[bbeanan]

We all complain about the MPG we get, but I know some of you have tried some mods which increased your MPG. So I was hoping to get a thread going listing those mods. Once we have a bunch we may be able to figure out the best combination of those mods.

Thanks in advance...


by the way my current MPG is 13.5 MPG 100% stock 05' Armada 2 wheel drive.

Brett

 

[Baron11]

some of my suggestions.

Increase tire pressure, DO NOT go over the pressure listed on the sidewall. Increasing tire pressure will reduce rolling resistance but will make the ride less smooth, personally I did not notice much of a difference. My tire pressure is currently 40psi front and 41 in back. Once your engine has broken in sufficiently, between 5 and 10k miles, start using synthetic engine oil, Mobil 1, RedLIne, or Amsoil are good products that come to mind. Keep highway speeds normal if not slow. I don't drive like a grandma, but I usually keep the cruise at about 70mph. I was averaging almost 18mpg with only a 100 miles on the truck, I expect this to be my range on the highway and around 15 in town. Accelerate slowly from the light. This all sounds boring, but if you want to increase mileage these are some known suggestions that do in fact work. Now before you guys start calling me some kind of granny driver I will be more than happy to introduce you to the tail-lights of my 04 M3. Oh yeah, going from regular oil to synthetic, has, in the past, netted between 1.5 and 2mpg on different vehicles. I had a 93 F-150 extra cab long bed that never got 15mpg even down hill. After changing to synthetic tranny fluid, rear end, and engine oil, I would regularly get 16mpg, up from about 12 or 13.

Kind Regards,

Bryan

 

[Dano]

Here's a pretty decent guide I just got for free that you can get too:
http://www.cybernation.com/saveongas/freebook/

A lot of common sense stuff and proof from the EPA that gizmos don't actually help. Very well written and documented and a bit sobering to read.

I'm at 13.4 with a mix a lot of city and some highway. I think that's where it'll remain until I trade it in for something that gets better mileage!

 

[Tien]

I'm getting around 17mpg though. I do mostly highway though. I get around 365 miles or so to around 21-22 gallons. Are you guys calculating right though? This is what you do. Drive till you nearly out of gas. Fill up your tank, reset the trip mileage. Then drive till your next fillup. Look at how many miles you got then divide by the gallons you just filled up with. I hope you guys aren't dividing by 28 gallons which is how big our tanks are.

 

[SedonaArmada]

Hey , you guys might like this. When I first got the beast, I kept a very close watch on milage. The attachment shows a plot that I kept updating of what my milage was at each fill-up. Yes, I calculate it correctly. We engineers tend to me pretty meticulous about this sort of stuff.

So, the parameters of this MPG data are--

1. Most of this driving is to/from work which is 35 miles round-trip. There is about half of the time stop-and-go and half highway at 50 mph average.

2. I dont drive like a granny when not stuck in traffic.

3. I use 87 octane.

4. I have never towed anything, but I do load up with cargo regularly. Maybe 200 to 600 pounds of stuff once or twice a week.

5. AC is on about 1/3 of the time.

6. Tire pressure = 35 psi (changed it to 38 last week)

Even though I dont update this plot any longer, i still check the milage each time and it goes from 15.2 to 15.9 with a solid 15.5 average. When i drive on the interstate during trips around Florida, i drive 80-85 mph and get the same 15.5 every time. I go about 360 to 380 miles on a tank. I let the light stay on for a while before filling up with about 24 gallons.

Next week, I should have my new exhaust, intake, and TBS on the truck. Last week, I put synthetic in the motor and diff and raised the tire pressure to 38. So, with all of this, i expect the milage to improve. Hopefully, I will get another 2 MPG to make it 17.5. Since i am very consistant in my driving and MPG, I expect for this to be a reliable test of what can be done to increase MPG. The only problem is I need to drive "normal" for a tank after I get these power mods on. That will be tough.

 

[TooTall]

Which synthetic did you use for your diff?

 

[adjmcloon]

Sounds right to me- I've been getting a solid 15.5 for a while now.

Interesting note though- a while back I was in for my upteenth service and they had to disconnect the battery. Before that I was averaging around 14.5 for the year, after they disconnected the battery for a couple of weeks my mileage went up a gallon. So if you're getting kinda crappy mileage, try disconnecting your battery overnight which will reset the ECM. It will start to learn how you drive again and maybe you'll get a little better.

Sedonaarmada please let us know of your mileage improvements with the mods. I've been holding off until I can hear some real world evidence. Sounds like you're the man!

 

[SedonaArmada]

Which synthetic did you use for your diff?

Mobil1 80-90W. almost 2quarts at $9 each

 

[SedonaArmada]

Sounds right to me- I've been getting a solid 15.5 for a while now.

Interesting note though- a while back I was in for my upteenth service and they had to disconnect the battery. Before that I was averaging around 14.5 for the year, after they disconnected the battery for a couple of weeks my mileage went up a gallon. So if you're getting kinda crappy mileage, try disconnecting your battery overnight which will reset the ECM. It will start to learn how you drive again and maybe you'll get a little better.

Sedonaarmada please let us know of your mileage improvements with the mods. I've been holding off until I can hear some real world evidence. Sounds like you're the man!

I will. Also, I dont have the nav system which sounds like gives you a calculation of MPG. I just do it the old fashioned way. Or maybe you mean that the ECU has learning on all Armadas. Can you elaborate?

 

[92TripleBlack]

Using cruise control is the single biggest and easiest way to increase your mileage. I use it anytime I'm going more than a mile between stops. Being that its on the wheel, its easy enough to do.