the cheaper Bosh brand. Well my mpg dropped by 6mpg. I couldn't return it either. However at $3.90/gal it was worth it to go back and buy the Denso.<br />Now that motor oil is up around the same cost as synthetic it makes more sense to me to try out the synthetic oils. A mechanic friend told me it could give me another mile per gallon.<br />Of course like others have said tire pressure is important as is driving at a fair speed. <br />As for the water/hydro units, I wouldn't go near them. Everything I read points to complete rip off. If it were that simple there would be an after market bolt on at every auto parts store in the world. <br />Recently I have been looking at an air flow sensor mod chip. Don't believe the hype that it increases mpg though. These tap into the flow sensor wires and trick the ECU into thinking it needs to add more air to the fuel mixture. This in theory should increase your mpg. However, I think the o2 sensor will pickup on this in the exhaust and try to compensate, There are some that have an added benefit of increasing your horse power. These are the type I am looking into because my toyota RV has a 4 cyl motor and can not get out of her own way.<br /><br />cedric